Christmas & the New Year with Peanut

First of all, Roshan and I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years and the two of us, along with Master Peanut in utero, wish you a 2006 that is happy, fulfilling and memorable. We had ammi and thaththi here for Christmas and had a quiet celebration with them and nangi, all the while missing the rest of our families who were in Sri Lanka or Australia. For the New Year weekend, Roshan and I went to San Antonio for some quiet time together (we imagine such times will become few and far between soon). We had three relaxing, restful days and slept a lot. We celebrated the dawning of the New Year with a beer and a coke from the minibar in our room and a prayer for all the blessings we’ve experienced in 2005 and those to come in 2006. After church on New Year’s morning, we had a stroll down the Riverwalk and during our stay in San Antonio, I got the realization of my Christmas presents – prenatal massages at the hotel spa. Fabulous!

Peanut is kicking up a storm in my bundi. The change in the level of movement, from about 2 weeks back to what it is now is astounding. It actually literally happened overnight or at the most, over the course of two or three days. One day I was telling ammi that Peanut’s movements are still sporadic and two days later, he started making sure his presence was felt constantly. Now Roshan and I find a lot of amusement each night in seeing how my bundi stretches in different directions with Peanut’s movements while I am lying in bed or on the couch. So exciting! Roshan says he’s now finding it really hard to wait till March. I think it is because Peanut seems so real and so close and now he just wants the little guy to be real and close on this side of my bundi rather than on the other side. I absolutely love feeling the movements. People have told me the kicks will sometimes be very painful because of the punch they pack, but so far, the sensation is that of a slow churning in my stomach – like stirring a pot of thick custard or béchamel – and it’s a wonderful feeling.

Tomorrow Roshan and I will go to another ultrasound and doctor’s appointment. It is also the start of my 8th month. On Saturday we have our first childbirth class. I am 37 inches around the waist and over 155lbs. I have a chubby chubby face and occasional lower back pain when I’ve been walking around too much. I hope and pray the next two months and more importantly, the delivery, will happen as easily and smoothly as the last seven months. Tonight or tomorrow night, Roshan and I are going baby-stuff shopping. It’s amazing how much we need to get and all the choices available, from baby carrier types to diapers to breast pads to crib sheets to strollers. Does anyone have any recommendations for any of these types of items? If you do, please let us know, particularly when it comes to the big ticket items like strollers, cribs, car seats and breast pumps. Any advice would be welcome!

So that’s the update for now, but I will post again soon to fill you in on the ultrasound, the doctor’s appointment and the childbirth class. Roshan says he wants to make a post tonight, but I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you. Take care everyone and hope 2006 is going great so far.