Update

How far along? Eight weeks and one day pregnant! But it really feels like I should be much farther along by now. With each subsequent pregnancy it feels like the time goes slower and slower.

Total weight gain: Negative two pounds. I had initially lost four pounds, but have gained two back. My appetite is still generally terribly small, and the number of foods that sound appealing to me is even smaller. 

Maternity clothes? Just started. *sigh* I was hoping to hold out a little longer, but it appears that my body remembers exactly how to look pregnant after having done this three times before! Can't say I'm enjoying wearing the funny pants, but definitely enjoying shopping for them! Second-hand, of course. It was 50% off day at Value Village last week, and I scored two cute pairs of maternity jeans for a grand total of $5.09 after tax. I've also bought a couple of dresses, but they're regular dresses with enough stretch to work on a pregnant body. Is it just me, or do just about all maternity dresses look incredibly unflattering? 

Sleep? My dear, sweet, amazing, saintly husband has taken over with Baby Belle in hopes of teaching her to sleep all night and leave Mommy the heck alone. It's been such a Godsend, because the less I sleep, the less manageable my morning sickness is. Now I'm starting to get some uninterrupted rest at night, and I've been able to squeeze in at least a little nap just about every day, and that really helps.

Best moment this week: Now when Norah draws a family portrait (or any picture featuring me), she draws New Baby in my tummy. 

Movement? Too early, but I don't expect it's far off. With Princess and Baby Belle I could feel definite movement by 13 weeks. Music Man was never an active baby, so I didn't notice anything from him until about 17-18 weeks, and even after that he was a laid-back kid. I really hope this one's a mover, for the sake of the other kids who will get such a kick out of... well, kicks.

Gender? We've decided not to find out this time. *sigh* I want to, but Francis doesn't. Since I got my preference last time, I decided it was only fair to let him win this time. Plus it's a great moment in the operating room to hear my husband be the one to announce the baby's gender.

Cravings? Caaaaarbs. For the first little while, it was sweet potato fries. Couldn't get enough of them! Now, they don't really appeal to me at all, but I'm working my way through a giant batch of potato salad. Plus it's been much harder than I thought it would be to stay mostly Paleo. My sweet tooth gets the better of me every. single. time.

What I miss: Coffee. I'm not one of those never-have-caffeine-while-pregnant women, I just don't think my stomach can handle it right now. 

What I’m looking forward to: Christmas! I know it's still weeks away, but the Christmas buzz in the air is unmistakable. I love the get-togethers with family and friends, crafting, shopping, wrapping and baking. I'm looking forward to having my teacher husband home for two and a half weeks (!!) and having my parents visit for about half of that time.

Weekly wisdom: Take sleep whenever you can get it. Even if it means letting the kids watch a little more TV than they're usually allowed.

Milestones: Finally got in to see my GP last night. He informed me that my favourite OBGYN is really booked up right now, so it'll be a couple of months before I can get in to see her. That just means I'll be seeing my GP for my check-ups for now. He's great, and I really respect him, except... well, he's Movember-ing right now, and it's *really* hard to take him seriously. Totally baby-faced, but with a giant 'stache. It's pretty awesome!

Why I'm Not Losing Weight

I've been wracking my brain for a week now, trying to come up with a cute or clever way to say this.

But I got nuthin'. So here goes:

I'm pregnant.

Was there ever a better reason to not lose weight? :)

My husband and I recently decided we were ready for one more (this makes four!), and we're blessed that it happened right away. We wanted to time it so the baby will be born at the beginning of the summer (due July 9th, c-section will be scheduled around the 2nd), so I'll have him at home for two whole months while I recover and adjust. Then when he goes back to work in September, both Princess and Music Man will be in school full-time, so I'll still only have two littles at home for most of the day.

The other kids are over-the-moon excited. Especially Princess, who keeps talking and singing to my non-existent belly (I'm only a little over 6 weeks, after all!), and telling everyone that we have a new baby on the way. (She told the hostess at the restaurant we went to on Wednesday. The poor kid - she was maybe 17 - had no idea what to say.)

So there you have it. We're just going ahead and being counter-cultural again! You don't see many families with four or more kids these days (unless you live in our town), and you certainly don't see many women announcing a pregnancy before they clear the first trimester. So why the early announcement?

Well, two reasons. One is practical - in the past I had horrible, unending "morning" sickness that knocked me off my feet for months. It's hard to hide that, and it's also nice to be able to ask for help when I can't keep up. This time, fortunately, it would appear that a (mostly) Paleo diet has pretty much cured my morning sickness. I still get sick if I wait too long before eating or if I don't rest enough, but it's 100% manageable. (My previous three pregnancies were so rough I lost 10-15lbs in my first trimester each time!)

The second reason is personal/spiritual/philosophical/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. See, this baby is part of our family already. I don't generally like keeping family members secret. S/he isn't much bigger than a sesame seed, but there's already a teeny poppy seed-sized heart beating away in there! We really believe that life is beautiful and sacred and worth celebrating at every stage. And if, God forbid, we lose this baby, then we'll be grateful for the support we know we'd receive. I've been though a miscarriage before, with our first baby. I was just over 5 weeks pregnant, a point when lots of women haven't even figured out they're pregnant. We hadn't told anyone yet, only because I had an upcoming visit to my parents' house, and I was waiting to tell them in person. Because I miscarried before I got there, I had to explain everything in my grief, which was so hard. I really don't think that, for me, it would be any easier to deal with a secret loss than one everyone knows about. (That's just me - every woman has to go with her gut on this one.) So, that being said, we're gratefully accepting all prayers, positive thoughts and good vibes you'd care to send our way!

I'm hoping this time around to gain a little less weight than I did in the past, just by sticking to an 80% Paleo diet. (Yes, 80%. Don't even TRY to tell this pregnant lady she can't have some Baskin Robins once in a while!!) In fact, if I can keep my weight-gain to 20-25lbs, I'll end this pregnancy around the same weight I was when I conceived Princess! Fingers (and toes) crossed.

Where Did I Go??

Wondering where I went?

Oy, sorry. I've been thoroughly neglecting the blogosphere.

I have no good excuse, really. Just a whole long list of teeny little excuses that have all piled up. Like the incredible amount of time I've been spending sewing! I made Princess and Music Man's Halloween costumes:

I was given requests for a "pink and purple mermaid princess" costume, and a "blue dragon with a blue tummy and blue spikes" costume. I pulled them off, both without the benefit of a pattern. Baby Belle's costume, on the other hand, was a consignment store find. She's too young to care, it was the right size, a great price, and fit with the mythical-creatures theme!

In addition to the costumes, I've been churning out Christmas gifts at a steady pace. We try to keep our gifts simple, relatively inexpensive, and mostly hand-made. Most of the people we give gifts to don't need much "stuff", and it's more about the gesture. Plus the hours I put into making something should communicate that the person is important to us! (I'd post pictures, but many of them are for my nephews, and my sister reads this blog - got to keep them a surprise!)

I will, however, share this photo of something I made the other day, as it's similar in construction to several of the gifts I've made:

Felt Snow White!! She was the test-run and now on her way to her new home, and I'm now making a set of princesses, princes, knight and dragon for my kids for Christmas!

We also got to meet our first niece for the first time! My sister has two boys and my husband's sister has three, so having a nice at long last is a big deal for me (mostly because it gives me another girl to sew for).  This picture is also because a friend requested to see what I look like with short hair:

Baby Belle was so excited to see her newest cousin! She's finally at the right age to be completely fascinated with babies. (I should add that BB is older than her baby hair makes her look. She's over 20 months old.)

Then we had houseguests. Mostly just my mother who was here for 12 days, but also my sister, her husband and their two small sons came to stay for a couple of days. What happy chaos! Ten fun-loving people in a small, 3-bedroom bungalow! We feasted and played and had a marvelous time.

There's another important project I've got on the go right now that I'm not quite ready to go into detail about. But it's a biggie, and it'll most definitely be influencing what I post about here, so stay tuned for that one in the next day or two.

Lastly, I should mention the results of my 21 Day Sugar Detox:
EPIC FAIL!!

Holy cow. I have way more emotional-eating issues than I was aware of! I didn't get all the way through the 21 days. In fact, I fell face-first into a pan of homemade granola bars somewhere around day 10, I think. What I did learn, though, is that different emotions trigger different cravings. And mostly, those cravings have way more to do with texture than taste. The awarenesses I gained even from that short time were fantastic, and I'm looking forward to tackling the 21DSD again in the future.

For now, however, I really need to get back on track with my eating habits. Nicole and the gang started a Whole30 on the first of the month. My original plan was to join them, but I then decided to postpone until my mother heads home and life settles down a little. Now, however, I'm modifying my plans once again. I don't think this is the right time for a Whole30 for me, mostly because I know I'll need to be relying on some SWYPO foods in the next little while. So, instead of a Whole30, I'm going to do a Paleo For 30 challenge. Which means I can still eat Paleo-fied muffins without guilt, and if I put a little honey in a glaze for some meat I'm not going to stress about it. But I will not be pigging out on Paleo treats every day! I'm just going to work on getting back to the meat-veg-fats basics for 90% of the time.

And now, I'm off to feed my kids lunch, get them sorted out for nap/quiet time, and assemble a cake for a going-away party. I'll post pictures of that later - with more things to say!