Goodbye sweet November...

I feel a twinge of sadness as the month of November draws to an end and December beckons. If there's such things as a favourite month of the year, November is it for me. Most people would be surprised since it's not the month of my birthday, but instead it is for 5 of my kin - my cousins', my MIL's (mother-in-law), hubby and lastly mother's. I had thought my first child would have been a November baby as well but considering Sweet Pea might end up having the same birthday as my brother's in March, that's special too!

But birthdays aside I like November because the weather is fantastic - cool 28 degree windy mornings, it's near enough to the year-end holidays where shops start their Christmas festivities and the holiday mood starts to fill the air. It's like the last lap in a year-long race and the finish line is within sight. Yet where it defers from a race is that you don't want the holidays to descend too quickly...in contrast you wish the following 8 weeks could somehow pass at a more languid pace because the minute the holidays arrive, it changes from 'progressing towards holiday season' to a countdown towards starting a new race in the new year.

To add an additional dimension to it, Sweet Pea is officially 23 weeks old today, and I am well into my happy second trimester. It's been a wonderful 10 weeks since the sombre days of morning sickness and appetite loss, and during this time I have had 2 amazing ultrascans of Sweet Pea plus experience the joy of feeling him kick inside my tummy. I often wonder how he takes it when I do things that could only mean disturbing his wonderful sleep - e.g. walk like a locomotive just to catch the infrequent train on the expo line or laugh with a booming voice when I am amused or excited. His current size renders the pregnancy rather enjoyable at this point as I have grown accustomed to carrying him now, but yet not to the point where it puts a tremendous strain on my body. Come 2nd January I would be entering into my final trimester, and I know it'll be a period where I start to fret once more. My backaches could get worse, and as much as I can try to prepare for what to expect during delivery, I still pray I have the mental and physical strength to see it through smoothly. Of course part of the worry stems from the major adjustments and getting to know Sweet Pea well enough to address his needs correctly, but until next year there is still an excuse to tuck all these at the back of my head. The countdown to EDD will begin soon enough.

Nevertheless there's still 5 more weeks of the festive season, so hurrah, the holidays are coming!

ps: This time next year should be fun too...Sweet Pea would be 8 months old!! :)