14 weeks + 4 days

All is going very well on the baby front. My tummy feels huge, and I've had several comments on how much I've 'popped out' in the last few days. Today's comments were all asking how far along I was - wasn't 14.5 weeks a little early to be so big? Honestly, pregnancy is bizarre. First people ask why you're not showing - then when you do start showing, the opinions start! I, for one, am embracing the tummy, and happy that I'm finally starting to look as pregnant as I feel.

We've had some crazy news over the last few days, and I can hardly believe that some of it hits us from next week - Jase is heading overseas to Germany! He'll be doing some training and development with his firm's Europe branch, and he'll be away for just over four weeks. Can you believe it? We found out on Tuesday... and he leaves on Monday. As in, Monday FOUR DAYS AWAY. Crazypants. I'm ridiculously excited for him - it's a great opportunity, and he's been desperately missing Europe, so I was encouraging him to go along if it was offered. He'll also get to catch up with his brother & old colleagues/friends, since he'll likely pop over to London every now and again for visits.

(Jealous!)

So that means it's just me, the kitties, the puppy & the wee one for a little while. I'm not fussed about being alone - I've done it before, and besides.. I feel oddly calm and content right now. It'll make the time go by, and that's a positive thing! :) I'm going to give him a whopping great list of baby clothes and stores I want him to visit {mostly Primark for cheap and cheerful bebe bits & pieces} so hopefully we'll have a nice few surprises when he comes home in early December. I'll be 15 weeks when he leaves & 20 weeks when he gets home!

As for our upcoming scans, he's happy for me to go ahead with them, so I'm taking my next best thing: my mum! She was great to have with me at the NT scan, and since we had to deal with scary news then, I'm preparing already for future scans. {Preparing - not worrying.} Hubby still wants to know the gender as soon as possible, so hopefully if baby co-operates, we'll have a good idea at the 16 week scan. If not, we'll be trying our best to find out at the 19 week one! I'm under strict instructions to ring/message/email/all of the above, as SOON as I know the gender.. even with the crazy Australia-Germany time difference. :)

I also had to make a decision about what I was planning on doing with work for next year. Our teaching year runs from January to December, so I'm finishing out this contract and having a break over Christmas. I've decided to stop working then, since I'd only realistically be available to teach several weeks of February/March before I'd be stopping closer to the due date. If I feel up to it, I'll do some casual teaching cover days at my current school - they've been nothing but supportive, and I definitely feel as though I've made the right decision there. It's a weight off my shoulders, knowing that I have just under a term to go.

So, that's life right now. I'm spending as much time with the husband-man as I can this weekend, we're stockpiling heavy grocery items before he goes {cat litter, dog food, etc} and enjoying each other's company before he flies out next week. I'm also trying hard to fight a head cold that my students have been passing around, but I have a feeling I'm fighting a losing battle with this one. My immune system is focussed on the baby - just as it should be.