20 weeks

Had my 20 week midwife/doctor appointment today. It was wonderful.

One thing I need to keep in mind about it is that I am now under doctor's orders to put my feet up as often as I can. It has to do not only with my swelling feet and need to rest, but more importantly with getting enough circulation to the baby. He said that babies born in European countries tend to be healthier because women take more time off before the birth. If we would just learn this, the public would get back the money it loses from having women take time off, by having fewer babies in the hospital. He said ideally I should rest for an hour every 3 to 4 hours.

"ME?!?!?!?!" I wanted to ask.

Being as busy as I tend to is not out of necessity. It's a means of proving myself, unfortunately. After all, everyone else is super busy too and my work environment certainly demands it unless I really put my foot down, or up in this case.

I have to learn the following mantra, "Being a good mother means slowing down right now."

In the meantime, for your viewing pleasure, this picture was taken about a week ago. I wore this new outfit to my supervisor's daughter's wedding. (Yes, people wear black for weddings in this part of the world. And yes, I was in a good mood, even if I don't look like I'm smiling.)