Oscar update: 20 weeks!

Hi everyone,

First, I wanted to say thanks to everyone for your incredibly kind replies to our last email. It really means a lot to us to have all the love and support we've been receiving from all over. Also, hearing all the congratulations, and having you welcome Oscar by name, really lit up my heart :)

This Sunday marked a milestone of sorts, 20 weeks of pregnancy. After this point Oscar is medically and legally considered an actual baby, and psychologically it feels like a big deal to have reached that point.

So far things are going reasonably well. We've had a lot of time to think, talk, and just spend this time together as a family. The whole experience is really making us appreciate every moment that we have. I've recently started reading a book called "a gift of time: continuing your pregnancy when your baby's life is expected to be brief", and I've found it really helpful, as well as echoing a lot of what I've been feeling. I'm trying to focus on (and enjoy, as I can) what's happening right now, rather than worry about what might happen down the line.

Oscar continues to move around, and had a good strong heartbeat at our last midwife appointment. I've been doing some gentle yoga classes and a fair amount of walking. This weekend was especially busy as we spent it at false creek watching Emma race in North America's biggest dragon boat festival! Her team raced two boats, placing second and fifth out of 37 teams in their age group. Apparently Oscar may now be able to hear, so I'm sure he heard a lot of cheering! Alice can chant "go emma go emma" and calls dragon boats "emma boats".

We have our next set of ultrasounds and medical appointments July 3, so I'll probably write again after that. Thanks for your thoughts, and for letting us share Oscar with you.

Love Jill, Peter, Emma, Alice and Oscar