I had the chance to visit with my mom this weekend as she and I met up in Tehachapi at my uncle's cabin. Now that I'm pregnant, I had lots of questions:

How much did I weigh when I was born? 7 pounds, something (I don't remember! I'll have to ask her again.)

How much did you gain when you were pregnant with me? 50 pounds (yikes!) and  lost it all right away

What was it like to give birth to me? I was a week late. To help get me out, my dad took my mom offroading. Apparently that didn't work either. My mom's water never broke. Maybe I was waiting for my mom's birthday so we could share the special day together. Sure enough, I was born the evening of my mom's 21st birthday. She opted for a natural birth; no epidural. She said it was more fun than painful and when I popped out, my mom said "That was fun! Let's do it again!" She likened the experience to a roller coaster ride.

During the course of the weekend, my mom was surprised by all the things I was abstaining from. No coffee? No caffeine? My mom said she drank Pepsi during her pregnancy. I told her the obvious ones: no nicotine, no alcohol. But then there were these: no raw eggs (no caeser dressing), no raw fish or undercooked meats (although I cheated and ate seared ahi and medium-rare steak from the barbecue), no non-pasteurized cheeses (although I ate some goat cheese and didn't ask whether it had been pasteurized or not. It was sooooo good). No yogurt or bubbly drinks (my gas is bad enough!). No bananas (I need fruits that makes things move, not the opposite).

My mom said she didn't remember any of those rules when she had us kids. She just went about her usual lifestyle. I haven't minded giving up too much, in fact I am so happy I was finally able to quit smoking after 10 years!

I hope my birth experience was as much fun as my mother's :)

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I was reading the chapter on "The Fourth Month" in "What To Expect When You're Expecting." It recommends taking a picture each month to show your growing bump. Sure, why not? So James took this photo of me last night. Today marks 14 weeks.

Of course, I also made him pose. Soon my belly will outgrow his :)

I have a song stuck in my head to the tune of Fergie's "My Humps." It goes: "My bump, my bump, my lovely baby bump."

Can you tell I'm starting to feel better? Hee hee hee

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I started Sunday thinking, wow, next year I'll be an actual mom on Mother's Day. I ended the day thinking, wow, I already am a mom, in a way.

My love and I spent the afternoon with his family, where we got to surprise his parents with the news that we are pregnant. James made a very cute T-shirt for his mother that says "Grandma to be times three." No, we aren't having triplets ;) Rather, his sister has one toddler and is pregnant as well — due two weeks before me.

I love the expression on James' mother's face when she read her card and realized what the words meant. I felt a little strange receiving a bunch of hugs and congratulations on a day that celebrated actual mothers. But heck, I'll take them!

I talked to my own mother — who's known I'm pregnant since about 12 hours after I took the home pregnancy test — later that night. We got to wish each other happy mother's day. I can't wait to see my mom when she visits in two weeks. I love her so much, and I can only hope to be as good a mom as she is!

I've been joking lately that I have "pregnancy brain." I forget stuff. Mostly words. I'll be mid-sentence, and for the life of me, I can't remember a certain word. I have to be really diligent with my lists at work, or else things just get away from me. I've been misplacing things at home, which is extremely rare for me.

So I thought I'd do a little Google search on "pregnancy brain" and what do you know, the term actually exists!

This site says "Pregnancy brain is a condition that affects expectant mothers, usually during the first and third trimesters. Sometimes known as placenta brain or baby brain drain, the condition is usually characterized by short-term memory loss or forgetfulness. Some medical experts say that pregnancy brain is a myth, but evidence shows that many women have experienced this condition."

Now I don't feel so alone :)

Today I feel joy and relief. I finally heard my baby's heartbeat for the first time. Now I know it's a real. As if the nausea, throwing up, constipation, missed periods and positive blood and urine tests weren't enough evidence.

I'm due Nov. 21. If all goes well, Thanksgiving will be a VERY thankful time :)