Baby Updates

Yes, that's updates, since I thought I'd splash out some pics of Haruki too. Have I mentioned that we spoil her? Like, ridiculously? I mean, the dog has two separate "beds," both of which were expensive and are intended to make sure she has a really cush and a moderately cush place to lay down. She is also allowed on the couches and the beds, though I suspect that this might change once baby arrives. And, thanks to my sister-in-law, we also have some "games" that are just for Haruki and which are meant to be enriching. We played one of those games this morning already.

Here is Haruki prior to the game, probably thinking, "Really? I'm the one who is being forced to play silly board games?"

The board game:

The trick is to hide small pieces of food behind the moveable circle pieces, so Haruki has to use her nose to find and eat the treats.

Mid-game:

I don't know about you guys, but we never did stuff like this for our dogs while I was growing up. We definitely didn't try to "enrich" our dogs, excepting for all the bologna that we gave them. (And, in the case of at least one of our family dogs, that "enrichment" wasn't really a good thing...)

Anyhow, on to the human baby. I am twenty-two weeks and one day pregnant today. That means only eighteen more weeks to go, approximately 126 days. And, only fifteen more weeks until I'll be "full term." Whew. I have a friend who is currently thirty-seven weeks and I'm very, very jealous. Pregnancy is still my least favorite thing and I'll be glad when all my systems are back to their normal places and functions.

The good news is that I went against my doctor's orders and went on my first pregnant outdoor bike ride. (Don't tell my doctor.) Apparently her worry is that any cycling crash would put me at risk for a broken bone, which would in turn necessitate X-rays and pain meds, both of which aren't baby's favorite things.

I don't feel comfortable doing several things that I used to do while riding: 1) riding my road bike. My road bike is sweet and super light, but since my balance is wonky I think riding my sturdier mountain bike is safer; 2) riding with other people, i.e. my family, or on a public bike trail. I don't trust my balance or other peoples' balance right now. Thus I'll only be riding my bike up our canyon road, which is a dirt road with little traffic and which I'll only be riding with David for company; 3) riding fast downhill. Since the road from our house only goes up, I'll be pretty safe doing that at a snail's pace. On the way home, however, I'll be forced to ride my breaks instead of screaming downhill as fast as possible.

So, all in all, not too bad. Despite my complaints I am still grateful to be able to ride at all...even with all the looks I get while riding with a belly:

On the bike it's not clear that that pooch is a baby. In fact, it looks more like a huge muffin top. And, to be fair, some of it is from muffins:-)

*Do you do anything to "enrich" your dog or pet?