Five months to go

Five months today and I am due to become a Mummy. Lots of things to report since the last post. I know I'm a bit erratic at keeping people up-to-date, but I hope you'll forgive me. First and foremost, Jon and I went to the doctor yesterday and everything is fine with Jelly Bean, whose heart is strong. We don't know what the baby's sex is, nor do we know if we will decide to find out before he or she is born, but for simplicity's sake, we're calling JB him. So, he's an active little thing, which I don't think will surprise anyone given his parentage. Because Jon was there we had another ultrasound and could see his hands, arms and legs thrashing around. Actually, I say little, but he's not that little, apparently measuring around 16 centimetres from crown to rump, or head to bum. I'm pretty healthy too, with the only minor complaints being slight low blood sugar and slight anaemia, while I don't seem to have put on too much weight, just yet! I don't really look massively pregnant...well, I suppose I'm not yet: eighteen weeks yesterday, but I do have a pot belly and I have put on about five pounds. For the past couple of weeks, I have occasionally had little butterfly-type feelings inside me, which I think are probably the first signs of JB kicking, but apparently I should feel them even stronger in the next few weeks. The one downside of the visit to the doctor was the fact that he told me I had to stop running, which was a bit of a blow, but I suppose understandable. I've been relying on it for a long time to keep me sane and healthy, but the doctor seems to think it could damage the placenta, with all the bouncing, and the last thing I want to do is cause that to expel itself before the time is right. So, I was a little bit miserable yesterday, because it's going to be more than five months and I hate to think how unfit I am going to be and how tired with a little baby, but am sure things will be fine and I have set myself a challenge of running a 10k in Bermuda in January. I've been feeling really good running recently, okay much slower as my body dynamics and balance change, but good. On Sunday, just the day before I saw the doctor, I ran a 5km race around Miraflores, here in Lima, which I took very easily, but Jon still reckons Jelly Bean was the first foetus to cross the line. So, I suppose I did go out with a bang....
I have just got back from a walk along the cliff-top here, something I am going to try and do as a replacement to running. It's not quite a substitute, but it was a beautiful day this morning and the lighting was so pretty and so good that you could see the big island in the distance off the port of Callao.
I'm hoping that we finally get the results of the Peruvian elections today and get confirmation of who is going through to the second round with the rather controversial nationalist former army officer Ollanta Humala. It'll be Alan Garcia, the former president who's perhaps just as controversial, but I can't really do a story until we get confirmation. Ho hum...
I'll write more later, as I want to post a pic from the Queen's Birthday Party, which we went to on Friday at the British ambassador's residence. Bean's first official function! For now, lots of love to you all xxxx