Personal Update

A lot of things have happened since I've last been in contact with many people on the internet.

I am now 30 weeks (almost 7 months) pregnant. We don't know whether it's a boy or a girl - we want that to be a surprise. The baby is due in mid-January, although I'm really hoping it arrives before then! The first three months were horrible: I felt sick all the time and had major emotional problems with my mood sinking very low and my spending a lot of time crying. It definitely wasn't because I was unhappy about the pregnancy - I've wanted kids for years - but between the depression and the hormones I was having a horrible time. After lots of discussion with my psychiatrist, midwife, boyfriend and MotherRisk (a telephone number where you can get info about the risks of medications during pregnancy), I went back onto medication. I'm very glad I did - I feel so much better, even though it's a low dose. I'd stopped my medication several months before I got pregnant and thought things were going okay, but I guess the hormones sent me downhill again!

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good, now! I've put on about 25lbs and feel huge! I've reached the point where I'm really beginning to feel the weight. The baby is big enough that I'm feeling pressure on my ribs and back. I get out of breath very quickly as my lungs don't have as much room as they usually do, and I need to pee all the time. I think my record so far is having to go to the bathroom 8-10 times in one night. That's quite a problem when it takes you five minutes to haul myself into a sitting position. Not that I can sleep for long, anyway - imagine having a bowling ball duct-taped to your stomach, then try to find a comfortable position to sleep in! But I don't mind it - I'm happy!

Writing Update

For those people who know me through my writing, here's an update:

• "The Ways of the Worlds" (sequel to "The Winds of Change") is not yet complete and my plan is to re-publish what is already written chapter-by-chapter, revising it at the same time (not changing the plot or anything, just improving the writing), and get it finished. I started doing this at the beginning of 2006, but have not got very far! It will happen eventually!
• I haven't been writing anything else in the meantime. I do still have the outline of an original book I intend to get published, but I haven't worked on it for about 2 years, because of my depression.
• Links to my stuff published on-line are: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/139136/ (fanfiction) and http://www.fictionpress.com/u/139136/ (original fiction).