Max and Ned Footer Continue to Grow...

For those who don't know, Max and Ned are Dave's sister Amy's little boys, and the only cousins of the baby refusing to leave my belly.


 
  

Not Yet

I'm somewhere in an interesting place, with people watching this blog or monitoring my email reply speed to try to find some sort of inkling that I've gone into labour. Which is fair enough - it's exactly what I would do - especially seeing as I have told people that we would only spread the good news after the event (and allow people to sleep/play easily in ignorance) And I guess this is the way it will continue. But I assure you that a silence from me on hte email/blog does not necessarily mean that exciting news is imminent - you'd be surprised how well I have embraced being 'slack' and how my vacant mind cannot fathom what to write in a blog. For example - in the last 24 hours, the only topic I have thought about putting on here was Patrick Swayze. In my slow waddle back from he supermarket I got thinking about how he had been such a powerhouse in the eighties and how he is such a 'joke' now and what a raw deal that was. I mean: Dirty Dancing, Ghost and Roadhouse they are films that still hold a place in many people's hearts.

As you can see, not exactly inspiring (or point-ful) blogging. So my silence is golden in reality.

Anyway - although I am 'due' this Thursday, you can all rest easy as I can pretty much guarantee we are no where near meeting the little baby yet. He/she is still riding high (ie. not engaged which is something that needs to happen) and still kicking up a storm (they should quiet-down a little bit before birth). My gut feeling is that we are looking at least into next week. Which in some ways is good (I've got the rest of my life to enjoy motherhood, I should savour this relaxation) but also a bit frustrating (Dave and I are soooo keen to meet our child).

Anyway, I'm going to either watch some music videos, go back to bed or each a hunk of cheese right now. Probably all three. Definitely the cheese thing. Oh. Now that im thinking food, i've also got some shortbread somewhere and a pack of those baby carrots and some yoghurt.....

Happy Birthday Nadsie!!!

Well, I had hoped to get this post up last Friday to celebrate Nadsie's actual birthday, but due to being in the middle of a cold (which I still have not kicked) and having crazy headaches from being stuck for hours in our apartment where the fumes of fresh varnish from the floor below reduced me to a blubbering and pathetic wreck..... it just wasn't going to happen.

Anyway - as one of this blog's more obsessive readers, it is only right that Nadise (aka The General) gets a montage for her birthday. These 4 photos are some of my favourites, I'm particularly happy with the last one. It was taken on the tail end of a rather large night of celebrity head down at Goolwa when, due to our merry state we decided to pose for the photo amidst the shouts of 'Levels! Levels! Be on different Levels!' We found this most amusing at the time. Verity? Well, I'm just happy she was able to shuffle her way into that photo.

 

 

 

These photos are from Nadsie's trip to London mid last year (2005) and details us taking in a few of the local sights including South Bank (with Dave nad Kezza), Brick Lane (with Eleanor) Borough Market (with Nige's twin Mr. Shark) and Trafalgar Square (with a Supermodel). The hoods of the Jesus Army took a liking to us and I daresay that if we had not been worried sick about a shoeless and pantless Nige wandering somewhere near the Thames River, we may have joined up.


 
 
 

These photos are from that same trip, later in the night when we took in the atmosphere (and a few beers) in Leicester Square and then.. the lights of Piccadilly Circus... where ... um... in keeping with local custom... we protested the midnight closing of the tube stations.... by.... wrestling... on the traffic island... in the middle... of the very sanitary picc circus.......

 
 
 

MORE reasons to be excited

1. The Alexs storm the Opera House!!

No doubt the Als have been plucking, primping and preening themselves this past week in preparation for their close-up on this week's Sydney-Opera-House-Australian-Idol-Final in order to watch their good mate Mr. Damien Leith storm to victory. And I must admit, that I've never taken too much interest in these programs, never voted before, but thanks to the wonder that is YouTube, I am able to state that I truly think that Mr. Leith is something special and deserves to win. The young Jessica chick is also talented, but a little bit stock-standard. Damien is so different to the typical Idol contestant, in many ways it is amazing to see that Australia has kept him in so long. So hopefully all goes to plan in what deserves to be storybook ending..

2. Toby Makes his YouTube debut

After years of living in Sydney and doing something elusive (to me anyway) it appears that Mr. Toby Stratmann has been doing film, and doing film well. You can see his short film called 'The Relatives by clicking here or by loading the below. I am sure that all ratings and critiques will be well appreciated.

Reasons to be excited:

• the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes! the ashes!!!! Ahhhhh. Unfotunately the first ball is bowled at midnight and the last at 7am which makes proper viewing from the UK near impossible. But perhaps a blessing considering the coming months of night time breastfeeding. Dear god, I hope we win. I dont think I could handle losing it again. I just hope that more than one Aussie batsman decides to turn up this time.
• Strictly Come Dancing and I'm a Celebrity... have both taken to the airwaves again (my addiction to both of these can be blamed squarely on Georgia.)
• Georgia and Pete have got their internet back. I don't know how they survived.
• Baby should be released in the next 7 days. I'm not sure if this is exciting or not, but feel the expectation is that I should porbably put it in the exciting catagory.

(on the downside i seem to have caught dave's cold and find myself surrounded by tissues and unable ot stop sneezing)

Ample time, no blogs

So here i am, with ample time on my hands lounging at home, and yet no blog entries. Not very promising behaviour, you would think?

On the contrary. Whilst there is a bit of lounging happening, there is simply no time to do a blog. Whilst only 2 days into my retirement, I have not had more than 5 minuts to myself, a 5 minutes which is being wisely used for 'staring vacantly'. As perhaps another downside to working to 38 weeks, I have given myself not much time to get a lot of things done that I so wanted to do before 'the release'. From preparing the hospital bag, to researching car insurance (we bought a car - more on that in the next post) to paying bills and claiming re-imbirsements, to shopping trips to asda to doctors appointments. I could add about 30 more things, which I have done and a further 30 pending. I admit for an able bodied person the list might not amount to much - but as my waddle has slowed to a sloth-like lope, and my energy sits on fever-levels, these things are taking so much time and only serve to sit, niggling in my mind.

But all in all, its lovely to be at home, to be able to sleep in an extra hour: bliss.

And I dont have anything interesting to say, other than how sad I was to read that Robert Altman died yesterday. I've enjoyed so many of his movies, it's sad to think that there will be no more.

Hope everyone is well. Send me an email leave a comment, all thoughts are appreciated.
xxH

Pregnancy: The Dark Side (Part 2)

Some of you may remember from the first installment of my pregnancy lament back in August (click here) that I had a suspicion that at 6 months, I didn’t know the full extent of the misery. I was right. A whole hoard of things have happened since then which deserve a mention on this pregnancy-saturated blog. Admittedly most of them have ot do with the changing shape of my body, but to be honest that has easily been the most alarming factor of these past 3 months

But before I get into all that, I’m going to give a last minute reminder that the closing date to enter ‘Guess the Baby Fact Game’ is no doubt not too far off. With me due to ‘release the child’ within the next few weeks, anyone wishing to hazard a guess at dates, weights and gender, please click here.

Anyway. Let the bitterness begin!

Pregnancy: The Dark Side (Part 2)

• The readily adopted theory that this is the one time you are able to eat what you please, so go hard. SO coming back to haunt me later.
  
• Moles. Moles you didn’t even know you had, not only make an appearance, but do so emphatically. Deep brown colour, bobbling out in fearsome 3D
  
• Lungs the size of plums that result in dog-like panting after taking on the smallest and shortest of inclines.
  
• Bingo wings.
  
• Your dancing becomes downright hysterical to anyone who you feel safe enough doing it around.
  
• Swollenness. Fat fingers. Hobbit feet. The fact that when you take of your airplane socks (ie those that are meant to fit all) in the evening to go to bed you are greeted by indentations on your ankles the size of minor canyons
  
• Heartburn. AKA ‘Reflux’ or vomiting in your mouth. Nothing quite like that taste, mmmmm.
  
• I wouldn’t say a ‘double chin’ as that suggests definition between the two. Perhaps ‘the emergence of jowels’ is more apt.
  
• The loss of facial definition overall. I referred to it as ‘the acid melt’ earlier in this blog and you all predictably came back with ‘you look lovely’ comments so I won’t got that far this time. Lets just say that it all rolls into one ball of puff.
• Unmanageable hair and a fear of getting a haircut that only serves to accentuate the blobbyness of your face.
  
• The appetite of ten burley men.
  
• Hormones that make your skin believe your are in the middle of puberty.
  
• Lactic Acid build up. In your Finger joints. I shit you not. Each morning I wake up with claws for hands that result in much pathetic whimpering as I try to straighten them.
  
• The fact that the actual ‘birth’ begins to loom so forebodingly that the prize at the end seems remote and unfathomable and you begin to wonder what the hell you are doing.
  
• Unintentional and ill-timed grunting.
  
• Meeting mothers who ‘adored pregnancy’. WTF? Nine months of abstinence from everything fun for the pay off of a few ‘moments of connection’ when the baby kicks you in the lungs/bladder? These people are not normal.
  
• When the baby kicks you in the lungs or bladder.
  
• When the baby kicks you ANYWHERE at 38 weeks and as your stomach/body has no more elasticity, the only result is be pain.
  
• Midwives who refer to pain as ‘discomfort’
  
• Thighs large enough to be running in the Melbourne cup
  
• The loss of balance. The smallest incline, if misjudged, can result in the most embarrassing slow motion stack. Which brings three people rushing over from seemingly nowhere and causes a cyclist to stop, all crying ‘Are you ok?! Are you ok?!
  
• And even though you are ok and you tell them all you are ok, the first thing you do when they are out of sight is call your boyfriend and start bawling over a grazed knee that a third-grader wouldn’t flinch at.
  
• Emotional fragility (see above).
  
• Twitchiness. Legs take on a life of their own, often performing a little jig (akin to what Laura has called the Fagin) at inopportune moments, such as when you are going to sleep (which if you are sporting some mega-thighs means that NO-ONE is that bed is going to sleep)
  You begin to really listen to your mother.
  
• The point where you become so big that some of your maternity clothes no longer fit.
  
• The realisation at about 37 weeks that if you have somehow gotten yourself on ground level, nothing bar a crane will get you off it.
• The brain power of a stereotypical blond, the memory of a goldfish.
  
• Shoes. Nigh on impossible to put on by yourself. Ones with laces are a pipe dream.
  
• A partner who is likely to never go through pregnancy (and yet holds a firm belief that it would be a doddle) when responding to your concerns about the labour/birth literally pats you on the head and literally says ‘There, there. It will be fine… I hope it happens at night during the Ashes’
  

This Week's Big News

You might be expecting me to mention the encouraging political changes taking place in the US in this entry, or perhaps some comment on Britney (... am I the only one who doesnt care beyond feeling that divorce is something really, really sad?). You might even be waiting for my thoughts on Blogger's new upgraded services that came through today (RAD). But you would be wrong on all counts.

Because today's BIG news is that my great Canadina mate Patty is joining blogland. And even better than that is that she is an unemployed computer nerd - so regular entries are pretty much guarenteed. And not only THAT, but after reading the first few entries and finding myself nodding furiously, she write with Heather-approved sense. So to get your daily fill click here or on the link to the left.

Bump Progress: Week 37

Well, in these photos the bump definately looks gravity-defying. And the boobs less than impressive. In fact, for the most part, Dave amd I agree that they have not grown at all, or if they have - unimpressively. We are hoping that perhaps this will be rectified when the breast milk comes on. I haven't really explained to Dave thatthe look will be ruined by constant wet patches and angry-sore nipples, but why dash his hopes at this point? Neither of us really have much idea of what to expect (though everyone keeps telling us it is going to be shockingly hard work) so we are in a state of ignorant bliss. Crying Baby? Why - just give it a cuddle and a 'there, there'.......

37 Weeks and Counting.....

Apologies for the slow start to November on this blog. Though I'm probably doing no more than I was doing a few weeks ago – but now I find myself unable to do anything quicker than a snails pace…. and to be honest, if I have five minutes to myself, chances are I'm going to choose to 'space out' as opposed to compose a blog entry. Sorry. HOWEVER, that being said, I'm positively setting the blog world on fire compared to a lot of those listed to my right. Slackers!! Any of them carrying a ten tonne baby in their belly? I don't think so.

Moving along….

What’s that? You want some dot points? Ohhhhh, if you insist:

- My computer has sort of broken again. Not in a debilitating way which means I have to send it back immediately, but in a way significant enough that I really should send it to be fixed. But I'm torn as I cannot imagine getting through 2 weeks without this beloved machine again. Especially seeing as I won't have access to a computer at work.... So it's still up in the air..... What to do, what to do...

- I have FINALLY gotten all the cords/cards required for me to put video footage on this computer and therefore look forward to not only editing old footage I have accumulated over the years but posting some actual clips of baby ligertwood on here.

- I am thinking that working to 38 weeks was not such a crash hot idea seeing as I literally am grunting myself all the way home which must be unpleasant for all those around me. Oh well. One more week to go now….

- Dave and I have sadly almost finished the first series of 6 Feet Under (a present from me to him) and whilst we think this means we will go about and get the 2nd series (as we've enjoyed this one so much) there is a thought that maybe we buy a totally different TV series. Any suggestions? (we probably would prefer a drama series over an out and out comedy series)

-the boiler appears to be working again (touch wood) after spending the better part of the last 3 weeks without hot water or heating, you can't imagine our joy at feeling both toasty and clean tonight.

-thank god tomorrow is Friday. FACT.

-Dave cooked dinner last night without my help AT ALL. This is a first. OK - I had to find the bowls for him as he had 'looked everywhere' for them without success (They were in the spot where they have been living for the past year), but I'm willing to overlook this.

- March plans to return to Oz have had a question mark placed after them. Turns out to get a Birth Certificate done up in this country you are looking at a 10 to 12 week wait. Add to this a one month period required to get a passport, March could be cutting it a bit fine. We will see. I'm definitely aiming for summer though.

-It is ab it disturbing how organised I am. I know I tend to be a slightly anal person with my lists and preperations, but I have even suprised myself this time. Think it probably has somethign to do with the fact that I'm trying to anticipate not having friends and family around afterwards to help out nad slightly worried about Dave's levels of input (especially as he has let his right-hand man take weeks holiday the week we are due and plans to continue working....)

- Dave lost my maternity book this week. He accidentally placed it out with the rubbish and now it is gone. This is so inappropriate that you can only laugh. In the UK, a maternity book basically holds ALL the information you accumulate over you pregnancy - from midwife notes, to scans, to blood tests etc. etc. DO they store this on record somewhere? NO. Have I been schlepping from hospital to midwife to hospital to medical centre for the past two days trying to get together something vaguely acceptable as a replacement? YES. And the worst part is that nobody can believe that we actually lost it. Teenage mothers on crack don’t loose their maternity books. Can I hear them thinking ‘unfit mother!’ as they stare at me incredulously. YES.

Anyway – Dave is demanding his dinner so I’m off.

(in a quick re-read I sense this entry is a bit negative, but on the contrary, I'm actually feeling really good, really positive, really happy with Dave... slightly scared, but that's natural. )

A Few Milestones

Well, they are not particualry note-worthy, but it's the small things which are keeping me going at this point, so I though it might be nice to share some of them with you.

- We are now in November. The month of my baby's birth. When people ask 'When are you due?' (which pretty much everyone, including strangers in the elevator, does these days) I can say 'At the end of the month'. This has a much more imminant ring than 'about 4 weeks' and makes me feel powerful in my precarity.

- Today we hit 36 weeks. Which is the home strait anyway you look at it.

-My buffy box arrived late last week. We should ALL be so lucky to get one. It was startlingly large, totally unexpected and quite moving to receive. Inside it was the softest soft monkey the world has ever known (which, I'm sorry Buff - like the Hippo, will have to be mine and not the baby's), a few favourite books from Buffy's childhood (thus startgin baby's introduction to Canadian culture as young as possible, a little jumpsuit, and booties which can only be described as 'canuk-style' (and regretfully, once again, not in my size). Also - and I very much like this one, whilst Dave stared at it dubiously ('I don't get it') was the 'Wheel of Responsibility' which is like a Twister Board Wheel, but instead of colours are evenly divided up into pictures of 'Mum nad Dad' (nappy change? Take it to hte wheel!!) An appropriate photo montage of these goodies amusingly arranged is currently in concept phase. Watch this space.

- Finally, I'm heading into my final 2 weeks of employment. Whilst it is slightly hardcore to be working to 38 weeks, I'm feeling really fine at the moment and my work is lovely enough that they are happy for me to do these final two weeks on a 'How Heather feels' Basis - taking off time here and there as I need it. I will be very sad to leave work, I like the people and the activity and feel slightly nervous about my impending isolation. Eek!! Final day is November 17

- After a day of 17 and a day of 19 earlier in hte week (!!! UNHEARD of!!!) London has snapped into winter, with the last two days being c-o-o-o-o-o-old! Serious face freeze sort of stuff. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, but any part of your body exposed to the elements is brittle and releasing heat in buckets of steam. (Note: I would take this over rain any old day, though). As irony would have it, our boiler died as the snap occurred, leaving us with no heating, and no hot water. Nightmare.

Must go, time for bed.

Below is the the activity gifter to baby by nana. Does not fit adults, but the Hippo loves it. Has more crinkly bits, mirrors, rattles and music than the worlds largest circus.