February 2010
57 posts
8 tags
17 weeks
Not much change from last Sunday, and I am now a full 17 weeks. Looks pudgy, but if you poked that belly you’d feel that it is pretty much rock hard. Like a pro wrestler.
6 tags
Nursery progress
We spent last night building the dresser and the crib…with Southpaw’s help. She was right in the middle of everything, very worried about the building that was taking place. Poor fur baby.
We finished the crib, and started on the dresser. When we poured out the nuts and bolts, it became clear it was going to be incredibly complicated. Which it was. At one point, Andrew went to the...
January 2010
36 posts
6 tags
Ikea
Headed to north London today to go to Ikea and get a couple of basic items for the baby’s room. We got a crib, mattress, plain sheets, a dresser, a shelving unit, and a Poang rocking chair.
I was glad we went. We picked it out the crib online, so it was good to see it in person before actually buying. And only £69, a bargain!
Waiting in a massive line. We managed to spend about 30...
5 tags
Nursery: Phase One
The temporary life has been the one for me. For the past eight years or so, i have lived a life on the move. University dorms, shared houses with friends, tiny apartments, charming rentals, and international moves to foreign places. We brought a limited amount of stuff with us to London, and we accumulate only a sparse amount of treasures for the keeping—mainly we have the dog, some...
4 tags
4 tags
It's in the name
Maybe the first question people ask when they find out there’s a baby on the way is, “What are you going to name it?” Indeed, Andrew got a baby names book a few weeks ago for some fresh ideas, and in the intro to the book it declared, “Naming your baby is the most important decision you will make as a parent.” While that’s a tad wrong (I’m sure Adolph...
7 tags
Mmm...lunch
We whipped up a fantastic lunch today with our new George Foreman grill (a bargain at £17 on Amazon…it’s a must-have at that price). A toasted panini with mozzarella, purple onion, roasted red peppers and fake chicken. Plus fresh grapes, a handful of Kettle chips and a glass of cranberry juice. You could say I am hoping the baby forgives me for the McDonald’s apple pie I...
7 tags
16 weeks
Andrew reminded me that it was time for an obligatory Sunday picture of my gut/baby belly. It’s definitely sticking out a bit as I just completed my 16th week, and much more than it was a few weeks ago, but is distinctly lacking in the classically round baby bumpness you want when pregnant. Outsiders definitely would never guess I was, as the Brits say, “up the duff.”
At our...
Saturday
We woke up at noon and took a train into London. When we were thoroughly hungry, we wound up at our favorite burrito place (ok, the only burrito place in London, pretty much) for some serious chow. Then we hit up the stores for some browsing. Andrew almost bought some Star Wars boxers at H&M but decided against it, and then he held my stuff while I sorted through the sale racks in the...
5 tags
I am thinking of wearing this dress to work tomorrow (aforementioned H&M $10 maternity dress). I’d likely swap the Frye boots for some heels or flats when it came time for going out after work. But man, does it make me look super pregnant.
Andrew’s response when I asked his opinion? “Well…you are pregnant.”
True. It’s just becoming more and more obvious...
4 tags
Weekend plans
Tomorrow night, we have our annual company party in Notting Hill. Complete with open bar and possibly my husband working it in a tux. I’ll be indulging in cranberry juice all night, and sporting in a black maternity dress I got at H&M for $10 when we were in the US for Christmas. (Hasn’t been tried on yet…hope it neither is too big nor makes me look massively pregnant.)
On...
4 tags
Who will baby look like?
I really like looking at baby pictures, lately. Pictures of me as a baby, of Andrew, of our brothers. All because I’m full of curiosity about what our own baby will look like. Here’s me as a baby, rocking some pretty cute Osh Kosh overalls and looking pretty happy.
Or there’s Andrew, all blonde and also wearing overalls. It was clearly the style of the times.
I can’t...
5 tags
15 weeks!
Looks sort of like the beginning of a beer belly, as opposed to a baby bump still, but it’s definitely growing. Headed into my 16th week, and the baby is the size of a large navel orange, apparently. Only 25 weeks left in there, baby…keep on growing!
6 tags
Good suprises
Today we got a huge box at work that we weren’t expecting. Surprises are always fun, especially when the box is huge and mysterious. There could’ve been a baby snow leopard in there, for all we knew (not really…there were no air holes poked in the box).
We tore into it, and to our surprise, it was a Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix car seat, sent to us from Andrew’s parents.
It is...
7 tags
Handmade
That’s me as a baby, happily slumbering in my car seat. I’m wrapped cozily in a blanket that was handmade by my grandmother. We called her Grum as far back as I could remember, and she was a very special lady. She could make crafty things with her hands that that most people couldn’t dream of (when I was about twelve, she made me a purple lizard filled with uncooked rice, on my...
7 tags
Vegging out
I am really trying to get in ludicrous amounts of fruits and vegetables these days, as being vegetarian, these are my main source of chow. Luckily, I love all veggies and have always eaten a lot of them. (I’ve particularly been partial to microwaved frozen peas and olives of any variety, lately, but that’s another story). I whipped up this amazing sandwich for lunch...
6 tags
Happy Anniversary
Dear Baby L, Two years ago today, your father and I got married. It was in the mid 70s, the sky was prize-ribbon blue in Las Vegas, and we tied the knot and partied til practically dawn. It feels like a lifetime ago. I remember getting my makeup done, I remember relatives, slot machines, boot-shaped drinks, walking down the aisle, Mexican food, but mostly I remember your poppa. And my love has...
3 tags
Trouser cage
How cool would your life be if you could sit at work with your pants unzipped and unbuttoned? Yep, pretty awesome. Actually, I feel really stupid and like it’s really obvious that my baby belly is essentially being let out of its theoretical “trouser cage.” That said, I hit somewhat of a wall this morning. My freshly washed jeans were terribly uncomfortable when I slid them on....
7 tags
14 weeks!
Sunday belly picture. I’ve just fully finished my 14th week and am headed into week 15. Still, absolutely not looking pregnant to anyone but me and Andrew (and maybe he’s just humoring me). This is despite the meal I ate (which can only be described as something a polar beast would ingest before entering winter hibernation) before taking this picture.
It’s sort of awkward now...
Things I ate at dinner tonight: olives, hummus, tzatziki, a basket of warm pita bread, greek salad, marinated peppers, more olives, vegetarian moussaka, spanakopita, fried halloumi, roasted potatoes, continually more olives, and a huge sparkling water.
We went out at our favorite Greek place in town to celebrate our two-year wedding anniversary (which is actually on Tuesday). Before dinner, we...
3 tags
Reasons I know Andrew's going to be a great dad...
1) The way he acts with our dog, Southpaw. Last weekend at the park, I was dishing out a serious buffet of “bird bread” (we save our stale bread and cereal for feeding the ducks along the Thames when we walk the dog). I was feeding some massive swans. They were going nuts for it, and Southpaw was getting really excited by all the waterfowl ruckus. All of the sudden this bitch of a...
“Oh…thanks. That’s probably because I’m all sweaty from when I...”
– Me, in response to by boss telling me I had “a pregnancy glow”
“While a baby’s sobbing is the number one sound most likely to wake up a...”
– When Daddy goes deaf: How men really DON’T hear babies crying while asleep | Mail Online
Oh, awesome. Apparently a buzzing fly is more likely to wake a man than a crying baby. What if the baby is placed mere inches from the man’s ear, I wonder? We shall see…
Snow Day
Lately I have been having a bit of trouble sleeping. Have you ever been sick and on Nyquil, and experienced insanely real feverish dreams? That is what trying to sleep while pregnant has been like for me. My dreams are so vivid and involve babies coming out of me dressed like a clown or my belly expanding to the size of Montana or some other insane deeply seeded subconscious fear. Sometimes I am...
I have 3 minutes to tell you this.
dearbaby:
My water broke an hour and a half ago.
My contractions are getting pretty intense.
I can’t stop bursting into tears. not from pain - just from pure joy.
This is really happening, isn’t it?
Please pray for us. Send courage and strength and healthy healthy baby vibes.
She’s on her way and I can hardly wait.
Love,
M
Best of luck to this lady…I’m sending good thoughts...
A case of the Mondays
Some days, things just do not go right for you. Today was one of those days, and I blame the whooole friggin UK for it.
Not only was today the first day back to work after the holiday (fun in itself), but it was a real crap storm of a day.
As I was told to when I saw the midwife last time, I called their office today—two weeks in advance—to book my 16-week appointment. “You...
1 tag
The hospital hunt
In England, you have a lot of freedom to choose where you have your baby. Want to do it at home? In a pool? In a lake in Norther Scotland? Ok. There is even a handy website where women review where they gave birth and what it was like, no holds barred. Very helpful.
However, the closest hospital to us is a town over, in a real armpit of a place—Slough. To put this into perspective, I was...
2010
It is 20-freakin-10! Ten years ago, I was sophomore in high school and I rang in the year 2000 with my family on the Washington coast watching fireworks in the fog around a bon fire. I remember there being a big debate about whether or not we should go to the coast, as given the Y2K hysteria, my parents half expected the apocalypse or at the very least, a banking crash to rival 1929.
The world...
