my-speck

i'm pregnant and it's going to be a rollercoaster

A beach escape… Moreton Island August 19, 2011

Filed under: family,Parenting — rakster @ 1:48 pm
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It was Ekka week this week in Brisvegas.

 

For those not in the know, Ekka is slang for the “Exhibition”, which is the Royal Queensland Show, where they judge entries in a whole heap of categories ranging from cake decorating to showjumping to wool…..  And there are sideshow rides, and showbags and….  A bunch of stuff that a 2 year old doesn’t need yet.  The petting zoo came to visit his daycare recently, so I’m thinking that avoiding the dreaded “ekka flu” by staying away is well in order for at least a few more years to come 🙂

 

And the sole public holiday in the latter half of the year is mid-week for Ekka.   So we extended it and took a few days out with some friends to venture to Moreton Island: an island right off Brisbane in the bay, but a bit more effort to get to: a 4WD adventure to get there, a bit remote (no shops at all where we were).  We stayed in the lovely house of some friends with a group of 12: 6 adults, 6 kids (7 weeks, 7 weeks, 9 weeks, 2.1 years, 2.1 years, 3 years) – so busy!  But yet: beautiful and relaxing despite the demands of a tribe of small ones.

Yay for holidays.

 

we all love the beach!

Yay for the beach.

 

all this, all just for us…

Much more relaxed mum.

beach and a baby. loving it!

🙂

love mum

P.S. Yes, the water was a bit nippy. But only a bit. I swam and stayed in quite comfortably when we were on the surf-side beach and I could get in deep enough quickly enough. It was the wind on the beach that was the killer. So lovely to swim though! Blisssssssssss

 

Howdy from Big White, Canada January 5, 2011

Filed under: activities for kids,family,Parenting,playing,Raising a Child — rakster @ 7:48 am
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Hello!

So this is our third day up at Big White ski resort here in Canada.  And you still seem to love the snow.  Mostly eating it!

eating the snow. At least this shot you’re not eating it off the soles of your boots. Which you keep doing when we get on the bus as you can reach your feet. I offer you milk/water as an alternative, but you’re just not interested…

And riding the “gonda”.  I.e. the gondala.  There is in fact somewhat of an obsession with the gondola. (more…)

 

Beach Trip June 6, 2010

Filed under: Parenting — rakster @ 8:54 pm
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Hello,

It’s confirmed. You love the beach. I love the beach. Your dad loves the beach. We all love the beach.

Thank you little Poogie for an absolutely amazing, wonderful weekend at the beach.

I’m tired, happy and ready for another week. You rollicked your way through the weekend while we camped, crawling about in the dark and exploring while we set up the tent when we arrived, shivering but squealing with glee in the warm water / cold wind, enjoying long walks on the beach in your baby backpack… Eating sand-dunked croissants with your dad for breakfast. Building a sand castle.

Your first trip to Stradbroke Island.

Photos to come.

love you
mum

 

bye bye beach, hello winter… You must enjoy being home – a kicking squirming you has kept me awake again! June 9, 2009

Filed under: birthing,development stages,pregnancy — rakster @ 12:36 pm
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Hello Speck,

We saw whales frollicking in the ocean yesterday, and had a great big lie on the beach, I think my stomach got a bit of sun so the outside of your home has a pinker tinge than before. But, we unfortunately had to end our holiday and come home 🙁 …. I miss the view already…

view from our room - whales and surf

So, we trekked on back from the coast yesterday and I’m back at my computer, tap, tap, tapping this morning. You are also awake and active. In fact, you’ve been awake and active for hours. Since about 3:30 am. I think you got annoyed with me lying on you so woke up and prodded me about until I moved, and you haven’t let up since.

Your Grandad is pretty sick, so we’ve been over to see him this morning and he says hello. You obligingly kicked away while we saw him to let us know you’re excited to meet him too. Otherwise its all a bit uneventful. Despite having written a list of things to pack in the hospital bag, I haven’t done that yet. So I have to get to that today or tomorrow. And then we’ll be ready to head off whenever. I’m starting to feel a bit nervous about you arriving again. I wasn’t nervous for the past few weeks, I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. But now that its imminent, I’m starting to worry a little. Come on pregnancy hormones, where are you? Don’t desert me now!

I can see why people get sick of waiting and just want their babies OUT towards the end…

love you
keep on growing a bit more (but not too much – you have to fit through my pelvis).
mum

 

excited. you are now officially full term and can come on down anytime. Week 37 hoorah. June 4, 2009

Filed under: baby's feelings,birthing,cooking,eating,pregnancy,vegetarian — rakster @ 6:47 pm
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Hello little one,

how are you tonight?  I’m exhausted.  I gave up on working for a bit today and took some time out to go grocery shopping with your dad.  We now have hospital snacks for the birth bag.  And some food for this weekend!

YAY – we are going to the beach again.  S arrives tonight from Sydney – you and I are going to the airport to get her – and then after our visit to the obstetrician tomorrow we will head off down the coast.   The others will come a bit later in the day after work.   AHHH.  4 days of nothing.  and friends in a house on the beach.  and food.   I’m going to cook Galaktoboureko.   Yummo.

And we are going to swim.  It might be a bit cold.  But whatever.   I’m hotter than normal still..

So.  You’re obviously moving downwards as those sharp twinges that the pregnancy books warned me about are happening in much more earnest than before.  I believe its your head banging against my cervix.  A bit like shooting pains up from my groin.   But I’m thinking its a good pain as it means you’re moving closer to engaging.  So its all good.  Keep it up.  And you’re still totally crazily active at the moment.  Its like vesuvius down there in the lump that is my stomach.   So you’re doing something.  I have heard that generally babies go quiet for a day or two before coming out, so I reassured S today on the phone that you weren’t going to arrive early while we were at the coast.  She was a bit worried you might just pop on out.  And that everyone at the house would then want to accompany me to the hospital.  I said that they’d all just stay in Byron & then come and visit after you arrived, and that she would be lucky as she’d be one of the first to meet you.   Which got her excited.  But then she exclaimed, “But we couldn’t have the Bombe Alaska.  I mean, we could bring it to the hospital but I don’t think they’d let us light it!”

Mmm..Bombe Alaska.  See, you can look forward to a life with us of eating well.   I am looking forward to S’s Bombe Alaska and the beach…

yum yum

love mum

 

Camping! Hurrah!!! May 9, 2009

Filed under: camping,pregnancy — rakster @ 9:56 am
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Good morning big Speck!

We left yesterday and are now here, sitting in the front awning of our tent, looking out over the trees with a hint of blue sea beyond. The bush turkeys are pecking around, hoping for some of the custard apple I am having for breakfast. It’s threatening to shower again – it rained most of last night, thankfully starting in earnest only after we’d managed to get the tent up and had just sat down with a bowl of dinner.

It is a bit of a sodden mess around the tent but the beach is beckoning and I’m going to go for a walk after I’ve lazed about some more. and guess what? That means that you’re going for a walk on the beach too!

 

Reflux: the latest ailment February 21, 2009

Filed under: eating,healthcare,pregnancy — rakster @ 2:21 pm
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Hiya Speck,

Hope you’re doing well. Your Dad and I are well, feeling thoroughly relaxed. I’m not ready to go back to work on Monday though :(.

We’re sitting in Queenstown airport waiting for our plane to Christchurch to come. We had a great time last night at the wedding and also had a relaxed day with J & J wandering through Queenstown and around the lake today. It’s always a bit sad how quickly the end of a holiday comes around.

So, what is new with you? Well, not much really! I trust you’re still growing away down there, getting bigger and bigger. I know you are as my latest ailment is gastric reflux, otherwise known as indigestion. Which means that you’ve now decided to encroach on the area of my internal body cavity housing an organ dear to my heart (yep, hanging out with your dad for days, I’ve caught the bad joke virus): my stomach. Damn damn damn, less food, more frequent eating and little antacid tablets will be the order of the day from now on.

Night times and attempting to sleep is when it is at it’s worst, waking me up and forcing me to eat a tablet or two to assuage the rising bile. Erk!

But otherwise all quiet on the Speck front.

Love you
Mum

 

 

Gee, we've made it past half way. Its getting a little scarily close. February 13, 2009

Filed under: baby stuff,birthing,development stages,pregnancy — rakster @ 11:52 am
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Good morning Speckle!

Its Friday. And your dad, I and you are off to New Zealand tonight for a holiday. Brief sojourn before we head back to Brisvegas and our old house before you come along. I’m looking forward to it. I think you’ve got the excitement down there as you have been turning somersaults this morning. Or maybe you’d be doing that anyways? Who knows? you can’t talk yet. I guess it will be a while.

This week I’ve been a mixture of strangely calm inside and panicked in my mind about you coming VERY SOON, while at the same time being a bit, lah di dah, it will all work out. And feeling grumpy and generally very tired again. But still strangely calm. Hormones. They do strange things to you. Guess what? Its PAST HALF WAY. I was kinda ignoring it but coming down in the lift at work the other day I just had a bling, tah-dah moment, when I suddenly realised that it really was only just over 4 months and you’d be joining us. And we will be changing nappies, and trying to breastfeed you and cope with little sleep and you’d be cute and I guess I’d love you ’cause you were mine and “OH MY GOD”. Then I got distracted alternately by how famished I was and how much the person in front of me annoyed me and I promptly felt fine and forgot the panic.

I had to buy some maternity clothes last week, as the only clothes that were fitting were skirts which I just left undid and wore longer tops with. And new bras as each of my boobs are now as big as rockmelons and just as heavy and the bras I bought at 2 months pregnant just don’t fit anymore. Unfortunately that is not an exaggeration. Expensive but necessary. In the clothes department also I decided it was getting a little too much, and went and bought some new maternity pants and skirts. Coupled with the tent-like shirts that are in fashion at the moment I think I’ll be fine until you come now. You’re supposedly around 19 cm long this week and you’re just going to get bigger. As am I. By the way, the investment was worth it. I never thought I’d look forward to putting on ribbed material around my waist, but fashion statement or not, it is SOO much more comfortable than anything else and I never get out of it now. Good. So next week I’ll be alternately cycling round central Otago wearing slightly too small bike pants (didn’t upgrade those to maternity) and lounging in my oh-so-comfortable stretch-waist maternity jeans. Look out central Otago, you won’t know what has hit you!

Otherwise I’m starting to think we should be thinking about buying some stuff for you. We’ve got a cot, and we have a change table, but that’s about it. No, we have a bottle which someone left at our house once when their baby was little. So: one stolen bottle, one cot, one change table. What else do we need for you? We are going to get a pram this week in New Zealand, as the Mountain Buggy one we want is made there and is quite a bit cheaper. I guess we’ll need some clothes and nappies and the like too. I think it would be great to have a nappy service for a while – that might be kinda helpful. It would be good to have that taken care of for a while. My book suggested I could ask people just contribute to that rather than buying me flowers. I’ll get your dad to investigate.

How many clothes do you need? A friend from work sent me a link to a baby site that she recommended for basic jumpsuits and the like but I’m a bit confused as to what I should buy. Maybe I should buy a few so you have something to wear and then we can work it out after that? I don’t know. It will be winter, so you won’t be able to go nude. Actually, I forgot, your dad and I bought a baby change bag and a few blankets for babies in the January sales. So maybe we can just swaddle you in blankets and push you around for the winter. With some spare blankets and a camera in the baby change bag. Then you can go nude in summer. Really, it scares me how little idea either of us have. Consoling is the fact that everyone who has a baby seems to cope somehow. So I’m sure we’ll work it out and make some mistakes and whatnot but somehow muddle through. I am reminded of the time I was sent home from school in Grade one, six years of age, with a note for my father: “Please make sure <Mum> wears underpants under her school dress/skirt; cross-legged reading sessions require this”. Or words to that effect. Yep, I missed some undies some days. Nonetheless I think I worked out ok, I only occassionally forget them now.

Hope you’re well down there and enjoying the good food I’ve been eating. You must be growing as I am once again ridiculously hungry.
love and kisses
mum

p.s. your dad is now researching thingy bits that attach to the toilet so we can clean your nappies. Little Squirt. We thought they looked a bit expensive and then read the bit about them being toddler-tamper proof and decided that it might be worth it rather than a do-it-yourself option. He he.

 

Your first toy February 13, 2009

Filed under: pregnancy — rakster @ 10:16 am
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Hello little speck!

Well, we made it to nz. You kicked like crazy the whole way over on the plane. I wonder if the pressure felt different to you? It was a little strange that you were so active, though I also ate a bit of chocolate, so it could have been the sugar and caffeine in that…

Anyway, your dad and I have had a lovely time wandering about Christchurch today. We bought you some things: a Mountain Buggy pram is the biggest one. It’s in a big box and despite knowing what it looks like I’m keen to pull it out and look… But I’ll restrain myself. Got a blue one with a tangerine wool liner as that was all they had left. I figured you’d just like the bright colour of the liner and not be too concerned about how colour co-ordinated you were.

That was pretty exciting. And then at the markets I found you a very cool first toy… It’s original and just for you! I hope you like it!

Love you

Mum

 

Farts: I am feeling a bit bloated after beer battered fish & mash (couldn’t face chips) even though I pulled off most of the batter December 5, 2008

Filed under: eating,exhaustion,pregnancy,vegetarian — rakster @ 8:07 pm
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Good evening!

I was planning on studying tonight but after an early dinner at the pub with your Canadian Grandparents and dad I am tired (sound like a recurring theme?), so have bought my ‘puty to bed (you dad has finally stopped calling it ‘your baby’ now that you are around) and have decided to write to you instead. I have had a mashy day – feel like I didn’t accomplish anything at all at work, though I did go, and do remember doing some stuff. I also was supposed to get more blood tests (pincushion that I am) but forgot the forms so didn’t manage to get that done either – will have to go up to the collection place tomorrow morning instead. It was kinda hot, and basically I just felt distracted all day.  A bit like a few weeks ago when I could only concentrate for five minutes at a time.

Anyway. Your dad has a weekend of sightseeing, shopping for the upcoming driving coastal trip to Queensland, and general hanging out with Candian G&G planned; and I have a weekend of study ahead of me. You dad came and had a chat to you tonight, so you should know what is up.   I suspect you felt/heard the 8 rasberries he used to attempt to get through to you.   He promised you that as I was just going to stay at home and study, the most excitement you could look forward to tomorrow was hearing and experiencing the movement within me – ie. another day of awesome loud and large farting. I was a little offended at first, on my and your behalf, but on reflection his synopsis has some merit.

The pregnancy books all talk about constipation as being a side-effect of being pregnant, but I guess I just thought it wouldn’t really affect me.  Being pescetarian, and only really eating fish maybe once every two or three weeks, I generally have a large load of vegetables and all sorts of beans etc in my diet and have never had any problems with movement through my bowel.  Perhaps a little bit TMI for you, but essentially if anything, I am usually more on the flowing and free side of the poo equation.  But, you come along, and all that has changed.  I’m not suffering from the dreaded constipation, but by golly, there is none of the flowing and free going on anymore.  And talk about irregular.  I have read that my whole digestive system will have slowed down because of you – but seriously – i think if it were going any slower we could build bridges with what surely must be the vast quantity of partially digested food which must be in holding pattern down there in my intestines.  And farting.  My entire stomach almost looks like I am pregnant already because of all the gas in there – particular just up under my ribcage – I can push on it and it feels hard and swollen – like a big drum, or an inflated balloon.  And I just can’t stop but fart big, loud and long farts all day long.  I have to repeatedly leave meetings at work to slip to the bathroom and let them out.  I’ve given up at home and just let it all go, much to the disgust of your Canadian Grandma & the mirth of your father.  I am still insisting that they don’t smell at all, just that they are loud and frequent.  In fact, not only am I insistent on this, its a fact.  I can’t smell them, and I as the pregnoid in the house definitely have a heightened sense of smell, so I would know.  So there.  They don’t smell.

Perhaps another take on the whole farting affair is that it is a way for me to stimulate you to do some exercise down there: perhaps you have to wiggle around a bit to avoid the gaseous emissions coursing through the intestines nearby your little abode.  Or I guess I could just blame it all on you and say that it is my body having to feed you and dispose of all your waste that is making such a mess down there.  Whatever the case, your dad is right, the most excitement you can look forward tomorrow is a bunch of gas and noise.  Live it up baby!

Love you & thinking about you.

mum