More firsts....

Isn't he GORGEOUS!?!! This may sound cheesy - but being a mommy is the best thing in the whole world!!!! Kaio is such a joy and we can't get enough of him. Jason is also loving every second of it!!!! (unfortunately he has to work all day, but he makes sure to get some 'chest' time in the morning and 1/2hrs before Kaio goes to bed at night! He is looking forward to the weekend, as are we, to spend the whole day with his son!)
Yesterday was Kaio's first week birthday! (Oma promised him a cake, but all he got was mommy's milk!) He had a bunch of 'firsts':
Day 7:
*First trip outside with his beautiful pram - we went to the GP and a walk in the park with Vinny and Oma - he behaved really well - he slept the whole trip!
*First visit to the GP - she said he was doing great and his heart and lungs sounded perfect!
*First bath - he loved it. He just sat in the bath and stared around... he cried when we took him out!
*First pee on mommy - I was giving him a massage and at the end, while I was bend over to massage his face, I suddenly felt my shoulder getting wet and it took me a couple of seconds to realize what it was! (I better get used to it!)
*First poop while having the nappy changed - he had farted and pooped during a feed, so I went to change his diaper, and when he was all naked he pooped more and it projected all over the changing mattress! (I could swear he had a little smile on his face!)

Baby Kaio!!!!

Tomorrow Kaio will be 1 week!!! He is a strong and healthy little boy. Today we had a visit from the midwife to check on me and him. Besides the recommendation for me to eat more red meat (to improve my hemoglobin levels), everything is fine (blood pressure, sutures, etc). Kaio is also doing great. He looks less jaundice and is close to his birth weight (3.4kg). She said he looks great and is reacting great to the feeding. She took some blood to run some tests for several disease (sickle cell disorder, hyperthyroid, cystic fibrosis, etc).
Today his umbilical cord fell and tonight we will attempt his first bath.... I'll let you know how that goes (he sometimes loves being naked and sometimes he cries a lot when I am changing his nappy!)
Another couple of firsts:
Day 5:
*He smiled while awake today - Jason was holding and talking to him and then I got close and also talked to him and he smiled (like he was happy to have me and daddy close by!)
*He managed to eat, sleep and poop all at once!!!! (his farts/poops are loud and strong.... but I think it is absolutely adorable!)
Day 6:
*His umbilical cord fell off!
*He slept 5 hours straight. (during the night). He has been a bit difficult to put to sleep at night, but once he is asleep he is out for a while.

Kaio's first album...

Here are a couple of pictures from Kaio's first days:

http://www.jasonandannelies.co.uk/Kaio_First_Week/index.html

Isn't he absolutely ADORABLE!!?!!

4th day!

Today is Kaio's 4th day!!!
He has been a joy! Speaking of joy: we looked up the meaning of Caio, which is the Brazilian version of his name, and it means joy, happy and content.
He is an alert little guy that does everything a normal baby does - sleep, eat, cry, fill nappy's and have some play time! He is very cute and makes all kind of faces while sleeping and crying.
He is absolutely beautiful (not that I am biased)! He has very dark hair and lots of it. He has very symmetric eyes (they currently are dark blue/greenish), cute little ears with a bit of baby hair on them and he has a beautiful little and perfect nose! He has strong little arms (he seems to have strong and puffy shoulders!) anyways, I could go on and on about this perfect little man!
The first two days of his life, he pretty much slept, ate and cried. On his third day, when we went home, he had a couple of other firsts:
- Day 3:
*First smile (while sleeping)
*First hick ups, followed by a "scruncthy" face which resulted in:
*First stinky poop (he had passed mecomium before this)
*Active alert time - he sat on our laps (with the support of our legs) and just looked around, listened to our voices and moved his arms and legs around!
*Terrible gas and strong loud farts!
- Day 4:
*First 1 hr alone with daddy, while mommy and oma went shopping
*First massage given by mommy - this relaxed him and made him stretch out his legs and arms and the tummy massage resulted in:
*First poop explosion (it leaked from his diaper into his cloths!)
The nights are still a work in progress! He has a irregular timing and seems to be sleeping more during the day (today we had to wake him after 3 hrs, and it was difficult to keep him awake) It seems that last night he had a lot of gas and it kept oma awake, but she took advantage of it and took him in bed with her and cuddled! (it's very tempting not to take him with you into bed every day!)
Jason has been holding him skin-to-skin after his morning feed. He puts Kaio, naked, on his chest (chest to tummy) and they have some baby-daddy time. Both seem to enjoy it!
Breastfeeding is going well. My milk 'came in' (after 2 - 3 days of colostrum) and it is definitely filling Kaio's needs.

Labor story....

We have been home for 30 hrs already and Kaio is 3 1/2 days old! It has been such a wonderful and amazing couple of days. First I wanted to start with sharing our 'birth story':
After my water broke on Tuesday morning, I had a 2nd check up at the hospital (the first one was at 5:30am - at which the send us home. And the second one at 6pm) I had started getting mild and irregular contractions and they monitored the baby's heartbeat, since everything was normal and the contractions were still irregular they send us home again. When we got home the contractions started picking up and becoming more regular. We waited at home, I took a nice long bath (Jason and mom took a nap) and at around 11pm my contraction were at every 3 - 5 min lasting 45 - 60sec. I was ready to go to the hospital! Getting there at midnight, they checked my contractions and the baby heartbeat and decided to 'allow' us to stay (I wouldn't have gone home if they had told us to do so, since at this point, the contractions started to hurt!) They send us to a room with another woman in labor and I started using the different positions to help ease the pain. I used gas&air - which made me feel funny and I started to talk between my contractions again (I guess I was able to entertain Jason and mom since it makes you act a bit 'drunk'!) We then went to a big nice birthing pool where we stayed for another hour. I could not handle it anymore, the contractions were every 2 - 3 min and very painful. I begged for an epidural! Unfortunately I only was dilated 3 cm and the midwife wanted me to wait longer... I couldn't, I was not coping well with the pain. (even with all the great help from Jason and my mom! It was hard for them to see me in pain as well!) We were send to a delivery room and the anesthetist was called. It seemed to take forever for him to arrive and when he finally did and administered the epidural I was in heaven!!! (around 4am) I can not imagine delivering a baby without it! We were all able to take a nap in the room. At 7:30 the midwife checked how much I was dilated (since I had previously only dilated 2 cm in 4 hrs, I was afraid we still had some waiting to do) but to everyone's surprise, Kaio's head was coming through the cervix! At 8am the midwifes changed shift and two young midwifes were going to help from now. We got all "prepped" to start 'pushing'. I was not feeling anything so they monitored my contractions and explained how they would tell me when to push and how to do this. Right before we started they said they would have to call a Dr. to use a ventous or forceps after 1 1/2 hrs of unsuccessful pushing. I definitely did not want that, so after 3 pushes I was able to touch the tip of his head and after another couple he was out!!! They immediately put him on my chest. I can't describe how that felt!!! Kaio started crying immediately (he scored 9/10 on the Apgar test) and I was just overwhelmed with emotions and happiness. Jason saw the birth and was also speechless, he was able to cut Kaio's umbilical cord! Mom was happy to finally find out the gender of the baby and his name! Kaio latched on the breast immediately and was feeding 10 min after birth!!! After 30 min they took Kaio to have him weighed and measured up, it was then that I realized that the midwifes were panicking a bit and several Dr.'s had come in and out of the room and they all looked a bit worried. I looked down are there was a lot of blood (I thought at first it was the placenta, but I had not 'delivered' it yet) A Dr. came in and said I had no external tears but there were tears internally and she was going to stitch them. After 45min of stitching they were finished. I was starting to feel very light headed and tired... I was very pale and weak. I lost 2lts of blood! They send of my blood to check on the hemoglobin levels to see if I needed a transfusion. Luckily I was on the borderline and I was able to opt for not having a transfusion!
We spend that day in the delivery room under observation... It was great having Jason and my mom there and enjoying Kaio's first hours! He is absolutely perfect and beautiful. He is very well behaved and has a good set of lungs!!!! (which he knows how to use well!)
A correction - Kaio's birth weight was 3.49kg (not 3.44kg).

It's a ... It's a ...

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

Kaio Bernard Hall (first name rhymes with "eye oh") was born yesterday, September 26, 2007, at 9:07 AM GMT. He weighs 3.44 KG (just over 7 pounds) and is 56 cm long (just over 22 inches)! I think he has Annelies' nose and my mouth :)

He is such a cutie and we're unbelievably thrilled with the new addition to our family! He has very strong lungs and a very pleasant disposition (especially after a feeding).

Kaio and Annelies are still recovering in the hospital, but we're hoping to take them both home tonight. Annelies was absolutely amazing during labour and birth. I am so proud of her and know she is going to make a wonderful mother to our new baby boy!

Certainly lots of pictures to come in the future, but here's a teaser of what's to come...

Water broke!!!!!

Last night, Sept. 24th, after we had a nice dinner (my mom made a Belgian dish), I went to bed hoping the baby would arrive soon! (I also mentioned it several times throughout the day!) Deep in side I was thinking that our baby would arrive on the 3rd or 4th of October, after they induce me. During the night I kept waking up to go to the toilet. Normally I go 4 -5 times a night and last night I was on my 7th trip and I said to my self not to drink that much before I go to bed... at 4:45am I woke up with a gush of water... I ran to the bathroom, thinking my bladder completely 'lost it'... I decided to wake Jason since I thought that maybe my water had broken! He looked at the water on the bed sheets and I told him to smell it (since amniotic fluid should have a sweet smell or definitely not smell like urine) and indeed, it was amniotic fluid! I was not feeling any contractions, pain or discomfort! We called the hospital and they said - "come to the hospital". At 5:30, Jason, my mom and I grabbed all the bags and went to the hospital. When we got there they said - "oh, I think I forgot to mention you were not yet supposed to bring everything since you will probably have to go home!" To my astonishment, the only midwife I did not like throughout all my pregnancy check ups was there and assigned to me!!!! Seriously, this was not starting well.... but luckily, she was fine, monitored the baby for 1/2hr and said to go home!
I have to call them this afternoon to come in again and check on the baby and this would have to be done every 12 hrs until labor actually kicks in (contractions start) if that does not happen naturally, they will induce me in 48hrs! I feel fine, a bit of lower back pain and cramping, but feeling ready and prepared for what is coming!
We are super excited.... the baby can be born any minute/hour now.... and, no longer then 48 hrs from now, we will have our little one in our arms!!!!!

Mom in town... with many ideas and suggestions!

My mom arrived yesterday evening (Sept. 23rd)! (she had fun in her first english cab ride from Waterloo station to our home!) She brought us several more gifts.
By the time I went to bed yesterday evening my contractions and cramps were pretty much gone! I went to bed hoping labor would pick up again during the night, but instead i had a very peaceful and tranquil 9 hr sleep!
Today, monday, Sept. 24th we went to a midwife appt. everything seemed fine (baby's position, movement, heartbeat, etc) While at the labor ward we heard a woman in labor... pretty scary and loud screaming! But I am ready to go through that... I just want to meet my baby! (NOW!)
I have been getting very sweet emails and text messages from our friends and family asking about the arrival of our little one.. but unfortunately, I have no news...
My mom has been giving us several suggestions, such as having a playpen in the living room, having a table in the bathroom to put the bath on, the need of different washing cloths, etc... well, I have challenged her on the ROI of all the items!!!
Here is a picture of us measuring the crib followed by pictures of the paintings I made this weekend:

Start of labor?

On Saturday, September 22nd around 11pm I started feeling some painful cramps on my mid to lower left side, they were constant. I was able to fall asleep but was woken again around 2am with pain, this went on and off until 7am this morning (sleeping 2 -3 hrs, waking up with cramps). I also started having some contractions (which are not regular, so probably are the Braxton Hicks once) Throughout the day I have been feeling intense lower back pain and 'period like' cramps. We called the midwifes at 2:30am to give us advice and she said it was probably the start of labor, however it could still take several hours/days before the actual labor kicks in! We are excited (and tired) and it's a sign that our baby will soon be among us! I can't wait to post the announcement of our little boy/girl! (I just wish it would go a bit faster!)
My mom is arriving today at 7:30pm and I am looking forward to having her with me, specially if it will still take a couple of days and Jason is at work!

Past due date!

Friday, September 21st came and went and nothing happened! (as I suspected!) I met up with Jason for lunch and had some spicy chicken wings (spicy food is supposed to 'help' start labor) and for dinner I made some spicy curry (and had some wine)... well, it did not start labor but it sure did clear our sinuses!
When we started decorating the nursery, I have been willing to paint or make something that would remind me of this special moment... well, I got inspired by one of the girls of the antenatal classes and decided to buy some acrylic paint, brushes and canvasses. I picked some 'cartoon' looking frogs and made two paintings and a third canvas will have our baby's name and his/her foot and hand prints. It has been very relaxing and fun doing them. I am not a very artistic person, but they look cute!

Almost - Due date!

Tomorrow is my official 'due date'. However, there is not much activity or indication that the baby will be punctual! I guess it's a good way to test my patience!
Today I met up with some of the girls that I were at our ante natal classes. From the 12 women, 3 have had babies (all girls!) and only one is overdue! I am the next one on the list (in due date order).... let's hope I also will be the next one to have the baby. One of the girls brought her baby girl to the afternoon tea. Georgina is adorable... she slept the whole time! We all held her and she just slept right through it! Another girl who had her baby earlier this week, recommended eating spicy curry and champagne.. so tomorrow we are having spicy Indian food over a glass (or two) of champagne!
Overall, all 3 'new moms' said they had an amazing experience at the hospital with the midwifes and attention given, that makes me feel good and even more relieved!
Today I did some more walking... I must have walked around 4 miles and I feel great! Vinny is loving all the long walks to the park!

Nice package from Grandma and grandpa Hall

Yesterday we received a box full of 'goodies' for the baby from grandma Anita and grandpa Steve! With all the cute frog stuff they send, the 'frog shelf' is now full! Anita also knitted a nice blanket (It is pink and blue and very nice!) THANK YOU!!!!

Busy!

My second day of maternity leave is running to it's end! I have kept myself very busy!
Day 1 - Yesterday I met up with Melissa and we did a bunch of touristy things. Melissa felt the baby kick and kept talking to my belly the whole day! She is so cute! In the evening I took care of Jason (who has a cold)

Day 2 - I woke up at 3 am and could not sleep (my back was hurting, probably due to all the walking I did yesterday) I went downstairs (did not want to wake up Jason) and read a book. Jason came looking for me at 6 (I was asleep on the couch over my book and with Vinny on my feet). I had another GP appointment today. It went well. The baby's heart beat and position was good, my urine and blood pressure was also within the norms! She said there isn't much else to do then wait! I took Vinny to the park and had lunch in the sun (the weather has been beautiful). In the afternoon I did some gardening in the front yard (it still looks like a jungle, but a bit more in control and now I can at least pass the pram through the gate and front door!) I caught up with some emails and worked on the 'announcement' list! I finished the day with cleaning up a bit, organizing the baby's room and cooking a nice meal for dinner! (Beef Bourguigonne!)

Hopefully I will keep myself entertained (busy) like this until the baby arrives!

E-mail from grandma Anita:

Had Chinese for dinner last night and fortune cookie insert said
"GOOD NEWS OF LONG-AWAITED EVENT WILL ARRIVE SOON."
We're ready and I know you guys are ready... a bag packed, phone number for taxi- cuz I'm sure you are not going to take the bus or train!!! The room is ready and soooo pretty, the cupboards are cleaned, the crib is ready.
Soooooooooo, What 'ja waiting for, eh????
Have you had that talk yet with Vinny?

We are indeed ready as well! We have 'talked' to Vinny and he is ready for his sister/brother to arrive! We are just waiting for the little one to decide to come and enjoy the outside world with us!

Yet another friend in town...

One of my best friends from Brazil is in town for 4 days. Yesterday we met up with Melissa, her mother and sister for dinner. It was so nice to see her and hopefully I get to spend some more time with her tomorrow! She brought a cute pair of Brazilian colored baby Havaianas (popular sandals from Brazil)! Melissa has been very curious to know the gender of our baby. Since may, when I had my shower in Brazil, she has tried to trick me in telling her! And yesterday Jason got a fair bit of pressure as well! However, she is certain it is a girl and talks to 'Sofia Josephine' in my belly!
Her sister, Melina, is in her last year of medical school. When I told her about the amount of woman in Britain that opt for the 'natural' birth she was very surprised! (specially because I told her that the woman want the natural birth and it is not due to a lack of epidurals of 'drugs' available to them!) She worked for several months in a brazilian birthing unit in a poor neighborhood where there were no anesthesiologists (i.e. no epidurals or other forms of pain killers) and she highly recommended for me not to go down the route of 'natural' birth and go for the epidural... well, yet again, she did not need to convince me!!!!
My mother arrived in Belgium today. She is planning to stay there for a week before coming to stay with us! (I have convinced her that our baby will be late so there is not reason for her to come earlier... also, because they finished building a house in Belgium and she needs to furnish it!)
I am feeling great. I have been sleeping well and being able to walk and 'function normally' without getting tired. My belly has definitely dropped a bit. Last night I had some Braxton Hicks contractions (fake or practice contractions) last night and I thought - 'this is it'.. but then I fell asleep and the next thing I know, I woke up in the morning and no baby yet!

Last day of work!

Today was my last day of work. It feels great but also a bit bizarre. It is going to be strange not going to work on monday. Several people came to my desk to wish me luck and make me feel good also. They were all very surprised in how great I looked in being only 1 week from my due date (as if they were expecting I should be falling apart of something...)
My coworkers got me a beautiful card, several cute outfits for the baby, a cute lion teddy bear and a gift certificate to Mothercare!
I will miss my coworkers! We have a great time and I enjoy our work environment! Well, at least I will be back in 6 months!

More friends in town

This week we had two good friends in town. Tom, whom I met in LA, 6 years ago when I had just moved there and Steven, a friend I have known since I was 13 and lived in Belgium. Tom was on his way to Italy for a well deserved holiday and to celebrate his 46th birthday. I took the day off and hanged out with him. He was very sweet and even said he had never seen such a petite pregnant woman! (he lived in LA, so he surely has....). Tom gave us a beautiful blanket for our little one! In the evening the 4 of us went to dinner. We had Indian.. (yes, curries!!!) I had the second spiciest dish on the menu... so far, I can confirm that, so far, the spicy curry myth (that it will help start labor) is truly a myth! (as is the pineapple myth!) It was great to hang out with our friends and have one of our last 'pre-baby' meals with them!

How am I actually feeling? What am I feeling?

When people see me, they know I don't have much longer time before my due date and they always ask me:
"how are you feeling?" (with a painful face, expecting I am feeling that way).
I reply:
"I am feeling great" (they look very surprised...)
Then they ask:
"what are you feeling? Are you nervous?" (another painful face tweak)
I respond:
"I am excited, I can't wait to meet our little one..." (they -another surprised face!)

Well, I am indeed super excited and I am really looking forward to being a mother and to building a family with Jason! I know it will not be easy, but I am sure it is so worth it! I have always wanted to be a mom -since I was little and saw my younger brother and sister as babies. Jason and I waited a couple of years and actually hinted to some people we might not ever be parents... I think we were just a bit afraid of a big change in our lives! (which it will be) But I am 100% sure that we are ready for this and that it will be great!
I think at the moment, my biggest fear is the health of our baby! (they don't do that many test here in the UK) I want him/her to be born healthy and thrive in life! I have no doubt we will do everything we can to make his/her life wonderful as I have no doubt we will do our best in being parents! And I know there will be moments that we make mistakes (we are humans) but I know that we will be a happy family!
Well, this is my last week of work. I am curious to see how easily I will 'switch off'. After the baby arrives, I know I'll have my hands full.. but until I go into labor....

Late summer cleaning!

This weekend we did some relaxing and even slept in until 8:30 on sunday! We also cleaned the entire house... a good late summer cleaning. It feels good to get everything ready for the baby. It's not that we lived in a 'pig hole', but we cleaned the cupboards, organized the conservatory (where we store our books, camping gears and other items) as well as waxing some of the wooden furniture... Some may call it the 'nesting' period (right before the baby arrives...), however I just wanted to do it this weekend, since next weekend we have some friends in town and the weekend after that our baby might be taking the majority of our time!
We also went to a friend's house warming party on Saturday evening. There was a guy, who's girlfriend is 7 months pregnant, and he seemed a bit petrified... Jason was great in giving him advice and I also told him about how I think about pregnancy, birth and children (=there is only that much that is under our control... for the rest we just have to wait and see! Of course, you want to be as prepared and informed as possible, but there are certain things we just can't control and we should not stress about it!)
Today, Sunday, we went to the park. Jason enjoyed roller blading and I strolled around with Vinny. It will not be long before I can take our baby around in his/her pram. And in no time Jason will be teaching him/her to bike, roller blade, etc... I can take advantage of that and also learn with them!
Jason satisfied another craving this weekend. He made some 'Texas style nachos' (that is what we had for dinner!) It's a double layered nacho dish with chips, salsa, ground beef, cheese and finished up with guacamole. I love that fact he worked at a Mexican restaurant when he was younger... he knows how to make good Mexican dishes!
I am feeling great (my tooth is still not 100% but the antibiotics are helping) and the baby has been kicking like usual!

Pain

Well, I am in pain! And no, nothing to do with my pregnancy... but my teeth! I went to the dentist on tuesday and he saw a cavity on one of my molars. He said that due to my 'condition' he could not do a certain filling, but he recommended to dig out the cavity and put in a mild filling. When I had the baby I needed to go back to put in a better filling or even a root canal! I agreed to it.. since the thought of having those nasty little 'cavity germs' digging away in my tooth for another couple of weeks just did not seem an option. So the dentist removed almost half of my tooth and put in a filling. It felt fine... until last night! I woke up several times during the night in severe pain! Throughout the day I had more pain and called the dentist back... well he is was not in today and tomorrow he could only see me at 11am, when I have a meeting with 'the board' of my company to present the 2008 brand plan (= very important, unmissable meeting!). As a result I may need to go to the emergency room tomorrow afternoon to get this sorted, since the last thing I need at 8 1/2 months is not being able to sleep due to tooth pain!

Last midwife appointment?

Yesterday I had another midwife appointment. It may be the last one. (fingers crossed) In two weeks I need to go to the GP (week 40) and the week after.. if the baby hasn't decided to enjoy us for the lovely summer here in England, I have an appointment with the midwife on the 1st of October to discuss an 'induction' plan. They only induce you if you're 2 weeks late. In my case that would be the 4th of October. I am really hoping that we don't need to go down that route (once induced, I have read that the chance of 'interventions' such as emergency c-section, forceps, etc is much higher). In a week I'll start eating spicy curry's (the latest on - "how to induce labor!!!" Unfortunately - peanut's M&M's and ice cream won't do it!)
The midwife said that everything was fine. He/she is still head down, my blood and urine levels and my blood pressure are all within the norms. My belly has grown 4cm! (still a bit small, but now that they have checked with the ultrasound that the baby is of good size, I am just one of those people with the my organs all in my chest - the baby is of good size, but my belly is smaller then average!)
Yesterday I had my leaving dinner with my team at work. They had decorated our table with blue and pink balloons... it was really cute! It was nice that Jason finally got to meet several of my coworkers! Besides my boss, who is in her 40's, nobody has children, so it was interesting to see their faces when I was telling them some stories about my pregnancy, labor and first weeks of care of the baby... I don't think anyone will be having children soon after last night!!!!

Counting the days...

18 more days... until my due date.. however, not sure I have a slight feeling the baby will be like his/her daddy regarding punctuality.. and be late! My belly looks a bit lower then before, but I still sigh a lot (lack of pulmonary space) and the nesting instinct has not kicked in yet!
Well, I know that all the 'tools' to help me start labor have been 'used'. Not that I have done that intentionally... but yesterday, when we were at the Singapore street festival (we decided to enjoy one of our last weekends pre-baby), a lady that was selling juices said I should not have the watermelon one, since that may trigger labor! Well, the two fruits that supposedly can help start labor are the once I have been craving.... pineapple and watermelon! Now, I have not heard anything about Peanut M&M's.... but you never know.
Tomorrow I have a midwife appointment and hopefully she can tell me more... Tomorrow I am also going to take advantage of another benefit of being pregnant in the UK - Free dental service! Yes, dental health and medications are free for all pregnant women and 1 year after birth (not that we will have much time for it!)! Of course, there are limitations of the treatments I can receive, but at least I can get a check up and do some cleaning!

3 weeks.... 21 days....

Today it's exactly 3 weeks before out due date!!!! It's just unbelievable how these 9 months have flown by. But from our trip to Brazil until now so much has changed and happened!!
- We moved house
- We traveled to 10 different countries
- We celebrated our fifth year anniversary of knowing each other
- We both are in our thirties now
- We both completed 5 years of employment with our companies
- Vinny is almost 4 years old..
and soon the biggest 'happening' and change our lives forever - we will become parents! I have no doubt that this will make us stronger as a couple and more united then ever... I have no doubt that Jason will be a great dad and will continue being the great husband he has been to me! And I have no doubt we will never be the same (in a very good way!)
I have been feeling great! I have not been too tired (touch wood), I have not felt too big or uncomfortable (touch wood) and I have been able to sleep well (touch wood). People at work find it hard to believe that I am still going to work for another 2 weeks! I really can't see myself sitting at home waiting for labor to start...

baby Connor arrived!

Kelly and Jeff, our dear friends that also lived in LA while we where there (and now live in GA) just had their baby boy, his name is Connor! He is absolutely adorable. Kelly has been my 'long distance pregnancy buddy'. We were going through similar situations and shared our feelings and happenings throughout the pregnancy. I wish we lived closer by and could soon enjoy being mommies together!

Great babymoon!

We had a fantastic time at the Lake District in northern England. I confess I was a bit worried that our little one would decide to 'show up' in the middle of nowhere (some of the towns we were at are pretty secluded...) but he/she decided to stay put and enjoy the scenery from my belly! We went hiking (much less then normally, but we were able to see some nice forests, waterfalls and picturesque villages), we enjoyed some good food and celebrated Jason's 30th birthday.
For Jason birthday I made reservations at a very nice restaurant (they received several culinary awards including a Michelin star) and had a 6 course meal! Delicious! Afterwards we had a bottle of champagne (which we had gotten in Champagne, France a year ago -we bought several good bottle of champagne and some strawberries right on a lake with full moon and a very clear sky!(the champagne we got last year in France - in the Champagne area. We bought a couple of good bottles which we have been saving for special occasions - we opened one last year on my 30th birthday, one for Jason's 30th and another one when our little one is born!)
We had a little 'accident' while there: we were going over a mountain pass, which was very narrow and while passing another car we bumped into some rocks which resulted in a flat tire. Well, Jason did great and changed the tire in no time and no further help from anyone (he didn't even have to read the instructions!) When I told my mom this story (her being the eternal positive thinker and Jason's fan) said - "See how Jason will know how to take good care of you and the baby... when something goes wrong, he solves it without major issues...." I couldn't agree more!!!!!
Below are some pictures:
1) Before we went to our nice 6-course Michelin star dinner
2) This is outside our room, we had a nice view from the lake Windermere
3) After Jason's B-day dinner we had a nice bottle of champagne and strwaberries by the river (I only had one & 1/2 glass)

Baby is just fine!

We had our ultrasound today to check if the baby's growth was within the norms since my belly was 4cm smaller then average for 36weeks. It was a great relief that he/she was doing just fine and actually right within (and above in some measurements) the norms of his/her 'age'. The baby's abdominal circumference (which at the last scan was a bit lower than average) was now above average, the femur length was also above average (reinforcing we might have a soccer/basketball player or a ballerina). The umbilical artery was also pulsing within the norms. On a not so good note (for me) the baby's head is bigger then average (yes, this means - harder to get out! But hopefully lot's a brains and smart....) And to finish up, our little one weighs 2.781g (= 6.131lbs). Well this was very reassuring and it explains why I can feel him/her poke on my sternum and ribs all the time and I sigh all the time due to being short of breath. So instead of growing horizontally he/she is growing vertically in my belly.

36 wk midwife appointment

Today we went to see the midwife to discuss our birth plan and have a general check up. I was very happy that we got a great midwife and she was very informative and really helpful. We (me and Jason) now need to sit down and write our birth plan.
After that she measured my belly and listened to the baby's heart beat. The good news was that the heart beat was great and the baby even kicked around while she was trying to listen to it (it was very visible with the naked eye all the kicks and punched he/she was doing) the bad news is that my belly measured 4 cm under the 'normal' size belly for 36 weeks. The midwife said it is fairly common with more petite woman but just to make sure we are going to have an ultrasound tomorrow. I would have been panicking by now, but, luckily one of the girls from my antenatal classes had the same happen to her and it is pretty common that they send you to get a u/s just to ensure everything is okay! And, at the end of the day, Jason and I are average size people and will produce average size babies (and probably even on the smaller size, since I am short, BUT, FYI I am still considered average for UK and US measurements with my glorious 5' 4'' = 1.65cm. Jason is also considered average with his 5' 10'' = 1.78cm)

Dreams...

On friday we learned all the different stages of labor and when to go to the hospital and in what situations to just wait at home for the labor to progress before going to the hospital. Well, last night I had a dream I was in a very nice big hospital room (which I am very unlikely to get) and that my contractions had stopped and they wanted to send me home. In the room next to me was my older sister giving birth. My mom kept running between both rooms until I got dizzy of her doing that and told her to stay with Karolien and that Jason would call her if my contractions would start again. Jason was there with me the whole time, being very supportive (which was what they 'guys' we told over and over again at our antenatal classes!) and he even brought me a huge red rose arrangement. Well, there is no harm in dreaming...

Antenatal classes

We started the National Childcare Trust antenatal classes on Wednesday evening. We are a group of 12 couples and two teachers and we will have a total of 3 meetings with 'the guys' and 2 meetings 'only girls'. We had an introduction meeting on wednesday evening and a all day meeting on friday. So far it has been great. Besides learning a lot, we also get to know couples that are going through the same as us (makes me feel a bit normal) and they all live in the the same neighborhood (so we can stay in touch) and we are due all around the same time (from the 12st of Sept through the 29th). On friday we learned about the several stages of labor and the many different positions to relief the pain of the contractions. It was great for 'the guys' to see what we go through and that it is not just 'popping out a child' but there are several hormones, feelings and lot's of pain involved! At the end of the day the 'husbands' came up with a list of the things they can help us with before, during and after labor! it was great (specially the part that they should not forget to chill the champagne....). I need to say that Jason knows a lot already and by reading the 'expectant father' book he has started doing so many things for me!
As a result of friday's class we bought a 'gym ball' (big balls used to do all kind of exercises) and it is great to sit on a 'rock and roll' to ease the lower back pain and make the pelvic bones supple for birth... hopefully it helps!
I was slightly surprised that several of the woman at the class did not have the nursery ready yet, nor the hospital bag packed and had not started looking for daycare nor had they visited the labour ward where they are due to deliver. I feel we are ahead of the game.... (however a lot of them have already stopped working or will soon, so they still have around 1 month to focus on these things)
Yesterday (saturday) we bought the final missing piece of the baby's room. The mattress. I also started packing our hospital bag! We are all set to go it the baby decides to come early.
5 more weeks to go!!!

Labour ward tour

Today I went to get my second 'vaccine' of Anti-D (this is because I have a negative blood group and Jason is positive) after that we went to do the Chelsea and Westminster hospital labour ward tour! There were around 15 couples. It is very interesting and, even though it has great facilities, it still made me think of a huge baby factory (if labour goes normally, you can leave in 6 hrs if you want!) Next week wedensday we will be discussing out birth plan with the midwife. So, we'll make decisions such as:
- who we want in the room (it will probably be Jason and my mom),
- what kind of pain killer I want (EPIDURAL, actually, while touring the ward, a mother with a newly born baby passed us and said - get and epidural.. get an epidural.... well, I did not have any doubt in my mind!)
- what kind of room we want - there are several options, but once you choose and epidural I belive there is only one room you will get
- etc etc
At the end of our tour we sat down for any further questions. Jason had one - "what do you do with the placenta?" (He read in a book that in some hospitals it's sold to companies to produce facial creams and that some people take it home and bury it in the garden and plant a tree, etc...) The answer given - "you can do whatever you want with it.. take it home, make pate, bury it...or we can just dispose of it for you!" everyone had a laugh! (maybe Jason is thinking of making some $$ and sell it!)
Picture of my belly at 35weeks and the sofa/bed where the grandma's can stay:

Big(ger) belly!

Yesterday evening I took some other pictures of the nursery and while at it Jason took a picture of my belly! When I downloaded the pictures I realized how big my belly is. Seriously, it does look like I have swollen a water melon without chewing it!!!!
I am still feeling great. No swellings (touch wood), not much problem sleeping (touch wood - just several trip to the the bathroom during the night), not too exhausted (touch wood) and I am not too nervous about the actual birth (yet). This is the reason I want to work until 'the end', since I don't want to sit at home waiting to go into labour and worrying about things....
This weekend I was a bit sad, I know it is horrible thought, but while working on the nursery I was thinking about the possibility if the baby didn't make it during birth or something goes really wrong.... It made me cry.. However, talking to Jason about it (he said it had also crossed his mind) there isn't much we can do about it at this point and we will need to deal with is as it happens (but, touch wood, everything will go smoothly and we will have a wonderful, healthy and happy baby boy/girl in a couple of weeks...). It is so great to know I have such a great husband and father of my child whom will give us support, no matter what happens! It really is a comforting feeling!

The nursery is READY!!!!!!!

Yes, we finished everything today.... We put up the curtains and they look GREAT. Jason did a great job (after I nagged him for the last 3 weeks). We had first gotten a black-out pull down curtain, which worked nicely, however light still came through the sides. Which is a problem in London, since in the summer the sun rises at 5:30ish and goes down at 10pm, so it is necessary we make the room dark enough that the baby doesn't wake up as soon as the sun comes out. (So he/she knows to distinguish night and day properly) (and, of course, for our sanity as well!) As a result we bought some other curtains to cover the sides. We also put up a shelf above the changing table so we can easily access lotions, wipes, etc while changing the baby. THANK YOU DADDY JASON FOR FINISHING THE ROOM SO NICELY!!!!! You can see that there are two shelves between the two build-in closets, the top one is with random toys and the one below has frog 'stuff'. We still need to find some frog 'things' to fill it up....

Bloody nose.. again!

This Tuesday, the second day of my hand-over to my replacement, I suddenly had a gush of blood come out my nose while talking to her. I had blood all over my (white) shirt and work desk.... I ran to the bathroom and it took 10 minutes for it to stop bleeding! Luckily the skirt I was wearing was actually a dress, so I was able to cover up the part on my top that was bloody! It scared the heck out of my replacement and she started sitting a couple of inches away from me while I am talking to her! I don't blame her! As my GP and midwife said, it is pretty normal and I should just take it easier when it happens! Which I did for the rest of the week, however on Friday I went swimming and when I got home I was very tired (it has been much warmer then usual also). So Jason came home with dinner and some movies and we took it easy! I felt much better on Saturday!

THE perfect dessert

One of the most common questions me and Jason have had from people that find out about my pregnancy (after the gender and the due date) is what my cravings have been. Overall, my cravings have not been too bad and Jason has not had to go in the middle of the night after Indonesian-mountain-berry-ice-cream or pasteurized-llama-cheese-with-oregano . But I have been eating/having a desire for certain things that I wouldn't normally eat, such as peanut M&M's and ice cream. I also have been eating some healthy 'cravings' such as pineapples (I ate a whole pineapple by myself in two days!) and watermelons (I have had 4 so far and Jason does not like them, so I had them all by myself!). However this week I found the perfect dessert... Ice cream with peanut M&M's. (I tried to add watermelon to the mix, but it just wasn't right...) I guess I will enjoy eating THE perfect dessert while I can (pretty much every night...)

34wk midwife appt

Today I had another check-up appointment with the midwife team. I had again a different midwife (I have not seen the same midwife twice). Today I got a very interesting 'girl'. She seemed to know everything better and contradicted a lot of things I have read in books and heard from other people. Well, I had fun!
She checked the baby's heartbeat, which was great, my uterus position was also on track, the baby is in the right position (head down, legs up to the right) and is 'engaged' 4/5. (5/5 would be a week before birth) so the baby is within the norm! However, my last blood work came back with slightly low iron and hemoglobin levels. She took some more blood to check it again and advised me to take two vitamin tablets in the morning. This does not impose any risk to our little one, but if I loose too much blood during labor, I may need a blood transfusion.
Next check is in two weeks when we'll discuss the birth plan. I am curious to see which midwife I'll get that day! (I hope it is not a 'all natural birth' freak, because there is no way she will talk me out of an epidural!!!!)

Busy Weekends

Last weekend weekend we had our friends Phil and Lisa in town from LA. They brought us a cute outfit for our little one (including a hat with little ears!!!).
This weekend our friends from Belgium Lesley and Toon were in town. They have a two year old girl called Noor, whom stayed in Belgium with her grandma! (I know Lesley since I was 12 and lived in Belgium)
They gave us a huge gift box full of cute outfits including shoes and pj's and some toys. Lesley also brought some cloths from Noor for us to borrow. (she picked out the neutral colored cloths....) With all of this, I think we are pretty set for clothing for the first 6 months! It was also great to listen to Lesley and Toon's experience's as parents! She gave me some great tips! Below are some pictures taken recently:
1) Anne, 7 months pregnant, Hyde Park - tour de France day2) Lesley & Toon & Anne at dinner:
3) 31 weeks (you can see, on the radiator behind me, my swimming suit drying... just a proof I have been actually plodding in a pool once in a while!):

The pram arrived!!

The pram and car seat arrived today!!! I love them!! They are beautiful! I already have the pram ready in the newborn position (which is in a horizontal position with special lining and facing me.) Later on it can be converted into a seating position and facing forward (it's when they start getting enough in always staring at you and find the outside world more interesting!) I was very tempted to put Vinny in the pram and test it out... however Vinny sheds too much and I don't want to get the pram full of his hair, which is bound to happen, but I am just postponing it!

Getting things ready...

Today I worked form home since the pram was being delivered. I took the opportunity to start washing all the baby stuff. I had a total of 5 loads. Now that we have the dryer it is SO much easier. I can't imagine how we would've done it without a dryer!... THANK YOU MOM!!!!! I feel we have a good amount of cloths to get started.. but i am sure that when the baby poops and pis all over I will be regretting these words and wish I have even more cloths! We have some cute outfits that I had gotten at my shower in Brazil and I had forgotten about.. it will be fun dressing him/her up!!! (yes, I used to have barbie's when I was younger and I loved to dress them up!!!)

40 inches (1m)

I went to Ikea today to pick up some shelves and storage boxes. While there I grabbed a measuring tape. (they hand them out at Ikea) After dinner I decided to measure my belly's diameter. The tape just made it around my belly = 41inches. It is amazing how the belly has grown!!! I need to take more pictures to keep record of this very special moment in our lives!

A bit of a scare (with Vinny)...

We had friends stay over this weekend. Yesterday we spend the day doing touristy things and I felt fit and not too tired. However, when we arrived home, Vinny had made his way into our living room where our friends had their luggages. Vinny got into their luggages and ate a box of 150gr of chocolate! (he preferred the white chocolate, just like me and the milk chocolate. He did not care so much for the dark chocolates!). Chocolate has a component that can be very toxic to dogs and cause sudden death (by heart arrhythmia). We were very stressed and did not know what to do. He seemed fine, but we did not know how long ago he had eaten them (normally if the dog is fine after 3 hrs he will make it). Since it was 8pm we did not know if we would take him to the vets or just wait. Anyways, he is fine and his normal self again but it made me think about our child. There are certain situations that require fast thinking and can be life threatening...

E-mail by grandma Anita

I cannot ever remember my kids being that active at any given time!!!!
Wow!!! This has got to be a trip for you and Jason!!! What a wonderful ride to be on.
I do hope baby does sleep during the night so you can get some sleep as well!!!
It's such a pleasure to open this blog and find out another entry. Thank you soooo much for sharing this with us!!!
Have a great but quiet (sleepy time) weekend!!!
Are you planning on working right up to delivery?

Love anita

And yes, I am planning to work up to delivery. If everything goes as planned my last day at work will be the 14th of September (7 days before my due date). I just don't see why I would sit at home, just getting more stressed about the delivery. This is, of course, if my pregnancy continues to progress smoothly as it has been so far!

Baby movement on record

This week I was at a all day meeting/training so I had to opportunity to register the baby's movements (time and duration). So from the moment I woke up until I went to bed I registered the following (rough numbers):

• 7am - 10 min
• 8:30am - 15min
• 10:30am - 45min (!!!)
• 12:30 - 15min
• 2:15 - 20 min
• 4:45 -35min
• 6:30 - 10min
• 8:30 - 10min
• 10:00 - 15min
• 23:30 - 30min

As you can see - VERY ACTIVE BABY! I read somewhere that they baby spends 90% of their time sleeping in the womb.. well I guess we are dealing with a little rebel here!!!
As you can see, I did not go to bed until midnight (I had some acid reflux and had forgotten some Tums). At 2am the fire alarm of the hotel went off. We had to wait outside for an hour while the firefighters checked the building. Bottom line, I did not sleep well and today I can feel it. I am physically tired, my back hurts and I am feeling nauseated. I need an early and good night of sleep. (hopefully this was the last business trip until the baby)

I got the Ipod!

When we decided not to tell anyone the gender of our baby, I needed and extra motivation to keep the secret. So, we decided that Jason would give me a new ipod if I kept the secret! Jason went to the US for business and brought back a cute new ipod for me. We still have 2 months to go, but I am going to keep it a surprise for everyone.
He also brought back some other items I had ordered online. Including a diaper bag, baby bjorn (to carry the baby), some cd's for the baby, some cloths, a diaper storage unit and some toys. Everything was perfect!!!
Today our changing table arrived and I couldn't wait for Jason to get home and I put it together myself! The nursery is really taking shape!!!

A bit shocked

It has been raining heavily here in London for the past two days, so I am just sitting at home (saturday) waiting for it to ease and take Vinny outside. Well I started watching some videos on youtube.com. And one thing led to another.... I started watching cute videos of new born babies which progressed to watching a couple of videos of the actual birth! Well, I knew it was not a pretty sight.. but seriously.. can I do this? I guess it is a little late to ask myself that question, but seeing actual birth and the pain some of these woman go through.... I have to say it made me emotional and it is amazing to see the baby, mother and father afterwards (yes, I almost cried).
I am not sure if I should 'prepare' Jason and suggest he watches the videos too?!

30 week check up

Yesterday I started the day not feeling 100%. I was sick and had a severe nose bleed. I went home at lunch. Coincidentally, that afternoon I had an appointment with the GP for my 30 week check up. I described to her that I have had some off days, regular nose bleeds and also mentioned that the baby was kicking a lot! After she checked my urine and blood pressure she said that the reason I was feeling like that was due to my body being under stress! So, instead of coming home from work and taking Vinny for a long walk, cooking diner, cleaning, doing laundry, etc etc, and only resting at around 9ish, she said I needed to come home from work, put my legs up and rest. (and eating a few bonbons wouldn't harm me....)
She palpated my belly to feel the baby's position and he/she kicked back against her hand! She laughed!!! The baby's heart beat was also fine and my overall health was good. I just need to take it easier and 'listen' to my body.
When I told Jason this, he said he was not surprised and he was glad the Dr. said it to me, so I would more likely listen to her then him!!

Clean baby!

We received another nice gift from Grandpa Bernie and grandma Andie. They have given us a complete bath set with all the necessary tools. From birth onwards. THANK YOU, we'll be thinking of you when we clean the little one!!!!
Yesterday when I went to pick the bath set up at mothercare, I also went to a pharmacy to stock up on some more diapers! Other moms have recommended to stock up on those early on since you go through so many and the first couple of weeks you're so busy with the baby that you will have little time to get some more.
I finally bought the pram:It's a Silver Cross 3D Pistachio. The whole package (including bag, parasol, footmuffs, etc) will arrive on monday! I was talking to my mom the other day... and just like her, I can just picture our little one in there and strolling around with him/her in the London parks...

Moeke Ramsel (Grand grandma Josephine)

Today I spoke with my grandmother from Belgium. She is 87 and is starting to become forgetful. My aunt has told her that I am pregnant, but today she clearly had forgotten as I spoke to her. So I reminded her that I was pregnant. And she said - 'oh, really, you are pregnant?' I confirmed, to which she jokingly replied - 'and how did you do that?' (she may be losing her memory.. but she sure kept her sense of humor!) to which I replied - 'well, lot's has changed since you were young... but making babies is pretty much the same as before'. We both laughed!
Below is a picture of us taken 2 yrs ago

Joys of the third trimester...

I have had a very smooth pregnancy. Not too much morning sickness in the beginning, enough energy to run until 20 weeks and to swim twice a week and take Vinny for long walk after that, enough energy to travel to several countries while pregnant, still being able to fit in 2 pair of jeans and 1 pair of pants (non maternity), etc etc, but recently I have been experiencing the "joys" of the third trimester:
- Having to go to the bathroom at least every 30 mins to an hour during the day and at least 4 times during the night
- In between the bathroom visits I need to be careful when I sneeze or laugh too much.. yes, you can get the picture of what happens...
- Heart burn. (my coworker swears that means we'll be having a 'hairy' baby...)
Overall I can't complain and will be happy if it stays like this until birth!

70 days to go...

Pictures

These are very late.. but below are some pictures from our vacation in Portugal. I was almost 5 months pregnant then.
1) Jason and I in Porto, after some Port wine tasting
2) Jason in Vale D'Oro (where the porto grape vines are)
3) Me in Porto

Calcium

I read some where that the third trimester is when the baby deposits a lot of calcium in their bones. So I have started drinking more milk and eating calcium rich food. I normally have enough of milk and fruit, but I decide to increase it even more by adding cottage cheese and dark leaved vegetables. I also normally eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, but I have been, since we decide to try to get pregnant, taking antenatal vitamins. the baby is also developing it's brain these coming weeks, so I should increase my omega-3 fatty acids by eating more fish and including flax seeds to my diet. I make this funky breakfast 'bake' which we call 'grumpy flapjacks'. I never follow a recipe, I just add whole wheat flour, wheat, bran, flax seeds, other seeds, raisins, dried apricots, muesli, milk, etc.. (no sugar or fats) and it turns out a bit different every time I make it. But it is great to increase my fiber intake and it is healthy!
I am still on track with my weight gain and have gained a total of 8kg (17.5lbs) however I have heard that the last months are when the weight gain increases... we'll see... so far I have been trying to 'be good' but I enjoy my treats. Like the carrot cake and Dulce de leite ice cream Jason brought home the other day or my peanut M&M's...

Pram experts

Yesterday we went to central London to watch the start of the Tour de France. Which was complete madness but very interesting. Afterwards we made our way to Mamas&papas. A very nice baby/maternity store. Our goal was to understand a bit more about prams. Well, we now do! There are SOOOO many options. different shapes, colors, baby facing forward or facing you, one button fold, with a car seat or without a car seat, removable liner or non removable liner, three wheelers or four wheelers, with shopping basket or without shopping basket and the options go on and on... But after 3 hours of experimenting and having demonstrations done, we have narrowed it down to 3 options!
Later on we met with some friends. They are 12 weeks pregnant. It was nice exchange some experiences and actually giving some advice!

Presents...

We have started receiving presents that are on our registry. It is so much fun to receive gifts and start getting everything ready for the baby!
We received a:
- High chair - which we'll probably not until the baby is 6 months. - THANK YOU Grandma Anita and Grandpa Steve
- Bottle sterilizer - some people say this is not really necessary, since boiling the bottles and teats is much easier. I plan to breasfeed until 5 -6 months, however we are planning to have Jason give a bottle at night. This is supposed to help dad and baby bond and also allows me longer periods of interrupted sleep ;) - THANK YOU Grandma Anita and Grandpa Steve
- Mobile Gym - this is for the baby to lay down on (belly or on it's back) and play with tangeling toys and plays music, to keep the baby busy. I heard it is great to entertain the baby. - THANK YOU Kelly
We still need several crucial items before the baby arrives (some can come afterwards), but I feel organized and on track.
This weekend we hope to narrow down our options on the pram. (we have been narrowing it down by looking up online and in magazines) We will be receiving the pram from my parents (THANK YOU Oma Fanny and Opa Herman!). There are so many options (3 wheelers, 4 wheelers, travel systems, etc). We need a sturdy pram (since we will be mainly using public transport) but we also need one that can be used from birth (facing us) and that can be converted into a 'toddler' pram (facing forwards)
This weekend we are also going to buy a dryer (my birthday present from my parents - again, THANK YOU MOM & DAD). Here in the UK dryers are not very common and people just use racks to hang their cloths next to the radiator.... Which is what we have done for the last 1 1/2yrs, however a dryer will be very useful for when the baby arrives and our laundry load will increase significantly.

Rod Stewart

Yesterday we went to the Rod Stewart concert. I am a big fan! (yes, he is very old and used to open for the Rolling Stones in the 60's, but still...) Jason got the tickets, back in November, for my birthday!
We had great pitch (=field) seats. However, the pitch was the only location in the stadium that was uncovered and it rained the whole time we were there!!! But even with the rain, we had a blast (Jason's 4 pints of Guinness may explain the constant smile on his face and by seeing Rod from so close made me have a smile on mine!) Our baby was pretty quiet throughout the concert. It's the second concert we have 'taken' him/her. The first one was the Dave Matthews concert in Berlin.

Kicking 2

It seems our little one has increased the frequency and strength of kicking since we entered the third and last trimester.
He/she has been kicking over 10 times in a row and in multiple locations (like he/she is stretching) at the same time. At one point I briefly thought that there were two in there!!!
On friday we were watching a movie and Jason had is hand resting on my belly and suddenly our baby started kicking against his hand. We both were surprised at the precision. Jason poked back and that was followed with three consecutive kicks against his hand! Normally his/her kicks last for 2 minutes, on friday it lasted for 10 minutes. I can't get enough of feeling our little one playing in there!
It worries me a bit that he/she becomes more active at night, when I am getting ready to sleep. I hope that when he/she is born it will not be on the same schedule and keeping us awake all night and sleeping during the day!
I've been having a bit of heart burn lately. I read it is very common in the last trimester due to the sphincter between my stomach and esophagus being relaxed (due to the hormones). It is mainly after I eat fried stuff (like french fries) I guess I will have to restrain myself a bit more on those foods.

Kicking

Our baby has been kicking a lot!! It is so fun to 'push' back and then feel him/her kick again. It is also clear where the hands and feets are! (weaker 'kicks' when it is the hands)
My belly is definitely big and showing. This week I had more people 'guessing' the baby's gender based on 'carying the belly upfront' (one said that is a sign of a girl and in a matter of hours someone said carrying the belly upfront was a sign of a boy). I was also talking to some people regarding the heart beat. Last time I went to the midwife the heart beat was 135bpm. Someone told me that anything above 140bpm is sign of a boy and anything below is a girl... doesn't sound to scientific! Well, I guess everyone just has to wait until September.

Pictures

Several people have asked some updated pictures.. here you go!
1)My birthday dessert!!! Yummie carrot cake!
2) Jason and I
3) Another picture on my birthday... showing off my belly!
4) We had breakfast in Central park on our last day in NY

We are back!

We had a fabulous time in New York. It was a fast trip but we truely enjoyed it! This is the 10th country our baby has been in since he/she was conceived!!! This was also my last trip abroad.
We did a lot of shopping (eventhough we could have bought an additional 10 kg based on our baggage allowance).
Since the dollar is weak, some of the baby items we wanted were the same price in the US as in the UK, but in US$ - which means 50% discount. Some of the items we bought:
- crib mobile - besides having the cute fish tangling above the baby, it also project lights on the cealing and has music and some other nice functions to keep the baby entertained.
- nursing pillow - this is to put around my waiste to help me support the baby while breastfeeding (so my arm doesn't get tired). This was a true bargain.
- First aid kit - with thermometer, nasal aspirator (no idea what this is for or how to use it), medicine dropper, etc
- Swaddle blanket - these are special blankets that are designed to 'swaddle' the baby when sleeping and breastfeeding. This is supposed to be soothing to the baby (since it feels like being in the womb) we bought two different sizes
- Sleeping bag - this is to keep the baby warm, we bought two different sizes
- toys - several

- pacifiers - I heard you can never get enough of these and that some babies can be picky, so we have several shapes and format to try out

- towels - more towels and washing mitts

Besides baby stuff, we also got several cloths for Jason (I restrained myself to one pair of pants and two pair of shoes).

For my birthday Jason took me to a very nice restaurant, very good food and we topped it with carrot cake and a vintage glass of port (Jason truely enjoys these now that we have been to the port region in Portugal and he understands the different types of Port). I enjoyed a nice glass of Argintinian Mablec (wine!) - I will post some pictures later!
I was able to enter the US without any problems with my greencard (eventhough we brought all kind of paperwork to back up any issues they may have questioned)!

Disease?!!?

It's funny how some people treat pregnancy like a disease... like you are sick! I clearly understand there are several restrictions when you are pregnant (certain cheese, raw fish, no strenous activities, etc) but it's not that I am disabled!!!!!
This week I participated in a high performing team workshop. (bottom line it helps a team become more united and as a result perform better) and it was just funny (aka annoying) how certain team members kept telling me to sit (and how to sit), relax, not to drink or eat sometings, etc. I do understand they have the best intentions, but most of the times, I do know my limits (I will sit down if my feet hurt or when I am tired!) and also have decided the 'no no' foods (if you have to believe and follow what everyone recommends you not to eat or drink I would be on water & bread -"which should be prepared without eggs and without a certain type of yeast!"
Anyways, in two days we are going to NYC for 2 days! I am excited to spend my 31st birthday there! Last year we went (with my parents) to Africa for my 30th! I was just remembering what an amazing trip that was!!! But who would have imagined that 12 months later we will be going to NYC to buy baby stuff!

Ikea/Mothercare

We recently signed up for a cheap car rental. We can get a car for a couple of hours for a great price. So, this saturday we adventured in the streets of England. Since the streets were not build for traffic (tiny streets, too many cars), it becomes a nightmare to get anywhere on time. It took us 1 hrs to drive 10 miles. Nontheless, we went to Mothercare first and checked out some cribs, mattresses, changing table and also prams. Unfortunately they did not have the crib and changing table we wanted (and the plan was to use to car to bring them home today) but we now know which once we want and we will come back some other time. It was great to get a good explanation and 'test drive' on the prams. There are SOOOO many of them.
Afterwards we went to Ikea, since we had to return the car by 3pm and it was already 1:30pm, we went straight to the sofa/bed and crib section. We actually found a crib we liked there and got it! Since we were in a hurry we got exactly what we needed: sofa/bed, crib and changing mattress, which is great, because we normally wonder around at Ikea and end up buying several items that we don't need!
In a couple of weeks we'll go back to Mothercare to get the mattress and the changing table.
This weekend I also want to wash and organize all the baby items we already have and review our list to see what else we need.

Midwife and GP

Yesterday I went to another midwife appointment (the fourth different midwife). I had a mini GTT done. This is to check my glucose levels. I had to fast for 2 hrs (which is significant for me, since I am constantly hungry and need to eat small meals) and then drink a glucose drink 1 hour before. The results should be available next week.
The midwife was portuguese and she was very nice, she checked my blood pressure (which was normal/low) and checked the baby's heart beat (135bpm), which is also normal. I had my first shot of Anti-D, which is necessary since I am AB negative and Jason is A positive, and there is a 50% chance the baby is positive. If this baby is positive, than my body can make antibodies against the rhesus positive factor and may harm this baby, but more severly our second child.
Afterwards I went to the GP, Dr. Begg, she was very nice and straight to the point. She gave me another medicince to try to clear my skin (I have given up, but if this it the only complication of my pregnany, I will be pleased). She also gave me a health certificate for me to fly next week. Since I will be 27 weeks, airlines start requesting the 'safe to fly' certificates.

Finally....

Some people at work, which I see daily and sit on the same floor as I, finally noticed my bump! Now that it is summer, it is a bit harder to 'hide' the belly underneath layers of cloths! But, it's still funny that some people only notice it now, when I am 6 1/2 months along! Everyone mentions that I am tiny and haven't grown at all (to the sides, I guess) which I suppose is good! I am still on schedule with my 1 kg/month weight gain, but I have noticed that since Brazil I have been eating more, my metabolism must be speading up! I read that this is the period when the baby starts putting on their 'baby fat' (right under the skin) and getting ready to survive outside the womb. (which also requires more calories)
In 'The pregnancy bible', the book I have been reading, it says that the baby's eyelids begin to open and that the baby can react to light. He/she is now almost 1 kg (1 1/2lbs) and 34cm (13 1/2 inches). Tomorrow I will be 26 weeks along (2 more weeks before I finish the second trimester).
The other day I received an email from one of the pregnancy websites I have signed up for saying - 100 days to go!!!!!!!

Stockholm pictures

Some pictures from Stockholm:
1) Jason still smilling before running 26miles! (look at the crowd behind him, there 15000 runners)
2) Jason (fourth) entering the stadium for a final lap after 26miles!!!
3) Me on the water front

First marathon... wait for the next one - in 3 1/2 months!!! OUR BABY!

Hello!
We are back from Stockholm. It was another amazing trip and the 9th country our baby has been too since being in my belly!!!! He/she is indeed a world traveller already!Stockholm was beautiful and Jason ran his first marathon! Me and the baby are so proud of him. He ran 26.3 miles (42.3km) in 4hrs (which was his goal) It was 29C (86F) - extremly hot and terrible runnig conditions!!
While Jason was running I went shopping and had to stop several times to drink water and eat ice cream. At the end of the day (after I went to meet Jason at the finish line) I was exhausted!! My feet were hurting and swollen and felt similar to Jason's exhaustion after the marathon! While shopping I was able to by some 'gender' specific cloths for our little one. Until now we have gotten green and yellow's! (not telling you if I bought a bunch of pink or blue cloths!) We also found some cute frogs to decorate the nursery!
The baby has been kicking a lot. Jason has been able to feel him/her again! It is fun to poke back and feel him/her kick again!

Kicking

The baby has been kicking much more! Several times thourghout the day and night!
Today I woke up not feeling that well. It was a mixture of nausea and tiredness! Tonight I am feeling better. It may just be all the changes my body is going through + travelling + jetlag, etc, I also need to admit that I miss my family and friends in Brazil!!!! :-(
We are packing again (I haven't even unpakced the luggage with all the baby stuff!!), we are off to Stockholm for 4 days. Jason is going to run a marathon! I am so proud of him. his goal was to run a marathon before turning 30 and he will!
Hopefully next weekend we will have time to go to Ikea and get the crib and changing table sorted! I am excited to start working on the nursery and get everything ready for our little one!

Shower 2

The second shower was organized by my mom. It was held on thursday, May 31st. We made some cute invitations. (which included the picture of the latest ultrasound).
We invited my mom's neighbors and ladies form the international woman club (which my mom is part of and who work with poor children in the brazilian slums). A total of 15 people came and all brought beautiful gifts! My mom made 4 different cakes, mini pizzas, waffles (her trademark) and all kind of other snacks. As a little memory of the shower we gave a little bag with chocolates and a little frog magnet attached! It was a great afternoon, exchange ideas and experiences with 'older' moms and grandmothers!
One of the ladies has a daughter who has a 1 year old baby, the mother speaks portuguese, the dad speaks english and at daycare they speak spanish.(they live in Spain) She said that her grandchild is coping really well with the three languages and encouraged me to do the same! (with english, portuguese and flemish) I personally think it would confuse our child and I would like to start with english and portuguese and introduce flemish later on (around 3 -4 years) But my mom, of course, would like to start earlier then that. I just don't know how useful it is to teach our child flemish and I would not want to confuse him/her to the point that they will be affraid of talking because they don't know which language to speak.

Shower I

The first shower we had was on saturday, May 26th. Liesbet, my sister, organized it with the help of my mom. (she made her yummie waffles!!!) My dad was the churrasqueiro ('griller') and made a delicious churrassco for us. (including chicken hearts and ribs!)
10 of my good friends came (mainly friends from high school and a friend from vet school). We had a blast!
I received so many nice and useful gifts, including baby toys, baby cloths, pram blankets and a nipple protector!!!!

Vanessa is also pregnant, she is due 2 weeks after I am (here is a picture of the two of us!) She has been very stressed about all the pregnancy restrictions and fears. All of my other friends commented in how relaxed I am about my pregnancy. I just think there is no reason to stress. I have done the tests and taken the necessary precautions, if (touch wood it will not) something will go wrong, there isn't anything I can do about it at this point. We will have to just wait, see and deal with it then!
Me and Vanessa are the first once of this group of friends in having a baby! The majority of them are married or in a serious relationship and we joked in how things have changed: a couple of years ago we would get together and talk about our latest parties, dates, etc and now we are exchange tips about the best lotion to avoid stretch marks!