My Latest Shape

Here is my birthday photo... /laugh














We went out to Tukka on the night of my birthday, a restaurant that specialises in "bush tucker" -- food prepared with native ingredients. David had wallaby and I had possum. Neither of us were greatly impressed by the main meals (the service was quite slow, as well). I did like my appetiser of mussels with native herbs & spices, and the palate cleanser of mandarin and lemon sorbet.

My second last day of work…

Feeling very fatigued this week. I have no idea if it’s pregnancy, caring for Anya, the cold weather or what… but considering all that, I’m in pretty good shape if a bit of fatigue is all that’s worrying me. I hope over the next month to include some exercise on the days that Anya is at Kindercraft, perhaps swimming in a heated pool. (It’s just so boring!) Exercise hopefully will help my soreness as well as the insomnia.

Baby boy continues to amaze both David and me with his range of movement. He seems to move the most when I sit in the recliner in front of the TV. This week we were watching Dr Who and I was getting more entertainment out of watching my belly jump. Usually everything stops as soon as I try to get David to feel or have a look, but this time when I said to David, “Look!” he was able to see the movement from across the room.

The Countdown Begins

I’m starting maternity leave on July 13th. I think the time will go really quickly, because I’m delivering some training courses next week and the week after, then just have about a week and a half to wrap up loose ends with projects. I have to study up this weekend on the training course material… someone else prepared most of it. I don’t want to be standing there going, “Um, so the hydrodynamic theory is that, um…”

I do feel a little exposed because my studies in college didn’t really focus on this stuff (I only had 2 classes in fluid mechanics) and I’m only in the “water industry” due to the high demand for engineers to plan and design water and wastewater systems. Everything I know, I learned on the job by teaching myself!

The weather here is getting really cold. It’s a little warmer today, but a few days ago it was super chilly thanks to some stiff breezes. The cold made me dash out and buy myself a pile of clothing (some op shop stuff and some new maternity stuff). I am feeling anxious about breastfeeding in this weather! July is the coldest month, though, so hopefully I’ll only have about a month of this type of weather before things warm up again.

I still remember making myself a cave out of our spare room when Anya was still a tiny baby (guess she would have been 2 months old). I had the heater on in here at all times and then could breastfeed and sleep in comfort. I don’t know how that will work this time. Obviously I won’t simply be nesting in one room, with having to look after Anya as a toddler as well!

My latest Anya news is that she now weighs a whopping 15 kg. Plotted against World Health Organisation growth curves, this takes her into the stratosphere… see blue line below. I haven’t measured her height since April. I probably should do that to see if she’s had a growth spurt that way too, or if she’s just incredibly dense. Ha, ha.

Sydney-ho!

We went to Sydney this weekend (for 4 days) to visit Paul & Teresa. They have an apartment in a fantastic position on the water. Every morning I would open up the balcony door and immediately feel relaxed as the sounds of lapping water washed over me. Paul & Teresa also took such good care of us that I felt as if I didn't have a single worry (other than losing at Scrabble).

[for more photos, see my Yahoo! album]

The first morning we were there, we walked along the water to Lavender Bay, then Luna Park, passing through several parks on the way. The weather was beautiful -- sunny and temperate -- perfect for enjoying the harbour. We finished off the outing with lunch at Paul & Teresa's local yum cha restaurant (aka dim sum). When we got back, Paul amazed me by falling asleep with his head, arms and feet hanging over the edge of the bed. My arms would go dead and my head would be pounding from the pooled blood!

The second day (Anya's birthday!) was another beautiful day. We drove into the Blue Mountains to see the Three Sisters, followed by lunch at The Conservation Hut at Wentworth Falls and a quick visit to Mt Tomah Botanic Garden. The garden was definitely the highlight of the day. We got a bit stuck in traffic on the way out of the mountains and had a very stir-crazy Anya to soothe with Wiggles stories, songbooks, and renditions of "Happy Birthday to You!" She *loved* getting serenaded and kept asking for it again and again.

Our last day, we flew back to Brisbane at 2 pm, so Paul took us to Bondi Beach for the morning. I haven't seen a wide tame beach like this since LA. The water was clear bluey green and I regretted not wearing my togs. (I'd thought it would be too cold.) Anya and I played in the sand while the guys bodysurfed. (Teresa had to go to work.)

The plane trip itself went very well. I guess 18 months of taking the train every week had Anya quite used to waiting and sitting and travelling. The only issue was that she didn't like having to be buckled into our laps. This was Anya's first plane trip ever and we'd been telling her all week, "You're going on a plane soon!" She absorbed the story really quickly and was telling all and sundry, "I'm going on a plane! Up high!" She even told everyone she was going to Sydney.

We liked our Qantas flight a lot better than Virgin Airlines. There was more leg room (we were seated right behind business class) and were in a row of two, rather than three, seats. Also, we received a "Freddo Frog" activity pack for Anya and the staff made sure to give her as much service as the adults for food and drink.

Boy o boy...

The 20-week scan was this afternoon. We learned that our baby is going to be a boy! I'm feeling a bit scared...

David told Anya tonight, "Mama has a baby boy in her tummy." She responded sceptically, "No..."

First Scan

We had our first scan today. I had to drink 600 ml of water an hour ahead of time (and hold it). The appointment was for 9 am but I think I didn't get in until 9:45 or 10, so I was in dire straits!

Besides that the scan went really well. Perhaps it was better equipment this time, or just experience, but we could easily interpret what we were seeing compared to our first scan of Anya. Arms moving around, legs bicycling, even the hand rubbing the face (sucking the thumb already?!) The baby kept turning too, but never in the right direction, so the technician had some trouble getting the necessary measurements (back of the neck).

She let me relieve myself (what a relief!) hoping that would prompt the baby to move into a more helpful position. We eventually got the measurements by a combination of the baby moving a little and me lying on a slant. The measured risk result was very good (equivalent to a teenager's baseline) so we are continuing without any invasive testing.

I read somewhere that stronger morning sickness is statistically linked to a higher successful pregnancy rate, so I must console myself with that thought, as I am still not really enjoying eating or drinking. Meanwhile, three mothers in my mothers' group have had second babies already and one other is expecting in six weeks. I wonder who's next?