What an amazing day we had today...
I think the pictures say it all, but I do want to thank my Mum, Judy and Suzanne for all their hard work behind the scenes, and on the day, planning and putting on a flawless event.
I would also like to thank all of those who were able to attend today, it meant so much to me that you spent your Sunday morning celebrating the pending arrival of our little one, and am so very grateful for the lovely gifts we received.
Thank you too, to the family and friends who were unable to be there on the day, but very much wanted to be. You were missed dearly, however I know there are plenty of wonderful memories ahead for us to share.
And finally I want to thank my gorgeous (albeit smelly) husband who has put up with a lot through the planning of this little party. He was very helpful in getting the house back in order this afternoon, and has done such a terrific job preparing Elwood's nursery, just in time to share with our guests today. He also spent his morning getting MY car washed, so I love him for that alone!
Enjoy the photos and thank you again everyone...
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Week Thirty Two: Sunday 17th August 2008
Just how did I get this far already?? I can’t believe that the birth is only seven weeks away now – that just sounds ridiculous!
This week I must be really filling out as I have more than one comment about how much I have “popped” out. So I found it appropriate that at this late stage, I found another pregnancy countdown ticker – one that reflects the “real” pregnancy experience. If you read the books, apparently it is over the next few weeks that the baby puts on a third of it’s body weight. I can’t imagine the kicks and punches getting any stronger! Here’s my updated belly shot…
This week I must be really filling out as I have more than one comment about how much I have “popped” out. So I found it appropriate that at this late stage, I found another pregnancy countdown ticker – one that reflects the “real” pregnancy experience. If you read the books, apparently it is over the next few weeks that the baby puts on a third of it’s body weight. I can’t imagine the kicks and punches getting any stronger! Here’s my updated belly shot…
Tuesday night was our third parenting session – one that Ash sat out due to an upset stomach (hmmm, not quite sure if was the upset stomach or the “I couldn’t be bothered” excuse). It just so happened we were subjected to a very graphic, very scary birth video (isn’t his timing impeccable?) so I put in a request for a special re-screening for next week. The rest of the men in the room held their partners hands very tightly, and then gave them a pitiful look as if to say “I am so glad that’s you and not me.” They should have called this session the Horror Class, as we also discussed all the changes that affect your body following the birth, I’m not quite sure I am ready for any of that (and neither are you a reader I can assure you) - it doesn't make sense to me that your body doesn't just zip straight back into shape after the birth.
The final pieces of the baby furniture were picked up on Friday, and so Ash and I couldn’t help but begin packing things away. Surely we have overstocked on our supply of nappies? I mean how much wee and poo can one little baby produce??
Also arriving this week were some of tools I will be using to get through the labour. With an aim to avoid medicated pain relief, I have been reading up on skills for an active, natural labour. My favourite book “Birth Skills” is based around the idea that you can interrupt the pain message with distractions including, movement, breathing, sound and visualisation. I am sure those woman who have actually experienced labour will think I am kidding myself, however I am putting together a birth plan which includes using the following:
* Birth ball
* Shower
* Stress balls
* Massage (thanks to Ash)
* Favourite music on I-Pod
It may go completely out the window on the day, but I figure it can’t hurt to try. And the key thing for me is, the more I know about what to expect about the labour, the less scary it is going to be.
Next week the Baby Shower!
Week Thirty One: Sunday 10th August 2008
This week has been another busy one, with plenty on to keep us out of trouble. On Tuesday night we had our second parenting class, of which the hot topics were; non-medicated pain relief, bottle vs breastfeeding and a tour of the delivery suite. The tour really brought things home – just trying to imagine Ash and I in one of those rooms, delivering our baby felt so surreal, and it’s really not that far away! (I wonder if we can order the Ponting suite?) We were also subjected to a couple of videos about breastfeeding – is it wrong that I was almost as squeamish as Ash??
We celebrated two important birthdays for in August – my beautiful girlfriend Judy was first, with the two of us celebrating with good friend Sue on Thursday night. We enjoyed a delicious Lebanese meal and then started preparing photographs for our auditions for Australia’s Next Top Model – girls, you will be happy to see I couldn’t bring myself to upload the scary ones!
Finally Ash and I also completed the City to Surf on Sunday - walking of course! 14kms later we were quite exhausted (and wet as the heaven opened before we could make our way home). However it was a great day out, and I look forward to the day I can tell Elwood he/she completed their first City to Surf at 31 weeks!
We celebrated two important birthdays for in August – my beautiful girlfriend Judy was first, with the two of us celebrating with good friend Sue on Thursday night. We enjoyed a delicious Lebanese meal and then started preparing photographs for our auditions for Australia’s Next Top Model – girls, you will be happy to see I couldn’t bring myself to upload the scary ones!
Then Ash’s brother Tim chose to gamble with his happiness by having us over for a BBQ to watch the Eels game on Sunday afternoon (luckily the gamble paid off and the Eels won!) I seized another opportunity to cuddle the increasingly gorgeous, Dylan who has learnt a number of new tricks, including mastering his crawling skills. Here’s a photo of the brothers in their matching Eels jumpers, and Dylan being, well gorgeous with his Mum….
Finally Ash and I also completed the City to Surf on Sunday - walking of course! 14kms later we were quite exhausted (and wet as the heaven opened before we could make our way home). However it was a great day out, and I look forward to the day I can tell Elwood he/she completed their first City to Surf at 31 weeks!
Ash continues to work on Project Girl’s Name, and to provide him with some much needed inspiration, the authors of a new book Bad Baby Names, searched a century of US census reports to find the worst of the worst. Below is their list of top 10 bad baby names:
1: Dracula Taylor
2: Young Boozer
3: Jump Jump
4: United States
5: Lotta Bacon
6: Nice Veal
7: Nail Rambo
8: Fat Meat Fields
9: Jelly Bean Cook
10: Ashley John (he he, I’m so funny!)
Mmmm, I think these are actually an improvement from the last list Ash provided.
Best be off, I’m a bit of an Olympics addict, and there is loads on the telly to watch tonight… Go Aussies!
Week Thirty: Sunday 3rd August 2008
On Tuesday night, Ash and I attended our first parenting course – one in a series of five… yep, that’s right, five! To distract himself from the hours ahead, Ash was determined to do his best to be class clown and misbehave. The session kicked off at seven and ran through to half nine, which was clearly too much of a stretch for my husband who started nodding off during one of the information sessions. Reassuringly, he only fell asleep during the time when we covered “When is it the right time to take Mum to the hospital?” Perhaps I should have the number for a taxi service saved into my phone… We also learnt in this week’s class how to wrap the baby and change their nappy. At the end of which, Ash announced – “I am the best nappy changer in world”. I hope that’s a sentiment he remembers fondly when he is changing something that resembles pea soup gone wrong ten times a day.
We were also told in the class that we should be feeling the baby move ten times in twelve hours, and that roughly his / her sleeping and waking patterns are the opposite of mine. I am not so sure about that, Elwood moves more like ten times an hour, and only ever seems to nod off when I am either at the gym exercising, or while out shopping down a storm. However I have realised that the back flips and somersaults have significantly reduced in frequency of late, with little Elwood beginning to run out of room in there.
Work has been incredibly busy, and it is only just hitting me that as of Monday, I will only have 7 weeks left. I just know that time will fly by, and I will be in for quite a shock when the first Monday rolls around and I am not getting ready for the day of work ahead. At the moment it feels as though I am going to miss work A LOT, however I am well aware things might change once Elwood has made his/her entrance.
Ash has recently developed a startling new obsession with You Tube. Every spare second he has is spent on the thing, and so I thought I would put him to good use. This week he found some funny baby related clips – thought you might enjoy the giggle…
(Ash) This one isn't baby related but very funny:
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