Mini break
Friday, 23 July, 2010
People say that couples should take the time to go away together before the birth of their first child because it may be the last opportunity for them to do so for a while. I suppose if I had been thinking straight, I would have taken a holiday during my second trimester, which is a far more sensible time to go away. But I was caught up with work and couldn't think straight, and by the time I got around to organising something, the second trimester was over and my options were limited. I had wanted to go to the Blue Mountains to stay somewhere like Waratah Cottage (which came with Guan and M's recommendation), but the thought of potentially going into labour during a two- or even possibly three- (depending on traffic) hour car trip put me off. So the alternative was a Sydney staycation—not a bad thing with a city like ours. (And really, when you have issues walking, you want to go somewhere manageable.) After much agonising (more on my part than Ben's), we settled on a two-night stay at the Shangri-La hotel, near Circular Quay, and placed a booking through Wotif, which, along with mid-week dates, made things slightly cheaper.
Tuesday (20/07/10)
Anyway, Tuesday was a bit of a mad dash. I had an OBGYN appointment in the middle of the day (which was the first time I didn't have to wait for ages in the waiting room. It was also a pretty straightforward appointment. She just told me to monitor Peanut's movements and note whether or not Peanut moves every three hours). I had also asked Ben to drive me to the city (where we parked at the Queen Victoria Building) so I could go spend the Kinokuniya vouchers MM had so kindly given me as a farewell present. Timing was essential because Kinokuniya were having a 20 per cent off sale for cardholders, but only until the 21st July. So armed with a wishlist that I had checked against Kinokuniya's inventory earlier (to save time, you understand!), we went in and came out with the following (please avert your eyes if you are offended by [so-called] book “porn”):
I was particularly pleased with this haul because I have wanted Murakami's Underground for a very long time (and couldn't find it because Kinokuniya keep it in the Asian history section instead of with his other books); the additions to my David Mack collection basically complete the Kabuki series (so now I can start reading them proper, instead of starting from Issue #9 of The Alchemy, which was the first one I picked up—solely on the strength of the art); and also that Diana Wynne Jones book is her first stand-alone in a very long time, plus she may not have long to live. (You can browse Enchanted Glass online if you like.) Fairy Tale Knits by Alison Stewart-Guinee I first heard about on Whipup.net and instantly fell in love with. It teaches you how to make wonderful clothes for your children—things like fake chain mail, pirate shirts and muffs.
I was also pleased with the haul because it's rare that I get to spend a fat lot of money on books. Even though the answer to “What do you want for your birthday/Christmas?” is inevitably “Books!”, the size of my library tends to put people off as they never know what I have, what I don't have and, most importantly, what I want. (However, sometimes people buy me books based on what they think I would like, and sometimes they're right ...)
Anyway, following the Kinokuniya spending spree, we came home, had some lunch, packed and then caught the bus back into town in the late afternoon. We were sort of half-falling asleep. Fortunately our stop was quite close to the end. Then we hopped out and made the very slow trek up some very steep hills and staircases that were not kind to my PGP, but nevertheless, I managed—mostly because we were going slow and Ben was taking care of my luggage. (Luggage with wheels is seriously the best invention ever!)
We checked in and went up to our room. They upgraded us from a deluxe Darling Harbour view room to a deluxe Opera House city view room. Here are some snaps of the view: Circular Quay:
The Cahill Expressway:
The Museum of Contemporary Art:
The Sydney Opera House:
The city around us:
View of the street directly below:
And I included this one because it's the building in Mission: Impossible II:
Oh, here's the view at night:
Sorry for the blurriness of the image! My camera isn't the greatest.
The room was pretty cool. Here's the king-sized bed:
I meant to take a picture of the bathroom but didn't get around to it. It had a tub and a shower, and a vanity that went along practically half of one wall. It was easily three times the size of our bathroom at home, and it came complete with lots of thick, fluffy white towels—the kind that are perfect for winter. It also had the same hairdryer that I have.
The room itself had two little single couches and a coffee table, two bedside tables, a little desk area with free internet (and wi-fi), and a massive Samsung television that was easily twice the size of ours. It had all the standard channels plus Foxtel.
Ben wanted to have a rest, so he snoozed while I watched TV and knitted. At 7:30, I was hungry, so I woke him up and we walked down to Wagamama Bridge St for dinner as I knew I had enough points on my card to shout us two main meals. Here is the first of many let's-take-photos-of-Ben-in-whatever-eating-establishment-we-happen-to-be-in shots. (Needless to say, he got pretty sick of them!)
I got the barbecue pork ramen, which I enjoyed very much:
Ben got something that was like pad thai. We also got our standard favourite of sweet potato kusabi (here's a picture not from the night that I prepared earlier):
—and for dessert, we both independently decided on two scoops of ice cream: one coconut and one honey, ginger and macadamia nut.
(A note about the food pictures: A lot of people think I'm a foodie because I post a lot of pictures about food and tend to enjoy good food. But I am not really a foodie as such. I hate cooking, and my tastes are not as discerning as, say, Grab Your Fork. I take pictures of my food because I like the way it looks, or because I want to remember eating something yummy. Remember this when looking at all the following food photos.)
While we were at Wagamama, Ben got a call from the bank asking about a strange charge to our credit card by Fox PrePay. Neither of us had heard of it. It was a small amount, but according to the bank, it was like someone was testing the number to then make a larger charge. The upshot was that they cancelled the card outright—which, needless to say, was rather annoying since we were right in the middle of our holiday and it would have been much more convenient to pay for things with credit instead of carrying around so much cash. Ah well! Glad the bank was on top of it.
We were pretty tired, so walked back to the hotel. We went and talked to reception since they had taken our credit card details for the holding charge (or whatever it's called; a lot of hotels do it, and then refund the money when you leave or something like that ...) The girl on the desk said that she'd never had this issue before and promised to call the bank in the morning. Then we retired to our room to watch TV while I did all my pregnancy/labour exercises. The last thing we watched was Letterman before falling asleep.
Wednesday (21/07/10)
We slept in, but more because we didn't sleep well. There's something about the artificial air in hotels that doesn't agree with us: both Ben and I had temperature issues, and kept waking up in the middle of the night. I thought it might have something to do with the thermostat (which I couldn't work out in the dark and in my half-groggy state). I also thought perhaps I was overheating because I was using the excess pillows they had given us as substitute body pillows. Anyway, we both woke up not feeling very well-rested at all, which was a shame.
I had checked the weather before we left so I was prepared for rain. Sydney did not disappoint; it was dreary outside. We had brought some bananas from home to eat (because otherwise they would have just gone yucky and stunk up our apartment), so after we woke and had gotten ready, we had one each, then set out to find brunch.
Going out the front entrance led us to The Rocks. It was drizzling so we shared an umbrella, but then it got really heavy, so we took refuge under some umbrellas near a pub.
When the rainfall got lighter again, we ventured forth and wound up on Argyle St. We passed Saké, where I would like to eat one day (that's a Joyce recommendation) and then found ourselves at Playfair:
There, we found a little sidewalk café of the same name:
I got the Big Two:
and a hot chocolate:
Nearby, a rainbow lorikeet would land on chair, then fly away again, then venture back.
I soon found out his objective: sugar. When the table next to me was vacated, he and his companions swooped down on it and fell upon the sugar packets like junkies eager for their hit:
Notice the sugar packet being clutched by the one on the far left: he was quite adept at tearing off the top with his beak and then spilling the contents all over the table. He and his companions used their tongues to eat up all that sugar, and then moved onto the seat where the rest of it had spilled. True sugar junkies!
After brunch, we continued wandering around The Rocks. I don't think I've ever done it before, despite having lived in Sydney for 26 years.
Of course, having PGP meant that we couldn't walk too fast or too far. By the time we had passed under the Harbour Bridge, I really needed to sit down, but as it had been raining, most everywhere was wet. I made do with some damp sandstone, then we would continue on for a bit, and then I would try sitting down again somewhere else. We made it to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) where I suggested we stop for a rest and a drink. So we sat outside for a while under one of their umbrellas and enjoyed hot chocolate (Ben) and green tea (me), and gradually the weather improved.
(I think the above is one of the Biennale sculptures.)
It's very humbling to be restricted like that. I realise now how much I enjoy walking, and how much I miss it now that my ability to do so is hampered somewhat. Ben looks on the bright side, however, and says that it's a good thing that I can still walk (more or less), even if it isn't very fast.
After a couple of hours, we left the MCA and continued around the foreshore. I had suggested to Ben that we have afternoon tea at the Guylian chocolate café, but it was too early and we weren't that hungry. So we walked slowly passed it, then found a nice seat that wasn't wet, and sat in the sun just down from the Opera House and across from the Harbour Bridge, and talked and watched the people go by.
It's funny that that walk would take a normal person half an hour to an hour to do (depending on how fast they were walking) but it had taken us most of the day.
After a while, I was feeling a bit more peckish, so we headed to the Guylian chocolate café and had afternoon tea.
Since the weather had improved markedly, we decided to sit outside. I had a Golden Treasure, which was described on the menu as being “Saffron honey mousse and ginseng bavarois with layers of crispy hazelnut crepe and olive oil sponge”. It looked like this:
and unfortunately it disappointed; I found it all right to eat but nothing special. Ben thought similarly of the tiramisu he ordered:
It's a pity, because other things I've had at Guylian have been far yummier—for example,
However, most people I know who love chocolate don't hold Guylian in very high esteem.
Following afternoon tea, we went next door to the Dendy to see Creation, a movie starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly about Charles Darwin writing On the Origin of the Species. I don't have time to write a proper review, but here are my thoughts on it:
- The script is an adaptation of Randal Keynes's biography of Darwin called Annie's Box. So even though it purports to tell the story of Darwin writing On the Origin of the Species, it concentrates more on the man and his family (more specifically, his marriage to Emma) than on the book.
- As a result, although there are some very cool sequences that raise Darwin's ideas (and his ideas in opposition to God, as represented by his wife and the local pastor), these remain mostly in the backdrop.
- The acting is superb, with Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly both delivering stellar performances.
- I loved the way Jon Amiel presented the narrative. The main thread was the “present”, where Darwin was struggling to write his book (and feeling a lot of guilt as he did so [though Ben reckons that that was probably more for dramatic impact and not a reflection of reality]), but there were a lot of excursions into the past and into other stories from Darwin's life.
- The movie is a wonderful portrayal of marriage and what marriage is like when husband and wife disagree, and when husband and wife undergo trauma together (and what that does to a marriage). Regarding the latter, there were a few moments in the film that did make me cry, even though I recognised that I was being manipulated somewhat by the techniques of the silver screen and even though, in hindsight, I wasn't sure how integral to the film that whole thing was.
Anyway, Ben and I had an interesting conversation after it (after I recovered from my blubbering; I am such a sop! I also cried at the end of Toy Story 3 and Bridge to Terabithia ...). It was around 6:30 pm then, so we set off to find some dinner.
Ben suggested Cafe Sydney at the top of the Customs House Library, which is somewhere we've both wanted to go for a while—ever since the dinner my school friends and I had for my 30th birthday as we had ended up there for dessert afterwards. We were very fortunate: the place was quite packed, but as long as we would be out of there by 8:15, we could have a table outside overlooking the harbour. This was the view:
(Sorry it's so dark, but flash obviously doesn't work in that sort of setting.) Here is Ben with flash:
and Ben without:
He was sweltering a little because he was right under the gas burner. For me, temperature-wise, it was warm enough for me to remove my coat, but later I was thankful for the fleece blankets the restaurants had provided on the arms of our chairs as I used mine to keep my legs warm.
This should probably go down as one of the most expensive meals I've ever had. Nevertheless, despite my brother's low opinion of Cafe Sydney, I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it—from the vanilla and peach ice tea mocktail—
—to the twice cooked pork belly with caramelised pear, speck, pistachio and jus—
(Ben had prawns):
—to the hazelnut pudding with stuff I've forgotten:
(Ben had the chocolate pave):
SO YUMMY!
Anyway, we dutifully cleared out of there at 8:15 and made our slow way back the hotel for a bath, then some TV, then bed. We had intended to go up to the Blue Bar on the 36th floor, but then we couldn't be bothered, and anyway, now I see the dress code is “smart casual”, so perhaps they wouldn't have let us in. Another time then; I really wanted to go more for the view than the cocktails. (Also, you don't have to be staying at the hotel to visit the bar ...)
Thursday (22/07/10)
Once again, despite turning the thermostat right down, we both didn't sleep very well. I slept better than the night before but that wasn't saying much; I kept waking up with a dry mouth—as if I had dehydrated or something—and was glad I had placed the bottle of complimentary water on my bedside table.
I got up at 9 to shower and pack. Ben had more trouble getting up; he really did not sleep well, and a second night of temperature issues really knocked him around. Fortunately there wasn't much to pack since we had travelled so light. We both polished off the last of the bananas, then headed downstairs to check out.
If the credit card thing was a problem, the lady we saw at reception this time (different lady) didn't seem to think it was. I guess they have my contact details if they need to do anything. The annoying thing is that our old card has been removed from internet banking so we can't actually see those transactions on it and double check that we were not charged for things we shouldn't have been.
Anyway, we headed down to Circular Quay in search of brunch or some such thing. I suggested the café on the ground floor of the Customs House Library—Young Alfred. They were only doing lunch, which was fine.
We were both pretty out of it (me rambling about how there should be a Dorling Kindersley children's board book on technology with pictures and captions of iPads, iPods, motherboards and CPUs). I had the gnocchi with pesto (quite average) and the worst chai tea ever:
Ben had the trout with baby spinach and capers:
We had toyed with the thought of catching the ferry to Balmain and then getting the bus home from there, but we were both so tired, so we just caught the bus home. And that concluded the staycation.
Mind you, ending this way isn't a downer; it's nice to be home! Ben had a siesta in the afternoon, and woke up feeling much better. Fortunately he still has the rest of the week off work, so I will get to enjoy his company in leisure for a little while longer ...
Current:
seen: Moon 15/10/2009
read: The Incredibles 11/10/2009
seen: She's the Man 05/10/2009
read: I Kill Giants (Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Niimura) 04/10/2009
read: Astro City The Dark Ages Book 1: Brothers and Other Strangers (Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson and Alex Ross) 04/10/2009
seen: Children of Men 02/10/2009
seen: Metric (The Metro) 30/09/2009
seen: 500 Days of Summer 25/09/2009
seen: The September Issue 18/09/2009
seen: Gilmore Girls: Season 1 17/09/2009
read: Flight (Volume 1) (edited by Kazu Kibuishi) 16/09/2009
seen: Ponyo 11/09/2009
read: Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert) 05/09/2009
heard: Aimee Mann (Enmore Theatre) 04/09/2009
heard: Ben Folds Solo (Opera House) 31/08/2009
read: Phonogram: Rue Britannia (Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie) 26/08/2009
seen: Northanger Abbey 20/08/2009
read: The Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot) 18/08/2009
seen: The Phantom of the Opera 17/08/2009
seen: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 10/08/2009
seen: District 9 10/08/2009
read: Shortcomings (Adrian Tomine) 02/08/2009
read: AIR Volume 1: Letters from Lost Countries (Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker) 28/07/2009
seen: Persepolis 25/07/2009
seen: Ghost Town 25/07/2009
heard: Gutter Twins (Seymour Centre) 23/07/2009
seen: Coco Avant Chanel 20/07/2009
seen: Gutenberg! The Musical (Seymour Centre) 16/07/2009
seen: So You Think You Can Dance? Australia Live Tour (Sydney Entertainment Centre) 11/07/2009
seen: Every Little Step 07/07/2009
seen: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen 03/07/2009
seen: Synecdoche, New York 30/06/2009
seen: Charlie's Angels 27/06/2009
seen: Penelope 26/06/2009
seen: Coraline 10/06/2009
seen: The Sky Crawlers 08/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Ultimatum 07/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Supremacy 07/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Identity 06/06/2009
seen: Stick it 05/06/2009
Comment:
Hi Karen,
Congratulations on Astrid’s birth.
A quick tip that we learned when we became parents and my wife was breastfeeding (don’t you love tips from strangers 
):
Instead of writing down which side to feed on next, stick a hairclip, or peg on your bra strap on the side they will next feed from. Then swap it over when you feed.
Then you never have to remember, and you don’t need to worry about writing it down.
That is indeed an epic post! Brings back a lot of memories of Puff’s first weeks.
As far as how long until Astrid hits 16kgs, you can read it off the graphs in her blue book. I would guess somewhere between 2 and 3 years old.
Hi Karen - yes! But we’re finished at Moore now and living back in Tassie so it’s unlikely. I enjoy still enjoy reading though, hope you don’t mind!
@Miriam - I had a very fast labour too (lets just say it was quite a bit quicker than 4 hours) and I almost felt embarrassed telling people! I’d never imagined I’d be one of ‘those’ women. Still, friends who’ve had longer labours followed by shorter labours assured me it’s the same amount of pain, just squeezed into a shorter time span so I try not to feel too bad 
Congratulations Karen & Ben. What a beautiful daughter. Thanks for sharing your birth story - sounds almost identical to mine, except my labour was only 4 hours! My midwife also told me not to share it at mothers group as people would be jealous hehe
Enjoy this wonderful time getting to know Astrid.
Miriam
Thanks everyone!
Wow, Bron, I still can’t believe I haven’t met you yet! Thanks for continuing to read this blog!
Little Rachel, now I’m intrigued!!!
It’s so funny reading your labour experience. It’s so funny she came out when you were standing up and the midwife had to catch her. Wow! I will remember to go through your blog more carefully when my time comes around. It’s very informative.
Congratulations to you all and many blessings. Astrid is a little sweetie.
Congratulations Karen and Ben. A gorgeous girl with a gorgeous name. Praise God!
Thanks for sharing your story.
Congrats, Karen! She looks wonderful, so alert and adorable! Glad that everything went so smoothly (comparatively).
Well, one of your details clears up a conversation Jess and Anna and Liza and I had! I’ll tell you later.
I think you and Ben did amazingly well, and that the staff were right: you were pretty tough! I will have to give all those exercises a go when that time comes.
Yay for Astrid! Such a beautiful name for a precious daughter.
Hello! Thanks for sharing. It sounded tough and bewildering! Can I come and visit sometime? Tonight or tomorrow night? I’m away for the next 4 days after that. Love George
Congratulations! Astrid Winter is a gorgeous name. So beautiful. Thank you for sharing your story. It’s interesting to hear from other women. Now I’m expecting my second I’m starting to think about all that again. Eeeeek!
RPA is very busy, apparently they’re at 3 times capacity for the area. When we were there last year the night my daughter was born there were something like 8 births in 45 minutes. As soon as I’d had a shower we had to be out of there! I remember being rather surprised at having to walk up to the post-natal ward. “you want me to what?!”
I don’t think it’s exclusively the change of temperature: young babies like to be cuddled up (or wrapped in a blanket or similar) as they adjust to being on the outside after so long being wrapped up on the inside.
Oh yeah, it makes perfect sense that babies would cry if you put them in a cold bed! I totally never thought of that!
I love your posts, they are so fascinating! :D
Oh Jess! There are so many good things about Sydney
Looks like really nice adventures! I don’t really think of Sydney as a place to explore.. hmm.. you have opened my mind up to The Staycation.
I get depressed at the adrenaline crash also because then I have time to think about how shitty everything is lol.
Hmm...food for thought indeed. V. interesting, thank you for posting
lol! Karen, you’re so frank and I love it. “the non-constipating kind” of iron pills. hahaha.
i know how hard it is to not tell people the sex of your baby. I am tempted to tell strangers or acquaintances what you’re having because, as Ben reasoned with the waiter, I’ll either never see them again or it’s not like their going to tell anyone of consequence.
Thanks Kathleen! Glad you’re finding them interesting!
These posts are fascinating, Karen, and I’m happy/sad for you.
Hey Little! One of the things that astounds me is that people all over the world give birth everyday in different circumstances, and they seem to get through it. Maybe all the bells and whistles of the western world are simply that—bells and whistles, and things we do to make ourselves feel better about such a painful and momentous occurrence. I’m sure Mongolia has its own ways of looking after their expectant mums!
Great post, Karen.
As I said to you last Friday: the Toturo thing is gorgeous!
Thanks for posting about the changing relationships between friends. I’ve been struggling to come to terms with my best friend’s relationship with her boyfriend and the loss I feel. It’s been 18mths now, but I guess it’s taking longer for me to deal with because he’s not something we talk about and I don’t often see them together. However, it’s still known. It’s good to know I’m not alone or going crazy or whatever.
Also, thanks for the updates on Peanut. Can’t wait to meet him/her!
I think that your child will one day be thankful that they can read about what their mother was thinking. They won’t have to wonder if you’ve forgotten anything or just telling the good things! I think the positives are more believable when accompanied by the negatives, that’s just more realistic.
The PGP sounds really hard! Also not something that people talk about, so is it hard to get understanding from people when you need to go a little slower? Though perhaps they just expect that of pregnant women… gah, there are so many steps at MM! :(
I worry about the money stuff too… though I guess in Mongolia maybe they won’t do all those medical things so I won’t have to pay for them! 
Keep blogging! You know I’m fascinated. ;p
Thanks Miriam! That’s good to know!
Hi Karen,
Thanks for the long update. It sounds like you are experiencing very common emotions (high and low) of first-time expectant mothers.
In answer to your question about breastfeeding in 5mins - that’s pretty common. In the first few weeks as both you and baby are learning how to feed (it takes a while to get the hang of it)feeding takes a little while (about an hour for me and Alex). This was actually a blessing for me as it meant I could sit and rest for that period of time, 5 or 6 times a day! Lovely, especially as it was such a tiring time of my life, with all the adjusting that comes with the birth of a child.
The milk flow can be quite fast to begin with(often too fast for baby!) and it means they take in too much and then need to be burped, which all takes time. After awhile though your breasts will adjust and regulate themselves as they work out how much milk is needed. THey are amazing the way they work. They actually feel quite soft and empty after a few weeks and lots of new mums worry that they don’t hvae enough milk, but it is very normal, and just means your body has regulated the amount of milk it makes.
Check out the Australian Breastfeeding Association webpage - it is full of excellent information. I would recommend joining the association - you receive a magazine every 2 months, which is filled with wonderful articles. I found it very helpful (and still do after 3 years of feeding). A great bit of reading to have in your hands while sitting down to feed. You also receive an excellent book “Breastfeeding....naturally” which answers just about any question you may have about breastfeeding. I read it many many times!
Mim
Congratulations again - and it is very interesting to hear what happens!
@Sarah: Thanks for the tip RE Australian Breastfeeding Association! I never would have thought to look there. Ditto KMart: I was wondering if they did since Target don’t.
@Rae: Thanks for the tip! I’ll check it out.
@Little Rachel: Oh, I’ll definitely be up for visitors! I may not be very good company (brain-dead, etc.) but I’ll certainly appreciate visits!
@Rachel C: CONGRATS!!! So excited for you Yours sounds like a good philosophy. One day I shall have to blog about Outliers!
@CafeDave: Thanks for the tip!
@Elissa: Thanks for your kind words! It makes me happy that you and Dave were excited we were getting married! Thanks also for the prayers!
@Elsie: There are lots of other lovely things I could have said about you, but let’s not overload my readers, shall we? ;P
Aww...thanks for the lovely things you said about me! I enjoyed reading this post (as I do with all yours). xo
Congratulations to you both. I know you will be such wonderful parents. You sound WAY too sensible! 
(Sorry to read that there were some unusual comments made about your marriage! We thought it was exciting. We still have a lovely photo of you & Ben in our lovely box of special memories. (I was only 22 when married & I was 30 when we had Bonnie...)
Everyone is different! I nodded through your post. SO many people feel the curious need to share their “horror stories” which is just dreadful. I remember complaining to David who said - go find people who are positive & listen to them. Great advice, which I did. Those people still have a big place in my heart because their advice was honest & gentle.
Bless you & Ben & the little Peanut. We pray all goes smoothly over the coming weeks/months ahead. We sometimes forget what a precious little miracle life really is…
Another book from the dad’s perspective I found helpful was From here to paternity - it’s an Australian book, and was followed up with a blog.
Hi!
I’m so excited for you reading your blog about being pregnant I am 13 weeks pregnant with #2.
You’re so right about all the pessimism “advice” that you get. I got so mad about it but never found a good response. I’ve had such joy right from day one with E that I just don’t want to buy into the negativity (I’m sure kids pick up on it too!).
My philosophy was/is to be a relaxed mum and from that figure out what was best for my baby/child. Get advice when you’re not sure on things or want to know how other people approached things, read books (loved Outliers!) that aren’t all about parenting… but just enjoy.
In a sample size of one to date, I’ve had such a happy, chilled out son right from day one. People say all the craziest advice… glad you don’t do guilt
With love,
R
Thanks so much for writing more! I love hearing how you’re going and all your thoughts.
After watching my sister I agree with you that it seems the first six months are perhaps the hardest. She got quite lonely at home all day; weekends were all right because then her husband was around but it’s just as you say… one feed ends then the next begins! If you are accepting visitors during this period then I hope to use some RDOs to come have grown-up conversations!
The book review of The Second Nine Months makes me want to read it now!
Names: We have one girl name that we both like and no boy names that we agree on. But they are also top-secret… so if anyone else uses them we can’t accuse them of theft!
Yay Peanut, keep on growing, can’t wait to meet you!
Hello! Thanks for sharing
I loved reading your pregnancy update! I am glad to hear that things are all going pretty well, and I hope the rest of your 2nd trimester is as good.
I just wanted to add, that some other blokes decided that there was not much for the fathers-t0-be, and made a couple of DVD’s just for expectant dads. They are called ‘Being Dad’and i think they are available at big W. I have both though, if you would like me to send them!
Just wanted to wish you all the best!
Love
Rae
re: gluten: no idea!! I didn’t have to go on that diet - it was probably related to the test I didn’t do.
At the risk of adding to your list of advice:
Re: maternity bras - because I’m big I had to look hard for something nice in my size and discovered the Australian Breastfeeding Association. They have a massive range online and most are (dare I say it) sexy.
Re: maternity clothes - Kmart have a nice range of basic stuff.. I only found out towards the end of pregnancy and I would have liked to know earlier!
Re: Parenting classes - if you’re at RPA you can just ring the midwives section (they’ll put you through) and ask directly.
Congratulations again
Don’t laminate your ultrasound picture That is my advice.
Congratulations! This is so fantastic!
Thanks so much for sharing all of this… people swap engagement stories but rarely pregnancy stories! And it’s kind of similar don’t you think, all this excitement leading up to a big day!
So happy for you guys! Actually never been more excited for anyone except my sister! I think it’s because I think that you will both be amazing parents and love the idea that someone could grow up in your family.
Looking forward to many more posts on the topic.
Blinks:
"For a long time, I was waiting for my life to go back to normal," he said. "And then I realized, this is my life. So this is my normal."
How to make wontons.
Short-sleeved cardigan with lace edging.
Interesting answer.
"We pick out people who have the same kind of unhappiness we do. And we gravitate toward them and try to help them.
"Many of us are like this. Every time we try to help someone else and fail, it feels weird. It feels bad. We do not know exactly what is going on but it is upsetting.
"Until one day we realize that what we are doing is avoiding our own pain. We have learned to act as though it is not our pain that is at issue, but other people's."
Cleaning tips for all sorts of things. White vinegar is apparently wonderful!
The case for print.
"Laura Miller has argued eloquently in Salon about reading on the iPad as a serene experience, a sanctuary from the link-surfing that dominates so much of what we read online. And yet, I know what having an iPod has done to my attention span and ability to sit through an entire album, in order, by one artist ... and I'll be damned if I let the same thing happen to the way I read. Out of every argument I've heard in favor of e-readers ... my least favorite might be the central point of the thing: the fact that it allows you to choose from thousands of books at any given time. I simply don't want that kind of potential for distraction ...
"For me, to deny books their physical structure simply ignores far too much of what makes them enjoyable. The commitment they require, the way they force you into a state of simultaneous calm and focus—these are things I have yet to duplicate by any other means."
Something to do with leftover wool. Makes good toys!
The reasons behind the creation of the 4 am news slot. Interesting how lifestyle fuels these sorts of cultural changes.
Via Elsie. Consumer addiction used to distract or cover for emotional emptiness/loss/grief, etc.
A parenting philosophy to introduce media to children late and slowly.
|
|
Comments
Looks like really nice adventures! I don’t really think of Sydney as a place to explore.. hmm.. you have opened my mind up to The Staycation.
Oh Jess! There are so many good things about Sydney
Leave a comment
Comment moderation is currently OFF.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete all comments I deem unsuitable for this blog. These include defamatory comments, comments filled with nothing but swearing and, of course, spam.
If your comment contains more than two URLs, it will be blocked by my spam filter. Please split it over two comments.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.