NTE diary
Tuesday, 21 December, 2004
Thursday 2 December
Wake up at 5:45 am having slept terribly. Ben insists on having a shower which means I can't pack the toiletries. Go to pick up Stacie who has also slept badly. Ben drives. Fall asleep in the car which means that Stacie has to keep Ben awake. He lasts until Lake George and then swaps with Stacie. I wake up and navigate us to Ursula Hall.
Rego office not quite organised but we still manage to grab our pre-NTE book, NTE book, souvenir mug (black this year) and other junk mail. Ben and I lug our giant green luggage bag to the corner room where we find a wall full of bookshelves, a desk, barfridge, ensuite the size of a broom closet and twin beds. It's nice that AFES looks after us and we haven't been separated like other couples have.
Walk to the Coombs building (shaped like honeycomb). Meet the missionaries and AFES senior staffworkers, excellent talk by Keith Birchley, then lunch back at Ursula, free time, electives (fall asleep in Owen Chadwick's elective on student work in France and feel so bad about it that I apologise to him later in the week), dinner, another talk by Keith, bed.
Friday 3 December
Breakfast, second elective in the morning (went one about student work in Queensland; met the QUT and Townsville staffworkers and Tom (?) who knows Deb and who called her a “lovely girl”, lunch, wander around the National Gallery of Australia while Newcastle staff plan their elective material in the café (we're all wagging General Committee, you see), dinner, final talk from Keith, I finish my second drawstring bag. Fight with Ben while Elsie rings on the mobile trying to find her accommodation.
Saturday 4 December
Wake up feeling very low because of the fight, find Elsie in the courtyard who gives me three books of Studio Ghibli storyboards of Princess Mononoke, Nausicäa and Spirited Away which her sister didn't want anymore. Eat breakfast, brush teeth, decide to go for a walk. ANU is very pretty—reminds me of Michigan though I don't know why because I only visited the University of Michigan for a day. Found that I could walk to the National Museum of Australia. Spent an hour wandering around there, having fun by myself. Walk back towards Llewellyn Hall for the first talk but go via the School of Art which just happened to be holding their graduating exhibition. My favourite was this one entitled “Portrait” that was entirely made up of black and white glass balls stuck to the wall. Spend a while gawking at all the beautiful things before going on to Llewellyn Hall. The hall is packed (around 940 students came this year). The session has already started so I end up sitting with strangers (not that I care about that sort of thing; I don't really mind who I sit with and I'm fine with looking like a Nigel). David Cook gives his first talk on 2 Timothy at lightning speed. I barely keep up but I really enjoy it.
Lunch. Find that Ben has slept through breakfast and the first talk (he only ends up hearing David once). We make up. Strand groups—we're both in Llewellyn Hall, only he's co-leading with Matthew and I am doing Strand 4 on Work (yay!!) Helen from La Trobe is my strand leader. Elsie is also in my group (yay!!!) I soon realise that I'm the only MTS-er and the only married person apart from Helen. We do heaps of Bible flicking and work really hard for about three and a half hours. Dinner. Phillip Jensen comes onstage with his Bible but tells us he isn't going to refer to it for his entire talk. What follows is a very interesting lecture on the history of Christian student groups in England and eventually Australia. I start to feel extremely blessed by what God has been doing over the centuries. Mission team meeting—we meet the Fijians who are coming with us to Holt. Bed.
Sunday 5 December
I wake up early for breakfast only to find everyone milling around in the courtyard because the kitchen staff haven't accounted for the fact that our timetable says 7:30 breakfast. Ben sleeps in again. David's second talk on 2 Timothy is just as frantic as the first. Elsie and I talk through reflection time but we do read some of 1 Samuel. My strand group returns to the topic of work and I am particularly struck by the concept of work being a blessing from God—that he has set things up this way so that we work to live and that is the way he wants it. I feel like I have experienced a Copernican revolution (to steal Phillip's phrase); I've never thought about work like this before.
Lunch. Free time is spent messing around on the piano with Ben for a little while. I go to Keith Birchley's afternoon elective on storytelling and end up sitting next to him on a barstool because the room hasn't got enough chairs and everyone has to crowd in very close. He gets us to tell each other a story—any story—in pairs. I tell him the original Cinderella story (you knew the fairy tale comes from China, didn't you?) The elective is wonderful and terribly stimulating. It makes me want to do the entire course and I start envying all those lucky UQ students who got to do it. Dinner. Llewellyn Hall is packed because FOCUS Crossroads church joins us as part of their evening service. Phillip's second talk (with outlines typed in via PowerPoint 5 mins before he begins). I skip meeting the missionaries—met them during Pre-NTE. Bed.
Monday 6 December
Breakfast is on time but I am good and avoid all the hot cholesterol-inducing food and stick to toast and cereal. The Newcastle staff whom we have become quite chummy with have now gone to Canberra City Accommodation (the backpacker hostel where a sizable number of conference delegates are staying). They don't get their own rooms but they do get Pay TV and there is an Internet café downstairs. My strand group is a bit sluggish this morning. Helen very graciously treats us to morning tea at the local café. Most of the girls start asking her questions about singleness and marriage. I feel really weird about it but I suppose I'll feel even weirder next year when married people vastly outnumber singles at Moore.
Lunch. The Wollongong Uni team organise to go ice skating again. We decide to pass and join the Roedigers and Liz's sister in a Canberra city outing. We cannot find a cinema that is screening Hero (should have gone to Manuka!) so we wander around the mall for a little while (found The Teddybear Shop which sells the most gorgeous puppets—I really wanted the dragon one but it was $167) and had coffee at a sidewalk café. Pete who has recently arrived also joins us.
Dinner. Have a walking date with Sonja so we catch up on the way to Lewellyn Hall and sit together during Phillip's third talk. Question time with Phillip. Sleep.
Tuesday 7 December
Breakfast and David's third talk. I walk over to Canberra City Accommodation, following the trail of students over London Circle, to go to the internet café because I've scored Elixir on eBay. It's the first time I've ever been to an internet café. Download time is exceptionally slow so me and another patron complain and get our time up-ed again. Unfortunately it means I have to come back later in the day.
I walk back for strand group time when we're supposed to sum up and then go off to write our talks but we don't actually get to that stage because summing up takes too long. Lunch. I convince Ben to walk back over to Canberra City Accommodation with me during free time. I get the transaction finished and wade through my mail. Ben has just enough time to check his before my credit runs out. We walk back. I meet a guy who studies Psych at Wollongong Uni who goes to Miriam's church and who is trying to knit socks with some leftover wool his mother had. I have my first intelligent conversation about knitting with a guy. Mission team meeting again (we meet Nick from St. James' Holt/Kippax). I start feeling stressed. Dinner. Try to put in my tape order form and the line is exceptionally long. Realise now why Matthias Media's self-service bookstalls are such a good idea. David's fourth talk with question time, finishing off 2 Timothy. I walk back to Ursula with Keith Birchley so I can ask him some questions. I write my talk for Strand 4 very hurriedly. Sleep.
Wednesday 8 December
Breakfast. I interview my last student for the article I'm going to write for Salt about NTE. Strand groups. I finish my third drawstring bag. No one has done their talk except me so I perform it for Helen (it was a kids' talk) and she gives me good feedback. She also asks me to go around to half the girls in the group to see how their talk writing is going. It is nice to be useful and I have some good conversations. We have a group photo together and say goodbye. Elsie and I sit together for Phillip's last talk in which he relates how he had breakfast with members of the philosophical society (not realising they weren't NTE-ers) and how he, the so-called great evangelist, was unable to evangelise in that situation. I appreciated his honesty. It was also great to be reminded that evangelism is simply the proclamation of the gospel and nothing more; it's not up to us to convert people to following Jesus and we don't need any bells or whistles to do evangelism. If I am ever coherent on this subject, I'll blog more about it.
Lunch was sandwiches, canned drinks and fruit. We eat it sitting on the ground just outside Llewellyn Hall. Everyone waves to the WA people who are getting back on board their bus to prepare for their trip back across the Nullabor. Ben is desperately trying to get rid of the last of the morning tea cookies. Loren and I briefly catch up in the shade of the building, then say goodbye until January.
Ben and I walk back to Ursula and drive to Holt. We are early so we sit in the car listening to music until everyone else arrives. There are a couple of hours of rest in which I start teaching the Fijian girls, Va and Alena, how to knit. We prepare for Kids' Club, then the kids arrive and chaos sets in for the next couple of hours.
It is raining very hard at this time. Louise is not game to drive her car out to Holt because she's been having car problems so Ben and I go into the city. Our car starts making funny noises on Parkes' Way and we pull over to the side of the road and call the NRMA. Louise and I cancel our dinner date. It turns out that it's nothing serious—just water in the engine area that has now drained away so the car starts up fine. Our NRMA man notices Ben's ECU T-shirt and tells us he comes from Tuggernong Pressie where one of the AFES groups is doing mission. He wishes us well and we go on our way. We have delicious Thai food in Kingston before heading back to our billets. We're so exhausted that conversation with them is hard but finally we get to sleep.
Thursday 9 December
Ben and I are so tired we don't wake up until about 11. The rest of the team goes off to do primary school Scripture. We meet them at Commonwealth Park for lunch before everyone heads off to do various things for our day off. We drop off the Fijians at the National Museum of Australia but I'm not keen to walk around it again so Ben and I go to Manuka to see Hero (might write a review for Salt about it). We meet everyone at Zefferelli's in Belconnen for dinner. Va has snapped one of my knitting needles in half. I run out of wool and feel really depressed because I can't knit. Sleep.
Friday 10 December
Breakfast in our billets' gorgeous house. We have a team meeting in the morning where people report back about Scripture. Me, Laura and the Fijian girls go to the women's craft group where much testimony-sharing ensues. It is quite encouraging. Lunch provided by the church, then the seniors' afternoon tea where we meet a lady whose husband was in the second world war. In the evening, most of the girls head off to the coffee and dessert night at our billets' place. Ben also goes there to hang out with the men who will be there. I stay for youth group and eat frankfurter sausages for dinner. There is a balloon tyer, fire-breathers and pass-the-parcel. Then the formal part starts which is a lot like a mini church service. They do the music (singing songs with the most appalling words), we do the other bits—testimony, Bible reading, talk, etc. It's hard to get to know the kids. I stay around for a long while to help clean up, then go back to my billets' to find that there is more cleaning up to do. Feel really tired.
Saturday 11 December
Morning meeting at the church. Gently rebuke the rest of the mission team who was at youth group for not staying back to clean up. Go door-knocking/surveying/letter-box dropping in the local area with Jerry from Fiji. I'm not scared of door-knocking but I do find it extremely boring and anxiety-inducing. We come across a house with a sign near the door that says, “Religious people are not welcome; knock at your own risk.” Only one girl does the survey but several take fliers about the carols service. Our last conversation is with a man whose wife had died several months ago. He has a sign over his door which reads, “Forget the dog—beware of the wife!— He and Jerry hit it off really well, talking about Fiji.
Carols practice and preparation for the young adults' evening in the afternoon. Ben and I also stop by Lincraft to buy more wool and knitting needles so I can give Va some proper ones to finish off her scarf. Because my billets aren't home for dinner, I go with Ben to the men's BBQ to get tea. We meet a man who became a Christian after reading a biography. Unfortunately I have to leave before the proper food gets served. Only a handful of young adults come for the evening so we have to change everything we've prepared but it's still very encouraging, watching our students from Wollongong do their best to encourage the young adults at Holt in evangelism, even offering to go doorknocking with them the following day. I get back very late and very tired.
Sunday 12 December
The 8 am service is very high church and traditional with much swapping between the prayer book, the hymn book and the Bible. Jono preaches well on Ephesians and no one seems to mind his ponytail. Susan sings an item. The 9:30 family service is straight afterwards (in which we are involved in various ways). Richard preaches the gospel very clearly. Lunch with the church then we have a team meeting in the afternoon. Everyone is feeling quite hysterical because we're all so tired. Susan and I do more carols practice. Ben and I go home to change and rest but I only get 15 mins of rest before it's back to church for the BBQ (by this stage I am heartily sick of sausages) and the carols service. I meet a girl name Jo that I did Just for Starters training with at the University of New South Wales. Amazingly we remember each other. I also meet another lady who had been going through a very hard time recently and hadn't been attending church, despite the fact she said she was a Christian. I talk to her more after the service as well and wish I could have done more to help her.
Despite the varying dramas with music, the carols service goes off without a hitch. The Fijians sing a song and the entire mission team does the Fijian version of the Haka. Richard preaches very clearly once again. Susan and I sing, “What am I To Do?” by Ruth Buchanan as an item. Everyone is feeling very exhilarated and happy and there are team photos and hugs galore. Some of our team drive back to Wollongong that night. The rest stay with our billets one more time.
Monday 13 December
Down to my last change of clothes. Breakfast is at Commonwealth Park where the entire Wollongong contingent gets together to share what went on during mission. Hannah recites a poem she wrote about it. Richard tells her it should be published in Salt. The Science/Engineering group (by far the biggest team) do their rap. We do the Fijian Haka. There is a big group photo and then we all hit the road. Ben and I take turns driving. Because we can only do 100 kph, The Beast soon catches up with us (that's the name of Simon's ambulance-car). We lunch at MacDonald's.
We reach Wollongong at 2 and find Shaun walking along Foleys Rd. He is moving to Kurrajong parish in January which we think is slightly ridiculous since Sandy came to us from that church and now Shaun is going there to do Sandy's job. We drop him at church, go home for half an hour and then go to counselling. Counselling is very good: we talked about anger. She told me that anger is always a secondary emotion and it masks something else. I think I understand more about why I get angry. Dinner. Laundry. Random packing. Opening the mail. I'm so glad NTE is over.
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.
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Comments
Gosh. Who’s Tom?
Gosh - I’m tired just from reading about it.
Could you expand on Keith’s elective about storytelling? I’m intrigued.
Deb: Ah, that’s me with my atrocious memory for names. It’s not Tom—it’s Tony Rowbotham
. He’s going to the Uni on the Gold Coast next year.
Guan-burger, the elective was all about evangelism through storytelling—specifically (but not limited to) the Bible stories. So he was giving us tips on how memorise the stories, tell them in a relevant way and how to get to the storytelling stage in the first place. If I had my notes in front of me, I could expand in more detail but unfortunately they’re in a box somewhere in my messy house.
Tony is very lovely too.
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