Story: 27/10/08-2/11/08
Friday, 05 December, 2008
Monday 27/10/08
I was up at 6:15 and in at work by 7:30. I edited Sola Panel posts for three hours, then switched to Briefing editing (Pastor's brief). Guan was in, so he, Bec and I went out to lunch. I stopped by to see Elsie on the way to give her some towels we don't use and don't need, as well as some cutlery. On the way home, we bought Magnums from the IGA because of the Magnum Gold Class promotion. (I was aghast to learn that both Bec and Guan had had Magnum Gold Class wrappers before, but had thrown them out! I made them promise to give me one.)
In the afternoon, I met with Tony to talk about where The Briefing was up to, being cranky and the seasons of life one goes through. I decided I was on top of things, so that meant I could have the day off tomorrow. I went home at 4 and played with Wii Fit—even jogging for 20 minutes (record!) Ben was at a Cardboard Tube Fighting League photo shoot with Fish and Kat. He rang and said that Fish had invited us for dinner. I had a shower, finished editing the Pastor's brief article, sent it off, then drove to Fish's.
With the help of Kat and Ben, he made very yummy pizza for dinner. We played Lego Star Wars for Wii (it belonged to Fish's flatmate, or at least Fish's flatmate had borrowed it out). It amused me that such a thing exists. It amused me even more the way things disintegrate into little Lego pieces when you smash them, or when you die. (I wished you could kill Jar Jar Binks but no such luck.)
Ben was tired so we said goodbye and went home. However, we ended up staying up late doing whatever, and then went to bed at 1.
Tuesday 28/10/08
Again, I meant to get up early but instead I slept. When I got up, I ate breakfast, read my Bible and prayed, then got stuck into stuff—laundry, working on my script for “Going home” for Fish, getting annoyed at Microsoft Word because it wouldn't do what I wanted, wishing I had a decent version of Photoshop, trying to draw and ink Page 1 of my comic for Dean, and meanwhile things to do with the flat we wanted to buy were going on in the background (we were outbid and we decided not to raise) and I didn't want to pay attention to any of it. Ben and I started snapping at each other which wasn't good.
Ben made a stir fry for dinner and then we spent the evening watching TV—NCIS and The Simpsons. We went to bed early but stayed up late talking because we both couldn't sleep.
Wednesday 29/10/08
I was up at 6:45 and in at work by 7:30. I ate breakfast at work, dealt with my email, Sola Panel and various Briefing things. I got stuck into the Bible brief and worked on it all day. I updated my status on Twitter a lot as I went so that my updates formed a sort of running commentary on Jeremiah as I went along.
Lunch was spent at my desk. I met with Elsie after that, and vented about stuff—feeling cranky and not being abel to handle the extra stress of stuff. We read 1 Timothy together and commented on the chapters, then closed in prayer. I continued with the Bible brief in the afternoon and finished it. I edited the Epilogue and sent it off, and then started subediting Up front.
I finally called it a night and went off to Bible study where we had nachos for dinner. We were all there except for Sammi. We did a manuscript discovery study on Galatians, then prayed in groups of boys and girls. With us girls, it took us so long to around talking about things, we ran out of time to pray so Bec prayed for all of us.
I drove home, had a shower and went to bed. Ben had been out somewhere but came in while I was still awake. He was still down and said he thought we should have raised our offer.
Thursday 30/10/08
Both of us didn't sleep that well. Ben came into work with me and we were in by 8:45 (due to bad traffic). I read and subbed Up front and one of the feature articles, and then gave the Bible brief one final check. Ben got a call from the agent: apparently the other bidder pulled out. The agent had some story about how this lady's place had gone to auction the night before and it had sold for $50K less than she had expected (and of course we have no way of knowing whether or not he lied). He said that we could have the flat if we were willing to pay the price she offered for it. Ben told him that we hadn't offered that amount. We stuck to our guns and refused to raise. And Ben became very stressed.
Guan was in and shared an office with me in Gordo's absence. At lunchtime, Kurt came in to eat with Ben, and I had lunch with Bec and Guan (the three of us were completely out of it so conversation was rather odd). Bec gave me her Magnum Gold Class Wrapper. After lunch, I worked on my devotion on 2 Kings 5 (Elisha cures Naaman of leprosy). I gave it at staff meeting. It went well, and then we prayed together.
In the afternoon, I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. Guan went home and Ben came to share an office with me. I ended up listening to Peter Adam's talk on Jude from Synod, and then did a bit of transcription of something from a recent MTS day.
We left around 4 and went home for a bit. Ben went to the FEVA office to shred some old papers we didn't need any more. I met him at the station and we caught the train to Town Hall. We had dinner at Sakura, sititng outside (sashimi and gyoza) and then got some cupcakes from the shop nearby. They had this really cool Halloween cupcake display:
Then we walked to Greater Union George St to use our Magnum Gold Class Wrappers to see Burn After Reading (the wrapper allows you a free upgrade from a standard ticket to a Gold Class one. As Gold Class is normally around twice the price of a normal ticket, that's a pretty good deal!) However, the session we wanted was completely full, so we opted for the later one (9:30). This meant that we had a heap of time to kill in the city.
So we went walking around. We went up to Kinokuniya and I spotted The Graveyard Book (which was two days ahead of its release date):
I bought Ros her Christmas present there. Then we went down to Dirt Cheap CDs and discovered that that branch was closing. At JB Hi Fi and I saw Blackbird by Katie Noonan:
(I should have bought it then and there for Elsie for her birthday, but I wasn't thinking straight.) We discovered there was now a Passionflower just near the George St cinema, so we stopped there and had dessert. I got three scoops of ice cream: white chocolate and hazelnut, cookies and cream, and hokey pokey in a waffle basket.
Finally it was time for our movie, so we headed back to Greater Union, got ourselves some popcorn and tried to find our cinema. Gold Class totally confused us, but at George St, in order to access the Gold Class cinemas, you go through this bar area with its own maître d' (where you are encouraged to order food, and you could order a three-course dinner plus alcohol there if you wanted to, but you pay on top of your ticket price), and then you are directed up to the actual cinema where you are ushered to your seat. The seats are these enormous recliner things covered in some sort of suede plush material, and you can lean back and put up your feet (and, presumably, go to sleep). The cinema holds no more than 40 people, and at various intervals, waiters will come in with the food people have ordered. I can see it appealing to couples who go out on fancy dates, but personally I think I prefer the bean bag cinema.
And Burn After Reading was okay. It was really the sort of Coen Brothers film I'm not that fond of (I prefer Intolerable Cruelty, The Man Who Wasn't There and O Brother, Where Art Thou? ): something happens because someone is motivated by greed and self-interest, and things degenerate from there into comic circumstances, but the directors certainly aren't kind to their characters and seem to have a very bleak outlook on human existence.
Afterwards, we caught the train home via Museum (the trains were running the other way) and went to bed.
Friday 31/10/08
I didn't sleep well but I was up at 6:45 all the same. I was in at work by 7:30, and I dealt with my email and November Briefing things (e-Briefing, store, new products, The Longing, etc.) I needed to talk to Tony so he could choose which free articles we would put online but he wasn't in until lunch.
I had no lunch so ventured outside into the blazing heat to get some. At the green grocer, I bought some salad stuff: baby spinach (in which I found both a moth and a ladybug), mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and an avocado for 99c. I chopped them all up and ate them, while blogging about the Michael Horton interview.
After lunch, I talked to Tony to get some of the answers I needed and finished off most of the November Briefing things (everything except the free Library articles.
I left at 4:05 and went to the shops to buy fruit and vegetables, fish, chicken and basic groceries. A Woolworths employee told me to move to a shorter line, but it ended up taking longer. However, the talkative and friendly gentleman in front of me struck up a conversation with me about his recent knee operation and who would win in the US elections.
I loaded up the car and then went to pick up Ben and Rosey from Glebe Park. We dropped Rosey home, then drove back to our house and carried all the groceries up the stairs and put them away. I chopped up all the chicken while watchined Toy Story, while Ben made dinner (soy chicken with salad stuff—leftovers from lunch). We watched some Law & Order. Then I washed up while Ben packed, I had a shower and we went to bed.
Saturday 1/11/08
Ben was up at 7. He left for Port Stephens, taking my camera with him. I got up at 8:30, checked my email and the weather, printed the attendance list for Word by Word and then caught a rail bus to Central and a train to Circular Quay. I redeemed the free bacon and egg McMuffin coupon I had received at Lizz's Sydney Eistedfodd recital, then went to the Customs House Library.
It looked like some people were trying to do a fashion shoot in the doorway but it started raining. I was early so I headed inside and sat in the foyer with some other people, waiting for the library to open. I sat and scribbled, then closer to the time, I came out and met the others: Ben M, Ali, Little and Becky. Bec and Guan were running late. The rain was really coming down, so we went into the foyer and gawked at the full scale model of Sydney under the glass floor. Bec and Guan arrived around then, and the library opened, so we headed upstairs to the reading room on the second floor and got to working for one and a half hours. (I worked on my four-page comic.) I suppose it was oddly fitting, given that it was the first day of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) but none of us were actually participating (unlike Kathleen!)
We finished up at around 12:30 and went and got some lunch at the kiosk outside the Coke building. The weather was fine enough for us to sit outside and eat together (though Guan had very sensibly brought his own lunch). Afterwards, we split up and went our separate ways. I walked to York Street and went to Morris and Sons again where the yarn sale was still in full swing. I bought some more yarn, then crossed the road and went to Eckersley's Art and Craft and bought an awl, a cutting blade, a cutting board, a metal ruler and some craft glue. I needed a tailor's needle but they had none, so I walked to Lincraft in the Imperial Arcade only to find that the whole place was shut due to renovations, and that my nearest Lincraft was now in Alexandria.
So I walked to Town Hall. On the way, I passed a clothing store that was closing down, and managed to find a fairly decent 100% cotton blue and white dress for only $10. I caught the train to Central and then the express bus to Stanmore, I bought some milk from the IGA and then walked home.
I watched The Simpsons and then House and part of Life. Then I thought I'd better clean up before Bec, Guan and Mary arrived. I cooked them coconut chili basil chicken and microwaved some vegies to go with it. Then I got a call from Ben saying that he had fractured his ankle while quad biking at Stockton. He was laughing when he called which momentarily confused me. Apparently towards the end of their quad biking session they had been heading back to the base, going over the sand dunes. He said that he didn't realise he was approaching at 1.5-2 metre drop until he was almost there, and then he threw himself off the bike because he was afraid the bike would land on him otherwise. He landed badly and fractured his ankle, and goodness knows what happened to the bike, but he was taken in a truck over the sand dunes (bump bump bump) back to the carpark, and Nancy drove him to the hospital at Nelson Bay. They took some x-rays and put him in a temporary cast, then said they wanted to transfer him to Newcastle as the fracture did not look good and they were afraid they would have to operate. Ben told them that it was better if he went back to Sydney, so Marinka drove him in our car (with him the back seat with his leg up) all the way back from Port Stephens.
We had finished dinner and had just started the screening of Mirrormask (which was the main reason we had all gotten together—Bec hadn't seen it) when Ben rang to say he was in Emergency at Royal Prince Albert. Marinka said she would come get me, and she turned up not long later. So I grabbed my purse and a thin jumper, told Bec, Guan and Mary to hang around as long as they wanted and to just pull the door shut behind them when they went, dropped Marinka home, then drove to the hospital. I was lucky to get a park right outside on Missenden Road, and then I went to emergency and found Ben in the waiting room with a pair of crutches by his side and his leg in a temporary cast propped up on a chair. Note to self: whenever you go to emergency, bring something to do, because chances are you'll be there for a long while. I sat with him. After an hour and a half, he got to see a doctor who wanted more x-rays because the Nelson Bay x-rays weren't enough. We waited for a bit and then were taken off by a very nice radiologist who let me come with him. Then we were sent back out where we waited some more. I actually went out and got Ben some food (because at this point it was around 9 o'clock and he hadn't eaten since 1), but just as he had taken his first bite, the doctor called him in again and told him not to eat in case they had to operate. So I ended up eating some of the food I'd bought (which was yoghurt, a sandwich and a drink from the local corner store because even McDonald's was closed at this point). After consulting with orthopedics, the doctor said that they would admit him and find him a bed. So we waited some more, and meanwhile most of the people in the waiting room had gone, even the poor lady lying across several seats with a drip in her arm. At 1:30 am Ben was finally admitted, and I went with him in the wheelchair up to the ward where they put him in a bed. Then I said goodbye and left him, drove home (and discovered gratefully that Bec, Guan and Mary had done all the washing up) and went to sleep.
Sunday 2/11/08
I woke around 9 or 9:30. I ate breakfast, got my stuff together and drove to the hospital, parking a couple of streets away and walking the rest of the way. I went to see Ben and brought him his laptop so he could do some stuff if he wanted—check email, work, Twitter, whatever (mobile broadband is great!) He was okay but rather tired as the doctors and nurses had kept on waking him up during the night for various things.
So we kept cyberspace informed via Twitter and Facebook, and received lots of well-wishers and prayers which was very touching. Josh said he would come visit; same with Ben's parents. Ben was rather tired so had a snooze. He was also on a drip and couldn't eat anything because of the impending surgery. I sat at his bedside and knitted, and then started work on inking my four-page comic (I brought my drawing board and materials). I also went and heated up my lunch (something which the friendly staff at the cafeteria did for me for free).
In the afternoon, Josh came to visit, bearing lollies, DVDs and a small portable DVD player. He stayed until 4. Then Hans, Cathy and Lizz came to visit. I ended up skipping church to stay by Ben's bedside. Finally we had news of when the surgery would happen, and the nurses came to get Ben for the operating theatre at around 6. They let me walk down with him and say goodbye like they had when Ben had hernia surgery last year.
While he was in surgery, I went home, ate the dinner that Hans, Cathy and Lizz had brought me and watched the rest of Life. Then I came back with keys and Ben's laptop, and waited for him to come back. The nurse came around with Ben's dinner but of course he wasn't around to eat it. He was finally out at around 8, and he was very groggy with the drugs, so it was hard to wake him up. The nurse told me to let him sleep, and let me stay for a bit longer. I stayed until 9:30 and then said goodbye and fed him the morphine pill the nurse had told me to give him.
Then I went home and went to bed.
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 - 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.
Lovely news, Karen.
Thanks everyone! I will be sure to ask for help when I need it!
Blinks:
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.
Family-friendly movies. Includes Miyazaki, some Pixar and some surprises.
Via Neil Gaiman. Good advice for writing professionals on working to deadlines and why they matter.
Symptoms indicate preschoolers can be depressed but many resist the diagnosis. However, diagnosing it may help as it will pave the way for treatment. Change of attitude: we don't think young children can get depression. Ways of treating it given that talking therapy is out of the question and medications are not a good idea for humans that young.
Interesting that they say we start kids learning things like ballet and music at the age of 4.
"Most parents want to distract their kids from negative emotions rather than let them process the feelings."
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