Good start to end of week

This morning I spent the train trip lying down, and feel much better as a result. Not a particularly comfortable way to get from Gosford to the city, but it takes less energy to lie down than it does to sit up, and seemed to make a big difference.
Might pack a cushion next week...

However, on a more positive note...

...I've checked my diary and I have only 12 weeks left of work. I thought it was more like 13 or 14 weeks so I'm glad to find out it's a bit less. Plus we have Easter and Anzac Day coming up within that time to break things up a bit.

Spew-tastic

I’m feeling a bit put-out today. In an effort to not feel sick on the train in the morning (after almost throwing up on Monday, and staying home sick on Tuesday) I made sure I relaxed before going to bed last night, and focused on getting a good night’s sleep. I ate a decent breakfast and tried to stay positive as I contemplated the journey ahead. I was well-rested, well-fed, and reasonably calm. In fact you could say I made every effort to have a good trip.
And I almost threw up again. Grrrrr.
At least I can work from home tomorrow.

'Glare at the Dog'

I got a pregnancy yoga DVD today and had a go at it tonight. I invented a new yoga move whilst doing it - it goes like this:

Place yourself on all fours, ready to arch your back like a cat.

As you inhale, lean one arm forward to push the malamute away from you.

Use a gentle sliding motion to push her along the floor, out of your way.

Move back into the cat position.

Remove the malamute's paw from your arm.

Move back into the cat position.

Ignore the slobbering dog in your face.

Lean back onto your legs, extending your arms in front of you.

Exhale calmly as the malamute blocks the tv screen.

Return to an upright position, and glare at the dog.

It's very relaxing!

Pictures of my day

I've had a good day so far. There's been a few things happen that warranted photos:

1. Minnie found a very comfy place to sleep - unfortunately for her, it was on top of baby stuff so she wasn't allowed to stay there!

2. The cloth nappies I'd ordered arrived. They are very small and cute. This is a photo of the outside bit - you put a cotton nappy inside it. I love getting things delivered, it's tops.

3. Oscar kept getting in my way when I tried to work, stepping all over the papers on the desk. My solution? Grab a shoebox and plop it on the desk. Worked a treat - he's still in it now.

Not glowing, just sweaty

I have also been pondering pregnancy in general – which I’m sure won’t be a surprise. I’ve been surprised by how much energy it takes to grow a baby, although it makes sense when you think about it. I had heard of morning sickness, and of tiredness in pregnancy, but the main impression I think I had was that people just got on with life as usual until it was time to pop the baby out. In our age, when women work full time and are expected to have full on careers, it seems that we are meant to keep it all up until the last possible minute and just fit pregnancy into every day life, because to act like a wuss and take it easy would be letting down the sisterhood or something.

Well, I’ve been exhausted. And overwhelmed. And all over the place emotionally. There’s so much to take in and learn and deal with, and I can see why women used to stop work when they fell pregnant! It is indeed a delicate state to be in and it’s been a bit traumatic to find my ability to get ordinary things done gradually shrinking. It’s hard to get to work, it’s hard to get to the shops, to church, to stay awake, to concentrate, to have energy for conversation, to read the bible, to walk the dogs...the list goes on. A lot of things have become harder as I just don’t have the energy to keep up with my regular life right now.

Also, it’s weird to have your body start to behave differently and for your entire wardrobe to stop fitting, and for people to suddenly start asking you quite personal questions about something that is really private and precious.

Of course it’s all for a good cause and I know it’s worth it – I’ve just been surprised by the effort involved and the concessions I’ve had to make to what I think is achievable. It’s hard to find the joy sometimes, although feeling kicks and seeing the ultrasound pics is a good reminder of what it’s all about!

My conclusion is that life is precious. God made people in His image, we are His children and we are valuable. Life is not something insignificant, and it’s not created without a big effort. So I need to adjust my expectations to allow for this effort, and be glad of it, instead of getting annoyed about the difficulties.

Rocks and Pebbles

It’s occurred to me recently that most of my posts of late have been about my pets or my garden. While I enjoy both these things, I think my initial intention for this blog was for it be a bit more thoughtful. So I have been pondering what I could write about that has a bit more depth...and haven’t really come up with anything! I draw a complete blank. I think my brain is a bit worn out and it’s easier to focus on the smaller things.

I was thinking about that illustration people sometimes use to encourage people to put the important things in life first, where the idea is that if your life is a jar, you should put a few big rocks in it first and then fit smaller pebbles around them. The idea being that if you fill the jar with pebbles, there’s no room for the big rocks, meaning that you shouldn’t fill your life with small, inconsequential things or there’ll be no room left for the major things. My life seems to be lots of pebbles lately. Very interesting pebbles mind you!! Which is the danger I suppose – I get sucked in by things I can buy and organise (and there are plenty of them when you’ve got a bub on the way!) and run out of energy for the bigger things.

Although, having said that, I have been reflecting on how amazing our bodies are, that they can grow other bodies! How weird is that? It’s very strange and wonderful.

20 weeks = half way

"Your baby measures around 23 cm in length from head to toe (9 inches) and weighs approximately 420 grams (or 14.8 ounces).

Week 20 is seen as the half-way point of the pregnancy and the time when your baby is legally regarded as a person if born (issued with a birth certificate in Australia). However, babies born between 20 and 24 weeks are medically regarded as being extremely premature and unlikely to survive. With access to modern medical technology, a premature baby's chances of survival are greatly enhanced if born after 28 weeks.

Your baby's nails are now formed and their fingerprints are visibly engraved in their fine skin. Their permanent teeth now appear behind their baby teeth deep within their gums."

From http://www.birth.com.au

Bad idea

Sometimes I have to laugh at the stupid things I do. Today I had some passionfruit with me and I was too lazy to go to the kitchen to get a knife to open them with, so I used my office scissors instead.

It didn't work too well - the passionfruit made a rather unpleasant noise and splurted passionfruit pulp and seeds all over the desk. A little bit like cherry tomatoes explode when you bite into them.

It made me laugh. And go through quite a few tissues cleaning it up!

Creepy Crawly

We have SO many spiders around our place. Most of them are pretty harmless, but we do have to keep an eye out for the webs so we don't wander right into them.

Wardrobe Whinge

My socks are the only piece of clothing I am wearing today that actually fit - everything else is too tight! It makes me feel very out of sorts. Hmmmph. Must do some washing...and shopping!

Silly Story

This is a story in today's Daily Tele - two people sued their neighbour over claims the neighbour's cat was terrorising them:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23067760-5006009,00.html

It seems ridiculous - obviously they are not cat people! Although we had a cat called Leo living next door to us in Leichhardt for a while and his main hobby seemed to be bashing up Oscar. Oscar was too scared to go outside and would wait for ages to make sure the coast was clear.

Leo was killed by a car in the end - my boss uncharitably suggested that perhaps Oscar was behind the wheel!!

Kitchen success

Adam and I made chicken and corn pies for tea last night. They were really tasty!

Yum, dog fud!

Lounges

We have our new lounges, the ones we bought for $212 on ebay. They are great - bigger than we expected and very comfy. Of course, one of the cats has already discovered them so the battle of the pet hair has begun.

Burnin' down the house

On the topic of doing things that are a little bit stupid (see below), I have twice lately left the hotplate on after cooking. It's been a few hours each time before we've noticed. Pregnesia can be dangerous!

Making a Dill of myself in the Fruitshop

I went to the supermarket yesterday and one of the things I needed to by was a bunch of thyme. Coles didn't have any so I went to the fruit and veg shop. They had a herb section with a sign saying "Thyme" but the herb in the thyme spot looked a lot like rosemary. Hmm. I was deciding whether or not to buy basil instead when a shop assistant came up and asked if I needed a hand - I must have looked confused.

I explained that I was after thyme, but might get the basil instead. She said she didn't think they had any thyme, and then said she'd check out the back for a fresh bunch. Now I thought she was looking for thyme, but she actually meant basil, as the bit I was holding looked somewhat past its prime.

So when she came back out with a fresh bunch of basil, I helpfully explained to her "That's Basil". She looked at me like I was a little bit stupid. I took it and moved on.

I put some brocolli in the trolley, and it promptly fell out. In front of the same shop assistant. And then at the checkout, I managed to drop the basil, again in full view of the assistant. I was glad to make my exit!

Passionfruit vine

Along for the Ride

I saw something funny this morning as I waited for the bus - a car drove past, driven by a woman. Nothing unusual in that, except that she had a cockatiel on her shoulder!

Oscar rolls into the new year