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Sarah 4:03 am on October 31, 2006 | 0 | # |

I’ve been thinking a lot about the books I’m looking forward to reading with our child. Books were a huge part of my childhood inner- and outer-life. Dad would take us to the local library every Friday night, and mum or dad would often read a chapter or two to us before bed at night.

If I was to name one book (or series of books) that I’m most nostalgic about, it’s Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series. I could easily have chosen the Nancy Drew books, James and the Giant Peach, or the comic books Asterix and Tin Tin. But in the end it’s the Famous Five, because reading these books was such a particular shared family experience. Many of the editions I read as a child were my parents’ own copies as children. Also, my brother and I shared an enjoyment of these books; we each had favorite characters and the story lines appealed to us both.

A few months ago when Chris and I were in Wellington we stopped by Arty Bees, one of my favourite second-hand bookstores. I came across a pile of the 70s editions of Famous Five, the editions that Chris and I were familiar with from our childhood. Even though I didn’t know I was pregnant at that stage, I bought them, fantasizing about future events. Lately I’ve been re-reading them, opening long-forgotten childhood memories. The books seem very different to me now than on their first reading – they’re so laughably English (the kids eat “cold tongue” and exclaim “Golly!”), and are full of unsavory stereotypes about gender relations, other cultures and class. I marvel at how a young girl from West Auckland found so much in these books to identify with. If I was to name one thing, it would be the magically inventive and independent culture of childhood in the books. Adults either aren’t around, or are the equivalent of cardboard props. Quite frankly, the plots are pretty outrageous too. I mean, who actually lives in a house with secret doors, or has their own personal island that’s occasionally used by runaways and smugglers? The stories are remarkably formulaic – they follow the same pattern and always have the same resolution. I’m wondering if this is what appeals to young readers the most. Even though the Famous Five world has lots of transient chaos – formidable housekeepers trying to poison their dog – by being so repetitive the books are very reassuring.

For those readers nostalgic for the 70s TV show there’s a YouTube video of the opening theme tune, with some famous scenes edited in.
Sarah 10:29 pm on October 30, 2006 | 0 | # |

This has nothing to do with the pregnancy, it’s just a recent photo of me eating laksa, while on a lunch date with Raewyn. Mmmmmm, laksa.
Sarah 11:31 pm on October 26, 2006 | 0 | # |

Those of you who haven’t give birth in the last 10 years may be unfamiliar with the new guidelines to pregnant women about food safety. Pregnant women are now told to avoid soft cheeses (brie, camembert, blue, ricotta, feta), processed meats and cold meats (no problem for me), raw or runny eggs, unpasteurised milk, raw fish or seafood, sushi, ready-made salads including fruit salads, parsley, custard, cream, soft-serve ice-cream and mayonnaise. [NOTE: this is an abbreviated list. For a complete list go to the New Zealand Food Safety Authority Guidelines.]

While I understand the importance of following these guidelines (listeriosis can cause lots of serious conditions from blood infections to stillbirth), I can’t express strongly enough how frustrating it trying to comply! The worst, for me, is not being able to eat pre-made sandwiches or salads. Since that rules out most of the food on campus, I have to prepare and bring lunch every day. A couple of times I’ve had to go to all-day training functions, so I’ve had to take my own sandwiches. A couple of times I’ve been caught short – I’ve either forgotten my lunch, or I didn’t have time to make it. On those days I’ve been stuck with such healthy food options as a packet of chips and a yogurt. While many pregnant women can’t wait for a glass of wine, I’m dreaming of a piece of sourdough with some King Island blue brie smeared on top. mmmmmm.

*Actual quote from my boss.
Sarah 9:28 pm on October 25, 2006 | 0 | # |
I hit the 17-week point today. According to my information at hand, this means:
- The baby is the size of a large onion
- The baby is twisting and turning a lot, as well as groping around
- The baby has started weeing, and apparently does so every 40-45 minutes. As unpleasant as that sounds, my book reassures me that “most foetal waste products go through the placental membrane and into my circulation, where it’s dealt with by my body’s usual functions”.*
- Many pregnant women start absentmindedly patting their stomachs this week
Rest assured, noble readers, that I’ll be on the lookout for any undue patting on my part!

* Thanks Kaz Cooke, Up the Duff (Camberwell, Vic.: Viking, 1999)!
Sarah 4:49 am on October 24, 2006 | 1 | # |

I had my 16-week appointment today with my GP. It was pretty exciting; she got this gizmo out and put it against my belly, and measured the baby’s heart beat. It was 160 beats per minute, which seemed pretty fast to me (but she reassured me it was completely normal). There was also a strange wooshing sound, which she says was the placenta. (I didn’t get to ask “Why does a placenta woosh?”) Then she got a tape measure out and measured my “fundus”, which should definitely be more fun than it actually was. She also took my blood pressure and weighed me. Everything was “totally normal”.

Today’s appointment was definitely another notch along “it’s actually happening – I’m going to have a BABY!” realisation scale.

In exciting news, she did say that it would be fine for me to fly to NZ for Christmas and Amy & Tim’s wedding. We now have the scary prospect of finding some flights that aren’t going to require we take out a mortgage.
Sarah 9:53 am on October 23, 2006 | 0 | # |

One of the most common questions I’ve been asked is whether I’m experiencing food cravings. To date my food cravings haven’t been quite the dramatic affair I had thought they would be. Prior to falling pregnant, I thought that a sudden whim for a strange food would take hold and I wouldn’t be able to do anything other than indulge in the fancy. My cravings have turned out to be not quite as violent as I once thought, they’re much more of the sneak-up-on-you kind, and the object of my cravings are much less strange.

Last week I realised that I’d eaten an ice block* every day. On Thursday I had an ice block at 11am and then went back for another at 2.30pm. Now I’ve probably only had 3 or 4 ice blocks in the last 10 years. And my desire for ice blocks might somewhat be related to the warm weather as we approach summer in Sydney. Being pregnant I feel hot a lot of the time, so in some ways, craving ice blocks makes sense. But last week wasn’t all that hot. So I’ve now advanced my fancy for ice blocks to a “certifiable craving”.

Yet another is pinto beans, especially the kind that comes mashed and is served with avocado on a tortilla (misnomerishly called “refried beans” – because they don’t actually contain any fat). I can’t get enough of Chris’s bean burritos at the moment. This is possibly a stranger craving than the iceblocks because the only time I threw up in the 1st trimester is after I ate nachos made from kidney beans. Even now the thought of kidney beans makes me feel ill.

My last craving is for cottage cheese. My favorite breakfast right now is cottage cheese, with a little bit of cinnamon mixed in, spread on toast and grilled. Some people might find this last food item a bit unappealing, but it’s what my mum used to make a lot when I was a kid. It’s back on the menu.

*Aka popsicle, icy pole, ice lolly, etc. I actually did a straw poll around the office and apparently “ice block” is the preferred term for Sydneysiders. Melbourians prefer “icy poles”. Weird, huh?
Sarah 3:44 am on October 23, 2006 | 2 | # |
I just got off the phone with my obstetrician. She’s now in the running for being my favourite health professional of the year because she:
1. called me back within an hour of me calling her paging service
2. apologised about the missed appointment and told me I could call her at any time if I had any concerns.
Awesome! She asked me a few questions, how I was feeling, whether I’d had my nuchal translucencency scan (answers: great/yes) and I asked her whether I needed to register at the hospital yet (answer: no, not until week 20). Anyway, I feel greatly reassured. However, I’m still going to see my GP tomorrow, mainly because I have a medically-thorough temperament.
Sarah 10:01 pm on October 20, 2006 | 2 | # |

I was soooo excited about visiting my new obstetrican yesterday: she comes highly recommended, is usually booked out to the gunnels*, and she’d been on holiday during the begining of my pregnancy, so the usual 12-week visit was deferred to a 16-week visit. Unfortunately, I got a last-minute call yesterday afternoon that she’d been called away to a birth, and that I’d have to reschedule. Gasp! The next appointment is in three weeks!!! On reflection, it’s not a big deal – everything seems to be going fine, I don’t have any worries or concerns, and I can make an appointment with my GP to go over things in the meantime. But I was really looking forward to meeting her and having a chat with her about what’s going to happen in the months to come.

* Audience participation: the Sydney Morning Herald spelled it “gunnel”, Chris thinks it’s properlly spelled “gunwale” – anyone want to weigh in here?
Sarah 6:01 am on October 20, 2006 | 0 | # |

As of Wednesday, I’m now 16 weeks pregnant! I subscribe to a couple of week-by-week information emails that tell me lots of interesting things about the progress through pregnancy. According to this week bubs is now 17 cm long (or 6.7 inches) from head to toe and weighs approximately 200 grams (or 7 ounces). Bubs is also busy this week “growing toenails”.

Despite this amazingly specific detail, it all still seems quite remote. My stomach’s getting bigger, but it’s still hard to envisage a baby growing in there. I expect that when I start to feel bub’s movements it’ll be a bit more real . But on all accounts that’s a while off, another month away at least.
Sarah 11:53 pm on October 18, 2006 | 0 | # |

Welcome to our baby blog. We’ve decided to use a blog to keep a record of everything to do with the pregnancy and the baby, to keep you all up-to-date with what’s going on.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts using the comments feature.