Flowers

Mum received some flowers from my grand parents.  These are now adorning the living room and producing a beautiful vision and sent.

Gran Ma and Pa S sent these flowers and a teddy bear (for me).

Gran Ma and Pa M sent these flowers and a ballon.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!!!!

That's right, its my birthday.

I'm only a few hours old and already the paparazzi can't wait to take my picture.

So What Did You Do Today?

 

Now that mum has finished work she has been trying to entertain herself.

 

Doing what you (and dad) might well ask. 

 

Well, here's a few things:

• Finished the mandatory baby classes (no birthing video - THANK GOODNESS!!!!)
• Treated herself to a haircut
• Looked up 'mum and baby' groups (so she can entertain me and get to know some locals)
• Actually went to a 'mum and baby' group (she actually enjoyed it)
• Cleaned the house (not excessively, just the usual domestic stuff - so not nesting)
• Made dad go for long walks after dinner (just to get out of the flat)

And that was just the first week!

 

It was a good thing mum had agreed to mind our friends daughter, Daisy, (it's summer holidays here) as he needed some child (she's 14!) care as he's a single dad who works full time.

 

As I refused to make an appearance they did the following in the four days Daisy stayed:

• A baking day (mmmm, I enjoyed those monkey balls, cakes, etc)
• Went to the major shopping centre in London (Westfield in Hammersmith) and window shopped for 5 hours.
• Went to Oxford Street and window shopped for 4 hours.
• Had a tv marathon (watched a few series and some movies).

Last Day At Work

Mum has just finished work; one week before my expected delivery date. 

She'd decided, as long as she (and I) were well, to continue so that she wasn't sitting at home worrying.


Mum endured a small speach just before she left and her collegues kindly gave her some gifts for me - nail clippers, bowl and spoon, baby gym, hair brush and comb, and teething rings. Also, she received a box of chocolates and a baby bottle of rose wine to celebrate my birth (when I arrive).

Gifts For MEEEEEEE!

Mum and dad unexpectantly received some gifts and cards, on my behalf, from family abroad.

Aunty Robin and Uncle Ian sent these lovely suits and bibs.

Aunty Betty and Uncle Arthur sent these; many of which are hand knitted.

Aunty Faye and Uncle John gave this suit and tiger outfit.

Katrina and Nathan bought these tops and Ugg boots.

Cliff Top Climber

Mum and Dad went for their last holiday as a couple (i.e. before I arrive and change their lives forever) to Weymouth for a long weekend. 

This seaside town has nice walking paths around it; many of which are along chalky cliffs much like Dover. 

Now mum (as usual) wanted to walk along these as the views are fabulous (and she doesn't want to miss anything).  Dad was a bit apprehensive so they started on the gentle paths which had pretty scenery.  However, dad had been told of a nice cliff top walk called Lulworth Cove which featured the "Durdle Door" by one of his colleagues.

Mum being mum insisted that they 'try' and if she felt she couldn't make it she promised to stop.  Dad, knowing when not to argue with mum, consoled himself with the thought that she'd give up after 5 minutes. 

He was wrong.

Mum, determined, did make it up the climb by going up one step (they were very long steps) and then stopping for 3 ish minutes before starting again. 

Now many people overtook mum and were horrified once they realised she was heavy with child.  They did give dad a few looks much to his horror.

Satisfied she'd made it, mum rejoiced when she reached with a 'I told you I could do it' statement to dad.  Obviously dad was not impressed and was happy to see the rest of the walk was extremely flat (or so he thought).

After another 20 mins of walking they found the Durdle Door which is actually a rock archway. 

Mum decided she wanted to go down to the beach (to see if it was rock or sand) because everyone else did.  So obviously they did and it was a rock beach.

Now, after relaxing a bit they began the journey back.  Firstly she needed to get back up to the cliff top then the flat walk and finally back down the long steps. 

At 1/4 the way down the long steps mum began to have a fit of giggles; to the point where she had to stop. 

Dad initially thought mum was in trouble but soon realised this was not the case.  He asked what was so funny.

Apparently, people were huffing and puffing up the long steps and were eyeing up the top when they spotted mum and dad coming down.

When they're eyes flicked from dad then to mum and then down to me (aka mum's extremely large stomach) they're facial expressions would turn from 'Oh my goodness, I've not reached the top yet' to 'How the hell did she make it?' and 'This is soooo embarrassing'. 

They would also right themselves as if to say 'If she could do it so can I' i.e. I'm not a pathetic wimp, etc.

This was particularly true of the men who refused to be outdone by a heavily pregnant woman (they were true men even if they looked like waddling couch potatoes on their only outing in 15 years).

As you can guess this tickled mum's funny bone.  She'd tried not to laugh at these people but failed miserably.

Once this was pointed out to dad, he saw exactly what she was giggling at.  It was extremely predicable (and in many ways pathetically funny).  She giggled the rest of the way.

So I've now experienced my first cliff top walk.

On a side note, on dad's return to work his colleague mentioned the fact that it was a pity that we'd not gone to see the Durdle Door as it was quite famous in the area as well as being considered a challenging yet rewarding walk. 



This guy was mortified when dad stated matter of factorialy that they had seen it and described the archway as proof.

The Alien Inside Is Moving

Now mum and dad have often heard pregnancy (and in particular the birthing process) being described graphically as the scene of Alien where the creature bursts from one of the characters chest.  (This would put anyone off having children)

Recently, this description has come to the fore as not only can mum feel me playing football and/or boxing inside her but dad can see me stretching i.e. a rippling effect on mum's stomach.  Yep, it's getting tighter in here and I get a bit annoyed every now and then with the cramped conditions. 

The strangest part about this is that normally you would feel someone touching you from the outside inwards.  Being pregnant means that this universal truth is no longer true and apparently it freaked mum out initially.

Now mum did a little research and it appears this is not unusual.  There are several pictures (this one is a fake but mum thought it was funny) and blogs on the web noting exactly the same thing. 

Mum cannot see my feet or hands yet but I intend on making this happen before I'm born. 

;-)