Day 14: What Was I Wearing Today?

Very similar topic to Day 10 and I was wearing the same hat today as it's still so bl***y cold!

Day 13: This Week

Monday: Laundry
Tuesday: Dinner with Malin (tbc)
Wednesday: Dinner and show through Peter's work (if he gets well, he has a fever and some stomach bug right now, however doesn't seem to be the dreaded winter vomiting disease)
Thursday: No plans
Friday: Going to the country house for the weekend (tbc)

And we relight the first candle every day :)



Via Anna's iPhone

Day 12: In My Handbag

My handbag is full of the usual boring stuff - purse, phone, chewing gum, business cards, coupons for very shops, tissues, lip balm, etc. - but I won't show you any photo evidence. Instead I want to show you a very clever accessory that I always carry in my handbag: a handbag hanger! Works anywhere there is a table or counter. Mine is a freebie with Peter's company's logo on it but you can buy them from various places. The one below even has a mirror on, another must-carry for many women!

Images borrowed from the Internet

Day 11: My Brother

always played loud Music
toy Automobile collector
likes Routine
Tall
Impatient
forever Naive

Lussekatter (Saffron buns)

Via Anna's iPhone

Royal Visit

By the King of the Forest. My parents have a moose chilling in their garden.



Via Anna's iPhone

Show & Tell: What I Have Collected Over the Years...

...but stopped collecting years ago. I'm sure I have some saved in my parents' attic though, hope so at least as it would be fun to show Belly Dancer and her/his siblings in the future.

First out is Garbage Pail Kids trading cards. Do you remember them?! Apparently they still exist! They were a parody on the Garbage Patch Kids dolls - I really wanted a doll but my mum thought it was a hype and also that they were expensive. My friend Maria had one and I was soooo jealous! I don't care now of course but I was pretty mad at my mum back then!



Second, so-called luktisar, i.e. smell stickers, or scratch-and-sniff as they are also called. Weren't they fun! I think we traded these too. Speaking of things that smell, I also had quite a lot of smell rubbers too. They weren't great erasers really but I guess that wasn't the point of them!



Third and last, manicklar - I have no clue what they're called in English. These were little figures - letters, numbers or objects such as bicycles - in various colours that you were supposed to link up in long chains, the longer the better of course.



This was Musikanta's final theme. It looks like Erica will take over the relay stick for the final stretch of this Show & Tell year.

Images borrowed from the Internet today

Day 10: What I'm Wearing Today

Or was wearing rather, as now I'm comfortably resting on the sofa TGIFing.

My favourite hat, a gift from Peter's parents from two winters ago, that is perfect for today's cold weather (-8'C this evening).



Via Anna's iPhone

Must Have Toy!

Peter says he won't build one of these for our unborn child! Can you believe him?! ;)

Day 9: My Beliefs/Faith

Big topic about which pages and pages could be written. But the hour is late and bullets will have to do.

• * Yes, I believe
• * But I'm probably more of an agnostic than a true believer
• * I'm too much of a rational thinker to believe 100%
• * I really hope there is something or someone out there though
• * I think it helps people to think that there is or there may be something
• * And even if there isn't, or we will never know, that may be the point of it; that it gives people strength
• * My beliefs are personal though and I don't believe in a lot of the dogma
• * If there is a God, there's probably just one; s/he just have different names (God, Allah, etc.)
• * Saying that may not qualify me as a Christian, but Christianity is still what I feel the closest too, but partly for cultural reasons
• * I will raise our child with the help of many of the values that stem from (the positive side of) religion (and culture) and instill those values in him/her

Knotmail

Just read about a new and innovative way to send packages - Knotmail uses the services of travellers and is thus greener and cheaper than normal postal and delivery services! It works like this: someone who is travelling to the same destination takes your parcel with him/her. And any time you travel yourself, you can sign up as temporary delivery guy!

Only for Sweden (it seems) right now, but still! An excellent idea! When I googled I saw that someone had written "what do you do at the airport when they ask if you packed your bags yourself and if anyone has asked you to take anything for them", but I'm sure they have thought of that already.

Day 8: A Moment

Drinking hot chocolate and admiring our new Advent lights (I figured its modern design justifies putting it up four days early).



Via Anna's iPhone

Day 7: My Best Friend

Had one of my best friends, Maria, and her significant other Daniel, over for dinner tonight. Very good timing considering today's theme.

Day 6: My Day

07:25: Alarm went off, complained (as per usual) about why we didn't go to bed earlier the night before...
07:35: Got up, made breakfast
07:40: Went back to bed to eat breakfast in bed while checking emails on my iPhone and reading Sunday's paper

08:10-09:00: Showered and made myself beautiful
09:00: Walked to work (15-minute walk normally but with a growing belly it now takes almost 20 minutes), stopped by Ica to buy lunch

09:30-16:45: Started working, swore a lot over super slow email (we're transferring to Outlook 2007 and there are lot of teething problems...)

17:00: Left work and jumped on the 69 bus to town
17:20: Met up with Peter and his friends for a quick bite to eat
18:00: Meeting with Harry Potter & friends

Now: Winding down at home

Day 5: Love Is...

...your significant other getting up with you to make you breakfast while you get ready because he knows you're in a rush (and treating you to breakfast in bed every morning for months while you battle morning sickness).

...friends lending and/or giving you bags and bags of baby clothes, crib, baby travel bed, BabyBjörn carriers, toys, etc...

...getting a big hug from a friend's 2½ year-old who's been talking about you all day since she heard you were stopping by.

And that's just in one day!

Nathi Natti Nighty Night

Belly Dancer wants, no, needs, one of these! Right?

Day 4: What I Ate Today

10:00: Bread with cheese and messmör (not on the same piece), tea and juice

12:00: American pancakes with fruit salad and maple syrup, coffee



15:30: Burger and alco-free sparkling wine at Tures

Tonight: Leftover pancakes

Today's snack: Sweets of course, it's Saturday!

Via Anna's iPhone

Show & Tell: A Meeting I Will Never Forget

Musikanta's third theme is a tricky one. I can't think of a single meeting or moment that I will never forget. I wish I could tell you about when I met the Pope (and yelled at him how crazy the catholic church and its dogma is) or went backstage at a Michael Jackson concert but sadly there are no such features in my repertoire. Instead several meetings sprung to mind. Sometimes I don't recall exactly how the meeting went or what happened at the meeting but I remember the feeling, if that makes sense.

• * The high-level and/or famous people I have met through work, such as Crown Princess Victoria and new Labour leader Ed Miliband
  
• * First time I met Peter, or the first set of meetings really
  
• * All the times I have met friends again after a long, long time (especially friends abroad) and it feels like we just met yesterday
  
• * Meeting my aupair family for the first time
  
• * Seeing my family and friends again after a year away (as an aupair)
  
• * The last time I saw my grandmother before she passed away
  
• * When I first met new colleagues and became acqainted with a new workplace, either at the interview or my first working day, or both
  
• * The first time I met my inlaws
  
• * A meeting that hasn't happened yet but I'm sure I will never forget is when we meet Belly Dancer for the first time!
  
• * Wouldn't it be cool if we remembered the first meeting with our parents?
  
  

Reunion with old friends at James & Jill's wedding last summer - Céline, James and Karl to the right and I think you recognise the other two :)

Day 3: My Parents

Words that come into mind when I think of my parents during the first 18 years of my life.

Elisabet
political Engagement
Love
an Inspiration for my ambitions
Stricter than dad
children's Art projects on the kitchen table
bread and bun Baking
the family's Educational budget-keeper
pre-school Teacher

Lars-Gunnar
Love
restless so always in Action
Referred back to mum if I questioned a curfew
not as Social as mum

budding Gardener
Unknowledgeable about technical gadgets
Not a tie person
afternoon Naps due to shift work
takes care of his Automobile like it was a child or a pet
Reluctant football practice/match driver

The Pregnancy Diaries 1

My most recent visit with the midwife was yesterday (with less than eight weeks left I have started going at two-week intervals and towards the end it will be every week) and here's a little status report, if you're interested :)

Mother
- I'm smack in the middle on the belly growth curve (I aim for Swedish lagom), right now 31 cm if that says anything??
- Okay iron levels but need to continue taking supplements, which I've been doing since week 8
- Blood pressure 105/60, which is low and hence good
- Weight 71 kg, which means I've now gained 11-12 kg during this pregnancy. I have never ever weighed more than 70 kg so it was a bit scary* when I first saw this number glaring at me on the scale but I have got used to it now :)

Baby
- Average heart rate 150 (at previous visit it has varied between 140 and 150)
- And most exciting, the baby's head is now down. I think s/he turned around properly a few days ago because in the last few days I can really feel him/her under my ribs (and I know now that's her/his little butt or back).

I'm been keeping a diary since the start of the pregnancy, well, it was a bit of a slow start so I've only written regularly since week 20 or so, i.e half-way through the pregnancy. Some highlights:

8 May - Started thinking "hmm, I should have got my period by now..." I made this entry after the fact obviously.

9 May - Really started thinking "what if I'm pregnant?!". Talked to Peter and we decided to buy a pregnancy test the next day.

10 May - Bought a pregnancy test after work. Can't believe I waited all day because I could just think of one thing, but I wanted to take the test with Peter. Was really thinking "it can't be" but hoping so much it would be so!

The test was positive! Was really, really surprised, couldn't believe it was true even if part of me had known since realising my period was late (which it never is otherwise), and felt so happy and excited (and scared) I was shaking! Peter reacted just right - hugged and kissed me and said "congratulations". It felt like he took it more natural than me (but later he's told me that he probably didn't really comprehend how huge it was and is.)

22 May - Mum's birthday - called and gave her the best (?) birthday present ever :) (Would have told her in person if it wasn't for Peter's sister's wedding the same day.)

1 June - First visit to the midwife at week 8+1

End of May/early June - Morning sickness started (can't remember exact date)

13-15 June - Experienced first hand that morning sickness and migraine is not a great combination!

12 July - First ultrasound scan at week 14+0 (but we thought at the time that I was at 13+2). Wonderful to see that it's actually something in there. The baby was so cute and we took a very good and clear picture home with us. The risk of chromosomal abnormalities was 1/20,000, which is the lowest possible risk - hope it's correct! - and everything else looked normal too! (As I have a brother with a mental disability, not due to a chromosomal abnormality though, I have been a bit extra worried but I try not to think about it too much.)

30 July - Felt the baby inside me for the first time, little butterflies or flutters (week 16+4)

3-10 August - I felt the baby kicking for the first time (and then it doesn't stop :) (week 17-18)

18 August - Second ultrasound. All was well! The doctor went over the whole baby - limbs, spine, head including the brain and the face, and all internal organs (kidneys, liver, heart, etc.). We could see the heart beat and she zoomed in on the heart to see that the chambers and valves were healthy and intact. It's so cool that it's possible to see that much detail! The pictures turned out so-so as our little one first moved around too much and then fell asleep!

We also found out that my placenta is positioned at the back of the uterus and the baby in front. This can apparently vary from woman to woman and from pregnancy to pregnancy, as it depends on where the egg attaches itself after conception. Women with the placenta towards the back usually feel the baby earlier and more during pregnancy. Me likey! I had no clue of these variations before I was pregnant!

The due date was adjusted from 14 to 9 January.

20 August - Both Peter and I could actually see the baby kick, i.e. on the outside of my belly (week 19+4).

21 August - Peter felt the baby kick for the first time - he has always been "too late" before :)

22 August - The feeling of having a constant companion is getting stronger and stronger. I never sleep alone. My little friend.

23 August - Threw up** before breakfast, I really thought morning sickness would be long gone by now at week 20+0. My morning sickness had got a little bit better during August but was still very much a fact. Weighed in at 64.5 kg. First signs of pregnancy related nose problems in the form of very light nosebleed. Apologies for the details!

That was the first 20 weeks! Next 12-13 weeks coming soon!


* Though it was even scarier when I weighed in at 66.6 kg for almost a whole week a while back; the devil inside me? ;)
** I've been able to manage my morning sickness pretty well by having Peter bring me breakfast in bed for months on end. That way I have "only" vomited twice a week or three times at most.