Spinning Fun

Smell that Baby

I wish there was a way to bottle that newborn baby smell! Wouldn't it be great if you could keep it in a jar and have a quick sniff once in a while! So far the little guy still has that smell - especially his head - so I'm making the most of it and getting my daily dose. I want to stop time and stay in this moment forever. They grow up so quickly but I'm going to try not to think about that and instead live in the moment.

Friday Gallery: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Annika's last theme for the month of February (who's taking over in March??) is A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.

It wasn't difficult for me to find a picture (well, two pictures actually) to illustrate this week's theme.

The Girl Effect

It's not a new project but this video has just done its rounds on Facebook (again?) and I wanted to share it here.

 


I've also been crying (those new baby hormones...) at Swedish Save the Children's child poverty campaign, Fattigskolan, about poverty in Sweden.  Yes, it does exist.  It's all relative of course so poverty in Sweden is not necessarily about access to clean water and food on the table (although sometimes it could be the latter too of course).

 

Four at Home

A little update. The little guy is one week old today and we've been home since Saturday (Peter left the hospital on Thursday to go home and take care of Isolde who'd been staying with her grandparents, while I stayed for another two days with the baby).

We're slowly getting used to having a baby in the house again and to life as a family of four. Isolde is adjusting really well. She's still a bit perplexed, especially in the morning or when she comes home from nursery, like she's thinking "oh, he's still here?" and she still sometimes asks "what's/who's that?" At the same time she's really sweet with him; wants to touch and kiss him and goes and gets nappies for him and worries about his socks having fallen off. She's a bit jealous and wants to sit with me when I feed him and preferably cuddle with me at the same time and wants daddy to pick her up too if he's holding him.

Since I had a relatively easy delivery this time (more on that later) it doesn't feel like I gave birth a week ago. Already the second or third day in the hospital I wasn't even feeling sore anymore (apologies for the details). I do suffer from some fatigue from nightly feedings, which hasn't been helped by a migraine over the last two days (evidence that my body is not yet completely in balance of course). I was also a bit optimistic when I upon return home thought I could get into my old jeans. Haha, no, my tummy wasn't THAT flat yet so pregnancy jeans it is for a bit longer, me thinks.

We haven't done much yet except had the first sets of visitors. Yesterday I went back to the hospital (it was a bit weird to go on my first outing by myself with him even though it was just a short car ride) for his hearing test (which was fine) but otherwise Peter has been running the errands while I've been breast-feeding and resting at home. The nurse from the Child Health Centre (BVC) made a house call yesterday so we didn't have to go outside again but on Thursday we'll go there for another weigh-in. We have to keep a close check on his weight in the beginning so we've bought some formula to give him if necessary. But so far he's not managing to drink much out of the bottle we have so we'll buy another one tomorrow that has more flow. I'm really happy that breast-feeding hasn't been a problem this time either - I know so many people who have struggled in the beginning - especially considering some preemies have problems suckling, but luckily not this one.

Time for the last feed of the night - will write more later!

Friday Gallery: Water (and longing)

Missing my little swimmer at home and looking forward to seeing her tomorrow and introducing her little brother.

Lillebror!

He surprised us with arriving four weeks early last night (12 February)! All is well but we have to stay at the hospital a couple of nights extra so they can keep an eye on him and make sure he gains weight (or doesn't lose too much, as most newborns usually lose some in the beginning). He's already nursing well but we have to supplement with formula in the beginning.

Birth weight 2,8 kg and length 47 cm. Looks a lot like his sister but perhaps more and darker hair. Name still under discussion :)

Will write later about the delivery but it was much quicker and easier than last time and I already feel partly recovered. Just still a bit surprised! What happened to my five weeks' of being lady of leisure before the due date?! Only got one week! ;-)

Friday Gallery: In My Neighbourhood...

Annika's second theme for the month of February is In my neighbourhood (or environment/surroundings).  I thought I'd illustrate it with photos in my phone (and taken by me) that would fit the theme.  Let's start from above...

Stockholm is my home

We're very fortunate to live near Gärdet and Djurgården so nature is never far away even though we live in the city, and this is also where I work

We can walk in the direction of "town" and the shops either by beautiful Strandvägen, in its winter clothes in the picture, or straight through Östermalm

On our way home we can pass by Humlegården for some playtime

And our last stop may be Ett bageri, my favourite bakery (tied with Valhallabageriet, but Ett bageri is much closer)

Have a nice weekend!

Baby Guesses So far

Here's the baby pool  list so far, will update as I receive more entries.

4 March: Mrs Clapper (boy; 3295 gr and 49 cm)

5 March: Anne (boy; 3700 gr and 49 cm)

7 March: Miss Marie (boy; 3900 gr and 49 cm); Karin (girl; 3325 and 48 cm)

8 March: Millan (girl; 3410 gr and 50 cm); mamma/mormor (girl)

10 March: Malin (boy; 3780 gr and 50 cm)

11 March / due date: my own guess, and only based on that Isolde arrived on her due date (girl; 3525 gr and 50 cm)

12 March: Annika (girl; 3250 gr and 49 cm)

Keep the guesses coming! Parameters to help you with your guess can be found in the original post!

 

Guess That Baby!

With the due date only five weeks away it's time to launch a little baby sweep!

Prizes* for the winner of course!

There are three categories (but two prize categories as there would be too many prizes to give out if I included gender):

• birth date
• weight and length
• gender

Some background information and hints:

• The estimated due date is 11 March (apparently only 4.6% of babies arrive on EDT)
• Isolde arrived on her due date but it was a long delivery so it started the day before
• According to the old wives' tale whereby it's possible to predict the gender with the expectant's hair and wedding ring, as performed below by my boss, I'm having a girl...

Apologies for the blurry photo

• This pregnancy has been very similar to when I was expecting Isolde in terms of morning sickness (a bit more this time) and size and shape of my tummy (though perhaps slightly rounder this time and I've gained a couple of more kilos) - if you believe any of that reveals the gender...
• I'm hoping for a boy but it feels very much like a girl since the pregnancies have been so similar and it's also difficult to imagine something you're not already familar with
• Isolde's birth weight and length was 3,365 gr and 48 cm
• Feel free to ask me anything else that may help your guessing!

* Emma won the last one as she predicted Isolde's birthday but I can't remember now if I ever sent her a prize?!  Emma, I promise to do send you the same as this year's winner(s)!

Winter Drinks

With only weeks to due date we thought we'd take the opportunity to throw a party before we'll be busy getting used to life as a family of four.  So yesterday we had about 25 people over for drinks and nibbles. Just 48 hours before the party we thought 40 people were coming but then the calls/emails/texts started coming: "we're sick", "our kid is sick", "the babysitter is sick"...  There was no end.  It got hilarious after a while.

In the end 25 people was plenty - I had a great time and I had time to talk to most people and refill nibble trays (Peter was responsible for drinks) - and it looked like people had a good time, but we were sad to miss those who couldn't come (hope to see you soon though, even if perhaps more on a one-to-one basis) and we got a lot of alcohol over*.

So, or despite that...

Note to self!  Don't throw a party at that time of the year which Swedes call "vabruari" (from VAB - care of sick child - and February)

I didn't take any photos at the party except one at the very end when everybody had left except for a couple of people and Peter put Gangnam Style on as the grand finale ;)

* Grateful for Systembolaget's return policy

Friday Gallery: Addiction

New month and a new Friday Gallery hostess, Annika in Umeå.  Her first theme is addiction*, which I thought I'd illustrate with an interesting development in Isolde's life: she stopped sucking her thumb. 

She started sucking on her index finger on the same hand though so she's not rid of her addiction, but I was surprised to see how fast it happened, almost from one day to the other.  What happened was that she got a cut or a chap on her thumb due to a combination of a constantly wet thumb and very cold weather, and we put cream and a plaster on and told her to suck on the left thumb or a finger instead.  At first she was just trying to remove the plaster but after a day or so she asked for more cream and a new plaster if it had come off (this seemed to coincide with her becoming more conscious - or perhaps this was the cause - of boo-boos and wanting us to blow on the "wound" and comfort her even though she hasn't really got hurt at all) as well as for sympathy for her wounded thumb.  And after two days she started sucking on her right index finger and even though a couple of days later her thumb was fine and she didn't have to wear a plaster anymore, she didn't go back to her thumb, not even in her sleep when you'd think the reflex of putting her thumb in her mouth, something she's been doing since the age of five months, would be the strongest.

So now we have a little finger-sucking girl.  Her dad sucked the same finger when he was little - though with the palm of his hand up while she does it the other way around - so maybe it's genetic ;)

Isolde before...

...and after

It will be interesting to see if it will be as "easy" to get her to stop sucking her thumb or finger altogether.  If we tape all fingers?  Anyway, we're not really going to force her to do that yet but maybe when she's three years old, if she hasn't stopped on her own.  Peter apparently stopped without much difficulty around the age of three so let's hope for that.  That said, they say nowadays that as long as she stops (and the same goes for pacifiers) before she gets her permanent teeth, there shouldn't be too much damage to her teeth.


* I noticed later after I had written my post that it really was "I'm addicted to..." but hope I'm excused for using Isolde's bad habits :)

Isolde's Birthday Party

Some photos from Isolde's recent birthday party.  For her party we did a repeat of last year and had an open house between 14 and 18 and invited most of our friends who either have kids or are important in Isolde's life in some way, as well as family and relatives.  Like last year we ended up being around 30 adults and 15 kids, not all at the same time but it was still quite crowded and loud mid-way through.  Next year when Isolde turns 3 we will probably have a separate kid party and a family/close friends gathering.  And I'm not sure what we will do for first couple of birthdays of the new baby..? It's fun to see everyone and I don't want to have to choose whom to invite really - and when you have young children, parties are in many ways an opportunity for the parents to socialise - but it's a bit hectic with so many people.  We'll see...

Duplo (the safari series especially) was a bit of a theme among the gifts (my mum in red).

First more Duplo, then cute finger dolls from Afroart

Selection of guests



I tried to get Isolde to go and sit with little friends Adrian and Edward but she wanted to pose at the front :)

Some of the goodies - and there was cake as well of course

Little guests and chaperones busy in Isolde's room, aka the playroom

Isolde with godmother Maria, playing with the selection of cookies beautifully crocheted by my aunt and Isolde's great aunt (I will show you a close-up later)

The aftermath...

28 January

Taking the opportunity to wish Anna in NYC, little Alfred in Munich and a friend's sister Happy Birthday on the best birthday of the year (if you didn't guess already it's also my own)! :) Hope you all have a great day!

Belly Shots

I have been very bad at documenting this, my second pregnancy, compared to when I was expecting Isolde, both in terms of taking photos of my growing tummy and keeping a diary.  I guess that's the way it is when it's not your "first time" and there's an extra person constantly calling your attention and you just don't have yourself to think about.

I promise tell you in more detail about this pregnancy later (though it's quite similar to my first one) but for now, here are some belly shots, as it's fun to compare.  What do you think?  I don't think there's much difference size-wise - and in fact, I'm smack on average like last time according to the midwife's measurements - though I think I'm carrying this one slightly wider.  Last time at this stage (week 34) my tummy really looked like a football from the front (no such shot below though) but now it's not as pronounced; a bit rounder and fatter I guess.

These first two photos show me earlier today.   I'm currently 33 weeks pregnant, week 33+1 to be exact.   As you can see I'm not very good at taking pictures of myself with my phone :)


Below is a comparison between me at 22+3 weeks pregnant with Isolde (left photo), and 22+2 weeks pregnant this time around (right photo):

Last is a comparison between me at 34+5 weeks pregnant with Isolde (left photo) and me today at 33+1 weeks pregnant (right photo):

Saturday (and Friday Gallery)

Peter was working today and out with friends this evening so Isolde and I have had the whole day to ourselves. We decided to go to Södertälje to see my parents as well as Maria and Daniel. Daniel is recovering from a big operation so we wanted to stop by and see how he was doing.

Now it's almost 9:30 pm and I've just made myself a cup if tea and am watching an old episode of Midsomer Murders. I have a light migraine (either from the cold weather or due to relaxing after a busy work) so I'm going to go to bed at ten, which is very early for me, even on a work day.

Tomorrow we have swimming (first time in a year so it will be interesting to see what Isolde thinks about it now) and little cousin O's first birthday party to look forward to.

But before I say good night, a belated Friday Gallery. Yesterday's theme was accessories and the first thing that came to mind was my iPhone, which I use every day (every hour and maybe even every minute) and I couldn't live without and from which I posting this (and doing so much more).

Good night!

Christmas 2012

Here are some pictures from Christmas, better late than never, right!

We started our Christmas celebrations at lunch with Peter's parents and one of Peter's godparents.  Isolde got to open her first Christmas present (from her grandparents, so they didn't need to carry a quite heavy package to Peter's sister where we'd be spending the evening), a old-fashioned race car that has been on her (or mine..?) wish list for a while.  

"Helping" dad put the car together was as much fun as driving it.

Christmas Eve(ning) was spent at Peter's sister A and husband M, who had invited us, Peter's parents, M's parents, M's brother with family, and M's brother's wife's mum and husband, for potluck (we were responsible for herring and shrimp as well as chocolate and toffee for coffee treats) dinner and pressies.  We were 12 adults and three children so the noise was quite high for a while - but somehow the kids slept through it once they had gone to bed.

There were so many presents, probably at least a third of them for the kids, so we put most of the kids' presents aside for the following day.



Santa stopped by of course!

Isolde didn't want to let cousin O. have daddy to herself.



Cousins with an ear fetish...

Snuggly slippers in one of the boxes!

Christmas Day we continued the festivities at my parents.

Morfar and Isolde had fun with the sled for a while.  The next day the weather got milder and the snow started melting so it was good that they took the chance on Christmas Day.

Godmother Maria and Daniel stopped by for glögg and saffron buns and gift exhange.

An attempt to take a nice mother-daughter photo in front of the Christmas tree...

Boxing Day we were back in Stockholm and Isolde played with some of her new toys before we went over to Peter's parents for turkey dinner with his uncle and cousin.

The new Pippi house is popular.

Attempt to get farfar with his two grandchildren to all pose at the same time...ehum...

Friday Gallery: Bad Habits

Penny has chosen a very difficult topic for this Friday, at least as far as illustrating with pictures is concerned!  But I'm going to make it easy for myself and post something funny I saw today.

Considering Isolde's addiction with iPhones and iPads and with her approaching toilet training age, she will probably need one of these:

Two Years Old Today!

Turning 2 can be a bit tiring as you can see. We had the big celebration last weekend (photos coming soon) so this morning she "only" got to open one present and this evening we gave her blueberries for dessert, her favourite. And she got to wear the crown at pre-school today.

A Non-Year in Books

A total of five books. A miserable year as far as reading is concerned… (well, unless children's books count).  I guess that should be my 2013 resolution; to read more.

• “How the States Got their Shapes” by Mark Stein
• "Icons of England"
• "Det dyrbara" by Linn Ullmann
• "Gravidchock: reporter erkänner" by Belinda Olsson
• "Ketchupmamman" by Karin Lindell