Half way!

Bloody hell! I can't quite believe that I've made it this far, 20 weeks seemed so far away when I saw the positive pee stick back in August. I'm still very nervous about the scan next Friday but have promised myself that if everything looks ok I will go and buy something for the baby afterwards. Maybe just something very small but something to symbolise the fact that I want to believe this is going to work out for us this time.

I already have a couple of things brought by the MIL and sent by one of my aunts but I'm ignoring them at the moment until I am comfortable with all this.

Last night we went to a lecture at the hospital about pregnancy etc. To be honest having read a couple of books there wasn't much that was news. As S said about the only useful thing was hearing about the "patient hotel" where for 200kr (~$40/£20) a night we can have a private room with a double bed, TV with DVD player and the chance to get to know our new baby in safe surroundings for up to 2 nights after the birth. Although this is a room in the hospital it's not horribly medical looking and of course there is 24 hour experienced medical care available nearby. This is only an option if the birth is uncomplicated but it's one we think we'll go for if we get the chance.

We are going out for our work Christmas lunch today (yes I know it's November) so I suppose there won't be too much work done this morning. But I'm wearing my new top that S bought me (all on his own) in Strasbourg. It's lovely although it cost more than I would have spent and I need to wear it now before I grow too big for it.

I like the tax man

Not something you will usually hear in Denmark where most of us pay about 50% income tax. But apparently I've been paying too much tax (not good) which means I'm due a fairly big rebate (very good). Now I wonder if I can think of anything to spend this on..... (tries to resist ikea, mothercare, H&M and babysam websites until the money is actually in her hands).

Also thanks everyone for your comments on my last post, you're all very sweet. Although Melissa has me wondering if my friend's boyfriend might have space in his suitcase for a couple of items from old navy when he comes over at Christmas. I thought H&M was cheap but Old Navy beats it hands down and it would be nice to not be wearing the same clothes as every other pregnant woman in Denmark.

Oh and I've been looking at joining a yoga for pregnant women class since cycling is getting more and more tiring and it's the only exercise I normally get. They have space for me to start next week but I just can't bring myself to sign up until after the scan next Friday.

I also just helped a colleague send to abstracts to a meeting in San Diego next April I hope they get accepted and I still have a reason why I can't go.

new clothes and belly pics

The last week or so I've been wearing my maternity cords but thought that some of my other trousers still fitted as they did last time I tried. Well it seems I was mistaken, when I put the cords in the wash I discovered that none of my trousers are comfortable and in fact several pairs won't even pull all the way up. Presumably this means that my arse has grown in addition to my belly.

So while wandering around town attempting to get inspiration for my various family members Christmas gifts I visited the maternity department at H&M. The result was a pair of trousers and a dress so at least I'll have a couple of choices of things to wear now.






Oh and I finally got S to take some pictures (19 weeks 2 days):













I guess the belly is coming in the room first now.

Reasons to be thankful

In honour of Thanksgiving over the pond I thought I'd do a things I'm thankful about post.

My younger sister who is now single and seems much happier. I hope she follows her dream and works overseas somewhere for a year or two. She's a teacher so should be able to do this relatively easily. She mentioned S America as an idea (any tips Elizabeth?) but is still in the early planning stages.

My older sister who while still not totally happy about how the job turned out is secure in her job and will (fingers crossed) be moving into a bigger house (finally) at the end of the month. My wonderful BIL who loves her and my nephew who is the cutest, smartest kid I know (biased - me?).

My mum and dad who support and understand me and I spent over an hour on the phone to them last night chatting about everything. My mum completely understands the idea that we want to spend the first 2 weeks after the baby is born just as the 3 of us and is looking forward to visiting after this. She did mention being a little sad that she can't share more of the pregnancy with me so I'd better get some of those belly shots taken and sent. Oh and maybe encourage them to visit sometime between Christmas and the birth.

My husband who loves me despite my craziness and nearly always says the right things.

My friends, both those I see face to face and the ones who support me via this blog who have helped me get through the last couple of years.

and of course my pregnancy, I still don't quite believe it but it seems that I may be bringing home a real live baby in April - how cool is that!

About finding out the sex and other worries

Everyone and I mean everyone keeps asking me/us if I know the sex and when I say no, if I want to find out.

As the scan when this might be possible I wonder, do I want to find out? and the honest answer is I don't know. I don't care whether this baby is a boy or a girl all I can think about is that I hope it's healthy. I haven't felt much movement in the last few days and quite frankly I'm beginning to worry. It's not like I'd been feeling stuff every day but something to reassure me would be good.

It feels like a very long time since my last scan when everything looked how it should. I suppose I sort of think things are ok, my belly is definitely bigger which suggests something is happening but I wish the next 2 weeks would go a bit faster.

As for the sex thing I really really don't want to be inundated with colour coded baby stuff and finding out the sex makes this kind of inevitable. Of course, theoretically, we could find out and not tell anyone but I'm crap at keeping secrets. I mean I told my mum before my 6 week scan even though I was planning to wait until after to tell her.

Also I have a feeling I might be having a girl - no logical basis for this - just a feeling. And pink? Really not one of my favourite colours.

blogger flame of fortitude

I'll be honest here, when I saw this I immediately had tears in my eyes (I blame the pregnancy hormones) thank you so much Jenna.

She says "You are receiving this honor because you have embodied perseverance in the face of difficulty and shared the journey of your experiences with others proving that a single voice can both be a light of support and a source or humor for those in the midst of their struggle. You are acknowledged here today for allowing others to share in your personal story and providing camaraderie through the power of your words."

Sometimes I compare my struggles with those of the other bloggers I read (and there are a lot - check out the blogroll) and realise how lucky I've actually been but that doesn't mean it hasn't been hard. I wouldn't wish one miscarriage on anyone - let alone two in a year and blogging has helped me so much so thank you to everyone who has commented and supported me so far.

Jenna covered a lot of people with her list of deserving recipients and some that would have been on my list but I'd like to add a few more. So here's my extras (some are pwp): Niobe, Babyblues, SaraS-P, Artblog, Rebecca, Anns, Somewhat ordinary, Gemini Girl, Matthew (and Constance), Heather, Schatzi, Aurelia, .

And you know there are a lot more deserving people out there so consider yourself listed if I've commented on your blog especially since it would take me ages to list everyone on my blogroll.

PS is anyone else having hassles with bloglines? I seem to keep getting the same posts labelled as new over and over.

winter and stuff

So it seems that the short autumn (fall) here in Denmark is already over, all the trees are bare and I woke up to a white world this morning. The grass is poking through the snow at the moment but the sky looks as if another snow fall is possible.

And in case you didn't know, apparently my blog is very intelligent - I have no idea how that happened:

Stolen from SaraS-P.

Crazy pregnant lady?

Oh dear I think those "make you irrational" hormones might have kicked in, in evidence a conversation from last night.

Caro walks into the bedroom

S: Oh my God (looking at my stomach)
C hears "oh my god you are enormous" and gets upset, self conscious and tells S.
S: riiight ok I won't mention pregnancy and it's effects ever again, rolls over and starts snoring.

C lies awake wondering what he "should" have said to comment on the fact that I seem to have "popped" and definitely have a belly now.

More about the weekend

I thought I'd follow up the last post with a better description of the trip.

It started on Saturday with a flight to Dublin, yes not the most direct route to Exeter but the cheapest and it gave us the opportunity to see a friend over there who we haven't seen since our wedding.

He picked us up from the airport and after dropping our bags we went to Johnnie Fox's pub for lunch where S had the first of several Guinnesses (he's on the right).

We went into Dublin itself in the evening and the boys drank a few more pints, I had a half of Guinness myself because it just seemed wrong to go to Dublin and not have a taste.

On Sunday we flew to Exeter where we were picked up by the friend who grew up down there. His mum made a fantastic spread for the 11 people who had invaded her home and lots of chat continued to the early hours.

Monday started late with bacon sandwiches and a walk in a beautiful beech wood.
Then it was back for more great food before heading into Ottery.

The Tar Barrels actually start in the afternoon with the children's and then women's barrels but we arrived at about 8 for the first men's barrel. This tradition has been going on for a long time and you have to be a local to carry a barrel. The barrels are lit in different streets every half an hour until midnight. A group of guys wearing protective sacking gloves and several layers of clothing pass the barrel to each other and run about carrying it until it burns out. As mentioned in the comment to the last post the locals want this tradition to continue so they are careful. The spectators are drinking but it is instinctual to get out of the way of a burning barrel and apart from a few squashed toes I really don't think anyone got hurt.

Our friends father is one of the GPs in the town and said that he does see a few minor burns each year but nothing serious.

Tuesday saw us flying back to Dublin and going out for curry in the evening and then Wednesday morning we flew home and went straight to work.

Unfortunately all the late nights and flights (4 in 5 days) seem to have caught up with me so I'm sitting at home nursing a rotten cold.

Flaming Tar Barrels!

At your own risk!
Flaming barrels
and since it's almost impossible to photograph burning barrels on a dark night while trying to dodge them, a video.

Writing month, jumping on the bandwagon

Well November seems to be writing month, some people are promising to blog everyday (NaBloPoMo), others are trying to finally get that novel written (NaNoWriMo) and still others are writing their thesis (InadWriMo) and/or other academic writing this month.

As for me? Well I'm just not disciplined enough to promise anything so I didn't sign up at Dr Brazen Hussy's blog but I do have 2 papers that need writing, one nearly finished and one barely started. If you've been reading me for a while you may have noticed these papers mentioned in passing before so yes it's about time I gave myself a kick up the arse and got them written.

My blogging rate is going down and if I do suddenly find some writing discipline this isn't likely to change but I'm still around and checking in on you guys and my email is on the top right if you want to see what I'm up to.

November is also the time when the nights really draw in and I love it, I love long summer nights too but there is something special about getting home after work and curling up in a nice warm house looking out at the dark.*

This weekend I'll be travelling (again) as we are going to see several friends first we fly to Dublin to stay overnight with a guy we haven't seen since our wedding 2 years ago. Then we fly on to Exeter where we will be camping on the floor of another friends' parents house. This friend has been working in Africa for the last 3(4?) years so it's about time to catch up. The reason for this weekend and doing it at his parents is that they live in a village that has an interesting tradition on November the 5th. Instead of the usual bonfire and fireworks they soak barrels in tar and then on the night set them alight and carry them through the town. Apparently this is a great night and it's also an excuse for us to get together with some friends.

I'll be back on Wednesday morning so there won't be any blogging until then.

As for the pregnancy, it seems to be continuing - those in the know can see my belly growing. I've started to have pains in my hip which unfortunately have woken me up a few times and heartburn at night but otherwise am feeling pretty good.

*I reserve the right to start complaining about the short days and the dark in a couple of months.