Into My Snow Globe

Happy Baba Bubs is now officially four months old!

Aoife is now three and a half months old, wriggly, a bit chubby, and quite opinionated. I used to always exclaim about how she's starting to show some personality but now I think its even more defined. More and more its looking like she knows what she wants and makes sure you help her get it. Otherwise, she's become really adept at screaming her head off. Luckily these instances are still rare.

Our little bubs the morning of her 2-month mark My friends, we are now in a new age of baby. Funny how these weeks run past so quickly and so agonizingly slow at the same time. The three and six month mark promise so many development milestones for bubs that would make her more play worthy and shock proof, that it seems we are perpetually waiting for them to come round. On the other hand, each day has been a study in amazement as we see how fast she is progressing and changing by the minute! So where does that leave us? Happy. Really, can we be anything but?

Our cheeky monkey sunbathing Six weeks on and how far we have come.

Hello World! I know this should have come before my last post on new parenthood but I guess talking about my little bubs has me more motivated than talking about me. However, I did promise I'd write about the experience so here goes. I was scheduled for an induction on the 17th of July and was at the hospital by 7:40 AM. It was slightly later than I had hoped (recall that at this stage I was SO Over being preggers) but waiting till the 17th meant that bubs would be 39 weeks and as well cooked as he can get prior to 40 weeks -- plus Chinese Feng Shui indicate that the 17th and 18th are auspicious days! (No, we didn't really plan it this way, it was just a happy auspicious co-inky-dink) So not a bad start to an induction. At the holding room with my ginormous belly with contraction & fetal monitor strapped to my waist Prior to the 17th, PIC and I were super organized. We had three bags set up -- one for me and all my labor "necessities", another ba

Our "Precious" Technically bubs is now a week and 2 days old but what's 2 days give or take right? All that reading and past experience taking care of my younger brother when I was in High School have paid off big time in the last nine days. It certainly made me a little less clueless and ably pretend that I know what I am doing. Unfortunately, neither quite prepared me for how much hard work it really is.

As a baby shower pressie, we got vouchers from Features Forever  to immortalize Aoife's little digits! Yay! 38 Weeks! Less than a week to go before I am induced into labor on the 17th of July at 39 Weeks!  I made it!!!!!

My new daily friend...  By Wednesday, we'll be marking the end of our 36th week and starting our 37th. And when we start our 37th I'll be breathing a sigh of relief as regardless of when I pop, baby Aoife will be officially full term by then.

Steve Wiens: To Parents of Small Children: Let Me Be the One Who Says It Out Loud  In the same vein that I whinge endlessly over the trials of pregnancy and exult over my little bub's growth -- I suspect this article will be me in the coming years. I know I am a direct person and I have suffered through many a disapproving frown, tongue clicks, and lectures as I spout statements of fact that usually fall under the shameful category of "done-but-unadmitted".  But I truly believe in saying it as it is. Unfortunately, with each year that passes, I find that I possess a waning patience for the silly and the lack of common sense in this world that I become even more direct (if that were even possible) and even more unforgiving of obtrusive and judgy comments thrown about. Reading this though makes me feel rational in my sense that while I understand the joys of pending parenthood, I most adamantly will not pretend its a walk in the park & that I should b

Her crib, all decked out! Not much has happened since our last post. These last two months are really dragging on so... As of this writing, we still have 7 weeks, 2 days, 10hrs, 55 minutes, and 8 seconds to go before our due date. Not that I'm counting really. Everything just feels like its moving soooooo slowly.

From vicarious experience Mommyhood's hard work... but I'm fully prepared to have lots of fun with it! ( Photo Source ) They say when you get pregnant you suddenly get a heightened radar for discovering other pregnant women. I found this to be true and was quite amazed at how many women I know are preggers at the same time I am. Over a dozen women out there that I know personally are on their way to meet their new bub.

Baby Aoife at 25weeks and 2 days...  So... its the 26th week... what else is new?

A visual of our loot from this shopping spree... There are lists to be followed and lists to be ignored. For this one, I think I fell safely in the middle. Shopping for babies in NZ is not particularly appealing. You kind of get the feeling that there is not enough interest in all the bits and baubles of babyland and everything is so overpriced! A good example of this is how Mothercare recently closed its operations in NZ for lack of sufficient market. This, despite the abundance of babies to be found cavorting on the streets. It simply boggles the mind! Last August, we booked a trip to the USA for our annual biggie vacay and shopping spree only to realize four months later that I'll be at the tail end of my 2nd trimester when we finally make the trip. The trip's focus instantly changed at that point from "me, me, me" to "baby, baby, baby". If we thought buying on Amazon was cheaper than buying locally even with shipping costs, imagine how

My birthday dinner date...  So for the last couple of posts, facebook statuses, and tweets, its been all about me. But then I thought, what about the instigator? The main culprit of this show? The man who has always wanted a kid but has patiently waited for me to let my guard down to sneak one in. Yes folks, I'm talking about PIC. The future daddy.

Never will you fear your own mortality as much as when you are a mother waiting to bring your babe into the world. For the squeamish, this is your last chance to step away from this blog. The next few lines would definitely be TMI for most.

20 week scan Last time I blogged, I admit I was still experiencing the after effects of my first term nausea. That however, has since abated. Thank Fudge! I am now well and truly into the good months or as I like to call them, my normal months. This is as close as I've felt to my usual self since being preggers, apart from the big belly.

The "Essentials" as defined by Daddy PIC have arrived... So I started this term thinking it would be easier. But apparently I am doomed to experience all the normal symptoms of pregnancy. With the second trimester comes the exit of morning sickness and the dawn of more indigestion and heartburn. Unfortunately on intense indigestion days, it also comes hand in hand with nausea and vomiting. The latter of which, I've never had to experience during my first trimester. Other than this, I will give the blogs and guide books props as they weren't kidding about feeling closer to normal during this time.  Well, as normal as I can be at 17 weeks walking around feeling like one of those little wooden fertility statues you see in museum gift shops with the boobage and the pot belly. At this stage, my tummy doesn't quite resemble a pregnant belly just yet. Its still a cross between a beer gut and someone who's had a big lunch that just won't go away

14 weeks prego scan; Fetal age at 12 weeks, but he's actually a week bigger than he's supposed to be! Eyes shut and heart open. This sums up how I feel on the last week of my neurotic, and verging on extreme paranoia phase, AKA the most sensitive time in a new mom's pregnancy. So far baba's clinging tight and secretly mumbling "you're not getting away that easy future mommy."  I'm glad he's proving to be so tenacious.

yes, my cheeks have filled out and I'm now starting to show... Week 11 Week 11 starts with bang. So while I have told my closer friends about our impending arrival, I haven't really shared the news with the wider group. I'm not precious about it, I just don't think its anyone else's business until I start showing. Well apparently, there has been talk already! It all started when I began wearing flats to work. Who knew that my stilettos and heels have become such a part of my "image" at work?? Followed by the big red flag of us buying a crossover SUV. While we bought the car before we even knew, thinking we've always wanted to try a bigger car, to all observing it was a sure sign that we were getting "family ready." Then I started coming to work embodying Annie Lennox's Whiter Shade of Pale, skipping my usual coffee runs with work mates & substituting with hot chocolate. Plus let's not forgot the flowy tops or the

Our first scan. Hello baba! So its monumental week 9...

8 wks Preggy: Not much to show yet, but starting to fill out You would think that learning about my baba at 5 weeks would make things easier right? That's one month and a week off my 40 week wait. But noooooo... for anyone who knows me, they know that I plan things. I hate surprises and anything that remotely deals with the unknown. I don't just like to be prepared about the serious stuff, I NEED to be.