33 Weeks

We finally got around to getting a photo during daylight hours - the days are so short here in winter that by the time we remember to take the weekly photo, we're stuck with poor indoor lighting. It's not warm here, despite my wearing a short-sleeved shirt - it's cold and it's windy!

Christmas has already come and gone! We spent a quiet Christmas at home - just Pedro, me, the dogs, and the little baby in my belly - and it was very nice. I cooked all kinds of Puerto Rican holiday food along with some apple pie for dessert. Now we have a New Year's Eve party to go to in only two days and I'm a little worried about finding a fancy dress that I can actually fit into.

My neighbors are down in Cornwall (southern England) and they've left me to take care of their four Bantam chickens while they're gone. Walking out to the chicken coop every morning to take care of their chickens amidst sprawling English farmland is so wonderful that it reminds me of how much I can't wait to show little Isabella the beauty of the outdoors (and so much more).

Eight months down!

32 weeks!

31 Weeks

Here is a photo of Pedro setting up the new nursery furniture. He and his friend Ben hauled everything over from Kiddicare, then Pedro put everything back together. I was so proud! It looks really nice. As soon as I get things more organized in there, I'll post a photo of the completed project.

And here is your weekly belly shot.

Jazz Concert

I mentioned in an earlier post that I would get around to putting up a few pictures from Thanksgiving and the jazz show we went to the following week. Here they are - these were taken by my friend Kat. As you can see in the last photo - the belly button is barely hangin' on, despite Pedro's daily pleading with Isabella to hold onto it!

30 weeks

Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapers these days are nothing like the old terry cloth towels you had to fold and pin. These days they have all-in-one diapers that work just like a disposable, that, once soiled, you dump a flushable liner into the toilet, and put the diaper into a lidded bucket. Once the bucket is full, you just dump the diapers into the washing machine. Since we don't have a clothes dryer, we'll have to remove the liner for it to dry. I've done a test run of the ones I bought and they dried easily overnight, despite it being fall/winter in England. It's a few more steps than a disposable, but we'll see how it goes. I'm very realistic about it, and plan to use disposables when necessary and possibly also in the first few weeks until we get used to the routine of taking care of the baby.

When some people first hear that Pedro and I have decided to try cloth diapering, I tend to get some raised eyebrows. I've talked with a few women here in England who have successfully used cloth diapers from birth to potty and our local council will even reimburse us $100 of what it costs to pay for the diapers themselves. After talking a lot about it, our reasons for wanting to try it out are baby health, economy, and the environment. I could paraphrase all the research I've done here, but I'm not out to preach to anyone since I have yet to try it out myself. While I'm not yet 100% certain that it will work for us, we're committed to give it a good try - a bit more than that, I think. If you're interested I will leave you with some good links at the end of the post. I also have a lot more information if anyone is more curious.

The Nappy [Diaper] Lady website: http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/

“Pocket” diapers (the kind that is probably best for us since we don't have a dryer): http://www.weecarediapercompany.com/weecart/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7

Green parenting / diapers http://www.grizzlybird.net/labels/diapers.html

Cloth diaper care, step by step: http://www.grizzlybird.net/2006/03/how-to-wash-cloth-diapers-at-home.html#links

Natural baby wipes http://www.naturodoc.com/library/children/newborn_skin.htm

More general info: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/12/ecotip_nappies.php

29 weeks - Third Trimester!!!

We didn't get a chance to get a photo for my 28th week and my official entrance into the third trimester. If I go to full term, I still have another 11 weeks - but technically, the baby is ready to go after 37 weeks!

We went to a jazz concert (Koop) at the Jazz Cafe in London yesterday and the baby got another taste of great music (since hearing the opera Aida in Verona this summer). I'll try to write more and post a couple more pics later in the week.

Trip to Greece at 27 Weeks

There's no special belly shot for this week because when I hit 27 weeks we were on our way back from Athens. We spent three wonderful days there, ate lots of cheese and savory foods, and had excellent baklava. It seemed like the perfect time of year to travel there - no crowds and temperate weather. The Greek people we met were always extra nice to us after seeing my protruding belly - people gave up their seats, smiled a lot, and I even got two good luck gifts from a couple of shop owners (including one to ward off the evil eye)! Now that we're back, I have a couple of appointments to monitor my low platelet count - hopefully all has normalized - I feel great. I am beginning to slow down a bit more though, and I had to take a lot of rest stops while we were walking around Athens.

In other news, this coming Thursday is also not only Thanksgiving but our 7th wedding anniversary!!!

26 Weeks, more classes

We had our last parentcraft class on Thursday at the hospital - I thought it was better than last time, but three hours of the evening does get to be a bit long. We got a tour of the hospital and got to see the facilities for delivery, which were pretty nice. Next week begin the classes just for pregnant mothers-to-be at the smaller, local clinic. I'll get a chance to meet other women who are as far along as I am, which will be really nice. Other than that, the belly doesn't seem like it's getting a whole lot bigger these last few weeks, though the belly button threatens to pop out at any moment.

Prenatal Classes

We had our first prenatal class last night at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, where I’ll be having the baby. The class lasted three hours! There were about six other couples there and we were all at varying stages of pregnancy. Since I’ve read so many books, the class wasn’t as helpful to me as I think it was to Pedro – but it did answer some of our questions pertaining to giving birth specifically in England.

It was reassuring that the midwife giving the class didn’t seem to promote any one type of pain medication, like I expected. I had heard that they don’t really like giving epidurals and encourage drug-free births – but this was clearly just hearsay. As for me, my mind is pretty open about it. Before I got pregnant, I always just assumed that I would go straight for the epidural, but I like the idea of having an active labor and being able to move around a lot more outside of the bed to aid in delivery. So we’ll see when the big day comes just how I feel about it!

Tuvimos nuestra primera clase prenatal anoche en el hospital (tres horas!), donde yo voy a dar a la luz. Habian seis otras parejas ahí, y todas las mujeres estaban en varias niveles del embarazo. Desde que yo habia leído muchos libros sobre el embarazo, la clase no era muy útil para mi, pero creo que Pedro la disfrutó mucho – aunque yo creo que esa clase contestó nuestras preguntas sobre como es a parir especificamente en Inglaterra.

La comadrona no recomendó ningun tipo de droga contra el dolor, como yo pensé. Yo habia oído que la sistema aquí alienta nacimientos naturales (sin drogas) – pero, eso no es la verdad. Nos dio mucha información, y tengo una mente mas abierta.

25 Weeks

24 Weeks

Well, I've got six full months of pregnancy under my belt, so to speak. Things are going really well, I feel good, I have high energy, and I've been trying to do a little bit of pregnancy yoga to ease my constant leg cramps (as well as eating tons of bananas).

One thing that I've been really preoccupied about is the issue of diapers. Pedro and I both agreed that we are willing to try using cloth diapers, so I've been doing lots of research into the easiest ways of going about it. For those of you who have used cloth diapers - what brands, if any, do you recommend?

Ya pasaron seis meses del embarazo. Todo esta bien, me siento bien, tengo mucha energía, y habia tratado de hacer un poquito de yoga para aliviar los dolores de las piernas (y como muchas bananas). Una cosa que me preocupa es la cuestión de pañales de tela. Pedro y yo estamos de acuerdo que queremos usar pañales de tela, y he hacido unas investigaciónes en las maneras mas fáciles en hacerlo – pero hay tantas opciónes…. ¿Hay alguien que nos pueda recomendar una marca distinta?

23 weeks!

This is the ultrasound scan picture that was taken back during my 21st week of pregnancy, when we found out that the baby is most likely going to be a girl. I finally got around to photographing the picture (our scanner isn't working), so here it is! I think she looks a little like Pedro, but when I told Pedro that, he reacted as if I thought she'd come out of the womb with his mustache and beard!

Esta es la foto del sonograma segundo (de la semana 21 del embarazo), cuando averiguamos que la bébé es una nena. Yo creo que ella parece a Pedro – pero cuando yo lo dijé eso a Pedro, él reaccionó como ella iba a salir con su barba y bigote! Jaja...

Esta es una foto de hoy - la empezada de la semana 23 del embarazo. Doña Aida me regaló esta camisa (no es una camisa de maternidad, pero me queda perfectamente bien). He recibido muchos regalos de todo el mundo para la maternidad y la bébé – GRACIAS at todos!!! (Si alguien sabe un shortcut de poner las letras correctas – con acentos, etc – dejame saber por favor! Tengo muchos dificultades con el teclado y el mecanographía.)

This is a photo of me on the first day (today) of my 23rd week of pregnancy. Doña Aida sent me this top from Puerto Rico (it’s not a maternity top but it fits me perfectly!). I have received a lot of gifts from everyone for my maternity and for the baby – again, thank you all – it really means a lot! (On a side note – I’m trying to practice my typing in correct Spanish but it’s taking me forever to figure out the keyboard accents – so if anyone knows any shortcuts, please let me know!).

Switzerland at 22 Weeks

We took a little three day trip to Switzerland over the weekend and took in some beautiful sights of the southern Alps. We did some hiking, some eating, and got in plenty of excellent Swiss chocolate. The pictures here are of us in a place called Gornergrat, near Zermatt (in the south). In the background you see a few glaciers that are part of the mountain range that includes the famous Matterhorn.
We hiked from an area a bit further down from here and walked the trail for a couple of hours. The exercise feels great - it's not having continual access to a bathroom that really stinks.

April in our hotel in Zurich - 22 weeks

It's a GIRL!

telling Pedro the news

We had the ultrasound done yesterday. The baby seems to be developing on schedule and normally - all of her measurements were good, her organs looked healthy, and her head is getting bigger!

My friend Jessi was here for a visit all the way from Minnesota, and luckily, she was able to be there. Unfortunately, Pedro wasn't! We had to arrive separately because Pedro was working, and on his way, he got stuck in a horrible traffic jam because of an accident in which they closed down the road. So the good news was slightly overshadowed by worrying what happened to him (we only have one cell phone) - we knew there had been an accident on his route. I asked the midwife to wait until Pedro got there before telling me what the sex of the baby was, and we waited until they were closing before the midwife couldn't wait any longer. Had he gotten there before the clinic closed, she was going to let us do the ultrasound again so that Pedro could get a chance to see - poor Pedro!

BUT - he made it out safely but could only get back to his job. Once I found out what happened, I drove there to tell him in person. It's a girl and we're VERY excited!!!!

Jessi, me, and Lentil in London
(Pedro on photography)

5 Months Along - Halfway Mark

We took a trip to Haddon Hall, where they filmed The Princess Bride.

Now that I'm at the 20 week mark, the baby is almost as long as a sheet of paper (head to foot) and has been stretching and moving around constantly. Make your predictions on the baby's sex - we go in for the final ultrasound on October 8th!

Ahora que estoy en la semana numero 20, el bebe esta casi tan largo como una hoja de papel (de la cabeza a los pies) y se ha estado estirando y moviendo constantemente. Hagan sus apuestas ahora - vamos al sonograma final en el 8 de Octubre a ver que sera - un varon o una hembra.

19 weeks

Lentil has been moving around like crazy and this morning he/she shoved his/her whole body outward so that I could feel about a good four inches of the baby from the outside. Even Pedro has been able to feel some of the movements (which of course, aren't as dramatic as I'm sure they will get).

No tengo una foto nueva todavia; la voy a poner esta semana. Pero tengo unas noticias - el bebe ha estado moviendose mucho - especialmente esta manana cuando me empujo con todo su cuerpito y yo lo podia sentir (casi cuatro pulgadas) con la mano afuera. Era como una piedra empujandose! Pedro tambien puede sentir los movimientos.

In other news, we are getting rid of the beater BMW for a 2002 Volvo wagon. It's not a mini-van but it's definitely a family vehicle. We'll be able to fit the dogs in the back area, the baby in the back seat, and we'll still be able to sit comfortably in the front. The trip to Scotland with all of us in the car was cramped, to say the least (not to mention when family came to visit in March).

18 weeks

I had another appointment with the midwife today and everything looks fine. My uterus is now past my belly button. I wore this shirt to my first appointment at 6 weeks and haven't worn it since, so it really surprised me to see how much I've grown when I put it on this morning.

In just three more weeks we find out if it's a boy or a girl. I dreamed that I did an ultrasound on myself and it was a boy :) We'll see!

--

Tuve una cita con la comadrona hoy y todo se ve muy bien. El utero ya sobrepasa el umbligo. Yo
use esta camisa en la primera cita (6 semanas) y no la use desde entonces hasta hoy. Me dio una sorpresa a ver cuanto ha crecido la barriga cuando me vesti esta manana.

Solamente en tres semanas mas, averiguaremos cual es el sexo del bebe.

London - Lentil likes Thai food!

17 Weeks to the Day

Pedro made me get out of bed for this :).
It always surprises me when I see my belly in a photo.

16 Weeks

Papa, Mama, and Lentil in the Scottish Highlands.
Lots more energy for hiking up mountains, and no nausea!


Can you see him with kids? :)
Pedro, Spartacus, and Tracia on Hadrian's Wall, northern England.

14-15 Weeks

Just after a meal - the belly really pokes out!

13 weeks

La barriga no es muy distinta a la de la semana pasada - un poquito mas redonda en frente, pero estos pantalones casi no me sirven ahora.




My belly doesn't look very different this week - it just seems like the weight is spreading out more. These pants - two sizes bigger than my norm, almost don't fit me anymore though.

The sonogram

Here's the baby - I think it's pretty clear, but the head is
on the left and the baby is laying on its back
with the hand by the mouth and the legs
kicking the side of my uterus :)

In this one, the baby looks limbless and is laying face
down - Pedro likes it because it looks like an
Atari character

12 Weeks

I've put on 4.4 pounds so far, but it seems like so much more!