This week I enter my 29th week of pregnancy...I thought I would celebrate it by posting a couple of pictures of my (big) pregnant belly :)
Definitely slowing down (I know I always seem to say the same thing) but seriously...am even struggling to get up from the couch these days! Other than that though, had a blood test last week and as I predicted, am low in iron so need to start taking some iron tablets. Will buy some tomorrow and add it to the list of other pills I have to take (vitamin D & one for breast feeding).
On the weekend Daddy and I attended two of the three pre-natal classes that was recommended by our Obstetrician (Marcia Bonazzi). Apart from the fact that Daddy was a tad hung over (AFL footy finals here in Melbourne on the weekend) so it was a looong day! Was good though, got to learn all about the different stages of labour and a few techniques on assisting the baby to position herself in preparation for the birth. We then learned a lot about Daddy's role during labour and how he will support me (mainly emotional support ). After lunch we learned to change a nappy and also how to wrap a baby so they are nice and tucked in. We finished off the afternoon by brainstorming techniques on settling the baby when they are crying....a few ideas that were mentioned:
- Change nappy
- Feed baby
- Go for a walk with the baby
- Hold the baby and give them cuddles
- Play music to the baby
- Talk to the baby
- Rock the baby
- Massage the baby
- Vacuum the house (certain noises might sooth the baby as they were used to these types of noises when they were in the womb)
- Sing to the baby (in a low tone)
If any of my readers have any other suggestions feel free to comment!
*Mental note...come back to this post in about 6 months time and see if any of these strategies actually worked!*
On Sunday 19th September my grandmother (Mama Nena) passed away peacefully in her sleep in El Salvador. Mama Nena was at peace with herself and was finally reunited with her husband.
This post is decicated to my Mana Nena whom I loved and will miss treamendously.
.....When I think back to my childhood memories, the one person who is always at the centre of my thoughts is always Mama Nena. La Mama Nena…what a grandmother she was! She had 9 children, 23 grand children….and then there were the 21 great gran children…wow! She was the person who has connected all of us together and the one who always been there when you needed her.
My mum tells me that when I was born she spent a couple of months living at our house helping mum out, and when we moved to Australia she moved here for 2 years to live with us. And that’s just what she did…she did whatever had to be done to make sure that her children were ok and helped out wherever she could. No questions asked…she was just there. And, just like she helped us, she did the same with all the other children. Mama Nena is the one who taught our Mothers and Fathers about the meaning of family, love and respect for one another and these are the values that our parents have taught us and the ones that we will pass on to our children.
So what do I remember most about Mama Nena? Well….my earliest memories of her are of course been at her house with my two cousins…Jennifer and Virginia. I remember the three of us always playing at Mama Nena’s house…whether it was helping her and mi Tia Gladys with sewing, or just playing outside in the (small) garden, we were always at Mama Nena’s house and she was taking care of us (most likely she was chasing us around yelling at us for doing something wrong!). The one thing that was ALWAYS guaranteed though when you went to her house was her famous PAN CON AZUCAR…(bread roll with some sugar and water)…sounds like a weirdo thing I know! But to all of us (23) cousins this was Mama Nena’s famous treat and we LOVED it!
Now I keep going on about how there was 23 of us cousins…but try to imagine a house with 23 kids, 16 adults (the parents)…can you just imagine the mayhem…!! I grew up with the best cousins anyone could ever ask for and we just had the best time playing with one another and running around (I can still remember the three of us girls getting annoyed with some of our boy cousins, Julio Quan, Miguelito and Carlos Arturo who were always annoying us!).
But then we all grew up…. and some of us families moved to Australia and no longer were we all ever in that house all together at the same time. But as each of us visited her house in the different times we have been to El Salvador, I know we always remember the good times we had and the way in which she connected all of us and created such a great big family.
Later on in my life as she spent time with in Australia, other memories were formed….and here are a just a few of them:
• In grade 8, I had a home economics assignment: to sew a pair of shorts. Might seem easy to anyone reading this, but I hated sewing and was never good at it. I came home crying for help as I had sewn the two legs together! and like the great person that she was, she took one look at me and said that she would help me.(ie ended up sewing the whole thing again and I had the best shorts ever!)
• Mana Nena always seem to become friends with ANYONE that was willing to pay her some attention. I remember one house where we lived for a long time in Riverhills she was friends with our neighbour and also the family that lived about 5 doors down. She used to just go to their house and even though they didn’t really speak Spanish they managed to communicate in some special way and used to spend hours with them!
• And what about the rocks that she used to collect and paint? All of us cousins will remember that she used to go and collect random rocks and just paint them, and then would give it to us as presents…..everyone remembers ‘las piedritas’
• But painting rocks was not her only talent. Our grandmother used to also spent many many hours making all of us all kinds of different paintings. She made me a beautiful painting of all different types of fruits that I have framed and hangs proudly in my house.
Mama Nena, you have been an example to all of your children, grandchildren and great gran children. Thank you for been in our lives and for all the love and help you gave everyone. You will be in my heart and thoughts for ever.
Daddy and I spent the weekend painting our little one's room. We went for a greenish type of colour (very light green) which turned out great! Daddy did most of the painting and he did a brilliant job (I was a very good assistant). Below are some before and after shots of the room. On Sunday we went to baby buntings and went crazy on getting a few things to decorate the cot...Daddy picked the theme and again... brilliant job!
I am 28 weeks pregnant this week and starting to feel very tired. My lower back is aching and I am finding it a bit hard to get to sleep (once I'm asleep though I have a great night's sleep). I have begun to slow down a lot....just can't do the things I used to do! Am even walking slower. But when Bubba G kicks around and
Daddy and I sit there and feel those kicks, all that pain just makes it worth while.
Unfortunately you can't really tell the colour of the walls from the pictures...so you will just have to come over and see for yourself!
Little Bubba G is in my tummy kicking away! I wonder if she will develop her Daddy's football skills? We are pretty excited...our little girl started kicking a couple of weeks ago and although Daddy can't feel the kicks from the outside, I think its only going to be a matter of weeks before he will be able to feel his little girl kick (hopefully this will get him to write on the daddy's corner page)
Now...she doesn't kick all the time, mostly kicks at night when I am relaxing on the couch after dinner watching TV (either Home & Away, The Hills or West Wing). She does occasionally kick during the day when I am sitting at my desk which feels quite weird.... I think in the next few weeks I will be able to feel the kicks more...so watch this space!
xxx
La Mama
