DUE DATE!

Well....here we are. The day Daddy and I have been waiting for for 9 months has finally arrived and NADA! We have spent the last 40 weeks (well more like 34 weeks) counting down the weeks every single Wednesday, waiting impatiently for our baby to arrive.  Today is your due date Bubba G and as I had  predicted, the day has arrived and you are not yet born :(

I didn't want this day to just come and go like it was just another day, so Abuelita and I have spent the day cleaning your room and getting it all ready.  Here is what your room looked like and what your Mama's  belly looked like on your due date 15th December 2010 xx

And so the Spurs obsession continues

Bubba G, your uncle Dave sent you your first Spurs paraphernalia today. Now, we are not footy fanatics in this house (even though the dog's name is called Spurs) but we (mainly Daddy) LOVE Tottenham Hotspur and the family back in England are even more obsessed with this team! We will obviously encourage you to play any sport you like and you will be able to choose what sport you play and what team you support because Daddy and I feel that playing sports is a great thing not just for your fitness but for the life skills that it will teach you. (but Daddy and I really hope that you like to watch football and follow spurs like your Daddy and Uncles,  so please don't choose to follow any other English team...)

A mixed bag

With only one week to go until "due" date, I am starting to get really nervous,excited and scared all at the same time.  One minute I am freaking out at the thought of the pain that I am about to go through and the next minute I want our baby out so we can meet her.

Yesterday we went to see the Obstetrician and she did an internal examination and said that bubba G is STILL posterior and although my cervix has started to soften, it is still closed (not started to dilate), which most likely means that I am not about to go into labour any time soon :(

If the baby has not arrived by the 15th December, we have made plans to be induced on the 18th.  The Obstetrician has indicated that a natural labour is the preferred option, and given that the baby is growing and is really healthy, she is not sure that an induction is really that necessary.  Arrgghhh what to do??? I really hope I go into natural labour in the next week and a half, but what if I get to the 17th December and everything is ok...should I wait and go into natural labour (which might not be for another 5 days, and therefore  around Christmas!) or should I get inducted? This is what is mainly keeping me up at night wondering and questioning what the best thing to do is.  I really want the baby to come out before Christmas day (you will thank me one day Bubba G!) but to do that, will mean I have to get inducted....which basically means that they break my waters and "force" me to go into labour and therefore I don't labour naturally.

Is there anything wrong with inductions??

It was a Beautiful Day!

2 weeks until due date and the Gallaghers ventured to Ethihad stadium to see U2, even Bubba G was having a good time :)

La Mama at 37 and a half weeks

Happy 1st Anniversary to Daddy and Mama G

On the 28th November 2009, Daddy and I got married in Melbourne before we headed to London to get married again and celebrate with all the family there.

Here's what happened...

We headed to town to get married at the registry office and invited our close friends Dev & Kavi, Bex & Steve, Frans & Fleur, Luke and of course Abuelita and Tata.  The ceremony was beautiful and Daddy and I were very emotional, we couldn't believe we were getting married!

After the ceremony we all headed to a pub nearby to have a couple of champagnes before going to have a lovely lunch at Breezers restaurant at Crown Casino. We had a great afternoon, lots of eating and drinking and then we went to the Limerick in Middle Park in the evening where Daddy and I hosted a bit of function so that all of our other friends could come and celebrate with us.  We hired the function room at the Limerick and we had all of our friends come over and share a drink (or two) with us.  The whole day and night was just so relaxed, and just perfect for us.

Then on the 20th of December we had another beautiful ceremony in front of all our family and friends in England, plus Abuelita, Tata, uncle Diego and Danny, Dev, aunty Jo Jo and also your aunties from El Salvador Ethel and Claudia.  We re- married at a place called Ufton Court which is just outside Reading and then had the reception in a barn that was attached to the venue and danced the night away with lots of wine and tequila! It was such a beautiful day...it had snowed the day before so on the day the snow had settled in and it was a bright sunny day...a truly winter wonderland! and the venue was just magical, being so close to Christmas there was a big Christmas tree in the barn and the place was just magical. We were so blessed to have been able to have a wonderful second wedding in England and again we danced the night away!

 The beautiful venue

 La Familia

 laughing and crying during the speeches

 Daddy's close childhood friends

Daddy's speech was excellent! 

My beautiful bridesmaids

So.... on our first anniversary we bought a bottle of champagne, a packet of crisps and we watched the wedding and honey moon video. We laughed and cried again and spoke about the fact that we can't wait to share our beautiful day (the one in England) with our children one day!

Baby moving!

To my family and friends who have not been with me throughout the pregnancy, here is a quick video of Bubba G moving in my tummy!

(couldnt upload the video so I'm afraid I could only insert the link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pATAp1UppZE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

xx

Lady of Leisure?

On Monday I officially became a lady of leisure. Felt a bit weird not going into work on Monday morning, in fact it felt like I was having a "sickie".

On day 3 however, I have completely switched off from work and I am enjoying the time off, although believe it or not I have been busy! (still have managed to do a bit of baby shopping and catch up for coffee with friends of course!).

Monday afternoon I had my usual obstetrician appointment and it seems that Bubba G is on the smaller side according to the average (she is about just over 1 week behind). So the doc sent me to the hospital to get the baby monitored and brought forward my ultrasound appointment just to double check that the baby was not in distress. Result? Bubba G is completely healthy and although on the small side its absolutely fine.  As of today (week 36) she is weighing approximately 2.5 kgs. According to the doc, if she continues to grow at the same rate then by the time she is born she should be about 3.2kgs. AND, if I haven't gone into labour by the due date (15th Dec) then the Obstetrician said she may have to induce me as she doesn't want me to go too many days overdue as the placenta won't be as effective and she wants to be cautious given the size of the baby.

Daddy was worried at first (of course!) but we have been reassured that our baby is super healthy, so that is all that matters!

Tomorrow.....a day of rest :)

x

Mama's birth

Today I went to my 35 week check up with the Obstetrician and it seems that Bubba G is in the posteria position  (http://www.spinningbabies.com/baby-positions/posterior ) So it has had me googling all day long about what I can do to get Miss Gallagher to start moving to the right position! Alas....I have plenty of exercises I should have  be doing get this baby to start moving around.


What it also got me thinking.....was, is this possibly karma? just because I was in the incorrect position when abuelita was pregnant and she had to have a Cesarean, does that mean the same thing will happen to me? apparently NOT people! the doc said that just because it happened to my mum it doesn't automatically happen to me (baby has daddy's genes apparently). 

Since this post is all about labour and birth, I thought I would tell the story about my birth.

It was Oct 12 1979 and the civil war had started in El Salvador. Abuelita started the contractions in the middle of the night but had to wait until 6am on the 13th to go to the hospital with Tata because the guerillas had put a curfew which meant that you could not be outside between certain hours of the day and night. So anyway, of they went to the hospital (very scared of course, and praying that the guerillas wouldn't stop them while they were driving) and when they arrived at the hospital the doctor quickly examined abuelita and gave her two options:

• Go back home as she had not dilated enough and I had not quite moved into the right position
• Or have a Cesarean that day. 

What were they to do?!..... Abuelita tells the story that it was very dangerous to be on the road because of the war, so they decided that since they had already driven all the way to the hospital they were best to stay there and have the Cesarean instead of risking their lives by going back home! So on the 13th October 1979 in the middle of a civil war, I was born in a hospital where there were hardly any midwives to help as none of them could come to work because it was too dangerous! Abuelita tells me that Mama Nena (Abuelita's mum) had to help her, as there was hardly anybody around! Imagine that....31 years ago the way Abuelita had me is very different to how bubba G will be born.

Bubba G: When you are older you will have to get your Abuelita to tell you this story, and hear from her how dangerous it was for her back then when she was in labour.

x

Emotional week

I'll have to say, this week has probably been one of the hardest since I have been pregnant.  My pregnancy has been great so far, I really can't complain...I haven't had any complications, my hormones have been normal (haven't snapped at Daddy or asked him to get me ice cream in the middle of the night), and my feet and hands have not swollen up (yet). But this week I have felt quite emotional and just want my baby to come out. My joints are hurting and I just feel really tired and emotional. I guess it was bound to happen, my body is working extra hard with all the weight and I just have to stop and not try and do the things I normally used to do. 

I am finishing work this Friday and thank god for that because even work is becoming a major strain...but soon I will be a lady of leisure for a short time before we meet our Miss Gallagher :)

The baby's room is just about finished, we just have to do the last few things such as buying the practical items (mat for change table, nappies etc) and also wash everything. The plan is to have everything ready two weeks before the due date just in case Miss Gallagher decides to come out earlier!

Aussie Aussie Aussie...oi oi oi

Today's was a very proud day in our family as Daddy became an Australian Citizen! What a milestone this is... 4 and a half years in Australia and he has achieved so much. The last tick in the box was for that citizenship which he proudly received today. 

We headed to the local council office at Maribyrnong for the ceremony and our friends Frans and Fleur came along.  The Mayor of Maribyrnong called out Daddy's name and he received his certificate followed by a native Australian plant (no idea what kind of plant it was) and also a scarf of the Western Bulldogs (local AFL team).  After the ceremony we all went to the pub for a champagne to celebrate this big achievement and then we headed to a nice local tapas bar for some lovely food and wine.

Overall, a great afternoon...couldn't have asked for more...sun shining, 26 degrees, it was the perfect day to become an Australian!

xx

The name of the rose

Bubba G, your daddy and I have been talking about possible names for you! So far these are on the shortlist (not in order of preference).....Sienna, Sofia, Gabriella, Scarlett, and Amelia!
We are no where near deciding what your name will be but the shortlist ain't so bad so you won't have a silly name no matter what!!

On another note, I am going to try my hardest for you to come out earlier than your due date so that your birthday is not too close to Christmas but ultimately only you will decide when it's time to meet your mama and your daddy xxx

11 weeks to go, but who's counting!

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!*

A dedication to Mama Nena

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.

Bubba G's room...a work in progress

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!

A footballer in the making?

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 

Daddy wins the league !

Today Daddy played football and the team won the league! He's played for the last 4 years since he arrived in Melbourne and he loves his footy. He trains twice a week, plays on Saturdays and he's in the reserves team. He also spent a seasons playing for the seniors and I know I am probably biased but he is a great player!

So I thought I would dedicate this post to Daddy and his footy because I know how important it is to him.  He has met all of his close friends through the club, it is such a great community of fantastic people. I have also met some beautiful girlfriends and Daddy and I have got a great group of friends as a result.  We can't wait until our Bubba G grows up with all the other kids from the club and we all go to Albert Park to watch the boys play footy (although by then we may be watching them play for the veterans team!).  Here are a few photos of Daddy enjoying the celebrations xx

Bigger Belly now!

This week is my 24th week of being pregnant....so above are two photos: of me just before we went on holidays 4 weeks ago and of me this week.  Definitely feeling our little baby girl kicking although daddy still can't feel it from the outside but hopefully its not long until he does.

Last week we had a scan just to make sure that Bubba G's head was growing and...alas..all is good and the head is the size that its meant to be! Our baby is weighing about 700 grams...will be uploading our scan dvd in the next few weeks.
x

Lazy evenings at the Gallagher household

This was (and is most evenings) the scene at our house last night....after Spurs gets tired of chasing Gomez around the house, he licks him for a bit and then they both settle in to their favourite spots on the couch.

Wait until we introduce a baby to this couch...Daddy and I will end up on the floor due to lack of space.

My bestie Mama L wrote a blog about her routines(http://stickybabychronicles.blogspot.com/2010/08/routine-love.html) at home...and it has got me thinking for the last few days...."What are mine and Daddy's daily and weekend rituals?, and what do I love about them?"

So here it is...this is what I love about our life:

• Despite my whinging, I love to be woken up by our crazy dog who is sprawled across the middle of our bed (and therefore not allowing me to stretch my legs fully), as though the whole bed should belong to him. Or the fact that he knows when bed time is because when Daddy and I go to bed our little puppy is already lying on the bed chilling out waiting for us
• Monday to Fridays are pretty much same same...we wake up around 6:45am and within 25 minutes we are out of the house and in the car on the way to work. Even though we do the same thing every day, and one would think that our dog would have the routine down packed, its still a battle to get him outside. He senses that we are about to leave because as we are brushing our teeth he frantically follows us around wanting some attention and when we stand by the laundry door calling out his name 20 times, he just sits there, looks up at us and then just looks the other way and starts walking towards our bedroom door as if he is saying "umm no thanks, I think I will go back to bed instead of going outside". We have gotten past the point of frustration and instead just have a good o'l chuckle at the fact that he (is) thinks he is the king of the house
• Although going to work is not exactly my favourite past time activity, one of my favourite things is driving to work with Daddy, stopping at our favourite coffee shop near Daddy's work, and grabbing our skinny latte and soy cappuccino to set us up for the day. What I love the most is that Vinnie who owns the coffee shop, greets us by name and knows exactly what coffee we both have.
• Weekends at home are by far the best time for Daddy and I. During the footy season Spurs and I proudly sit on the spectators bench at Albert Park (a couple of plastic chairs really) and watch Daddy run around the field playing football (lots of shouting from my part I must admit!). Spurs loves going to the club house as he gets lots of cuddles and attention by the boys (I am working on trying to convince them to make him the team mascot). If (and only IF) we are feeling up to it, we walk around the park to get some exercise. On Sundays, I wake up, put the kettle on and make Daddy and I a cuppa and then he, Gomez (cat) and Spurs settle on the couch, and watch a little tv while I make us bacon and eggs. Now we have a pretty decent couch, its nice and big....but my three favourite boys all cuddle together on one side of the couch (this beautiful scene only lasts a few minutes before the crazy dog starts to lick and annoy the cat and then chase him around the house)

So there you have it boys and girls....this is our routine and we LOVE IT! - wouldn't have it any other way :)

What a trip!

So its been a few weeks since my last blog....but just in case you weren't aware, Daddy and I were on VACATION! two glorious weeks in California and Nevada...wasn't sure how I was going to blog about it, but decided to do a massive write up on our trip, along with some photos.

Journey there was ok though the jetlag was bad, its about a 13 hour direct flight from Brisbane to Los Angeles. We didn't really sleep at all as you fly during the day. We left at 11am Sunday and arrived at about 7am Sunday....strange. We arrived into LA and went straight to the Hertz office to pick up our car, a silver Mustang convertible (automatic), cool car with the top down. Being the man that Daddy is he let the pregnant Mrs G. drive first and I must say I did well, only went the wrong way once. Must admit the GPS was a godsend as I think it would have been allot more stressful without it - think we will get one.

After our 13 hour flight we drove for about two hours out of LA and along the 101 to Santa Barbara for the first stop. Knackered when arrived so went straight to sleep for about 4 hours, then got up and had a look around for about 5 hours and had some dinner. I thought it was a really pleasant place, not sure there would have been too much to do but a very nice area, retirement heaven I would think. A nice pier and lots of Vietnam veteran's for some reason (not sure why) Left SB and drove along the 'Big Sur' ... Big Sur - 8/10 Despite the strange jetlag (sleep at 9pm - 12am, then wide awake between 12am and about 4am, then sleep again - affected both of us), beautiful day so had the hood down. Really nice drive, similar too the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, lots of rolling cliffs gripping the ocean and nice little towns along the way. We burnt the top of our heads and the arms, but worth it.

Carmel/ Pebble Beach - 8.5/10 Stopped for the second night in Carmel which Clint Eastwood was Mayor, really nice place, sort of like an old English country town , so not what you would expect in California. Weather was a bit chilly, but had a nice meal and then off to bed. Slept poorly, but still really enjoyed Pebble Beach - 17 mile drive the following day, really amazing place to live, stunning houses, scenery and of course the golf course wasn't bad either. There must be about 4 different 18 hole courses on the complex so the perfect place to retire if you were a millionaire. After a well needed coffee at Pebble Beach drove to San Francisco... San Francisco - 7/10 Knackered by the time we got into SF and drove across the impressive Golden Gate. We weren't aware of how cold SF was, it is bloody freezing, mainly due to the bay winds etc, but still it is California, so I think this probably took a point off the evaluation. It is a nice place with lots of different styles depending on where you go, reminded me more than a little of Melbourne.

In summary:

Day 1 - Golden Gate Bridge/ Shopping/ Room Service and Bed as extremely tired.

Day 2 - Fishermans Wharf/ Tram Car Ride & Museum (of Tram Cars)

Day 3 - Open Top Bus (freezing) to golden gate park, Botanical Gardens, Twin Peaks & The Mission to eat Salvadorian food (where all the Hispanics live)

Day 4 - Tour of Chinatown and Alcatraz

We packed lots in and the Salvadorian food was good but for us the highlight was Day 4 (possibly the best day of the trip), the Chinatown tour was surprisingly good, and Alcatraz is a must do I think, really interesting and pretty cheap overall about $35 per person.

Finally over the jetlag we were ready for Vegas..... Las Vegas - 8.5/ 10 Plane was delayed so the Virgin staff started offering to play blackjack while we waited.....there truly is no place like Vegas...Flew in and it must have been around 37 degrees when we got there...so a welcome return to the heat after the chilly SF.

Day 1 - Wynn and look around Wynn, Venetian/ Palazzo, Ceasers and Treasure Island (Daddy gambled $5 - lost $5)

Day 2 - Belagio, Belagio, Belagio....champers watching the fountains (gambled $0 - lost $0)

Day 3 - Relax, shopping outlets, chill by the pool and went to Freemont Street (gambled $0 - lost $0)

Day 4 - Grand Canyon, Room Service and early night (gambled $0 - lost $0)

For us the highlights were enjoying some cheesy singing and champagne while watching the stunning Belagio fountains and the Freemont Street experience....It is more chilled out than the strip but still got the street shows, casinos and booze on the street....even got Daddy to take a pic with Elvis (though topped by the one of me and the dog with shades and a bow tie). Overall had an excellent time in Vegas.

After an incredibly early departure from Vegas we were off to LA for our final stop.... LA - 8/10

Day 1 - LA Tour - Venice Beach, Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard's and the Farmers Market

Day 2 - Universal Studios and Plane Home. To our slight surprise we were more impressed with the glimpse of LA than we were with SF, clearly we went to the nice tourist areas, but we thought it seemed like a pretty cool place. Daddy got his hands and feet where the great Al Pacino's had been, and got the pics to prove it!! Universal Studios was also really good, interesting and impressive but probably more for the kids :)

And then off to LAX for our 13 hour trip back to Melbourne via Brisbane....overall, a brilliant honeymoon with lots of sightseeing, and now we start our countdown for our next adventure...baby room here we come!

The Halfway Point

This week marks the halfway point of bubba G's journey in to our lives...in 20 weeks we will finally meet our precious little child!

Just a few things I wanted to blog about what's going on with me this week. Firstly, I am not sleeping very well, keep waking up in the middle of the night for no reason. When I get back from holidays I will buy a special pregnancy pillow as I think my tummy is getting a bit too big now to continue sleeping in the positions that I have normally slept in. I am going to continue my monthly massage sessions to make sure that I am relaxing and my back muscles aren't getting too tight. Must remember to stretch during the day and move around...sitting in front of the computer all day is not good.

Last weekend I went to Sydney to visit uncle Diego. We had a great time relaxing, eating, and sight seeing. It was good to have brother-sister bonding time....we both realised that next time we see each other there will be an addition to our family. Very exciting times ahead for us all!

Today Daddy and I had breakfast before work and for the first time we really started to shift our mind set from having a child to raising a child. Scary and exciting times ahead when you think of all the milestones we will go through, all the challenges ahead...how will we teach our child about life etc. One thing is for sure though, we both want our bubba to know that it will be ok to try new things, even if its out of their comfort zone. Its the way we learn and grow...sometimes we try new things and we fail, but its about what we learn from our experiences that makes us better people. We were both raised with very similar values and we hope that we can be half the parents our parents were to us.

A letter to Bubba G

Hello my little sweet, this is the first of many letters to you....I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I am enjoy writing them.


Yesterday your daddy and I had our 20 week scan and we got to see that you are growing into a beautiful healthy baby. All your bits and bobs are where they are meant to be so we were absolutely over the moon with joy and happiness. Apparently your head is about 9-10 days behind where its meant to be in terms of size but that's ok, the doc said there is nothing to worry about....plus your auntie Dev said that the size of your head is been compared with the average Australian baby, and given that I was born in El Salvador, this comparison is not really accurate. When you see your mami and daddy's head though, you will see that we have small heads too :)
We have been debating whether to find out if you are going to be a boy or a girl during the last couple of days and I just couldn't decide so I left the decision entirely up to your daddy. When we were at the doc's office he asked us if we wanted to find out...I looked at your daddy and he's answer was yes we will find out!!. So the doc began to look around but you were very stubborn and wouldn't move your legs so he could have a proper look....he tried and tried and then finally he must have seeing a little peak of something because he turned to us and said...I am pretty certain you are having a GIRL!..... I need to go back in a month for another ultra sound and hopefully this time you will let him see so he can confirm...but so far it looks like you are going to be a girl...daddy's little girl...and my little princess xxx

When I told your Tata (that is what Grandad Eduardo wants you to call him) he said I had made him the happiest grandfather in the world...he is waiting for his princessa to come into this world so that he can spoil you rotten.


So my Bubba G.... our journey together has well and truly began, we can't wait to meet you soon!

Te quiero mucho mi amor xoxo

5 things people without children can teach parents

To all the mums out there who follow my blog...(currently about 3 of you!) I came accross this post by mamamia.com.au that I wanted to share with you, it made me laugh as what she says is actually true... we have all had the same thoughts...come on admit it!

xx

http://www.mamamia.com.au/weblog/2010/07/back-seat-parenting.html

What goes bump in the night

Week 17 and I think I am FINALLY showing! What do you think? here is my first "pregnant" picture :)

Week 18, what do I miss?

The other day I was thinking about what I really miss now that I am pregnant. One would think it was alcohol ...(Bubba G I consume alcohol very responsibly), however, I actually miss certain foods. I wanted to make sure that I captured this in the blog so that I can look back at it one day...

So at week 18 what do I miss the most? by far it would have to be sushi and oysters! Is it normal that I want to mug my colleague's lunch when I see him taking a bite of his irresistible sushi roll? honestly...I had to leave my desk, I couldn't sit there while he had his sushi and I had my boring can of soup.

Every weekend when I am at the Vic Markets and I walk past all the fresh seafood, the fresh oysters stare right at me, I just have to put my head down and refuse to give in....waaaaa waaaa :(

I have told daddy that as soon as Bubba G is born he has to take me to a seafood buffet where I am going to eat oysters, prawns and crab, until my heart's content.

NB: thanks to my bestie Mama L's creative juices, our little bundle of hope is now called bubba G for the purposes of this blog!

A friend that came and went

Today I found out that a highschool friend died from a drug overdose earlier this week. We were close back then but lost contact after we started uni, the usual....different paths, I went overseas..etc but more importantly, he got caught up in a lot of drugs and the guy I knew in year 10 was now very different.

Peter O'Dwyer when I look back at my senior highschool years you, Lise, Bel, Dan, Shan, Stewart,Guy and Mon all stand out as a massive reason why I enjoyed that part of my life so much.....and here goes why...

Do you remember when we used to all meet and hang out at the middle park football ground? Innocent days I recall...just chatting and being silly 17 year olds. Or the times we used to hang out at Indro after school, the countless BBC/Bridgine dances, the parties at your house, semi formals, formals and of course schoolies. So many good memories! Thank you Pete for all the wonderful and fun times, and I hope that you are happy wherever you may be.

To our little bundle of joy. One day when you are reading this, remind me to tell you all about my dear friend Pete and why taking drugs is so dangerous.

R.I.P Peter xxx

The week that was...

So not much really happens in my daily life that I can blog about so I thought I would just give you a summary of my last week and half for those of you who want to know :)

I had my obstetrician appointment last Friday 2nd July. All went well and the baby was beating his/her little heart out (nearly bought me to tears hearing it!). My weight seems to be fine and the doc said that everything is all hunky dory. Our next appointment is for the 20 week scan...time is flying! Still waiting for our little bundle of hope to start kicking though...I think my impatient ways are kicking in as I am desperately trying to feel this baby kick. I lie down after dinner and touch my tummy desperate to feel a kick...probably kicking and I don't even know it. Thought I would post a photo of me doing this...not sure why just felt like it.

Anyway, what else...work work work, nothing too exciting...ooh my new passport finally came through, am officially a Mrs Gallagher! But apart from that the only other major thing that happened last week that is worth mentioning is that England lost against Germany (4-1) in the world cup. Disgraceful I tell you...staying up until 2:30am ain't fun when your team loses. Daddy has promised me (well more like I have told him) that he will take me and the kids (hopefully we have 2 by then) to England in 2018 if they host the world cup, how cool would that be!

On another note, daddy and I are extremely excited about our honey/baby moon in the U S of A coming up in just under a month! we are both desperate for some relaxation time (more him than me) and we can't wait to get to Brisbane International airport and board that Qantas plane that will take us to LA. We are off for 2 glorious weeks of (hopefully) pure relaxation, a bit of luxury and some sight seeing. We are hiring a convertible (yes when in America you need to do the cheesy thing!) and we are driving to San Francisco stopping in Santa Barbara for a night and then Carmel for the second night. We are staying in SFO for 4 nights before flying to VEGAS....yeah baby!! this is the luxury part of our holiday as we are staying at the Bellagio (courtesy of the Yarraville crew who got us 3 nights a the Bellagio as our wedding present) and then one night at the Encore/Wynn hotel. So after 4 days of luxury hotel robes, slippers, fine dinning, grand canyoning, shopping and hopefully a cool show we will fly to LA for our last two days where we will be going to Universal Studios (thank you uncle Diego and uncle Daniel) as well as hopping on the red tour bus and getting and going for a tour of the Hollywood hills and trying to catch a glimpse some famous houses. Then back to Brisbane for some quick family bonding before heading back to Melbourne :(

xoxox

New Dads I have found your pre-natal class!

Daddy sent me this link the other day and asked me what I thought...glancing at the title "Beer and Bubs" the first thing that came into my mind was that this was just another excuse to go the pub (much like when he tells me he is going to the pub with the boys to "wet the baby's head"- whatever!).

However, once I clicked on the link I realised that this is a genius idea and massive respect goes out to the people who came up with it a few years ago.

"Beer and bubs is a one night workshop at the pub where dads can learn how to support their partner through the birth of their baby.... "

Check out the website and see for yourself...its not just an excuse to drink at the pub I promise! http://www.beerandbubs.com.au/

Dreams, do they mean anything?

On the eve of the start of week 17 of my pregnancy I had some very weird dreams...have woken up and can't stop thinking about them...do they mean anything? should I be worried?...mm not sure.

Firstly I dreamt that I attended my 20 week scan (which by the way is scheduled for the 22nd July) and the ultra sound was just beautiful, our baby (I recall looking at a boy...) had a big cheesy grin inside my womb (will he/she take after me and have cheesy smiles...mmm). Then in a separate dream, I was with the Obstetrician (the lovely Brazilian Marcia Bonazzi) and she couldn't find my baby's heart beat. She tried and tried and then told me that this was a very serious and critical moment and that she needed to find a different way to listen to the hear beat, then she found it but it was beating quite slow! (not like a few weeks ago when the heartbeat was going crazy!). I guess subconsciously I must be slightly anxious about my monthly appointment with the OB this Friday, will definitely be asking her to listen to the hear beat if she doesn't normally do so!

Oh and the other dream I had was that I met Lauren .... from the TV show The Hills and she was telling me about all of the cool restaurants and bars that we should check out when we are in LA in August (relevance to my pregnancy dreams? none. Totally random dream that came out of nowhere...well the last thing I watched on TV last night was the hills....ha ha)