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Wednesday, October 29, 2003
size of a cow
 I am absolutely not going to make a habit of this, but I've had several requests - from friends not web weirdos - so here you go: this is what I look like at the moment. I was surprised to see it actually; I think I look smaller than that in the mirror. Though it was taken last thing at night (hence not bothering to find a sensible background - pictures and AC controllers sticking out of my head; Jura's box behind my knees) and I do get steadily larger through the day.Tuesday, October 28, 2003
21 weeks today!
And the baby development websites are getting less interesting; I get the impression it is quite well formed, just needs to grow and work out. Though apparently it will start swallowing amniotic fluid this week (yuk! Like drinking your bath!) It's certainly getting its exercise anyway - not much kicking but plenty of squirming about and somersaults. It either loved my yoga class this morning or was moving about so much in protest; it's rather hard to tell. I can't think of any other news. I am still sleeping 10 hours a night (and this is supposed to be the full-of-beans trimester) and still have to eat all the time to prevent nausea and faintness - I am trying to be good though and have taken to carting about cereal bars, dried fruit and the like at all times to prevent those emergency snickers bars purchases. Saturday, October 25, 2003
It's a...!
Baby. According to this site, while compiles all the old wives tales, I have a 50:50 chance of a boy:girl. I won't decorate a nursery yet, then.
Things you never think about until you get pregnant
(Number one in an expanding series): Maternity tights. Because normal tights, stretchy as they seem, don't have enough give in the waistband so they dig in and leave nasty red weals around your waist - or where your waist used to be. And sometimes they roll themselves downwards, attempting to escape to a place of less tension. The maternity tights in catalogues scare me a little (why to the armpit?) but actually this seems to be one thing that Japan does better - I have a pair that come up to a normal(ish) level but are cleverly constructed and have adjustable elastic. So far, very comfy - but I seem to remember complaining last winter that nobody made low-slung tights; has nobody heard my plea yet? Tuesday, October 21, 2003
20 weeks today!
Halfway! Give or take it not arriving on time and what have you. My book says the baby is about the size and weight of a spanish onion (how do they dream these analogies up?!) and all I know is I'm knackered and my head hurts. Whinge. The trousers were quite tentlike as anticipated; they look great from the thighs down but are just enormous and clown-like above that. I know they have to factor in room to expand but at the moment I feel rather as though I've been wrapped in a duvet. And the trouble with having all that material swathed around your waist, most normal T-shirts (which in my wardrobe have a tendancy to be quite fitted - blame Britpop in my formative years) look daft over them. It is clearly a conspiracy by the manufacturers to have you buy their special tops as well and does at least explain why most pregnant women look so immense. The formes trousers on the other hand are fabulous (so they should be at the price). But beige, so frequently in the wash rather than ready to be worn. I don't think I have any more baby news. What I did put wasn't baby news but fashion news (as usual) but what can you do? I just toddle along getting slowly larger and largely slower. Tuesday, October 14, 2003
19 weeks today
(Officially the start of the 5th month!) And I'm tired! It is getting harder and harder to sleep, now I'm not supposed to lie on my back. Lying on my side, even propped on pillows, is just not as relaxing and leaves me with sore hips and shoulders. Whinge. Anyway, the child, it seems, is making buds for permanent teeth, behind those for milk teeth it has already. And it can hear, but only my internal gurglings and heartbeat, nothing external yet. I wonder if that holds true for taiko drumming? Babycentre states that I might feel clumsy and awkward (so no change there!) but actually I think my balance is improving with a lowered centre of gravity: I certainly find half-moon pose easier than usual. I found out yesterday that in Japan you are pregnant for ten (28-day) months instead of our nine (31-day) months - some things are just so different here. Oh and my trousers from jojo maman bebe have arrived! Haven't opened the parcel yet, I am scared that they will either be gigantic and tentlike or too small - in either case, they would have to go back which I would really rather not have to think about. But the good news is, they were put through the letterbox; this means I haven't had to pay anything extra at customs. Friday, October 10, 2003
Scan
Thank goodness for that: it was all OK. Amazing, actually. Baby is a normal size - spot on for its due date (head 3 cm, thigh bones 2-and-a-bit cm, 11-and-a-bit cm from head to bottom) - and very lively, turning somersaults through the scan. I have pictures of its head, thighs, abdomen (stomach and heart!), a cute one of both legs in the air, and also, rather bizarrely, one of my placenta. I've never had a picture of one of my internal organs before. Of course, they all look like grey swirls on a black background, but the doctor was very nice and explained what she was looking at. I did see a claw-like foot at one stage and thought of Skeletor, but it was generally very very exciting and quite an emotional moment! It has a little curvy spine! Cameron seemed fairly emotion-free but he was hungry, having skipped lunch, so I'll let him off (as long as he raves about it later). And yes, it is still an 'it'. Too soon to tell its sex, which I was glad about because I don't really want to know and that removed any temptation. I think Cameron was slightly disappointed and suspect he will want to find out if we have another scan. She suggested having another around 30 weeks, so we'll see. Yay! Thursday, October 09, 2003
I've done it. Gritted my teeth against the assault on my bank balance and bought some proper maternity trousers from Formes. I also have some cords coming from jojo maman bebe, if they make it through Japanese customs. They (the formes trousers) *were* expensive but very nice and well-made; important if they are to be worn almost incessantly for the next 6 months or so! And they have a very clever elasticated stringy thing inside, with a button, so they fit me now but will expand significantly (if and) when it's necessary. Yay me! Only I can't have them until next week because they were inches too long for me (the other advantage of going to a posh shop is they do alterations.) There were actually some nice things in there; can see myself buying a skirt when I go back for the trousers then popping back for tops when my shirts no longer do up.
My friend Cath has cheered me up anyway by telling me she never really needed maternity clothes. I was beginning to feel like a freak (I've spent the past 18 months feeling like a huge freak next to Japanese women; I get pregnant and feel like a tiny belly-less freak next to the others!) And apparently people keep remarking how small my sister is too. I know, be careful what you wish for (I don't want a huge back-breaking bump) but it would be nice to look sufficiently pregnant to claim my priority seat on the train. And call me a cow but a message to some women out there: if it was there before you got pregnant, it's not a baby bump! In other news, the baby really enjoyed my taiko drumming class! Or it was squirming about in protest; rather hard to tell. I don't think it can hear yet but I imagine the vibrations to be quite disturbing. It will have to get used to it, we're off to four concerts in the next month and the white stripes won't be quiet. Lastly, I'm getting fretty about the scan. Nice to see the baby (even if it does look like Skeletor; thanks Lisa. Actually I think it will look like a black and white swirl, going by other scan pictures I've seen) but they don't just do it for that; they do it to check for deformities. My sister has her scan tomorrow too so please, lots of good thoughts. Tuesday, October 07, 2003
18 weeks today!
Which means its eyes should be pointing forwards instead of sideways and its ears are nearly in the final position. It can suck its thumb (aw!) According to babycentre, I may be feeling "less than glamorous" which probably describes me most of the time anyway. It also says I should be sure to wear flat shoes: that's going to counter the anti-glam feeling, isn't it! Went to the Tokyo Pregnancy Group today, we had a talk from a massage therapist. Which was fine apart from the bit where she stated unequivocally that the second trimester will be better than the first: how to make me feel like a freak in one fell swoop. Ho hum. Friday, October 03, 2003
wow!
It just kicked! Properly. I've been feeling flutters for some time, but that was a good few strong kicks - I could even feel them from the outside. Seems it is going to take after its footballing father (it is *supposed* to wait a few more weeks before kicking me.) Thursday, October 02, 2003
I've been doing some baby-related blogging over at turquoise recently (I did say this one was for overflow): to summarise, I got a lot of leaflets and heard the baby's heart beating (yesterday - permalink not working yet). That was just incredibly exciting - the doctor got out his little amplifier thing and there it was, pounding away at almost exactly twice the rate of mine (plenty of stomach gurgles too - all mine). I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! The doctor seemed quite excited too, which is strange because he must hear them all the time - though he is a GP not an obstetrician so perhaps it's not so routine, and it is probably one of the nicer parts of his job. Most days must involve sick people and visa applicants. He's really growing on me each time I see him (perhaps he's shy): yesterday he gave me an old copy of a drug book (useful for work but I didn't bring one when we moved) and agreed that a midwife clinic might be nicer than a hospital. We also discussed Sakamoto-san, an obstetrician famous among expats here for being wonderful. From all I've heard, and my doctor agreed without being so unprofessional to slate him, he is too interventionist for my tastes. The (sorry) Americans here love him for giving epidurals at the first whimper and whipping them off for a c-section at the slightest excuse. This is my uninformed opinion of course - my doctor didn't say any of this - and it's horses for courses, isn't it.
In celebration of the heartbeat I went and bought on of those cute baby towel things with a hood, in a tasteful unisex coffee-and-cream colour scheme. What has happened? Celebrations used to involve wine, large slices of cake or new shoes. A towel? In other news, it is getting much less comfy for me to sleep on my front and, although it's the position I always end up in, all the books say lying on your back is Bad. Meaning that I've been spending an hour or so awake each night. All good practice, I suppose. |
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