Day 10/30- our favourite place to eat...

We are proud Footscrayites (or Footscrazies) and our idea of a perfect dinner out is to visit one of the many Pho' places in the area... this is our fave..

Little owl...

I just made this little friend for my yet to be born niece.. due any minute!

Cute hand crafted felt creations!

Found these treasures at http://katiecupcake.blogspot.com

I am sure I wont be able to create things that are quite this fabulous however I am going to give it a try! Gorgeous gift ideas!!

Ohhh YEAH!! Yoga baby!

I have just returned from my first prenatal yoga class... actually, it was the first time I have ever set foot in a proper yoga school. I LOVED the class and am already eager to get back there next Tuesday night.

Oh boy was it different to yoga in a gym!! I wrote on my registration form that I had a little experience doing yoga (thinking that I had a bit more than that), however when I walked in and all the other students started loading their arms with prop after prop after prop, I started wishing I'd written "Absolute beginner, please explain slowly".

I was lucky to lay my mat next to a very helpful and friendly woman who has obviously been attending the class for some time and she told me which props to get and what is usually done to begin the class. After my initial semi-panic, I settled into the first relaxing, opening pose and waited for the instructor to begin.

What I noticed about this class was the very gentle, slow pace. The whole thing was 1.5 hours so there was no rushing through anything. The second, and very much welcomed, thing I noticed was that there was no mirrors! So I spent exactly zero time worrying about whether I was looking fat, wearing the right clothes etc and could just try and feel the positions and trust that the instructor would tell me if I was doing anything incorrectly. She had corrected a few other people and was walking around whenever she wasn't demonstrating a pose so I felt confident that she would notice me if I was doing something drastically wrong. I LOVE having no mirrors!

It was nice to be with a whole bunch of fit and healthy pregnant women and I look forward to seeing them each week and staying fit and healthy myself.

I have been following (somewhat loosely with intent to become stricter) Dr. Gowri Motha's nutrition guidelines from "The Gentle Birth Method" and I am already feeling much better. There are a couple of basic principals to follow and then variations based on your metabolic/ayurvedic type. The two key things to remember are to avoid wheat and refined sugar. The reason is to ward off swelling and fluid retention to create an open and clear pelvic area for the baby to pass through and to limit the amount of sugar both mother and baby has access to to prevent gestational diabetes. The book is great and I am really enjoying looking at a different way to prepare for the birth of our baby. It is basic clean eating really. Pretty much what I was doing before I got pregnant however a larger volume of food to meet the daily caloric requirements.

The exercise recommendations in the book are brisk walking every day (30 mins minimum) which I am already doing most days, swimming and yoga. I will also add in some other resistance work also pretty much because I love it..

At 18 weeks I am feeling little movements every day but they are irregular and I can't make out a pattern yet. It is so nice to feel the movements and I am pretty sure I felt a kick with my hand on the outside of my belly last night. That was pretty cool. I can still hide my belly but can dress to flaunt it too and have had people comment and say that I'm "showing". I think I am carrying a bit neater than my last pregnancy. I am pretty sure I had put on 10kgs at least by this stage last time- in total last time I gained something like 40kg. I am really being more careful this time so hopefully I can contain my weight gain a little (lot!!) better. The nutrition and exercise plan should really help! The problem with trying to gain weight slowly after being obese then healthy, then bigger, then healthy etc. is that you never lose your fat cells. They just flatten down and can fill up again very easily if you allow yourself to be too lax with nutrition. Anyhow, I am hoping for the best...

I have moved my old blog (the one that followed my first pregnancy) from Vox to type pad as Vox is closing down on thursday. If anyone is interested in visiting the address is www.gomumma.typepad.com  and I started writing at 24 weeks. I wish I'd have posted more belly pics to be able to compare to this pregnancy but I didn't. I'm going to have to troll through our old lappy to find them. Hope it doesn't crash in the process.

Hope you are all having a nice day! Please say hi in the comments if you pop in!!

:)

Day 9/30- My last purchase and some extra pics from our day..

My last purchase- wheat free, yeast free bread from the Warrandyte Bakery

John's last purchase- a universal remote... we are always losing our 4 remotes! Hope it works!!

And here's a few pics from our little trip to Warrandyte today.

We had a competition to see who could find the longest piece of bark.. Molly won and is pictured here using the bark as a long dinosaur neck so she can reach the leaves at the top of the tree and eat them for lunch.

Here Daddy is holding Molly so she can fly on her  broomstick like the witch from her favourite movie The Wizard of Oz. Daddy is going to photoshop himself out.

Molly and Daddy make a cafe!

The end is a little out of sync however I think the cuteness makes up for it!

Love this!!

Magic- A Belly Grows from The Panic Room Videos on Vimeo.

18 weeks

Feeling low today...

I'm not sure what it is, and I am afraid to post about it in case it gets worse.. however I need to be honest on here and keep an accurate record of what's going on for me.

I feel so sad this afternoon. I have managed to push it down all morning and get on with stuff. We visited the cafe, went to the supermarket, went to SIL's to make her some lunch (rice paper rolls.. tasty) as she is feeling a little housebound at 41 weeks pregnant. We then came home on foot, and on the way it started raining. Ordinarily, this wouldn't bother me, I would just walk faster. But today it made me so resentful that hubby had taken the car to the studio where it is just sitting in the car park all day. Molly had her raincoat so she was happy but I was dressed for spring and was cold and wet and grumpy.

So now we are home and I should be over it.

I have been sitting on Twitter for too long and should be playing with Molly (instead of letting her veg in front of the TV), or cleaning the kitchen, or doing SOMETHING!! But I just can't.

Things I would like to do this afternoon include: clean up the kitchen, sort preggy clothes in wardrobe  from those that don't fit, cook something with Molly, make a start on our bedroom (it's quite shocking), take some 18 week belly photos.

I'll come back and update my progress with those tasks later..

Day 8/30- A song to match your mood

I am skipping day 7 as I am not much of a wedding person... Sure, I had one but it was really just so we could be married and for family to be involved.. so I am going to move straight onto day 8.. which is perfect for me.

I am choosing "Golden Slumbers" by The Beatles (Paul McCartney)

Once there was a way to get back homeward 
Once there was a way to get back home 
Sleep pretty darling do not cry 
And I will sing a lullaby

Golden slumbers fill your eyes 
Smiles awake you when you rise 
Sleep pretty darling do not cry 
And I will sing a lullaby

Once there was a way to get back homeward 
Once there was a way to get back home 
Sleep pretty darling do not cry 
And I will sing a lullaby


And here's a clip in case you're not familiar with it..

Day 6/30- A pet I would like to own

This is purely because of the dog with human hands on Sesame Street... The Weimaraner..

Look at those eyes!!

Quick prenatal yoga routine

This is a super quick pre-natal yoga routine (only 8 minutes) but it's great for stretching and strengthening mostly the legs and back. You might like to do it twice to feel like you have "done" something or do it after another "Dr. Cathy" YouTube workout.

Day 5/30- A picture of me 2 years ago

Here is me before a 10k fun run at Albert Park in August 2008

Prenatal fitness video of the week!

Love this Dr. Cathy prenatal fitness video!! Only 10 minutes long but gets the heart pumping and is safe for pregnancy (she is pregnant herself in this video). I just quickly did it in my kitchen so you don't need much time OR space.. What are you waiting for?? Dr. Cathy also has a whole bunch of other workout vids & a yoga one too! 

Day 4/30- A picture of your bestie...

This is my best friend Mezz... We have been friends since 1998.

This photo is from Molly's birthday picnic last year. Right now she is patiently waiting for her baby to be born. She is 40w 4d. Please send lots of labour vibes!!!

Day 3/30- Perfect first date..

I had known John for several years before we were actually "on" together- He is my best friend's brother.. yeah, that was an awkward time... lol...That said, many of our first "dates" went like this:

1. Catch train from opposite ends of Melbourne and meet under the Flinders Street Station clocks

Flinders Street Station

2. Have a cuddle under the clocks



Degraves Street Cafes



Degraves Street, Melbourne



3. Meander to our favourite coffee drinking spot- Degraves Street (for those of you who are not from Melbourne or don't spend much time in the city, Degraves Street is an eclectic enclave of cafes, restaurants and boutique bars- the architecture is wonderful and mostly original and the smoke from the chimneys of wood fired ovens billows above your head as you walk through. It can get really busy at lunch time but it is well worth the visit. There is also some wicked street art in the laneways around) 



4. Wander around the city/botanical gardens/along the river



Melbourne City and the Yarra River



Track from Richmond to the city along the Yarra



5. Head to one of our houses to spend the evening together











17 weeks

Day 2/30- something I ate today

Apple cider vinegar and honey drink..

Porridge with banana and Mum's special home made cereal topper (buckwheat, ground flax seeds, sesame seeds, chopped almonds, goji berries and sultanas) 

And Molly just came in to report that she "ate too many berries from the freezer"... 

Day 1/30- A day in the life of us!

I started my day feeling not too flash.. Sat in bed for much longer than I should have while Molly pottered around and got ready for her day. One of my Twitter status updates was "Hubby knows what I need when I'm sick; hot drinks, bed and Twitter".. So that's what I did until he needed to leave.

Thanks to Charlie and Lola, Molly loves "pink milk"... When I looked at the back of the tins of commercial powder stuff I decided making it with real strawberries was a much better decision. We both drink it regularly- Ut's delushus!

Molly's contribution..

Cupcake decorating time! We decided to make cupcakes to celebrate my sister-in-law's estimated due date and share them at a picnic later today.

Buckling up and heading off to Pipemaker's Park for our picnic.

Cousins enjoying the pipes together!

Happy EDD Mezz... (nothing yet!)

The cupcakes were a howling success!

Upon our return home, I set Molly up with a DVD and I watched an inspirational doco about a doula who works with disadvantaged teen mothers in Chicago (see post below for the film).. I had tears streaming down my face for much of it.

Cuddle time...

Molly cleaned her workspace...

I cleaned the kitchen..

Molly cleaned the coffee table..

One of the small joys in my life is to have a clear sink... It's not that much to ask is it??! Yeah, I need a life, you're right...

Feet up after a busy day..

John got home all excited about Brownlow night tonight. He is holding a score sheet and he is making us all participate in a competition. The thing is, only he and his friend Gareth know enough about Footy to have any real chance of winning.. Oh well, he's excited!

Then I fed the worms.. Our 20,000 pets.

Hung out some washing... Yup, we have odd socks.. We just cannot seem to keep our socks together.

Watched Mol on her bike for a while..

John was inspired to clean for his exciting night in..

Our housemate Mayra cooked us dinner- a delicious spicy pork dish with brown rice..

And I finished off my meal with one of these.. This is for you Nicky!

Now I am waiting for our guests to arrive for football's "night of nights".. I am sure I will retire to bed before the winner is announced.

Thanks for joining us!