Ok well, I'm still waiting. Ive been to the delivery ward 2 more times and still no progress by Saturday. I went Friday because of contractions, and got the scare of my life. Milas heart rate was really high and wouldn't come down after two plus hours of resting on the monitor. She was pretty active, so they let me go home and said I had to come back Saturday to monitor it again. Naturally, I was up all night crying and worrying (certainly helping the situation!), so we decided it would be best if I could sleep a bit while Marcus went to work for his half day. We went to the hospital when he got home and things were much better. However, they had noted that my normally very low blood pressure had been a little high the night before, and wanted to re-check that as well. Well, it was still high. I was calm and lying down, but it was high. I don't have any protein in my urine, so its not pre-eclampsia, but I'm still being watched.
I finally got an appointment with the damned midwife out of it, though. We see her tomorrow morning at 7:45 am. Hopefully all is well and baby will be here soon.
I did make some progress Saturday and Sunday, but stop reading now if you don't want to hear icky stuff. I started losing my mucous plug Saturday night. It was one of the grossest things I have ever seen. It was alot, too. I thought that one time was it. Oh, no. There was far more to be found Sunday. If you Google Mucous Plug, you get a picture that someone actually took of theirs. It was a much smaller amount, but still. Who does that?? Well, obviously she does. Hehe. I also have started to lose some fluid, my belly is getting smaller even.
So those two things usually mean alot but I'm not having any of the contractions Ive grown so used to. Hopefully things will get going here soon. I'm very ready to meet my beautiful little baby! I'm scared, too. But I know that's normal and it will be wonderful!
Hopefully within the week I will have an update that includes a birth story!!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Finally an update!
I know, I know, its been a long time since I updated and you're all on pins and needles waiting... haha. Well, I finally have my computer on a desk instead of the floor and our internet is now stable. So here goes.
Much has happened in the non baby life since week 35. We moved into our house on the 25Th. Its great. We really love it and it already feels like home to us. It needs alot of updating and spiffying, but its coming along nicely. We started out by painting and completing the entryway. It was the least daunting and fastest fix. I cant find a before picture of it, but it was gray and had this white thing on the wall that looked like a fence and had big gold hooks. It was very country. We aren't. It was also very old and falling apart. I wanted to be bold and also have a warm entry.
We have also finally nearly completed the baby's room. It was a nightmare! First of all, there were about 7 layers of wallpaper to contend with. We tried to sand and paint over them, which is what a professional advised us to do. Well, it was great until the bottom layer decided to bubble up under our paint. So Marcus had to scrape it all off, plaster, sand and repaint the walls. Then there is the problem of firewalls. In Sweden when you have a fireplace, your outside walls have to be fireproof. Concrete. It has been so difficult hanging anything on any outside facing wall. But we were finally able to install things that we needed to be on those walls. In her room it was mainly the curtain rod that took for-freaking-ever. Nothing else will be going on THAT wall! The inspirations for the room were plentiful, and it was hard to choose just one design. But I decided I didn't want it overly feminine, but still wanted to use pink and birds. I chose the green to offset that and I am really happy with it. We still have to paint the ceiling, put switch covers on, and paint and install the baseboards/mouldings. I will also be putting a chair in that empty space next to the table. We just have to find an acceptable one that we can afford. That's tricky.Oh yeah, and put doors on the changing table. It looks really junky now, but it wont for long!
OK so that's what I have for house pictures as of now. We have done some other stuff, but nothing is picture ready yet! The living room is close, but we have all these shelves up and nothing on them!! It looks ridiculous. The kitchen is supposed to be done weekend after next, we will see. I'm guessing by then we will have baby pictures to share anyways.
Speaking of that. I am in week 38 now and am so grateful to be! Mila can now be born full term. That means so much to us both.
I was actually at the labor and delivery Monday, I didn't think I was in labor, but I was having possible infection signs so they wanted me to come in. Well, I'm fine, no infection, but I'm in early labor. I was so excited and figured it would be the next day or something, as the nurses were all saying they'd see me soon. Well, it turns out early labor can last up to a week. I didn't feel any progress Tuesday, but finally started to feel stronger contractions yesterday and by about 11 pm last night I could really feel her moving even further down. Its quite painful at times, but I'm sure that pain is just the beginning!! Now I'm just waiting for something big to happen so I can get the show on the road! I can hardly believe that within a week I will have my baby in my arms and not my belly.
Sometimes I wonder if I will miss feeling her in there. I think I will. Its a nice feeling that you really get used to. Its odd, and indescribable, but wonderful. I'm sure I wont be able to miss it too much though, as Ill be busy enjoying my little sweetie. I will keep everyone posted as to whats happening and when it happened and Ill probably give a nice long birth story for you all to enjoy..hehe. Hopefully that will be soon!
Off to get the rest Ive been warned I will no longer be getting very soon!
Much has happened in the non baby life since week 35. We moved into our house on the 25Th. Its great. We really love it and it already feels like home to us. It needs alot of updating and spiffying, but its coming along nicely. We started out by painting and completing the entryway. It was the least daunting and fastest fix. I cant find a before picture of it, but it was gray and had this white thing on the wall that looked like a fence and had big gold hooks. It was very country. We aren't. It was also very old and falling apart. I wanted to be bold and also have a warm entry.
We have also finally nearly completed the baby's room. It was a nightmare! First of all, there were about 7 layers of wallpaper to contend with. We tried to sand and paint over them, which is what a professional advised us to do. Well, it was great until the bottom layer decided to bubble up under our paint. So Marcus had to scrape it all off, plaster, sand and repaint the walls. Then there is the problem of firewalls. In Sweden when you have a fireplace, your outside walls have to be fireproof. Concrete. It has been so difficult hanging anything on any outside facing wall. But we were finally able to install things that we needed to be on those walls. In her room it was mainly the curtain rod that took for-freaking-ever. Nothing else will be going on THAT wall! The inspirations for the room were plentiful, and it was hard to choose just one design. But I decided I didn't want it overly feminine, but still wanted to use pink and birds. I chose the green to offset that and I am really happy with it. We still have to paint the ceiling, put switch covers on, and paint and install the baseboards/mouldings. I will also be putting a chair in that empty space next to the table. We just have to find an acceptable one that we can afford. That's tricky.Oh yeah, and put doors on the changing table. It looks really junky now, but it wont for long!
OK so that's what I have for house pictures as of now. We have done some other stuff, but nothing is picture ready yet! The living room is close, but we have all these shelves up and nothing on them!! It looks ridiculous. The kitchen is supposed to be done weekend after next, we will see. I'm guessing by then we will have baby pictures to share anyways.
Speaking of that. I am in week 38 now and am so grateful to be! Mila can now be born full term. That means so much to us both.
I was actually at the labor and delivery Monday, I didn't think I was in labor, but I was having possible infection signs so they wanted me to come in. Well, I'm fine, no infection, but I'm in early labor. I was so excited and figured it would be the next day or something, as the nurses were all saying they'd see me soon. Well, it turns out early labor can last up to a week. I didn't feel any progress Tuesday, but finally started to feel stronger contractions yesterday and by about 11 pm last night I could really feel her moving even further down. Its quite painful at times, but I'm sure that pain is just the beginning!! Now I'm just waiting for something big to happen so I can get the show on the road! I can hardly believe that within a week I will have my baby in my arms and not my belly.
Sometimes I wonder if I will miss feeling her in there. I think I will. Its a nice feeling that you really get used to. Its odd, and indescribable, but wonderful. I'm sure I wont be able to miss it too much though, as Ill be busy enjoying my little sweetie. I will keep everyone posted as to whats happening and when it happened and Ill probably give a nice long birth story for you all to enjoy..hehe. Hopefully that will be soon!
Off to get the rest Ive been warned I will no longer be getting very soon!
Friday, August 24, 2007
YAY! Week 35!
This is a week of stressful, but great things!!
Marcus started his new job Tuesday and by Thursday had already made a big sale. That's a pretty great start if you ask me. He seems to really like it and to really like his coworkers. He has let his direct supervisor know that we are expecting, which we were a little scared about. It was totally fine. He said "its an amazing thing, becoming a parent" so I'm guessing he is fine with it!!It doesn't hurt that he has 5 kids of his own.
Next big news is that we are finally moving tomorrow. There is still a lot of work to be done, mostly painting, but we are so glad to finally get to live in our own home! We ordered our kitchen today and will pick it up tomorrow while moving. We aren't sure how long it will actually take to take out the old one and install the new one, but at least we know its coming! When we are done with the paint and the kitchen install, that place is gonna be like brand new! The bathroom needs updating still, but I'm so over trying to get it all done right away. I think our bank account is, too.
And the final big news is that I am still pregnant. Hehe. She wants to come out, but I've made an executive decision that it ain't happenin! I saw my midwife yesterday and everything is perfect. Her head is way down low, but will get even lower before birth. Her heartbeat is great. She is in the same position she has been for like 3 months. Head down, back angled on my left side. I know she has been in this same position because she always was when checked, but more because she likes to stick her butt out and its always a big ole lump on my left side..its hilarious!
I guess she found a place she liked and decided to stay.
The midwife also gave me the green light to bring myself out of full rest next week. She says that is when the doctors take you off sick leave if you re working, because the baby is fully developed, just gaining fat under the skin. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to have her early, but I'm pretty happy to have permission to do something for more than a few minutes, and even more so to know that she will be fine IF she decides to come this early. I'm still gonna be resting when I feel the need, just not as worried. Believe me, we are NOT ready for her to come. But I have also accepted the fact that she will come when she comes. No matter how easy I'm taking it, if my body is ready its gonna happen.
I'm 34 weeks 4 days now, and feeling 38 weeks. Hard time sleeping, hard time moving around. Stretch marks have really started to show up. And I'm having a lot of contractions daily, even on rest. Some days I'm not sure how much longer I can take it, but I try to remember that it could be so much worse.
So that's this week in a nutshell. I wont have internet for a few days, so I cant update on anything new happening.
As soon as I get the internet back and anything happens, I will update again and hopefully have some house pictures to share! Yay for before and afters!!
Marcus started his new job Tuesday and by Thursday had already made a big sale. That's a pretty great start if you ask me. He seems to really like it and to really like his coworkers. He has let his direct supervisor know that we are expecting, which we were a little scared about. It was totally fine. He said "its an amazing thing, becoming a parent" so I'm guessing he is fine with it!!It doesn't hurt that he has 5 kids of his own.
Next big news is that we are finally moving tomorrow. There is still a lot of work to be done, mostly painting, but we are so glad to finally get to live in our own home! We ordered our kitchen today and will pick it up tomorrow while moving. We aren't sure how long it will actually take to take out the old one and install the new one, but at least we know its coming! When we are done with the paint and the kitchen install, that place is gonna be like brand new! The bathroom needs updating still, but I'm so over trying to get it all done right away. I think our bank account is, too.
And the final big news is that I am still pregnant. Hehe. She wants to come out, but I've made an executive decision that it ain't happenin! I saw my midwife yesterday and everything is perfect. Her head is way down low, but will get even lower before birth. Her heartbeat is great. She is in the same position she has been for like 3 months. Head down, back angled on my left side. I know she has been in this same position because she always was when checked, but more because she likes to stick her butt out and its always a big ole lump on my left side..its hilarious!
I guess she found a place she liked and decided to stay.
The midwife also gave me the green light to bring myself out of full rest next week. She says that is when the doctors take you off sick leave if you re working, because the baby is fully developed, just gaining fat under the skin. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to have her early, but I'm pretty happy to have permission to do something for more than a few minutes, and even more so to know that she will be fine IF she decides to come this early. I'm still gonna be resting when I feel the need, just not as worried. Believe me, we are NOT ready for her to come. But I have also accepted the fact that she will come when she comes. No matter how easy I'm taking it, if my body is ready its gonna happen.
I'm 34 weeks 4 days now, and feeling 38 weeks. Hard time sleeping, hard time moving around. Stretch marks have really started to show up. And I'm having a lot of contractions daily, even on rest. Some days I'm not sure how much longer I can take it, but I try to remember that it could be so much worse.
So that's this week in a nutshell. I wont have internet for a few days, so I cant update on anything new happening.
As soon as I get the internet back and anything happens, I will update again and hopefully have some house pictures to share! Yay for before and afters!!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Week 34...Brang it On!!
Week 34:
Fetal Development:
The baby responds as a newborn with its eyes open while awake and closed while sleeping. S/he is developing immunities to fight mild infection. Those sharp little fingernails are at the ends of the fingertips already, and you might need to clip them during the first few days after birth.
Ok, so not much going on as I am still stuck in bed. But we are very grateful that I am a full week further. Contractions have really slowed down while on rest, so that's good. I am getting bored and would LOVE to go for a walk, but that can wait. I'm also having a hard time getting comfortable and sleeping. Otherwise, things are going pretty great.
We went to the first meeting of the parenting group this morning. It was nice, but I felt really weird being a foreigner and having to leave after 25 minutes so as not to break my half hour orders. Hopefully they all understand. I will continue to go weekly, but keep it as short as I can. I must admit, though, it was really nice getting out of here. I haven't had any repercussions from it yet, and its been 7 hours, so I feel better about going to the midwife Thursday.
Hopefully I will have another positive posting for next week!!
Fetal Development:
The baby responds as a newborn with its eyes open while awake and closed while sleeping. S/he is developing immunities to fight mild infection. Those sharp little fingernails are at the ends of the fingertips already, and you might need to clip them during the first few days after birth.
Ok, so not much going on as I am still stuck in bed. But we are very grateful that I am a full week further. Contractions have really slowed down while on rest, so that's good. I am getting bored and would LOVE to go for a walk, but that can wait. I'm also having a hard time getting comfortable and sleeping. Otherwise, things are going pretty great.
We went to the first meeting of the parenting group this morning. It was nice, but I felt really weird being a foreigner and having to leave after 25 minutes so as not to break my half hour orders. Hopefully they all understand. I will continue to go weekly, but keep it as short as I can. I must admit, though, it was really nice getting out of here. I haven't had any repercussions from it yet, and its been 7 hours, so I feel better about going to the midwife Thursday.
Hopefully I will have another positive posting for next week!!
Friday, August 10, 2007
Normal
Normal is a word I have come to hate. Especially in this pregnancy. Everything, it seems, is considered normal, and if its not normal its horrible. But that's because they wait until its so far from normal that its horrible. I am also sick of the attitude you get when you have "problems" and your doctor finds out you re a first time mother. As if we are just idiots who know nothing about our bodies. And nothing about what is normal.
So with that intro, I guess we all know where this is going. I'm back on bed rest. I had my ultrasound last week, after a non normal measurement that freaked us out, but everything was fine. As of Tuesday (Aug 7), Baby weighs 1945 grams, or 4.28 pounds. Her body measures perfect, brain looks great, head is right size, legs long enough. She is perfect. I was so overjoyed to hear all this. But before leaving, I had a few questions. Mostly I just wanted to know how to make things calm down in the Braxton Hicks department. And for the first time, I got a midwife with a braincell and she asked me for details about the contractions and what I had already tried. When I told her she was a little concerned and made an appointment for me. She also said if they got really bad I should go to the delivery ward. About midnight, they got really bad.
I ended up in the delivery ward that night and finding out that the contractions I am having are real, and are doing some not so good things. My cervix has become mature, ripe in English, and is so soft she could touch the baby's head!! Since its the contractions causing it, I'm on bed rest to try to stop them. I am also supposed to be on the lookout for any fluid loss, pink mucous, or worsening of the contractions. So far, the rest has made a noticeable difference. I have the contractions at night still but much less in the day time. Its a real relief.
I know that my baby would survive if I had to have her now, but I don't want her going through the pain of all the needles and wires and tubes. I rather her wait, just a few weeks even. I am almost through week 33 now, and I will feel much safer if I deliver at 36 weeks. Obviously I'm still holding out hope for 40, but have accepted that it may not happen.
Sorry this isn't on such a positive note, but its whats going on this week. Other than these things, though, I feel really good. No leg cramps or headaches. I'm really happy not to have other difficulties.
And we are also getting some work done on our house. BY we, I of course mean Marcus. He is painting floor boards and crown moulding and getting baby's furniture painted before we move in. Its oil paint so the fumes need to be gone before I get in!! We got new tiles and counters for the kitchen, and will be getting our new sinks next weekend. We got latex paint for all the walls. Now it all just needs to get done! As soon as it is, we will share pics!
Ill try to update early next week when I start week 34!!
So with that intro, I guess we all know where this is going. I'm back on bed rest. I had my ultrasound last week, after a non normal measurement that freaked us out, but everything was fine. As of Tuesday (Aug 7), Baby weighs 1945 grams, or 4.28 pounds. Her body measures perfect, brain looks great, head is right size, legs long enough. She is perfect. I was so overjoyed to hear all this. But before leaving, I had a few questions. Mostly I just wanted to know how to make things calm down in the Braxton Hicks department. And for the first time, I got a midwife with a braincell and she asked me for details about the contractions and what I had already tried. When I told her she was a little concerned and made an appointment for me. She also said if they got really bad I should go to the delivery ward. About midnight, they got really bad.
I ended up in the delivery ward that night and finding out that the contractions I am having are real, and are doing some not so good things. My cervix has become mature, ripe in English, and is so soft she could touch the baby's head!! Since its the contractions causing it, I'm on bed rest to try to stop them. I am also supposed to be on the lookout for any fluid loss, pink mucous, or worsening of the contractions. So far, the rest has made a noticeable difference. I have the contractions at night still but much less in the day time. Its a real relief.
I know that my baby would survive if I had to have her now, but I don't want her going through the pain of all the needles and wires and tubes. I rather her wait, just a few weeks even. I am almost through week 33 now, and I will feel much safer if I deliver at 36 weeks. Obviously I'm still holding out hope for 40, but have accepted that it may not happen.
Sorry this isn't on such a positive note, but its whats going on this week. Other than these things, though, I feel really good. No leg cramps or headaches. I'm really happy not to have other difficulties.
And we are also getting some work done on our house. BY we, I of course mean Marcus. He is painting floor boards and crown moulding and getting baby's furniture painted before we move in. Its oil paint so the fumes need to be gone before I get in!! We got new tiles and counters for the kitchen, and will be getting our new sinks next weekend. We got latex paint for all the walls. Now it all just needs to get done! As soon as it is, we will share pics!
Ill try to update early next week when I start week 34!!
Friday, August 3, 2007
Stockholm Trip !
SO I finally put pictures from our trip on photobucket! Unfortunately you can only have 10 pictures in a slide show, so there will be alot of them on here!!
The first day we walked around Gamla Stan (old town) and shopped, so there aren't that many good pictures of it. I also added in the first day pictures the pictures from the second days morning walking around the main castle and one of many harbors. It was so much more beautiful in real life!
The second day, after seeing the castle and harbor, we went to an area called Djurgarden, translated to Animal Gardenor Yard. It has alot of fun things, especially for tourists. The first thing we did was go to Aquaria. A very disappointing and somewhat dirty aquarium. Thank goodness it was included in the cost of our hotel. I actually got really upset seeing how the fish were kept and didn't get many pictures of them. The first area is a man made jungle and it was pretty cool. I will not be taking my child here, and that is a little sad to me. So this is Aquaria, or as I like to call it, Disappointia.
After leaving Disappointia, we walked past the Tivoli and decided to skip it since I cant ride anything and that's the real fun of a place like that. We will definitely bring little one there when she gets big enough!! It looks so nice. And Marcus, of course, loves it!
We took about an 8000 mile walk to an area called Skansen that is a sort of open air museum of how life was back in tha days. What days? Well, I'm not sure but they looked pretty inconvenient and apparently all they did in them was walk up hills. This part nearly killed me! But it was pretty. Hopefully I can enjoy it more next time we are in Stockholm.
Skansen also has an "Aquarium", though its more like a zoo. That's where we headed next. Before the entrance you can see some Pelicans and turtles. But then, when you enter you see these teeny little monkeys on your right and the other thing with the loooooong tail on the left. I love that he is lying in a bowl of lettuce!! It was so cute!
You then go outside where they have the other things running loose. Sorry, a zoologist, I am not so they re all called things. Or adorable things, cute things, weird things, whatever. These "things" are just adorable and come so close you really want to pet them, but you re not allowed.
The next area, after about 28000 stairs, had bugs, so I didn't take any pictures. And moving on... before entering the next building is the Baboon area. There were lots of little baboon babies running around. I so wanted to take one..haha. They're wild little things, climbing all over the place!!
We then went in to find the much touted Southern US Squirrels, which have been renamed Piff and Puff instead of Chip and Dale. Whatever! There are also some turtles and fish to see in there. The water was at least clean in this place, so I was ok.
At the very end, with no freaking warning were snakes. Obviously I didn't want to taint my camera with snake pictures, so you will just have to imagine that nightmare. LOL. That was the end of day two.
Day three started with a boat tour of the Canal of Stockholm. Whatever that means. It was pretty much a river ride that took an hour and was really boring with weird details and cheesy stories. But, I suppose its a touristy thing to do and some of the views of Stockholm were gorgeous.
The last major touristy thing we did was take a cruise to an island called Birka, or Björk Ö in Swedish. It translates to Birch Island. It is an ancient "viking" settlement. Well, we take the super long 2 hour boat ride there, which was nice, and its pretty, but nothing like we expected. Here are some highlights of the "cruise". Note the hilarious people in the inside picture!!
Once we got to the island, we had pretty high expectations of an old viking settlement. We quickly got ourselves to the English Speaking Tour and anxiously waited to see some cool stuff!!
Ok well, it was neat, but no remains of the settlement really because they built out of wood, which apparently gets sucked back into the Earth according to the "archaeologist" tour guide. I'm hoping its a translation issue, not an idiot issue. I personally have never seen the Earth open up and swallow wood, but what do I know?
Anyways, the first part we saw was the burial mounds. Burial mounds of Iron Age people. Not vikings. Vikings are explained as people who don't settle, they have to stay on the sea to do their pillaging and plundering and whatnot. So, she explains that its not really a viking place, but an iron age settlement. They should probably let the advertisement people know this because its NEVER mentioned in the brochures. Neither is the fact that there is nothing left of the settlement.
You get a long boat ride a hilly walk with some interesting facts, a few rebuilt shacks and an "angry dog". "Angry Dog" was a sweet old yellow lab sleeping under a tree with a warning sign. He was maybe the best thing on that place. Unless you have a liking for men who think its appropriate to not use deodorant or ladies who enjoy pushing their way in front of you so they can get a better view of the reconstructed cabin. SO thats basically how the island was. It took an hour for the tour, and about 20 seconds to look at the other stuff.
You then get to wait 4 hours for the boat to return. You have options though. You can get regular Swedish food for about 30 dollars per plate or ice creams for like 3 bucks each. Or you can do as we did and play on the big rocks overlooking the sea.
I was planning to add pictures of the island, but for some reason they wont work. I will edit later and add them, I promise!!
The first day we walked around Gamla Stan (old town) and shopped, so there aren't that many good pictures of it. I also added in the first day pictures the pictures from the second days morning walking around the main castle and one of many harbors. It was so much more beautiful in real life!
The second day, after seeing the castle and harbor, we went to an area called Djurgarden, translated to Animal Gardenor Yard. It has alot of fun things, especially for tourists. The first thing we did was go to Aquaria. A very disappointing and somewhat dirty aquarium. Thank goodness it was included in the cost of our hotel. I actually got really upset seeing how the fish were kept and didn't get many pictures of them. The first area is a man made jungle and it was pretty cool. I will not be taking my child here, and that is a little sad to me. So this is Aquaria, or as I like to call it, Disappointia.
After leaving Disappointia, we walked past the Tivoli and decided to skip it since I cant ride anything and that's the real fun of a place like that. We will definitely bring little one there when she gets big enough!! It looks so nice. And Marcus, of course, loves it!
We took about an 8000 mile walk to an area called Skansen that is a sort of open air museum of how life was back in tha days. What days? Well, I'm not sure but they looked pretty inconvenient and apparently all they did in them was walk up hills. This part nearly killed me! But it was pretty. Hopefully I can enjoy it more next time we are in Stockholm.
Skansen also has an "Aquarium", though its more like a zoo. That's where we headed next. Before the entrance you can see some Pelicans and turtles. But then, when you enter you see these teeny little monkeys on your right and the other thing with the loooooong tail on the left. I love that he is lying in a bowl of lettuce!! It was so cute!
You then go outside where they have the other things running loose. Sorry, a zoologist, I am not so they re all called things. Or adorable things, cute things, weird things, whatever. These "things" are just adorable and come so close you really want to pet them, but you re not allowed.
The next area, after about 28000 stairs, had bugs, so I didn't take any pictures. And moving on... before entering the next building is the Baboon area. There were lots of little baboon babies running around. I so wanted to take one..haha. They're wild little things, climbing all over the place!!
We then went in to find the much touted Southern US Squirrels, which have been renamed Piff and Puff instead of Chip and Dale. Whatever! There are also some turtles and fish to see in there. The water was at least clean in this place, so I was ok.
At the very end, with no freaking warning were snakes. Obviously I didn't want to taint my camera with snake pictures, so you will just have to imagine that nightmare. LOL. That was the end of day two.
Day three started with a boat tour of the Canal of Stockholm. Whatever that means. It was pretty much a river ride that took an hour and was really boring with weird details and cheesy stories. But, I suppose its a touristy thing to do and some of the views of Stockholm were gorgeous.
The last major touristy thing we did was take a cruise to an island called Birka, or Björk Ö in Swedish. It translates to Birch Island. It is an ancient "viking" settlement. Well, we take the super long 2 hour boat ride there, which was nice, and its pretty, but nothing like we expected. Here are some highlights of the "cruise". Note the hilarious people in the inside picture!!
Once we got to the island, we had pretty high expectations of an old viking settlement. We quickly got ourselves to the English Speaking Tour and anxiously waited to see some cool stuff!!
Ok well, it was neat, but no remains of the settlement really because they built out of wood, which apparently gets sucked back into the Earth according to the "archaeologist" tour guide. I'm hoping its a translation issue, not an idiot issue. I personally have never seen the Earth open up and swallow wood, but what do I know?
Anyways, the first part we saw was the burial mounds. Burial mounds of Iron Age people. Not vikings. Vikings are explained as people who don't settle, they have to stay on the sea to do their pillaging and plundering and whatnot. So, she explains that its not really a viking place, but an iron age settlement. They should probably let the advertisement people know this because its NEVER mentioned in the brochures. Neither is the fact that there is nothing left of the settlement.
You get a long boat ride a hilly walk with some interesting facts, a few rebuilt shacks and an "angry dog". "Angry Dog" was a sweet old yellow lab sleeping under a tree with a warning sign. He was maybe the best thing on that place. Unless you have a liking for men who think its appropriate to not use deodorant or ladies who enjoy pushing their way in front of you so they can get a better view of the reconstructed cabin. SO thats basically how the island was. It took an hour for the tour, and about 20 seconds to look at the other stuff.
You then get to wait 4 hours for the boat to return. You have options though. You can get regular Swedish food for about 30 dollars per plate or ice creams for like 3 bucks each. Or you can do as we did and play on the big rocks overlooking the sea.
I was planning to add pictures of the island, but for some reason they wont work. I will edit later and add them, I promise!!
Monday, July 30, 2007
32 WEEKS?? Can you believe it??
Its been a while, I know. 3 Weeks actually. Boy time has been flying. I was waiting for something and I forgot what now, but thats why its been so long. Oh, plus, Im huge and uncomfortable and lazy nowadays.
So I am starting week 32 now. I can hardly even fathom that in just 4 weeks I could deliver a baby that will be term. So strange. So exciting!
I have done my weekly reading and it seems that I am right in line with whats supposed to be happening. I can hardly breathe, baby is quite active, and I am exhausted and constantly heading for the bathroom!! I am also having plenty of Braxton-Hicks contractions, especially when I go walking or sit for more than 10 minutes in my computer/desk chair. But theyre no problem. The problem is that when I dont stop what Im doing, they get more intense and like real contractions. Therefore I am on a strict time limit and pace restriction when walking. That's not as easy as it sounds. But when you get a contraction, you seem to know its time to rest. Hehe.
I have been so happy these past 2 weeks because I feel like I can finally enjoy the pregnancy. All of the amazing changes my body has been going through are finally nice. I have always looked forward to this time in my life, and in NO way expected it to be such a nightmare. Now that I am off bed rest and no longer sick 24/7, and have learned to deal with the SPD pain for the most part, I am happy!! And I am really getting more and more excited to see my baby. I sometimes feel like she already has a personality in there. Moving to certain things, responding when Marcus or I touch my belly. Sometimes when I get laughing really hard it feels like she is laughing too. I know, I know, she isn't. But it feels like it and I love it!
Marcus and I went to Stockholm last week to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. It was so much fun! I am completely exhausted, still. But I am so happy I did it and i carefully exerted myself to do fun things. We saw the old town which was mostly just shopping but has really old buildings, the castle museum, The Skansen open air museum and two aquariums/zoo, took a boat tour of the canals of Stockholm which had a great narration with a vast amount of history, and did a boat tour to this island called Birka. It involved a lot of walking, but we followed the rules and Marcus got me some Ecco shoes to make it easier on the feet. Our hotel was lovely and we managed to find free parking right next to the train station when we went into the city. Oh, PLUS, we ate at 3 American restaurants and it was SO delicious. (There are none in Kalmar) It was truly great! We even got lucky with the weather. It was fore casted to be rainy, but it didn't rain once until we were on the road for home Friday. I actually got a little sunburn from the unexpected sunshine!! I definitely recommend Stockholm to anyone who wants a fun, reasonably priced vacation in Scandinavia!
We are moving into our house in 3 short weeks and cannot wait! I have all of these ideas about the baby's room. I cant decide on the so many choices I have. Like how to do the walls and what type of rug/curtains we want. I can go more pretty and clean or more wild and baby. I think we will go the more calm/pretty route, just to make sure she can rest in there. Its so fun looking at stuff. We have found this wallpaper place that has sort of murals in wall paper and they re so pretty so we think we will do one. We just have to choose between 2 we love. One is fairies in a forest type setting, and one is light colored wild animals(cartooney). Both match the bedding, since its just green, so we just have to decide. Arg! Here they both are!
I have my next midwife appointment tomorrow and the next ultrasound is scheduled for Tuesday Aug 7th. Im really excited to get a confirmation that we are indeed having a little girl. The first one was great, but I didn't have a quite full bladder, so she said it was a little unclear and could only say 90%. But we both have felt this is a girl from day one. Im pretty sure she is a girl, but if "she" turns out to be a he, Im totally fine with that too! I just cant wait to know for sure. I will definitely be updating next Tuesday!! And sharing the adorable ultrasound pics we get.
Thanks for being patient. I know its been a long time, but no news is usually good news, and this time it definitely was!!
So I am starting week 32 now. I can hardly even fathom that in just 4 weeks I could deliver a baby that will be term. So strange. So exciting!
I have done my weekly reading and it seems that I am right in line with whats supposed to be happening. I can hardly breathe, baby is quite active, and I am exhausted and constantly heading for the bathroom!! I am also having plenty of Braxton-Hicks contractions, especially when I go walking or sit for more than 10 minutes in my computer/desk chair. But theyre no problem. The problem is that when I dont stop what Im doing, they get more intense and like real contractions. Therefore I am on a strict time limit and pace restriction when walking. That's not as easy as it sounds. But when you get a contraction, you seem to know its time to rest. Hehe.
I have been so happy these past 2 weeks because I feel like I can finally enjoy the pregnancy. All of the amazing changes my body has been going through are finally nice. I have always looked forward to this time in my life, and in NO way expected it to be such a nightmare. Now that I am off bed rest and no longer sick 24/7, and have learned to deal with the SPD pain for the most part, I am happy!! And I am really getting more and more excited to see my baby. I sometimes feel like she already has a personality in there. Moving to certain things, responding when Marcus or I touch my belly. Sometimes when I get laughing really hard it feels like she is laughing too. I know, I know, she isn't. But it feels like it and I love it!
Marcus and I went to Stockholm last week to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. It was so much fun! I am completely exhausted, still. But I am so happy I did it and i carefully exerted myself to do fun things. We saw the old town which was mostly just shopping but has really old buildings, the castle museum, The Skansen open air museum and two aquariums/zoo, took a boat tour of the canals of Stockholm which had a great narration with a vast amount of history, and did a boat tour to this island called Birka. It involved a lot of walking, but we followed the rules and Marcus got me some Ecco shoes to make it easier on the feet. Our hotel was lovely and we managed to find free parking right next to the train station when we went into the city. Oh, PLUS, we ate at 3 American restaurants and it was SO delicious. (There are none in Kalmar) It was truly great! We even got lucky with the weather. It was fore casted to be rainy, but it didn't rain once until we were on the road for home Friday. I actually got a little sunburn from the unexpected sunshine!! I definitely recommend Stockholm to anyone who wants a fun, reasonably priced vacation in Scandinavia!
We are moving into our house in 3 short weeks and cannot wait! I have all of these ideas about the baby's room. I cant decide on the so many choices I have. Like how to do the walls and what type of rug/curtains we want. I can go more pretty and clean or more wild and baby. I think we will go the more calm/pretty route, just to make sure she can rest in there. Its so fun looking at stuff. We have found this wallpaper place that has sort of murals in wall paper and they re so pretty so we think we will do one. We just have to choose between 2 we love. One is fairies in a forest type setting, and one is light colored wild animals(cartooney). Both match the bedding, since its just green, so we just have to decide. Arg! Here they both are!
I have my next midwife appointment tomorrow and the next ultrasound is scheduled for Tuesday Aug 7th. Im really excited to get a confirmation that we are indeed having a little girl. The first one was great, but I didn't have a quite full bladder, so she said it was a little unclear and could only say 90%. But we both have felt this is a girl from day one. Im pretty sure she is a girl, but if "she" turns out to be a he, Im totally fine with that too! I just cant wait to know for sure. I will definitely be updating next Tuesday!! And sharing the adorable ultrasound pics we get.
Thanks for being patient. I know its been a long time, but no news is usually good news, and this time it definitely was!!
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