29 Weeks

FitPregnancy.com Week 29:

Your baby is about two and a half pounds and would be between fifteen and seventeen inches tall if she could stand. Your baby's adrenal glands are producing a chemical which will be made into estriol (a form of estrogen) by the placenta. This estriol is thought to stimulate the production of prolactin by your body, and the prolactin makes you produce milk. So even if your baby comes early, you'll still be able to breastfeed. Each passing week improves the likelihood that your baby will be born strong and healthy. Her brain can detect rhythmic breathing and control body temperature, so she's less likely to need breathing assistance should she be born early. She's growing eyelashes, adding fat, and developing her brain. Because of brain wave activity, researchers have speculated that babies can even dream at this time!

How I'm feeling this week: OLD! :) The third trimester is here in full swing. I am feeling tired a lot quicker than usual. Breathing is a bit of an effort at the moment... with my uterus growing and growing it leaves little room inside for me, and my lungs :)

Amy and I went to London's Fashion weekend yesterday, and we were walking around for about 3 hours, and man I feel it today! Whew! You would think I was on the stair-master for hours the way my butt and thighs feel! Geez!!! The fashion was fabulous, however, quite depressing to go to something like this pregnant. There were TONS of clothing boutique stalls set up with incredible sales, but all we could do was look :( Booooo.... I asked Amy, 'When do we get to reclaim our fabulous 20 something selves??' Hehe

But all these aliments are just a part of the bag,... and really not all that bad :) I like to moan to Neil to get sympathy cuddles :)

28 Weeks

February 22nd 2011:

28 week midwife appointment today! Another excellent check-up! I had a much more enjoyable experience compaired with last time! Whew :) I got to see a different, sweeter, midwife today. She took a sample of my blood to be sent off to the lab and tested, listened to the baby's heartbeat (about 135-145 beats per minute), measured my belly from the top of the uterus down to my pelvic bone (28 cm, which she was pleased with) and everything seemed to be completely normal and fine. So, I will not hear from her regarding my blood test unless something is abnormal... fingers crossed!

My next appointment is in 3 weeks time, for my 31 week check-up on March 15th. Tick tock, tick tock... :) I can't believe I'm in the third trimester.... in the downhill slide now!!!!

27 Weeks

They breed them tough in Scandanavia!

February 17th-20th:

Neil and I took an amazing trip to Copenhagen, Denmark to see Henrik & Ellen, and to meet Baby Sofie!! Such an wonderful time! We arrived late Thursday night, and got our first cuddles with Sofie, and then off to bed shortly after.

Friday morning we had the traditional European continental breakfast of porridge, bread rolls with chocolate (yum), and tea. After breakfast Sofie was ready for her morning nap. Now, this is not your typical nap time on the sofa or in the crib, Ellen bundled Sofie up really warm, placed her in their American sized stroller (literally it is the size of a boat, I could sit in it!), piled blankets on top of her, and wheeled her outside on their balcony. Note: it is 26F outside!!! Neil and I were very skeptical at first.., 'um, what are you doing??' But the Scandinavians pride themselves in these outdoor nap times. They believe in the benefits of fresh air. And much to my surprise, Sofie slept for about 2-3 hours out there. Completely undistrubed and content. We brought her in, and she was a toasty as a ski lodge. So, in short, Neil and I are now believers of the fresh air nap!

After Sofie's nap, we loaded up their new fancy Scoda (type of car) and headed for a drive up the coast of the island. It was absolutely frigid there, about 26F, but the coastline was breathtaking. Driving along you could see these deserted piers that jutted out into the ocean, and they had these beautiful windswept icicles swooping off the sides. It was so picturesque. And there is something about the sea that is so calming. I could have starred out for hours, however, we parked up and were out for a stroll. We walked around the forest/park for awhile and then up to this abandoned plantation house that used to be the King of Denmark's residence. It was at the top of a gradual hill, and looked out over the pasture land and then out the other direction to the sea. Very peaceful and tranquil. We had lunch at a quaint little pub/restaurant in the park and I had venison for the first time. Yummy.

The whole trip was exactly what I needed. Relaxing with good friends, and celebrating new life. It was perfect :)

Get your waddle on...

So, I think I'm developing a waddle. Yuck. My work mates say it's in my head, but I feel a subtle swaying motion while walking. Very attractive... One of the joys :)

Saturday, February 11th:

Neil and I are off into town to have a non-date. Neil refuses to accept that married couples go on dates. He says, 'We're just going for a night out,' however, I prefer the much more romantic, make me actually blow dry my hair for the first time in weeks, date. :)

Neil is a clever little thing... one of his Christmas presents to me was this date/night out. Dinner at the Criterion restaurant in Piccadilly, which is over 135 years old, followed by the theatre, '39 Steps'. I didn't pick up on it at the time, but hindsight is 20/20. He's killed two birds with one stone here. Christmas present and Valentine's Date all tied into one gift. Serious, genius,.. and I didn't even see it coming. All the jokes aside, I am very excited about the whole affair :)

And the night did not disappoint! We have not been into town since before Christmas and I felt like a little kid as we were driving in! There is a point in the road, about half way into town, were the road goes up a little hill and you have a wonderful view of the cityscape. On a clear day you can see the wheel, the gherkin and other London landmarks. Last night was a beautiful night. Clear and fresh. There's something about the city,... I always get the same buzz before a night out :) I love it!

We arrived at our first stop, the Stephen Friedman gallery on Old Burlington Street. I had read about this American artist's, Jennifer Rubell, exhibition entitled, 'Engagement'. As you can see from the photos, she has made a life-size wax portrait of Prince William, fully equipped with Kate Middleton's engagement ring. Even though my actual husband was taking the photo, I got to pretend, just for that second, that I was a princess.

If you want to read more about this work, http://www.stephenfriedman.com/#/exhibitions.

We walked around Piccadilly for awhile before dinner. Walked into Fortnum & Mason, which is amazing!! I found myself in the little person section, oouuuing and ahhhing :) Seriously, for our wallet's sake, we better have a boy! HA! We also found a little side alley strip of shops, selling gorgeous antique jewelry, furs, cashmere, basically anything luxe! However, I don't know if you can pick her out from the photo, but I didn't realize until looking at the photos, that I had been shopping with Susan Boyle. It's probably not her, but it sure does look like it! Hehe! It is picture with me in the shopping alley.

Dinner at the Criterion restaurant was phenomenal! The decor made me feel like I was on the Titanic! Very ornate, with mosaic tile ceilings, marble walls and beautiful mirrors... it was magical!

'39 Steps' was rated as London's best comedy... and it was funny, but Neil and I should have done our homework... much of the humor was made from references to Alfred Hitchcock films, which Neil and I are not that familiar (I know, shame on us), so a couple of times, when the audience was dying laughing, we just kinda looked at each other and shrugged! Hehe! But, all in all, it was such a great night out/DATE NIGHT :)

Sunday, February 13th:

Coffee catch up date with Amy in the morning, very lovely. Followed by the usual Sunday scene... Neil insisting we watch soccer all day, and by watching that means me reading a book and Neil sleeping on the sofa. It's amazing though, because I've tried changing the channel a million times, and it's like he has a radar or something.... men.

26 Weeks

Still growing :)

Wedding feature

Our wedding is featured in Soirees Southern Events magazine!

Here is the link: http://soireessouthernevents.com/issues/ then click Spring 2011 edition, and our article in on pages 54-55!