I have discovered that I have a pregnancy-related superpower! I can smell anything (good or bad) from at least 20 metres away. This morning as passengers got on the bus I could have told you what perfume or aftershave they were wearing. Or, in the case of my friend 'Smoky Smokerson' that he smelt like 20 year old RSL carpet.
This heightened sense has unfortunately led to lots of vomit-related incidents during my morning sickness phase. It means that I can smell the garbage (even from another room); the toilet (even if you've sprayed the nice smelly stuff); and loads of other interesting smells including raw meat, BO and stagnant water from a mile away. God forbid the garbage truck go past while I am sitting at the bus stop - that could be a disaster.
Now that I am coming out of the morning sickness phase I am starting to believe that I could use this power for the greater good of mankind. Instead of using those trained beagles at the airport, you could just employ a team of pregnant women. I'm sure that we could find the drugs just as easily and even if they were buried in the travellers dirty underwear or footy socks! I should send my CV off to CSI cause I have no doubt that I could find a dead body in a forest or a field in about 5 minutes.
And that's just the beginning.....We (pregnant women) could be employed as consultants to perfurme manufacturers or those companies that make those smelly trees you hang in your car. I'm sure that we could come up with much better scent combinations that most celebrities (move over Britney Spears and Kylie!) and whilst I can't drink wine at the moment, I could certainly, smell it, taste it and spit it out (as you do).
So for all those pregnant women feeling nauseated every time you walk past a garbage bin or past someone who may have forgotten their Rexona this morning....remember this Superpower could be used for greater things.
23 March 2009
Where do my taxes go?
It's unlikely they go into the Queensland Health system, cause up until now it has sucked.
Finally we found someone that made sense and she came in the form of Karen in our initial midwife appointment at the hospital. It was refreshing to have someone explain things to us in a logical and calm manner and more importantly inform us of what exactly we had to do!
It was a long appointment as we had to go through our medical history and take my blood pressure, weight and hear the baby’s heart beat again! YAY! The baby was being cheeky again and hiding, so it took a little while for her to find the heart beat but when she did it was magical.
We have opted for care with the midwives at the Community Clinic just around the corner from our house. Not only will this be a million times more convenient than going to the hospital but you generally get to see the same one or two midwives each visit. Karen is on rotation to the clinic from the hospital so hopefully we will get her.
I have oodles more information now that I need to read through and some other decisions that we need to start looking at like what type of birth I want. I can tell you right now I want and uncomplicated birth with a healthy, happy baby at the end. Oh, and if the baby didn’t have a gigantic head like Al that would help!
Finally we found someone that made sense and she came in the form of Karen in our initial midwife appointment at the hospital. It was refreshing to have someone explain things to us in a logical and calm manner and more importantly inform us of what exactly we had to do!
It was a long appointment as we had to go through our medical history and take my blood pressure, weight and hear the baby’s heart beat again! YAY! The baby was being cheeky again and hiding, so it took a little while for her to find the heart beat but when she did it was magical.
We have opted for care with the midwives at the Community Clinic just around the corner from our house. Not only will this be a million times more convenient than going to the hospital but you generally get to see the same one or two midwives each visit. Karen is on rotation to the clinic from the hospital so hopefully we will get her.
I have oodles more information now that I need to read through and some other decisions that we need to start looking at like what type of birth I want. I can tell you right now I want and uncomplicated birth with a healthy, happy baby at the end. Oh, and if the baby didn’t have a gigantic head like Al that would help!
It's not all about baby
It was Allan’s 26th birthday on Friday and we spent it in Sydney. I reminded him that it’s his last birthday as a childless man so he better enjoy this one. He ‘enjoyed’ it by buying himself a remote control helicopter. Boys and their toys! Al and Chris enjoyed playing with, and crashing, the helicopter in Ast & Chris' lounge room for most of the afternoon.
Al also enjoyed Mama Chu’s (our favourite Taiwanese in Chinatown) and a Greek Yum Cha for dinner.
Before Ast's baby shower on Saturday we went to visit my grandma in hospital. As soon as I walked in she said “There’s my baby!” It was great to see that she was brightened by the impending arrival of her great-grandchildren. Apparently she was much better than she has been in previous weeks so that was encouraging. We will continue to pray for her health and for my aunt and uncles who are all supporting her during this time.
Ast & Chris had their baby BBQ in the afternoon, which was a great time to catch up with family and enjoy the wonderful views of Cronulla's coastline. We realised how much we missed living near the beach! Now, what's a baby BBQ you might ask? Well, Chris wanted to be involved in the 'shower' and didn't think it was fair that it was always a 'girly' occasion and the boys got left out. So the baby BBQ was born. All of their family and friends, whether male or female, were invited to come along for a BBQ in the park.
Watch out, I think we're going to steal their idea for our baby too!
Okay, so whilst some of its not about baby......most of it is....there's just no avoiding it.
Al also enjoyed Mama Chu’s (our favourite Taiwanese in Chinatown) and a Greek Yum Cha for dinner.
Before Ast's baby shower on Saturday we went to visit my grandma in hospital. As soon as I walked in she said “There’s my baby!” It was great to see that she was brightened by the impending arrival of her great-grandchildren. Apparently she was much better than she has been in previous weeks so that was encouraging. We will continue to pray for her health and for my aunt and uncles who are all supporting her during this time.
Ast & Chris had their baby BBQ in the afternoon, which was a great time to catch up with family and enjoy the wonderful views of Cronulla's coastline. We realised how much we missed living near the beach! Now, what's a baby BBQ you might ask? Well, Chris wanted to be involved in the 'shower' and didn't think it was fair that it was always a 'girly' occasion and the boys got left out. So the baby BBQ was born. All of their family and friends, whether male or female, were invited to come along for a BBQ in the park.
Watch out, I think we're going to steal their idea for our baby too!
Okay, so whilst some of its not about baby......most of it is....there's just no avoiding it.
16 March 2009
Taking all the fun out of shopping
I bought my first maternity clothes on the weekend. I don’t know if it’s an exciting milestone or just depressing. I have only just started to show and I’m still in that “is she pregnant or just fat?” phase.
Meanwhile my clothes are starting not to fit, particularly my work clothes. I have pants I can zip up but not button up, pants that don’t fit at all and tops that I can’t button up (damned boobs!). Some creative wardrobe creations are required on my behalf every day just to get into the office dressed in a decent manner.
Luckily I don’t work in an environment that requires strict business attire every day. If I turned up in jeans, on a day other than Friday, I don’t think anyone would care.
Thankfully maternity jeans are one of the first things I bought on the weekend and they rock! They’re so comfy I feel like wearing them every day! I also bought another pair of leggings (here comes the ‘babydoll dresses and leggings look’) and a pair of stretchy black ¾ pants from Target. I must have been having a particularly ‘fat’ day on Saturday cause they didn’t fit as well when I put them on this morning. Oh well, lots of room for the baby to grow into them.
I tried on a number of tops/dresses but couldn’t find anything that didn’t make me look like a blob. Just another adventure in my baby journey.
Meanwhile my clothes are starting not to fit, particularly my work clothes. I have pants I can zip up but not button up, pants that don’t fit at all and tops that I can’t button up (damned boobs!). Some creative wardrobe creations are required on my behalf every day just to get into the office dressed in a decent manner.
Luckily I don’t work in an environment that requires strict business attire every day. If I turned up in jeans, on a day other than Friday, I don’t think anyone would care.
Thankfully maternity jeans are one of the first things I bought on the weekend and they rock! They’re so comfy I feel like wearing them every day! I also bought another pair of leggings (here comes the ‘babydoll dresses and leggings look’) and a pair of stretchy black ¾ pants from Target. I must have been having a particularly ‘fat’ day on Saturday cause they didn’t fit as well when I put them on this morning. Oh well, lots of room for the baby to grow into them.
I tried on a number of tops/dresses but couldn’t find anything that didn’t make me look like a blob. Just another adventure in my baby journey.
10 March 2009
Introducing Baby De Rooy
Ta-dah! Ladies and Gentleman, introducing the cutest foetus of them all, Baby De Rooy!
For those of you that have not heard the news (which would surprise me seeing as I can barely keep it contained!) we are expecting our first child in September. THe picture above was taken today at our first ultrasound. Baby was being slightly uncooperative and hiding down on the left side of my uterus but the radiographer did manage to get some good pics and let us hear the heartbeat for the first time.
Because we haven't been 'telling people' until recently, I have been keeping a baby journal and thought that I would share some of my earlier posts with you.
16 January
The beginning of my baby journey is a lonely one. Although I am now 5 ½ weeks pregnant I can’t tell anyone until after my first scan. Okay, so it’s not that I can’t tell anyone but that Allan and I have decided not to until we know for sure that our baby is doing well.
I have waited a long time to get to this point and now it’s a bit of a fizzer. Friday morning (16/01) I woke up and decided I would take another pregnancy test. After ‘peeing on the stick’ I hopped in the shower to wait the obligatory two minutes. Dripping wet I stepped out the shower to look at the test, knowing already in myself what the result would be; a great big plus sign staring me in the face. I was pregnant.
I slid into bed next to Allan and woke him up by saying “good morning daddy”. He replied, only half awake, “I’m not a daddy….or am I?” My lack of response was answer enough.
We headed off to the Doctor that afternoon for confirmation. He ordered blood tests but was pretty confident that my test was accurate. A few obligatory comments about diet and health and we were outta there and up the coast for a camping weekend.
29 January 2008
Whenever pregnant women told me they went off coffee during their pregnancy I said, “No way, that won’t happen to me. I love coffee”. Well I am eating my words (so to speak) cause I haven’t had a coffee in three days! Every morning getting off the bus I think about it and every morning it makes me feel ill, just at the thought of it.
I managed a coffee on the weekend at C-Word. Al ordered me a decaf as I am attempting to cut caffeine out as much as possible. As soon as he ordered it Kate said, oh is Holly pregnant, that’s the only reason why people switch to decaf. So much for not telling people!
18 February 2009
Navigating the gauntlet that is the Queensland Health System deserves some sort of diploma or certification for those able to complete any simple task.
Take my first appointment at the hospital for example. My GP had to send a referral to the hospital upon which the hospital sent me a registration pack which included:
* A letter that did not make sense
* A registration form (okay so this was normal)
* A letter saying there were no places in the Pre-natal classes that I had selected (I hadn’t selected any)
* A flow chart supposed to give me an idea of what type of care to choose. It looked more like Choose your own Adventure to me.
Once I had completed the registration form and returned it to the hospital by snail mail they would contact me by letter (again) to inform me of my first appointment date. Have these people heard it is the 21st Century? We can use these wonderful things called the phone OR….wait for it…..email!
Yesterday I received my illustrious appointment booking only to find out it wasn’t scheduled for another four weeks. I then called the hospital to find out whether I need to bring blood test results etc or organise my first scan beforehand. Apparently my GP can organise a scan anytime from 10 weeks (now they tell me) and then hospital will organise the 20 week scan. Now I am off to the GP (again) on Friday so he can organise a scan. Will probably have to pay for it myself because the waiting time at the public hospital will be so long I’ll be 20 weeks before I get in.
Had a coffee today for the first time in about two weeks. I was great. I was around lunchtime so maybe I need to forgo the morning caffeine hit and try again at lunchtime. It probably means I’ll be slow all morning and buzzy all afternoon.
Anyway, that's enough of the baby journey for now. We look forward to posting more cute pics of the coconut (its too big to be a peanut!) after our 18 week scan.
For those of you that have not heard the news (which would surprise me seeing as I can barely keep it contained!) we are expecting our first child in September. THe picture above was taken today at our first ultrasound. Baby was being slightly uncooperative and hiding down on the left side of my uterus but the radiographer did manage to get some good pics and let us hear the heartbeat for the first time.
Because we haven't been 'telling people' until recently, I have been keeping a baby journal and thought that I would share some of my earlier posts with you.
16 January
The beginning of my baby journey is a lonely one. Although I am now 5 ½ weeks pregnant I can’t tell anyone until after my first scan. Okay, so it’s not that I can’t tell anyone but that Allan and I have decided not to until we know for sure that our baby is doing well.
I have waited a long time to get to this point and now it’s a bit of a fizzer. Friday morning (16/01) I woke up and decided I would take another pregnancy test. After ‘peeing on the stick’ I hopped in the shower to wait the obligatory two minutes. Dripping wet I stepped out the shower to look at the test, knowing already in myself what the result would be; a great big plus sign staring me in the face. I was pregnant.
I slid into bed next to Allan and woke him up by saying “good morning daddy”. He replied, only half awake, “I’m not a daddy….or am I?” My lack of response was answer enough.
We headed off to the Doctor that afternoon for confirmation. He ordered blood tests but was pretty confident that my test was accurate. A few obligatory comments about diet and health and we were outta there and up the coast for a camping weekend.
29 January 2008
Whenever pregnant women told me they went off coffee during their pregnancy I said, “No way, that won’t happen to me. I love coffee”. Well I am eating my words (so to speak) cause I haven’t had a coffee in three days! Every morning getting off the bus I think about it and every morning it makes me feel ill, just at the thought of it.
I managed a coffee on the weekend at C-Word. Al ordered me a decaf as I am attempting to cut caffeine out as much as possible. As soon as he ordered it Kate said, oh is Holly pregnant, that’s the only reason why people switch to decaf. So much for not telling people!
4 February 2009
Today marked a milestone. We moved out of feeling nauseous into actually vomiting. Oh, yay! This is where we begin the list of things that I no longer eat. At this point we have:
* Orange juice
* Saladas (although I’m working on that one, I like them too much)
* Raisin toast
* Baked beans
18 February 2009
Navigating the gauntlet that is the Queensland Health System deserves some sort of diploma or certification for those able to complete any simple task.
Take my first appointment at the hospital for example. My GP had to send a referral to the hospital upon which the hospital sent me a registration pack which included:
* A letter that did not make sense
* A registration form (okay so this was normal)
* A letter saying there were no places in the Pre-natal classes that I had selected (I hadn’t selected any)
* A flow chart supposed to give me an idea of what type of care to choose. It looked more like Choose your own Adventure to me.
Once I had completed the registration form and returned it to the hospital by snail mail they would contact me by letter (again) to inform me of my first appointment date. Have these people heard it is the 21st Century? We can use these wonderful things called the phone OR….wait for it…..email!
Yesterday I received my illustrious appointment booking only to find out it wasn’t scheduled for another four weeks. I then called the hospital to find out whether I need to bring blood test results etc or organise my first scan beforehand. Apparently my GP can organise a scan anytime from 10 weeks (now they tell me) and then hospital will organise the 20 week scan. Now I am off to the GP (again) on Friday so he can organise a scan. Will probably have to pay for it myself because the waiting time at the public hospital will be so long I’ll be 20 weeks before I get in.
Had a coffee today for the first time in about two weeks. I was great. I was around lunchtime so maybe I need to forgo the morning caffeine hit and try again at lunchtime. It probably means I’ll be slow all morning and buzzy all afternoon.
Anyway, that's enough of the baby journey for now. We look forward to posting more cute pics of the coconut (its too big to be a peanut!) after our 18 week scan.
06 March 2009
You said it!
Its been a long time since I read the Heckler (SMH column) and thought 'Yeah, damn straight!' This one was so good I thought I had to share it with you.
Click here to read the Heckler
Click here to read the Heckler
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