Lenny through the iPhone

Periodically I take a snap on the iPhone to send to my sister in Sydney, or my nana or my mum, or whoever asks "how's Lenny?" It kinda sums it up... he is getting bigger.

I think I'll miss this belly when it's gone, I'm getting quite attached to the way it moves and jumps as he does. I'm still not used to my new dimensions and knock it on things several times a day. Just learning to open that door a l i t t l e bit wider before entering the room, or trying to give myself enough room to get out of the car when parking. No sucking in this gut anymore.

Sharing is Caring

Over the next few weeks before little Lenny arrives I'm going to be sharing stories, tips and advice from my friends who are mothers themselves. I thought it would be a good way for me to learn a few things along the way as well as share with other expectant mums out there who may be reading this little blog.

Sometimes I find the information available overwhelming and not overly honest or applicable. I feel you read one thing, and then hear something totally different, and everyone has totally varied experiences and opinions when it comes to bringing their baby into the world.

I gave up reading pregnancy information and wasn't too enthused about antenatal classes. I am however enjoying Jackie Brown's book "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant" it's a great honest read, and I guess it inspired me to ask if anyone else out there wants to share honest advice. Let's cut the bulls**t and just get real answers from real people - and more importantly from people we can relate to.

I know not everyone wants to share, after all it is a very personal and private experience. I do appreciate anyone who does want to share though, and encourage you to contact me through my facebook page or email address (on my about me page).

I've already received one great birth story to share, and I'm currently collecting information on two topics which I'll use to put together in a post.

The current topics are: Best tips for the mother to be, and Best pregnancy purchase...

Get in touch if you'd like to contribute. Quotes and advice are anonymous. Birth stories will be published as I receive them and have the drafts approved by those brave enough to share their story. 

I look forward to hearing what you all think!

Source: birthphotographers.com via Arden on Pinterest

All You Need is Love

I photographed a friend's wedding back in February... I'll put together a more extensive post soon, but here is just a snapshot of the loved up newlywed at sunset. x

T is for Tired...

We've reached the third trimester! It seems strange to be this far along and still getting my head around the fact that;

1. I am having a baby
2. He will be here in less than 12 weeks
3. We haven't yet found a suitable house to buy.

We had another check up at the obstetrician this week to go over my recent bloods and talk about how things are going. At the pre-check with the midwife, she opened up my test results and went "woah woah woah"... never a good thing when you've just been tested for gestational diabetes. Naturally you think the worst.

Her words were. "How are you still standing? Do you just want to keel over and go to sleep? Do you get dizzy often or feel like fainting?"
Ummm... sometimes?

Turns out Lenny has stolen all of my precious iron supplies. I've always run a little on the low side at various times in my life, so I shouldn't be surprised. But I had this overwhelming relief after the doctor visit that there was another reason behind this tiredness I've been feeling, and it probably has a lot to do with my emotional outbursts and irritability of late. I kept telling myself, "yes you're tired, but you're pregnant, this is the easy part... the calm before the storm, suck it up"... So to know that these little red pills may just ease this tiredness a wee bit is a huge relief.

So not much else happening in baby development world. We have chosen a paint colour for his temporary nursery, purchased a nice reading chair for his room, inherited some sweet drawers from Mr D's Poppa and have made some progress on putting it all together to get more organised (slowly). We've booked our babymoon to Sydney and have started discussing serious stuff like what pram to buy.

Here's Lenny at 27 weeks.

Putting my feet up

The other weekend my mum and I flew down south to spend a weekend with her parents, my grandparents. It was a special trip, visiting them with my big round tum knowing that the next time they see me I'll have Lenny here, on the outside!

I love staying at Nana's house. The beds are so soft and cosy, it's quiet and warm and has all of the things I remember being in her house when I was a little girl. The same little statues, the same cabinets and embroideries on the wall. They fussed over me so much, insiting I put my feet up in the lazy boy, just like the Chawners, and Nana made me hot cups of tea served with home made biscuits. Yum!

We drove around to various places, seeing where my mum grew up, hearing her stories of sneaking out, and "running up that hill to see her friend, and kissing a boy behind that hall at some dance". It's always funny picturing your parents as teenagers. We stopped at a little town called Outram which had all of 5 shops. It was so quiet, it really felt like you'd stepped back in time. There may have only been 5 shops, but they were the amazing thrift stores and antique shops. I could have filled a truck with so many amazing things for the house I don't yet own and the nursery I'm yet to create, again... in the house I don't yet own... Little chairs, perfect for a little boy.. vintage trunks and miniature drawers to house little collections, for next to nothing. It killed mum and I to walk from the shops empty handed, knowing we couldn't fit a chair, vintage suitcase and wooden petrol station in our luggage.

I did however find this little plate that will go perfectly in Lenny's room (the one I've created in my head). He has a very cool collection of artefacts and prints to date, and I knew this plate would look great in amongst everything else. It will remind me of the time I went to stay with Nana and Granddad while he was in my belly, which makes it all that bit sweeter. There was another little store where everything in the shop was hand made by people in the town. I got the sweetest pair of hand knitted socks for Amelia Bedelia, I'll try to get a photo of them on her cute little feet.

 

The rest of the visit was spent drinking tea, reading books and watching my mum and nana knitting adorable things for Lenny. 

Look at the Nana's go! You can feel the love and concentration in the room..

Here my mum is sewing together the softest, most adorable little wrap cardigan and Nana is working on another knitted toy, which is going to be pretty awesome.

 

It made me wish I could knit. But I think I'll leave it to the Nana's. We have Nana's on Mr D's side furiously knitting away as well so I hope Lenny likes home knits. He will be wearing them for many years to come.

I'll endevour to take photos of his hand knitted treats soon, they are so adorable. 

And here's me and Lenny by a tooth? It's art.... 

 

Sorry for the lack of blog updates. Our internet has gone back to dial up speed. It's infuriating and we're waiting until the new billing month to tick over to enjoy super fast speeds again. It took a long time to get these pictures to load. I have a little bit of a backlog to share now. 

Lenny is nearly 28 weeks cooked! 12 more to go! eek!

Oh and just to clarify - his name won't be Lenny on the outside world. People aren't sure, so there we go, the outside world name is being saved for when he's actually here.