My 33 Week Baby Bump Photo

A quick photo taken earlier today... almost 34 weeks along.

It's a tough life being a dog

I just couldn't resist posting this picture of my two little soldiers who have not moved from their bed in the past 5 hours (it's now 2pm). 

Mr T and I couldn't understand why they were so tired until Mr T found a freshly killed mouse out near our back deck late this morning. It seems the little dogs had a hard night out on the hunt.

We have been calling them our little "possum hunters" for months as during the summer they sit out at night and chase away all the possums running around the fence tops.

They didn't quite crack the big one and land a possum, but I can only imagine the excitement when one of them managed to get a hold of the mouse.

I bet they are back out in force tonight aiming for bigger and better....

Nursery Update & Packing Bags

My mother was quite surprised to hear today that at 33 weeks I don't already have my bag packed for hospital. Still a few weeks off I would have thought... am I right on this one?

The baby's room is coming along... I have the cot, change table (which is a chest of drawers with a change table on top), nearly of all the linen purchased (just need to wash), a nice old chair that used to belong to my grandparents sitting by the window and some curtains ready to hang but no rods to put them on.

I started a project a few weekends ago to paint some old chocolate brown bookshelves white, but I got tired after sanding one, and passed that rest over to Andy to finish off... so it's still at least another weekend away. Hopefully it will all be done by Easter.

Thought for the day

"All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you"

- Wayne Dyer

Those who know me, will know I love little bits of wisdom like this.

A good thought for the day should actually make you think.

I have learnt the power of forgiveness and not dwelling or wasting time on things you can't change (anything in the past).

A couple of years ago I leant this lesson when I went through a major personality clash with a work colleague and when in frustration I vented to a caring friend that this person "made me feel so upset and mad", the wise advice I got back was "no he doesn't because you have control over how you choose to react and feel in response to his actions".

One of the best pieces of advice anyone gave me :)

Another new Baby

Congratulations Sharyn and Daniel on the birth of baby Marcus Joshua Oh born 2.53 pm (HK time) on Sunday, 14th March 2010 at the Matilda International Hospital, Hong Kong, weighing 7 lbs 1 ounce (3.2 kgs).

Remembering Sal

Thinking of our friend Sally Gordon on what would have been her 48th Birthday today. Taken from us way too soon. Will have a Chardie for you tonight Sal...

Save Our Sleep - Colder babies at risk of SIDS

Last Friday I took the day off work and went to the Melbourne Baby Show (thanks for the free ticket Elita!). I have been reading Save our Sleep by Tizzie Hall and was interested in hearing her speak at the show.

It was funny hearing the entire audience (and she gathered quite a crowd) gasp in unison as she went through how many layers her baby had on whilst asleep (at the show) in a room that was about 25 degrees celcius. I can't remember all the clothing layers, but there were at least 2 before the sleeping bag and then 6 blankets! She went on to stress that she thinks the main reason babies in Australia have trouble sleeping well is because they are cold.

The comment she made to someone who questioned this, was well, they come out of you where it's 37 degrees... so it does make sense. This article was published in the Courier Mail two days after we were at the show....and talks about why colder babies may be at greater risk of SIDS.

I have Mr T reading the book now so we will see how we go when baby arrives. We also need to read the bedding guide she provided to better understand what types of blankets to buy and also a mattress protector as from memory she said something about babies sweating if they had a plastic mattress protector or mattress cover....

What advice can you give me first hand?

(image courtest of www.saveoursleep.com)

Eco Friendly Baby Sites

The more I look into environmentally friendly alternatives, the more great resources and sites I am finding online. A couple of recent site discoveries include:

State of Green - stylish and unique home and baby products which are selected carefully, and must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

Recycled or Recyclable
Organic (from certified sources)
Natural (made from 100% natural products)
Non-Toxic and Bisphenol A Free
Produced under Fair trade conditions
Sourced from low impact / renewable sources
Encourages waste reduction / energy reduction
 
I have my eyes on the Anton's Lane Organic Cotton Cot Sheets and the BEE kitchen cleaning pack. Definitely coming back for another look...
 

 
 
The other site is more baby specific - Hello Charlie
 
I have been looking into some biodegradable disposable nappies as back up to my cloth stash and they have some good value packs here.  

Teddy Bear History

I have been meaning for some time to take some pictures to send off to a lady who restores teddy bears (Robyns Bears and Bouquets).

My original plan was to have my mother's teddy bear fixed up in time for her birthday, but last November has been and gone. Now I think it would  be nice to have both Mum's teddy and my teddy in tip top shape in time for the arrival of our baby.

My teddy is named Teddy Rowbottom and he was given to me just after I was born. He has a little baby teddy with him (who remains nameless apart from being tagged baby Rowbottom).

When I was little I used to call orange juice "Row" (don't ask where it came from!) and one day when I was at my grandparent's, Teddy found himself sitting in some orange juice and from that day on became known as Teddy Rowbottom.

My Grandfather Ed also wrote a short story about the naming of teddy which he dug out and gave to me just a year or two before he passed away, so it's lovely to have the teddy to also remind me of my grandfather.

Will try to get an email off to the "bear lady" later today and hope to update you on their progress.

My weekend

I am starting the working week off for the first time in a while feeling energised. Yesterday Mum took me to Peninsula Hot Springs where we had lunch and a massage each. This was my birthday present from last year. Being pregnant and not being able to go in the springs, a massage was the next best option. It was so nice to take it easy and spend some time with my Mum.

I was lucky to come home to a clean and tidy house thanks to Mr T who had made such an effort to get things sorted before I got back and he also installed the baby car seat into the car. It's a good feeling to get some things ticked off the to-do-list.

The car seat we have gone for is a Safe-n-Sound Meridian. It enables you to leave the baby rear facing up to 12kgs and also has side impact protection which many others don't.

Mum came home from work at Cabrini Hospital on Friday armed with some advice from an obstetrician for my trouble sleeping. She thinks I may be waking up at 3am and not being able to get back to sleep due to lack of carbs in my diet and/or not eating enough. I have still only put on 2 kilos so far and this kinda makes sense. I am certainly eating til I am full and have been craving pasta and heavy foods quite a bit, so will give her tip of eating a piece of toast or similar if I wake in the night a go.