16 Week GP Appointment

Well, I survived-I made it through my GP appointment on Tuesday with flying colors. The appointment started with the not so pleasurable event these days of getting on the scale. Never in my life have I ever weighed so much, and while I know it's healthy and to be expected I have to say it's frightening to see the numbers getting bigger and bigger. Luckily the doctor said I'm on track with how much I've gained and have nothing to worry about (I was especially concerned because I put on a whopping 3.5 lbs this week!). She then had me lay down to feel for the size of the uterus which is at a normal size for where we should be right now. It was a nice surprise when she listened for the heartbeat and I got to hear that reassuring sound that proves baby is still in there and doing okay. Thanks to all for the moral support with regards to getting my flu shot, compared to giving blood it was nothing and two days later I haven't had any flu-like side affects which is pretty lucky. Our next appointment will be Dec. 22nd when we get to have our 20 week scan and find out if we're having a boy or a girl.

Today is Thanksgiving and I must admit I'm feeling pretty homesick. This has always been one of my favourite holidays and provides lots of warm memories. It's such a strange feeling to "miss out" on holidays and to have a normal day when lots of your loved ones are celebrating-the only other time of the year I feel like this is 4th of July which is also another one of my favourite holidays. Whilst I can't replicate the fireworks and barbeque's of the 4th of July, there is nothing to prevent me from making Grandma's pumpkin pie (even if I'm the only one who eats it) and roasting a turkey (if I can manage to find one this far before Christmas) so Sunday we will be having my own version of Thanksgiving (minus the parade watching, American football games and sales to look forward to the next day). One of my Finnish friends told me that it's important to keep hold of the traditions of your own country and this will be my third year of having Thanksgiving in London. It's been fun to share the tradition with people who haven't celebrated before and it helps me feel connected to those back home. Last year we had a friends Thanksgiving where I managed to have far too many glasses of wine and champagne and had to put myself to bed before our guests left. Needless to say, this year will be a little different.

Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy your Thanksgiving and know that I'm thinking of you and am thankful to have each and everyone of you in my life.

Brrr.... Snow!

London has been freezing lately (literally!); early Sunday morning I woke up to snow which was short-lived but pretty while it lasted. This will be my third winter in London and I think with that I've seen as many snows in that time. Snow in November is pretty early, bookmakers here have upped the odds of a white Christmas from 8/1 to 6/1, which seems like pretty good odds-if we miss it I will be pretty disappointed. Weather here in London is probably just a small step up from Seattle in terms of quality, we get slightly less rain but on the whole it's still pretty cloudy for more months than not and always seems to be around the 45-55 degree mark. On that note, I have already started counting down the days until we're in sunny Miami-29 and counting!

Other than the snow we had a pretty good weekend. On Saturday we looked at 3 houses, one of which we are really interested in: http://www.georgeproctor.co.uk/ViewProperty.aspx?adid=1355821. The house is great, about as close to an "American" house as you can find in London and within walking distance of the shops (for me) and the train station with links to London (for Mark). We're going to have a second viewing next weekend to have a better look.

We also went into a few baby shops (Mothercare and Mamas & Papas) to have a look at strollers (called "prams" in the UK) and cribs (called "cots" in the U.K.). Who knew how expensive this stuff was?! For the stroller and car seat we're looking at about £575 (about $865) and for the crib, changing table/chest of drawers and clothes cupboard we're looking at easily another £2k ($3000)!! Things here are so expensive, it's a shame there isn't an easy way to bring this stuff back from America. Mark has been quite cute about it, he's taken the philosophy that nothing is too good for our baby and that we should get the best we can get although I suspect that will change when we actually start buying things and it all starts adding up!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is my first regular appointment with our local doctor (GP). I haven't actually seen a doctor since I first found out I was pregnant so it will be good to go in and see how I'm getting on, although I will also have my dreaded flu shot... Wish me luck!

Aches, pains and conquering your fears

Week 15 going on 16 and I have my first pregnancy groan-aches and pains! For the past few days I've been getting really bad cramps and aches in my legs and my back hurts worse then it ever has before. I feel like I'm 28 going on 58! It's so bad that I've even asked for one of those foot rest stools at work to see if it will help and I'm literally rolling off the couch and out of bed!

This week I've also had to go on a wild goose chase to get a flu shot, something that is recommended for women who will be in their 2nd and 3rd trimesters during flu season (and also something I never thought I would be doing, usually I would be running the other way!). When I came to Seattle in February this year I got the worst flu of my life on the airplane and don't want a repeat over our precious few days in Seattle for Christmas nor in Miami on our last "couple" holiday-also in London you're surrounded by people on the bus and tube where germs run rampant. Despite this, in the U.K. flu shots are only available to those who are terminally ill or over 65! I've managed to convince my doctor to write a prescription though and will have the shot done at my first regular GP (general practitioner) appointment next Tuesday which will occur every 4 weeks starting from next week, my 16th week.

I have to say, I hate shots. I hate needles. I've had several episodes at the doctors office when giving blood where I've had ringing in my ears and almost passed out. I hate the hospital. The one time I had stitches at age 16 I cried my eyes out. For most of my life I've known that I wanted to have children but was scared to death at the idea of the actual childbirth. Even now I'm trying not to think too much about it and have passed over the later chapters in my What to Expect When You're Expecting book because I don't want to start worrying about it. However, in the last couple of months I've had to give blood loads of times and have done so without incident-in fact, it didn't even hurt and was over in a second each time. Hopefully when it comes time for my flu shot I can say the same!

I guess this is the first step to becoming a Mom, a new stage in growing up-learning to conquer your fears and be selfless for someone else. Sure, we've all done it for our boyfriends/husbands/friends/family but this new challenge is really putting your own fears to one side and focusing on the greater picture-your child.

Attached is a week 15 and three quarters photo-swear I'm getting bigger by the day! Have a great weekend x

You won't be so fat after you have the baby......

It's a rainy Sunday here in London and I can think of nothing better to do then stay indoors and watch a movie. Mark and I are going to a local pub tonight to have Sunday roast-in England it's a regular family meal for Sunday that includes roast chicken and potatoes, steamed vegetables, gravy and my favourites-Yorkshire puddings (popovers). Yum! I might even treat myself to a small glass of wine with dinner, tomorrow marks the start of week 15 and everything I have read says that one small glass a week after the first trimester is okay.

Yesterday we spent the day with the Verghese clan. Mark has a younger sister, Tracey, who is 27 and an older brother, Paul, who is 35. Paul is married to Rachel who has become more than just a sister but a best friend to me here in London, and they have two beautiful children Max, who is 4, and Holly who will be 11 just after Christmas. Whenever the Verghese family gets together you can bet that we will make it out for at least one meal, if not two. In fact, I can't really think of a time when we've all gotten together and not had a big dinner here at our place or over at Paul and Rachel's. Yesterday we went to a Chinese/Japanese restaurant around the corner from Pat's (my mother-in-laws), although it did take about 20 minutes of deliberating to all agree on going there instead of to Indian or Italian (the other two local choices).

The kids are surprisingly curious and interested in the pregnancy, particularly Max who is probably most excited because he won't be the youngest anymore. A couple of weeks ago whilst out for another dinner we were all discussing baby names. Max decided he loved the name Luke (after Luke Sky Walker of course!) and that from now on we should call him Luke. That stuck for a week or two. Last night as I was finishing a massive plate of stir fried shrimp with onion and basil Max said "You know, Jen-you won't be so fat after you have the baby." Which you know, really made me feel better after stuffing my face! He's such a comic and so cute, all I could do was laugh. Let's hope if we have a little boy he will get some of the same cheeky Verghese genes that Max did.

My first driving lesson....

Last night was my first UK driving lesson, the first time I've gotten on the "other" side of the car and the first time I've driven since moving to London in June 2006. I have to say, I was really nervous before my lesson last night. I think when I first learned to drive I didn't realise how much power you have behind the wheel of a car and now that it's not just me that I'm responsible for but also a little baby, I think I was double nervous. It was also dark outside and rush hour in the city of London so that didn't help!

It was an hour lesson but felt like it was about 20 minutes. Driving here is so different to driving at home, not only do you have to get used to the other side of the road and the other side of the car, driving on two way roads that are as wide as our one-lane roads, but they also look in the mirror before signaling and you have to learn how to get through "road abouts" and etc.

After my first lesson they have decided I need 10-20 hours more of lessons. I also have to take a "theory" test which is like our written and then a "practical" test which is when you go out with an instructor and is the last thing to do before I get my license. At this rate I might just have my license by February which would be ideal because if it takes any longer than that, I might not be able to fit in the little tiny car anymore (it's a Ford Astra, kind of like a new version of the Escort).

I can't believe it's taken me so long to sign up for lessons; when we found out we were having a baby all of the sudden I felt like we had so much to do-rent out our flat, move house, get my driving license, and so on and so forth. Now that I've taken the steps to get started, I'm actually really looking forward to it-if I wasn't able to drive when baby came I would be bored out of my mind and I think I will have gained a sense of independence.

Would have included my new license photo but it's way to heinous! Enjoy the rest of the week x

The first bump photo

Hard to believe I'm starting my 14th week on Monday and I'm already this big! Mark took this photo when I came home the other night from work, it will be one of many that will show just how huge I'm going to get in the upcoming months. I'm still feeling great though, not a single bout of nausea so far, and I'm no longer feeling like I want to go to bed at 8 every night. I am a bit slower moving though, find it harder to bend down and pick things up and no longer run for the bus in the morning....
People are also starting to notice that I'm pregnant. The first incident was ironically right after our first scan on Oct. 27th; on the tube on the way back to work a man got up and offered me his seat which is what people are supposed to do if you're pregnant (British people are on the whole pretty polite). At work I've had a couple of people politely ask (via e-mail one colleague asked if I'd had a big breakfast or if congratulations were in order) although it's kind of a tricky one still depending on what I'm wearing. To be honest, I'm so excited I pretty much tell anyone who wants to hear, the waiter at dinner who offers wine (although in Paris even when he knew I was pregnant he still tried to push the red wine!), the cleaner at work, the receptionist at the doctor's office-anyone who will listen!
I can honestly say that I've loved every second of being pregnant so far and hope this good feeling continues over the next couple of months as we've got lots coming up with coming to Seattle for Christmas, our "baby moon" to Miami afterwards and moving house when we're back to London in the New Year.

Mom's Visit & Paris

It's been just over a week now since my Mom left after her first visit to London. She was here for 10 busy days in which I saw more of London than I've seen in 2 and a half years. It was great to finally show her where/how we live and to be able to see some things I've wanted to see in London but haven't been able to drag Mark along to (which I can totally understand since he saw most of the tourist attractions around London when he was a kid in school). We went to quite a few markets (Borough Market-the food market, Spitalfields Market-our local market and Portabello Road-the antiques market), took a tour of the Tower of London, went the the National Gallery Museum, saw the amazing Leeds Castle and spent two fantastic days in Paris.

To be honest, I've never really wanted to go to Paris but it's so easy to get there from here (just over 2 hours on a fast train that goes 186 mph!) that I thought it would be an easy trip for us to conquer-me being pregnant and exhausted all of the time and my Mom not having travelled abroad before. Paris was such an amazing experience-literally just as I had imagined it to be with lots of cute little shops, people dressed super glamorously and lots of people smoking outside at little cafes all around the city. We saw the Louvre, did the Eiffel Tower, walked the Seine, saw Notre Dame and visited about a dozen little French bakeries along the way.

It was a great time and I'm really happy to have had this time with my Mom. It was great to tell her our news in person rather than on the phone and to be able to listen to her share a few stories about when she was pregnant with me. It also reminded me that even though it's hard to live so far away from my "real" home, I'm pretty lucky to live in such an amazing place and to have been able to travel as much as I have since I moved over here.