Last night was our last (of five ) antenatal classes, and I’m looking forward to having our Thursday evenings back!  This week has been particularly busy with Monday night at C&A’s house, Wednesday at J&E’s, last night antenatal and then tonight a friend of Dave’s and his family are coming for dinner.  Bring on a quiet weekend!

Part of the last class was to visit the birthing suite, and it was very strange being up there.  Seeing the bed and all of the equipment like incubators, stirrups, etc. made me feel like an alien, completely out of place.  I didn’t feel like I belonged there, I looked at all of the other women and their partners and thought ah yes, they’re all having babies, but I didn’t feel like that myself.  I’m a pilot, I’m not one of these!  It was very surreal.

A slightly funny note was during the class when we were all instructed to dress and swaddle dolls, which was very easy (it was demonstrated first) and I was joking around as usual (and finished first) and the midwife asked “so, Kate, what do you do for a job?”  It was quite amusing to reply “I’m a pilot,” and see the stunned faces!  “I was not expecting that!” she said.  I’m not sure if it was the joking around that prompted the question, or the quick and efficient dressing of the doll, but it was amusing!

We have also had lots of practise swaddling the dog (this photo is from August!)

From next Monday, I apparently have to get doctors’ certificates to say I could work, if work wanted me to work (which they don’t), in other words, to ensure that I keep getting paid.  I’m hoping to get paid for another 3 weeks (up to 37 weeks) at least before going on official ‘maternity leave.’  So 3 exceedingly pointless trips to the doctor!  I haven’t worked since Christmas, when I stopped flying, but work didn’t have any office work (‘safe work’) for me to do, so they have just been paying me to sit at home.

I have, however, managed to use my sitting at home usefully!  I am currently working on filling a chest freezer with meals.  It’s not a large freezer - 146L I believe - but we got it secondhand off FB marketplace and it is very satisfying to fill.  So far, I have made enchiladas, lasagne, tuna fish pie and cottage pie.  Not sure what the next recipe will be, but I accept ideas!  These meals are for when Joey comes home from the hospital, although with Dave home the first couple of weeks, I will probably try to save most for when he starts his new job on 14 April.

So many cottage pies!

On the subject of Dave’s new job, that is also news.  Dave was asked to interview at a company last year - probably in May or June, if memory serves me right.  He never even applied for the job - but after interviewing, they said he did really well but they didn’t actually know if they needed him!  In November, he suddenly got a call saying “can you start on Monday” and obviously the answer was no, as he had way too much work (and responsibilities) at the current job.  He replied saying that he did want to work for them, but that with commitments plus the new baby due 22 March, it was likely to be April before he could realistically start.  Everything went deathly quiet.

And then, in late January, they contacted him again, asking him to come in for a meeting, and offered him a start date of 14 April.  This gives him time (hopefully) to wrap everything up at his current place, and finish up around the time that Joey is due.  And even if she is late, he should still be able to have around 2 weeks at home with us.  

It is going to be quite an adjustment for Dave, of course.  Having been an aircraft engineer for 25 years, it is not a small thing to walk away from.  He is now going to be instructing engineering, and that is going to be a challenge for him, as standing in front of a group of people isn’t exactly something with which he is comfortable!  

So it is going to be a big year for all of us... new year, new baby, new job, no flying for me, etc etc.  hopefully we will come through it :)

And for now... I must clean the house a bit in preparation for our visitors tonight! 

The preparations have started!  2 months to go... and I’m beginning to think about what I need to do before Joey arrives.  Slowly, the clothes, blankets, etc. are being washed, and I’ve just started doing meal prep.  We bought a secondhand chest freezer a few weeks ago and the plan is to fill it before the birth so the workload is reduced afterwards.  But since we bought it, life has stayed busy so I have only just started cooking!  It’s just a little bit inconvenient now as staying on my feet for any length of time makes my pelvis ache.

I had another check up on Monday and everything was perfect with Bub, measuring exactly 31weeks at 31 weeks which I assume puts her in the 50th percentile.  Not 100% sure how that works though.  She is super active and loves bouncing off the walls of my uterus - it is now very easy (and frequent!) to feel the hard knobbles of her feet and knees moving in and out.  She is still moving around at this stage as her head isn’t yet locked in my pelvis, but she is lying head down just rolling her body back and forth (ow).

We had our baby shower on Saturday, which a couple of friends organised, which was really lovely.  

I tried not to think about how far away from family we are, but it really would have been nice to spend the day with them as well.  I did post a multitude of photos on FB that people can look at.  This just happens to be the only one I have on my phone, as Dave took the others!

Shortly, we are going swimming, which is really the only activity I can do lots of - walking etc really hurts my pelvis and when I am swimming I feel weightless which makes a change.

And that’s about it for now... oh yes!  Dave got a new job starting mid April, which is very exciting news.  His current company is still struggling and we are very excited about the move - although it is going to be quite the career change and adjustment for him.  At least he has almost 3 months to prepare for it.

adios! 

24 weeks

For me, this is huge: the first viability marker.  If our daughter were born now, she would have a chance - not a great one, but at least a chance.  It is a massive milestone for me, as every twinge, every pain up til now has been accompanied with wild thoughts of “if she’s born now she wouldn’t make it.”  I don’t have any reason to think she would be born early - but my brain tends to go into anxiety/panic mode very easily!

A lot has happened in 24 weeks.  

For one, we’ve spent a lot of money!  We are gradually getting everything together that we need - still a few big ticket items missing but we are getting there.  The nursery now has a cot and a rocking chair in it (both purchased second hand) and a friend of mine is giving us all of her baby girl clothes as her youngest is growing out of them.  So a note: we don’t need any more clothes! 😂. (I had an amusing chat with a friend last week who has just had her second baby.  She announced in no uncertain terms that having a baby was “free until daycare” which I thought particularly funny as they had just spent $2500 on a stroller!)

We have also been to numerous scans and doctor appointments - just a normal part of having a baby.  Everything looks just perfect with her, the only thing that came up on the last scan was that I have a low lying placenta, so in early February we have a fourth scan to check that the placenta has moved up - which is pretty normal.  I am signed off to stop flying at 27 weeks, which puts my last day on the 21st December.  I could have worked a week or two more, but it will be nice to have a Christmas at home with Dave before our daughter arrives, and also, the company I work for doesn’t have a maternity uniform so right now I am wearing a home-amended attempt and I’m not sure for how many more weeks it will fit!  The doctors and midwives seem very happy with how everything is progressing and despite the placental position, I am categorised as low risk.

It is going to be really strange not to be flying.  I realised a few days ago that I won’t fly a 717 at all in 2020 and I definitely have mixed feelings about that.  I could of course go back to work early, but I also feel strongly that it is important for me to be there for the baby, and I really want to breastfeed too, which isn’t very compatible with my work lifestyle.  Work has told me that they don’t need me in the office at all so from Christmas I’m going to be twiddling my thumbs at home (in the air con).  I am trying to think up some projects to keep me busy (not too active) in those 3 months leading up to the baby’s arrival, otherwise I am going to go stark staring mad!!  I get paid by work up to 34 weeks no questions asked, after which I have to get certificates from the doctor to say I COULD work if work should want me to do so.  Then at some point I go on maternity leave.  

At the moment, my parents are planning on visiting in May, which I am very excited about.  The distance from family is one thing that is particularly difficult so it will be lovely having them over for a few weeks.

Well, being as I am now 24 weeks plus 3 days I really should post this!  I may get around to writing more Some Other Time.

Anniversary weekend

This weekend was our first anniversary, and I can’t believe it’s only been a year - and apparently for most of that I haven’t blogged!  

We went down to Currumbin for the weekend and stayed in an AirB&B by the beach, and it was SO very nice to have a weekend where we didn’t have to DO anything.  We walked on the beach, and we swam a little, and we ate far too much very nice food, and all in all we just rested.

The last few weeks have been very busy - since last time I blogged, we spent 3.5 weeks in England and Ireland, visiting (and meeting for the first time) lots and lots of family and running ourselves fairly ragged in the process.  We got home, jumped straight back into work amongst the throes of jetlag, and before we had a chance to recover properly from that, Dave’s daughter C and her foster brother M came to stay with us for a week.

It was absolutely lovely having them with us, we did tons of fun activities, but it really was a full on week - and the moment they left it was in to a string of 6 earlies for me, including a 3 day trip.  So, as you can imagine, combined with the child growing inside me, I’ve been functioning rather less than 100%.

This weekend, although just two days, was so very relaxing.  It started on the Friday, after work, when we went for our 20 week ultrasound and found out IT’S A GIRL!!!  I couldn’t (we couldn’t) be more thrilled - and yes we did fit in some baby shopping into our weekend!  SO many things to buy, it is unreal how expensive having a baby is - but I already knew that.  The really expensive part is going to be taking time off after she is born.

From our apartment in the Gold Coast, we could hear the sound of the waves all night and all day - and it was strangely soothing.  

We woke early both mornings, as usual, and just lay in bed knowing we didn’t HAVE to do anything.  No time we had to be anywhere, no appointments, no work, nothing at all to dictate how we spent our days.

And we finally got up and made tea (or coffee in Dave’s case), and walked in the sand, and we breathed.  Something that we haven’t had enough of lately.  

And hopefully we will get to do this (or something similar) at LEAST one more time before baby girl comes screaming onto the scene! 

Hasting Caves

This is a post without much writing as it is simply to show you some of what we saw of Hastings Caves in Tasmania.

All pictures taken by Dave - you’re welcome! 

Hobart

Friday morning, I worked an early Mackay and then sat around the airport for three hours until Dave arrived so we could start our trip together to Hobart.  I was lying on one of the couches in the Virgin terminal, after napping, when I decided to check the flight numbers... which had been fine the previous day!  To my surprise, the flight was completely full, and continuing to check, I realised that all of the Sydney flights were the same.  

Changing tack, I had a look at Melbourne flights and thankfully found one that would work - although it then meant we had to sit around in Melbourne for three hours before flying onwards to Hobart, landing at 2105.  Having left the house at 0400, I wasn’t particularly enamoured with the idea but at least it would get us there.  It was a bit hit and miss even getting on the flight to Melbourne due to a polar front, but make it we did, and finally found ourselves at our bed and breakfast.  

Orana House was a sprawling colonial style building with pretty gardens filled with daffodils.  I meant to take pictures but our plans changed quite drastically which didn’t give us any time for such niceties!  It was incredibly cold but our room had a decent little heater which kept us alive, at least.  

Saturday morning dawned bright and early - or rather, we woke early at our customary 0500, and it had not dawned, was not bright, and the chill outside took our breath away (or at least mine, because I am weak.). Four degrees is a little bit cold for me.  It wasn’t raining yet but the forecast looked terrible so we decided to make Indoor Plans for the day.

A river beside which we drove

C particularly wanted to go swimming, and when we picked the two of them up at 0730, she already had her swimmers on under her clothes ready to go.  The walk from the car to the Aquatic Centre was absolutely freezing and I began to wonder were we completely and utterly insane to consider this activity?  Thankfully, it was lovely and warm inside and we defrosted quickly.  Unfortunately, having come from Brisbane, neither Dave or I had towels, which we had been hoping to hire - no luck there, apparently the only option was to buy towels at a grandiose price of $35 each.  We settled on one towel to share!  The kids brought their towels from home but seriously seeing how they treated the things made us not want to share them!

For a venue with such a grand name as The Hobart Aquatic Centre, and from photos on google, it was a bit disappointing to find that it consisted of a main (cold) swimming pool with lanes, and a kiddies pool which was mostly thigh deep and full of small children.  This pool was pretty warm forever and C and M enjoyed themselves a lot - and we had fun splashing water at them, pretending to be sharks, and dragons, and generally rough housing around.  Two hours flew and it was time to get out (with C dragging her heels very sulkily!).  

After some biscuit fortification (that I had taken from breakfast) back at the car, we decided to stop at Coles to get Supplies for lunch and snacks, and then get on the road and head down to Hastings Caves.  It was a 1h40 trip one way, but out of the cold and rain and the Caves promised an adventure not yet experienced by C, M or Dave.  

Meanwhile, a new drama presented itself.  Dave’s ex unfortunately misunderstood our plans - although we had written the email together and specified that we were picking up the children at 0730 and dropping them after dinner, she thought that we were keeping them overnight!  We only realised this when she texted to ask could we drop them at her mum’s in the morning.  Um... we only had a small double room booked at the B&B.

We quickly rang the B&B to see if they had another room available, but they were full up.  After a lot of back and forth and trying to find babysitters etc, we eventually ended up booking a 2 bedroom apartment elsewhere for the night!

After this was sorted out, we headed off to Hastings Caves and arrived just in time for the afternoon tour.  Everyone seemed to enjoy theirselves - although C kept whispering to me “I think I might be getting a little scared now” and then got distracted and was fine again.  After this, we went on a quick walk to see if we could find the thermal springs advertised (a 1m round hole in the ground that was well fenced off and not very special) and then it was back to the car (C: I’ve got a stitch and my legs can’t walk any further.). Thankfully we did make it back to the car with mere minutes to spare before the gate was shut at 1600.    Nobody’s legs fell off, either, although by the sounds of things there could have been blood, gore and all out slaughter.

Dave has much nicer photos than me but I’ll post them separately.

The drive back was quieter than the drive there, due to sleepy children, although tempers did get a little frayed once or twice!  

We had to stop by Orana House to let C change her clothes before dinner, as she had unfortunately Sat On Something.  We decided to take all of our things with us and check out (although sadly I left my PJs in the bed!) before going to dinner.  Dinner was at the Irish Pub which is also where we went last time we went to Hobart - a favourite with the children.  I was less than enamoured with my choice of fish and chips (soggy fish), and also didn’t particularly like Dave’s steak and Guinness pie (inside cooked separately to the pastry and placed inside to serve) and C’s rare steak was medium at best!  

Our new abode was a basic apartment, but it had everything we needed - warmth, beds and a hot shower.  In fact, after the children went to bed, we thought next time we might just book something similar and keep the kids all weekend and also having an apartment would mean we could cook dinner and spend $30 on something really nice instead of spending over $100 on almost inedible fare!  Despite having been looking forward to a quiet romantic morning before flying back to Brisbane, it really was nice having the kids with us overnight and they were quiet sad when we dropped them home.  

Thankfully, our flight back to Brisbane had plenty of seats and was on time - in fact, I am writing this from the aeroplane which is why it is so very long winded - you’re welcome.  

This boy

We have finally booked everything for our trip to the UK and Ireland and I couldn’t be more excited!  It is just a few weeks away now and I can’t wait to introduce my amazing David to my family - and of course meet his.

And here’s a very early almost-dawn photo over Brisbane airport a couple of mornings ago.  Not completely in focus but we were travelling at 300kts and it was taken on an iPhone in low light!