I look unhappy, or like I have to go to the bathroom, but neither are true.
xxx
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Monday, 10 December 2012
"Happy birthday again! Can you believe Kate is stealing your preggo thunder..."- Kerry Bergin
23 Weeks- December 4,2012... 27th Birthday
- Don't quote me on this (and please don't tell Tu Tu) but this birthday might have been the most sober birthday I have had in 10 years.
- You know you are becoming a mom when you get receive gifts where prints on clothing are now IN. This was Bergin's birthday present to me and I was so thrilled to wear it as my birthday suit...as I'm sure others were as well because lord knows nobody wants to see me in my birthday suit.
- I woke up not feeling up to par on my birthday (thanks Bean) and so I had a lazy, relaxing birthday watching crap TV. We were planning to go out for dinner but again staying in sounded like a better idea so we ordered a Chinese Takeout and watched more crap TV by the fire. Was one happy, preggo birthday girl.
- Just a little side note: The Duchess Kate came out publicly that she is pregnant on the 4th, hence Bergin's comment. I find it just dandy that Bean will be born the same year as a royal whilst Giles is hoping all babies born the same year as a royal get some kind of reward/present....men.
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
20 Weeks
20 weeks is when you can find out about the sex of the baby. We are still keeping it a surprise until the birth. But I would just like to add how absolutely crazy it was to actually see the baby at 20 weeks. We were able to see So0o many details which I didn't even know were available. From the eye lens to the ventricles of the heart to the femur bone to the layer of skin that is protecting the spine to the position bean was in my belly. I know I'm showing my age by saying this but technology these days is mind boggling.
xxx
"You need to update your blog. You are 20 weeks preggers and we just read about conception..I'm just saying"- Mary Rachel
Ok, New Years Resolution starting now, November 20th 2012, update the blog more.
As I stated in my first blog early on in the pregnancy I came across differences between English and American culture of what I thought with the whole pregnancy experience. As I continue on this journey the differences keep occurring, again not good or bad, just differences. First pregnancy therefore I don't have a lot to compare to since I have never been pregnant or given birth in America. So if you read this and feel that my judgements on how things are handled in 'Merica are altered due to such things as Grey's Anatomy, Knocked Up, Friends, and such please feel free to set me straight. Comments are ALWAYS welcome.
So once Giles and I took 1,400 pregnancy tests we booked a doctors appointment thinking it was the right time to put our new inexperienced life into their hands. Before going I drank plenty of water, pretty positive they would indeed want a sample of their own to make sure I didn't have Munchhausen Syndrome and I was in fact preggers. And we would talk about the birthing plan and scans and all that such. Boy was I wrong. And mom if you are reading this, mark it in the books, I am freely stating that I, Malia Wood, was wrong. So we get up to the receptionist, tell them our names, I say...
"Well I think I'm pregnant."
Response: "Have you taken a pregnancy test that came up positive?"
"Yes"
"Congratulations!!!! Here is your packet and here is the clinic to call to talk to your mid wife to book your appointment."
And that was it. I left asking Giles, "Is that all? Are they really going to take our word for it? What if I was lying? What if I just wanted attention and this was my strategy? Man I really have to go to the toilet.What if all the pregnancy tests were wrong? Don't they want their own proof?What if....what if...what if..."
And so we left, got into our car and called the clinic. I spoke with another receptionist, named Sally who again congratulated us, and said that my midwife would be Laura and she would call us in the next few days.
Again my out loud thoughts to my husband... "Well doesn't Sally want my pee? Why doesn't anyone want my pee to prove that I am pregnant?! Man, everybody is so trusting in your country."
A few days later, Laura calls us, asks us if we would like to meet her in the clinic or if we wanted her to come to our apartment to meet us. Since still not driving over here and Giles' schedule being so random we planned on meeting at our place.
She came, this time I was SURE she was going to need a sample of the urine. Yep you guessed it, no pee was taken. She is as sweet as a button and the more I have met with her the more I have come to the conclusion that I will make her my friend after this is all over, doubling my friend count to 2 in this town. Score. But to be honest when I first met her it was kind of a Doogie Howser moment. I still to this day do not know her age but she honestly does look like she could be 2 or 3 years younger than me. My first thoughts, "It's just like the movies. I will be giving birth and the person responsible for my baby is a youngin' Great." So during our at home visit we discussed all the basic questions, are you allergic to anything? Drinker? First pregnancy? Major surgeries in the past? And so on, and so on, and so on. Other than again no urine sample being taken the things that really caught me off guard were when Laura told me....
A. She is going to be my midwife through the whole pregnancy but when it comes to birth she will not be there. She is an at-home-birthing midwife so unless I am wanting to pop bean out at our apartment she will not be with us. I am going to meet my midwife and doctor the day I go into labor. Just a little side note, if anyone has seen Knocked Up, Katherine Heigl would not have been ok with this. I am however, although to be honest when she was first explaining this to me I was a little frightened.
and
B. When I first feel labor pains and contractions I have been advised to make myself a cup of tea, sit on the couch, pop my feet up on the table and watch some good 'ol television. It's not until the contractions are about 5-7 minutes apart that I'm supposed to be thinking about heading to the hospital (which I am supposed to be keeping track of by a wrist watch).
Since this sounded so incredibly foreign to me I asked Laura would it be ok if the minute I felt any pain if I could head straight to the hospital with Giles driving recklessly through the streets and me screaming whilst breathing "Hee Hee Whooo. Hee Hee Whooo" After laughing at me she said sure, it's completely up to how I feel and what I am comfortable with, it's just what women here usually do.
It wasn't until our 12 week scan that we saw baby bean and I was then convinced that I did not have Munchhausen Syndrome and the baby is real. But for those 12 weeks, believe you me, there was a lot of wondering whether or not bean was just a figment of those measly four pregnancy tests, one being the price of a candy bar.
So all women out there, I ask "Have my misconceptions been created by the entertainment industry? Are my thoughts and beliefs on how the labor process is supposed to go unrealistic? Is it absurd of me to not give a rat's ass about what's on television and worry more about bean wanting to come out into this new world?
Stay classy San Diego.
xx
As I stated in my first blog early on in the pregnancy I came across differences between English and American culture of what I thought with the whole pregnancy experience. As I continue on this journey the differences keep occurring, again not good or bad, just differences. First pregnancy therefore I don't have a lot to compare to since I have never been pregnant or given birth in America. So if you read this and feel that my judgements on how things are handled in 'Merica are altered due to such things as Grey's Anatomy, Knocked Up, Friends, and such please feel free to set me straight. Comments are ALWAYS welcome.
So once Giles and I took 1,400 pregnancy tests we booked a doctors appointment thinking it was the right time to put our new inexperienced life into their hands. Before going I drank plenty of water, pretty positive they would indeed want a sample of their own to make sure I didn't have Munchhausen Syndrome and I was in fact preggers. And we would talk about the birthing plan and scans and all that such. Boy was I wrong. And mom if you are reading this, mark it in the books, I am freely stating that I, Malia Wood, was wrong. So we get up to the receptionist, tell them our names, I say...
"Well I think I'm pregnant."
Response: "Have you taken a pregnancy test that came up positive?"
"Yes"
"Congratulations!!!! Here is your packet and here is the clinic to call to talk to your mid wife to book your appointment."
And that was it. I left asking Giles, "Is that all? Are they really going to take our word for it? What if I was lying? What if I just wanted attention and this was my strategy? Man I really have to go to the toilet.What if all the pregnancy tests were wrong? Don't they want their own proof?What if....what if...what if..."
And so we left, got into our car and called the clinic. I spoke with another receptionist, named Sally who again congratulated us, and said that my midwife would be Laura and she would call us in the next few days.
Again my out loud thoughts to my husband... "Well doesn't Sally want my pee? Why doesn't anyone want my pee to prove that I am pregnant?! Man, everybody is so trusting in your country."
A few days later, Laura calls us, asks us if we would like to meet her in the clinic or if we wanted her to come to our apartment to meet us. Since still not driving over here and Giles' schedule being so random we planned on meeting at our place.
She came, this time I was SURE she was going to need a sample of the urine. Yep you guessed it, no pee was taken. She is as sweet as a button and the more I have met with her the more I have come to the conclusion that I will make her my friend after this is all over, doubling my friend count to 2 in this town. Score. But to be honest when I first met her it was kind of a Doogie Howser moment. I still to this day do not know her age but she honestly does look like she could be 2 or 3 years younger than me. My first thoughts, "It's just like the movies. I will be giving birth and the person responsible for my baby is a youngin' Great." So during our at home visit we discussed all the basic questions, are you allergic to anything? Drinker? First pregnancy? Major surgeries in the past? And so on, and so on, and so on. Other than again no urine sample being taken the things that really caught me off guard were when Laura told me....
A. She is going to be my midwife through the whole pregnancy but when it comes to birth she will not be there. She is an at-home-birthing midwife so unless I am wanting to pop bean out at our apartment she will not be with us. I am going to meet my midwife and doctor the day I go into labor. Just a little side note, if anyone has seen Knocked Up, Katherine Heigl would not have been ok with this. I am however, although to be honest when she was first explaining this to me I was a little frightened.
and
B. When I first feel labor pains and contractions I have been advised to make myself a cup of tea, sit on the couch, pop my feet up on the table and watch some good 'ol television. It's not until the contractions are about 5-7 minutes apart that I'm supposed to be thinking about heading to the hospital (which I am supposed to be keeping track of by a wrist watch).
Since this sounded so incredibly foreign to me I asked Laura would it be ok if the minute I felt any pain if I could head straight to the hospital with Giles driving recklessly through the streets and me screaming whilst breathing "Hee Hee Whooo. Hee Hee Whooo" After laughing at me she said sure, it's completely up to how I feel and what I am comfortable with, it's just what women here usually do.
It wasn't until our 12 week scan that we saw baby bean and I was then convinced that I did not have Munchhausen Syndrome and the baby is real. But for those 12 weeks, believe you me, there was a lot of wondering whether or not bean was just a figment of those measly four pregnancy tests, one being the price of a candy bar.
So all women out there, I ask "Have my misconceptions been created by the entertainment industry? Are my thoughts and beliefs on how the labor process is supposed to go unrealistic? Is it absurd of me to not give a rat's ass about what's on television and worry more about bean wanting to come out into this new world?
Stay classy San Diego.
xx
Thursday, 8 November 2012
"Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start..."- Maria Von Trapp
Ok so I won't go ALL the way to the beginning as Baroness Von Trapp says, birds and bees story will be left alone, but I will give a brief detail on how the thought of bean came to be...
As many know I came home for a short family va-ca this summer for another Foytich wedding. When I say short I do mean short, a quick 10 day stop to good 'ol Indiana. Giles unfortunately was not able to come as
A. Airfare was flippin' ridiculous. Thanks to America's 4th of July and England's Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee along with the 2012 Olympics you can imagine airlines taking a nice chunk of many passengers summer holiday money. And
B. Here at the hotel we were extremely booked, and we can't really complain about that, can we?
So I came home for Taylor and Amanda's wedding whilst Giles stayed and looked after the hotel (ok I'm rambling...I'll stop that)
Whilst spending a good chunk of my time with Taylor and Amanda's friends one could say I might have become a bit broody. Though I wasn't around the little ones we did discuss them a lot, and I even learned in the parking lot of a Walgreen's by another fellow bridesmaid on how I could pin point the exact date I was ovulating. Needless to say babies were discussed, and babies were on my mind. Once the wedding celebrations were over I then threw a 3rd of July party at my parent's house where I was then surrounded by my friend's and their little ones. So about a day before I was to head back to England Giles and I were skyping and our last conversation consisted roughly of this....
Me: "Giles I think I'm broody and I think we should have a kid"
Giles: "Ok"
Me: "I think we are ready and maybe we should just give it a try... I mean we don't know how long it could take, right?"
Giles: "Alright, well we can talk about it when you get it back"
Me: "Ok"
I think Giles' short responses were due to the fact that I caught him completely off guard. One minute I'm talking about Taylor being thrown in the air by a group of his friends during the song "You Make Me Wanna SHOUT" and barely missing hitting the chandelier at the wedding and baby pools full of my high school friends at 2 in the morning and then straight to us starting a family.
So to make things short we didn't really talk about it when I got home, but then again it had been a long ten days apart, if you know what I mean.
About 4 days after not being the most careful I say to Giles...
Me: "Ok I think that was just a phase"
Giles: "Alright"
And then about a month later we realize it's gonna be a a lonnnnng phase.
The photos above are obviously the pregnancy tests. The picture of the first one is from the pound shop. Not sure of what a pound shop is? Well it's equivalent to a Dollar Store, or Dollar Tree. So clearly when that one came up positive I wasn't going to take it's word for it so Giles and I bought 4 more at the store just up the street. This was about 10 pm at night and I was in my pajamas. Giles is usually extremely embarrassed about me threatening to go to the store in my pajamas or my fedora and wellington boots but hey I wore my PJs at IU ALL THE TIME, but in this instance my pajamas were never mentioned. And we came home and I took three more tests and believe it or not, all came up positive.
So Bean and Bean's followers, there ya go. The very "brief" story on how you came to be.
xxxx
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Monday, 1 October 2012
"Ladies of Facebook, if we cared about your babies, we would have fathered them"- Evan Prichard
And so I am starting a blog.
A friend of mine that I used to work with at Brother's made this his status one day and not only did it make me laugh but it made me think 'how true.' I'm not knocking those mothers out there who post photos and status's of their little ones, I'm just taking a different angle. And so starts my blogging. I am going to try at all costs to avoid being a 'pretentious blogger.' So if at any point you find yourself reading any of my posts and think that I am taking it a bit too far please stop me dead in my tracks. I might be offended at first but then I promise I will be appreciative after.
I have decided to start this blog route to keep those of you far away linked in. I used to be good at the mass emails but that has fallen to the waste side (my own doings of course) and so I'm going to give this a shot. I not only want to keep this log of events for my friends and family (and obviously for the baby) but also want to track my experiences here of when I come across differences in the English and American culture regarding being pregnant. I have never been a pregnant woman in America, but I am now a pregnant woman in England and I have already noticed differences (not good or bad, just differences). Since I find them interesting I thought others might too. And I guess if you don't then there is a little white X in a little red box at the top right hand side of your screen which you are free to use at any time, I will never know. Those posts will come at a later date.
Now I am off to figure out what text color looks best in contrast to my background color. See, someone stop me, I'm already being pretentious :)
lots of love
-Malia
xxxx
A friend of mine that I used to work with at Brother's made this his status one day and not only did it make me laugh but it made me think 'how true.' I'm not knocking those mothers out there who post photos and status's of their little ones, I'm just taking a different angle. And so starts my blogging. I am going to try at all costs to avoid being a 'pretentious blogger.' So if at any point you find yourself reading any of my posts and think that I am taking it a bit too far please stop me dead in my tracks. I might be offended at first but then I promise I will be appreciative after.
I have decided to start this blog route to keep those of you far away linked in. I used to be good at the mass emails but that has fallen to the waste side (my own doings of course) and so I'm going to give this a shot. I not only want to keep this log of events for my friends and family (and obviously for the baby) but also want to track my experiences here of when I come across differences in the English and American culture regarding being pregnant. I have never been a pregnant woman in America, but I am now a pregnant woman in England and I have already noticed differences (not good or bad, just differences). Since I find them interesting I thought others might too. And I guess if you don't then there is a little white X in a little red box at the top right hand side of your screen which you are free to use at any time, I will never know. Those posts will come at a later date.
Now I am off to figure out what text color looks best in contrast to my background color. See, someone stop me, I'm already being pretentious :)
lots of love
-Malia
xxxx
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