baby update
The last few months have been pretty busy, and I haven't done much in the update department as a result. Things have just been ticking along nicely for me, since I hurt my back at Easter and recovered from it pretty much completely by mid-May. Since then, it's mainly been sorting out The Baby Stuff.
Various friends have been very generous and donated or lent large quantities of spare baby gear. I have baby clothes for Africa now, and I've taken photographic records so that I can easily return those pieces to their original owners that are intended for future progeny. The grandparents are pitching in with useful new things as well. My cunning plan of not revealing baby gender has so far been successful in limiting the amount of little-girl pink and All Black strip in the collection. Although football bootees would certainly be appropriate - not many hours go by without an attempt at goal or two.
We hit the shops for the big ticket safety items last month - a car seat and buggy were shopped around for and acquired for less than the recommended retail. The car seat's a bit of a mystery and still needs to be safely installed, but with a relatively cheap accessory, it clips into the buggy nicely, so no waking up baby between car and shops.
I've made heavy use of TradeMe to get the rest of the practical stuff - there's a huge market in barely-used baby gear. The next thing on the list is a cot - plenty of buyers and sellers there so a market equilibrium price is pretty easy to discover for the kind I want.
It was ante-natal class part 1 this weekend - a 5 hour course yesterday plus a hospital tour and brunch today. The class seems really nice, and the course material is good for filling in the bits I haven't already read up on. The new hospital looks flash as, with pools in the delivery rooms and lots of comforts like an ice machine and microwave in the communal kitchen for cold drinks and heat packs respectively. It sounds different from Naomi Woolf's Misconceptions experience - a lot of practical stuff rather than homelike decorative frippery that doesn't get used. They stopped short of a Showing of the Implements, but did point out all the resuscitation and pain relief gear, and got one of the guys to have a go on the gas to demonstrate how long it takes to hit. I should have asked whether if you need a caesar they do it right there or whip you off to another ward.
We got shown where the main lifts to the suite are, and I don't know what our midwife guide really said after that, because a very young couple emerged and quietly riveted the attention of the group as they slowly walked to the main suite doors - the young woman was obviously pregnant, very uncomfortable and had to stop on her way down the hall as a contraction hit. The guy looked scared half to death and clutched this yellow feeding pillow like a teddy. We'd seen a video the day before but this was the Real Thing. They'd have been ten years younger than most of the members of the antenatal class.
Another tour crossed our path - apparently a Very Famous Wellingtonian is also expecting soon. I can't decide on an appropriate balance of sangfroid cool vs namedropping glee so I'll leave it at that rather than burst out with "Flight of the Conchords" like a drunk workmate of mine did recently on seeing him at the pub.
Part 2 is next weekend, where we will learn about pain relief and baby care. It's all seeming a lot more real now.
Various friends have been very generous and donated or lent large quantities of spare baby gear. I have baby clothes for Africa now, and I've taken photographic records so that I can easily return those pieces to their original owners that are intended for future progeny. The grandparents are pitching in with useful new things as well. My cunning plan of not revealing baby gender has so far been successful in limiting the amount of little-girl pink and All Black strip in the collection. Although football bootees would certainly be appropriate - not many hours go by without an attempt at goal or two.
We hit the shops for the big ticket safety items last month - a car seat and buggy were shopped around for and acquired for less than the recommended retail. The car seat's a bit of a mystery and still needs to be safely installed, but with a relatively cheap accessory, it clips into the buggy nicely, so no waking up baby between car and shops.
I've made heavy use of TradeMe to get the rest of the practical stuff - there's a huge market in barely-used baby gear. The next thing on the list is a cot - plenty of buyers and sellers there so a market equilibrium price is pretty easy to discover for the kind I want.
It was ante-natal class part 1 this weekend - a 5 hour course yesterday plus a hospital tour and brunch today. The class seems really nice, and the course material is good for filling in the bits I haven't already read up on. The new hospital looks flash as, with pools in the delivery rooms and lots of comforts like an ice machine and microwave in the communal kitchen for cold drinks and heat packs respectively. It sounds different from Naomi Woolf's Misconceptions experience - a lot of practical stuff rather than homelike decorative frippery that doesn't get used. They stopped short of a Showing of the Implements, but did point out all the resuscitation and pain relief gear, and got one of the guys to have a go on the gas to demonstrate how long it takes to hit. I should have asked whether if you need a caesar they do it right there or whip you off to another ward.
We got shown where the main lifts to the suite are, and I don't know what our midwife guide really said after that, because a very young couple emerged and quietly riveted the attention of the group as they slowly walked to the main suite doors - the young woman was obviously pregnant, very uncomfortable and had to stop on her way down the hall as a contraction hit. The guy looked scared half to death and clutched this yellow feeding pillow like a teddy. We'd seen a video the day before but this was the Real Thing. They'd have been ten years younger than most of the members of the antenatal class.
Another tour crossed our path - apparently a Very Famous Wellingtonian is also expecting soon. I can't decide on an appropriate balance of sangfroid cool vs namedropping glee so I'll leave it at that rather than burst out with "Flight of the Conchords" like a drunk workmate of mine did recently on seeing him at the pub.
Part 2 is next weekend, where we will learn about pain relief and baby care. It's all seeming a lot more real now.