January 2004 Archives
Hi Peeps :o) I haven't been around in a while but it just means I've got loads more to tell ya. Well I feel well and truly pregnant now.... I mean I know I always was but now that my bump is REALLY showing and I have sorted out my maternity leave in work, it seems to have really sucken in now!
I have been seeing my doctor for regular checkups and things are going great...baby and I are healthy. I wake a few times through the night now very unsettled and a wee bit uncomfortable, but if I wake to baby kicking it gives me a warm feeling inside and I lovingly caress my belly (and usually wake up Paul to get him to feel it too hehe!). I sleep with pillows in-between my knees....behind my back etc...I'm surprised there is enough room for Paul! I have even started signing lullabies to Jnr (not during the night though as this would obviously drive Paul nuts!) as I read that this can be soothing for baby and that if I sing the same song when baby is actually here, it should have the same effect! I sing My Bonny Lies Over The Ocean awwww! Am I sad?
Baby is over 13 inches long now and lying right across my tummy...I usually feel a kick at my left side and a punch at the right...meaning baby is really working out! I was reading the paper the other night and it jumped in the air when baby kicked...it's really rather weird (but wonderful) to see my belly move and Paul and I get lots of entertainment from it.
I have arranged to finish work on 12th March, which gives me about 6 weeks off before baby is due...and I cant wait, I'm really looking forward to some time off to lull about. I'm not too sure if I'll come back part-time/full-time or whether I'll take a wee break to be with baby, I'll wait until the little one is here then decide.
I have another scan on 16th Feb which I can't wait for as baby will be very well developed (around 30 weeks) and I should see loads, then it'll only be another 10 weeks until baby decides to join the big wide world! I can't believe it's all going so fast....and I can truly say that I thoroughly enjoy being pregnant :o) maybe some day I'll have another diary up here!!!!
Love Nikki xox
--------
While leafing through the Daily News, I noticed a rather pleasing advertisement feature.
I'm sure a song said something about no snow in Africa this Christmas time. Well they should be out my back door looking at Mount Meru.
Unfortunately, in Arusha it has just been rain. And I'm not going to the top of Meru just to build a snowman.
In Tanzania, the light rains are supposed to arrive in October. However, with the increasing climate changes that is not the case anymore. October and November were both dry. Now in January, when it supposed to be dry, there are some really heavy rains. This means that when people are trying to get their land ready for the heavy rains in March, they are getting washed out. Subsistance farming is an even more risky business than it ever was.
Anyway, some days it absolutely chucks it down.
Although, it does remind me of Scotland in some ways. If you don't like the weather, just wait fifteen minutes and you might like it then.
Hiya folks :o)
Hope everybody had a great Christmas and New Year! Isn't it exciting that we are now in the Year 2004...wow!
So Baby and I have been keeping really well and growing more and more every day...well maybe that is thanks to all that chocolate over Christmas ;o) I went for my re-scan during the week there and all went great...they saw everything that they needed to see this time and were even able to tell me the sex of jnr.......no I'm not telling you nah nah :oP not yet anyway, you'll have to watch this space ;o)
Well baby now measures about 22cms and is due on 28th April...making me about 24 weeks preggars...not much more cooking to be done in that oven then! I'm starting to organise baby's wee things now, I got a few outfits and we are looking into buying the cot, baby bath, changing mat etc. In no time at all Paul and I will be knee deep in nappies!
I've really got a noticeable bump now!. I just love being pregnant...even if I do get a little uncomfortable with aches and pains now and again..but these are normal and nothing to worry about at all...it's just my body adjusting to the added weight 'n' stuff. No seriously though...I love being pregnant and I love it when people notice that I am :o)
Paul and I are still getting on well in our new apartment...been there for over a month now! Paul starts a new job next week in a brand new fancy restaurant...he's a Chef you see...not so good for me though with all those gorgeous things he makes! Anyway so good luck to him. I should be finishing work around the middle of March and I'm not sure if I'll stay at home with baby or go back to work full time...I'll just keep my options open for now.
Catch ya soon...Nikki xox
--------
Happy New Year. Here are some pictures from my little jaunt to Malawi.
Christmas day at the lake. The only thing that wasn't warm was the beer. Lovely.
The water of lake Malawi is about as clear as it gets.
In the afternoon on christmas day, my friend Paul and I went with some other people on aboat trip.
About a week or two before Christmas, I climbed a mountain. (Mbeya peak)
