If there's time for only 1 pregnancy book, it has to be "What to Expect when you are Expecting" (Murkoff et.al.) It's mandatory reading even for dads. Ok, DH hasn't had his nose glued to the book for the past 7 months but now that the birth can happen anytime in the next 20 odd days or so, he's been catching up on the Labour and Delivery chapter.
And he's been offering "tips" and sometimes "naggings" on what I should/have to do (most times hilarious)
On perineal massage
DH: Are you massaging it? ...massage it.
me: wanna help me?
DH: eeeww. (and that was the end of it)
On how to distract oneself during labour (presumably between contractions)
DH: do puzzles & play games.
me: give me a dart board and an air rifle. Puzzles??!!
And my favourite "tip" from DH on what I can do while in early labour before heading to the hospital besides doing the last minute packing, showering etc.
Make DH a sandwich to take along.
M who's still not used to Thursday not being a work day
35 weeks 5 days
Thursday, June 28
Tuesday, June 26
Cottage holiday
2nd day at the cotttage 130km north of Helsinki. Rather sucky weather but that's ok because I'm just happy to sit around and enjoy the view. Apart from 2 parenting seagulls and their 3 downy babies that claimed the pier as their own, it feels as if we're the only ones on miles on end. That's such a Finnish psyche - no one wants to see a neighbour. It's just you, cottage, forest and lake.
We love this area. There's a local berry wineyard, butcher, strawberry farms and what do you call a place that makes cheese? .... Anyhow, we trooped down to the strawberry shop that also sells locally made jams, juice concentrates and honey and got 3 liters of fresh strawberries & a jar of raspberry jam.
At the wineyard, DH got some wines made from berries and get this, rhubarb wine! Rhubarb is a vegetable whose stalk looks very much like red celery, is usually used in pies and has a tendency to be sour :P A happy boy!
The butcher's not bad but to my surprise, most of its meat are pork rather than beef. We got some freshly made bratwurst, cheese sausages & pork for the grill. There's also another butcher who specializes in lamb a drive away. Hoping to go there and a strawberry farm a couple of days later.
M who hates mozzies
35 weeks 2 days
We love this area. There's a local berry wineyard, butcher, strawberry farms and what do you call a place that makes cheese? .... Anyhow, we trooped down to the strawberry shop that also sells locally made jams, juice concentrates and honey and got 3 liters of fresh strawberries & a jar of raspberry jam.
At the wineyard, DH got some wines made from berries and get this, rhubarb wine! Rhubarb is a vegetable whose stalk looks very much like red celery, is usually used in pies and has a tendency to be sour :P A happy boy!
The butcher's not bad but to my surprise, most of its meat are pork rather than beef. We got some freshly made bratwurst, cheese sausages & pork for the grill. There's also another butcher who specializes in lamb a drive away. Hoping to go there and a strawberry farm a couple of days later.
M who hates mozzies
35 weeks 2 days
Thursday, June 21
Antenatal class in Finland
Today marks a milestone. It is the beginning of my maternity leave as well as the last session of my hospital's antenatal program. It is always so hectic the day before one leaves on a long hiatus - a wrap up meeting with my boss in the morning followed by a frantic round of emails and goodbyes.
Most of you are probably curious about the process of birthing in Finland. For starters, I was offered the Katilöopisto Sairaala (literally "Midwife Institute Hospital") by our local Neuvola (health clinic where I go for my checkups). I just went along with it because I heard that it was nice :) Anyway. I have been really impressed with the prenatal program offered by the hospital. There were 2 sessions. On the first session, the midwife covered the basics - when to call the hospital, pain relief methods, delivery positions and a tour of the family and delivery rooms. For the second session, it was about taking care of the newborn (changing the diapers, soothing a colicky baby). And finally, it was a 1-on-1 discussion with a midwife concerning the birth plan.
Why was I impressed? well, it's really pro-family and about choices. I mean, if someone wants to go natural for pain relief, there's the water tub for relaxation and something that I've never heard or read before, using saline water to create blisters on the back's acupressure point. Interesting! Hmm, not sure about having blisters though... The payoff for that 15s of burning pain is supposedly 2hr of pain relief.
One can request for a family room where DH can stay for the night (& help with the diapers!) with a double bed, attached bathroom, armchair, crib & changing table. It's got a warm homey feel to it - pastel coloured wallpapers and wall-mounted lamps. The birthing room feels equally homey. The only 'hospital' feel to the room is the adjustable bed and the knobs and plugs in the wall (1 for the happy gas, I suppose). Other than that, there's a low double bed on the floor for laboring in comfort or for DH who needs a nap (kidding), attached bathroom and depending on luck, a birthing pool.
Onto the birthing options. Choices range from the usual inclined bed to the less conventional birthing stools, birthing pools, squats and going on all fours doggie-style. I guess, whatever the labouring mum thinks is the best way to get the baby out, man!
As said, we just had our personal birth plan drawn up with a midwife. I thought it'd only cover the obligatory preferred pain relief methods and birthing positions but no, the first question we were asked was what was our perception/attitude towards docs, nurses & hospitals. Other questions that followed were - what were the dad's fears? how much experience do we have with newborns? (i.e. how much advice do we need from the midwives?), what food allergies do we have? Very progressive.
~ M with a mild heat rash
34 weeks 5 days
Most of you are probably curious about the process of birthing in Finland. For starters, I was offered the Katilöopisto Sairaala (literally "Midwife Institute Hospital") by our local Neuvola (health clinic where I go for my checkups). I just went along with it because I heard that it was nice :) Anyway. I have been really impressed with the prenatal program offered by the hospital. There were 2 sessions. On the first session, the midwife covered the basics - when to call the hospital, pain relief methods, delivery positions and a tour of the family and delivery rooms. For the second session, it was about taking care of the newborn (changing the diapers, soothing a colicky baby). And finally, it was a 1-on-1 discussion with a midwife concerning the birth plan.
Why was I impressed? well, it's really pro-family and about choices. I mean, if someone wants to go natural for pain relief, there's the water tub for relaxation and something that I've never heard or read before, using saline water to create blisters on the back's acupressure point. Interesting! Hmm, not sure about having blisters though... The payoff for that 15s of burning pain is supposedly 2hr of pain relief.
One can request for a family room where DH can stay for the night (& help with the diapers!) with a double bed, attached bathroom, armchair, crib & changing table. It's got a warm homey feel to it - pastel coloured wallpapers and wall-mounted lamps. The birthing room feels equally homey. The only 'hospital' feel to the room is the adjustable bed and the knobs and plugs in the wall (1 for the happy gas, I suppose). Other than that, there's a low double bed on the floor for laboring in comfort or for DH who needs a nap (kidding), attached bathroom and depending on luck, a birthing pool.
Onto the birthing options. Choices range from the usual inclined bed to the less conventional birthing stools, birthing pools, squats and going on all fours doggie-style. I guess, whatever the labouring mum thinks is the best way to get the baby out, man!
As said, we just had our personal birth plan drawn up with a midwife. I thought it'd only cover the obligatory preferred pain relief methods and birthing positions but no, the first question we were asked was what was our perception/attitude towards docs, nurses & hospitals. Other questions that followed were - what were the dad's fears? how much experience do we have with newborns? (i.e. how much advice do we need from the midwives?), what food allergies do we have? Very progressive.
~ M with a mild heat rash
34 weeks 5 days
Last day at work
Tomorrow actually. It's amazing how quick time flies. Not too long ago, I remembered saying there's still 7 weeks before I begin my maternity leave; for the past few days now, I've been rushing to wrap up my deliverables and complete my handover. My thoughts? scary really. Moving into a new project, not much of a 'concept doc' (work talk) to rely on, mostly on-the-job-learning and hoping I don't screw up the project ...erm, kid.
Tomorrow will see me bringing cakes and cookies for my colleagues (yes, in Asia, it's the other way round - colleagues will be throwing a little party for me instead). It's also the day when DH & I meet with a hospital midwife to discuss our personal birth plan. The next day is Midsummer where folks traditionally head off to their cottages but for those who remain in the city, there's a huge bonfire on an island. Not one fire where you can grill makkara (sausages) or toast marshmallows ;) For us, we'll be spending it with friends who have a house by a lake and doing some summer grillin'. For dessert, I'll be making a NY Cheesecake.
~ M who has been eating too much sweet pastries (pulla) and ice cream
34 weeks 4 days
Tomorrow will see me bringing cakes and cookies for my colleagues (yes, in Asia, it's the other way round - colleagues will be throwing a little party for me instead). It's also the day when DH & I meet with a hospital midwife to discuss our personal birth plan. The next day is Midsummer where folks traditionally head off to their cottages but for those who remain in the city, there's a huge bonfire on an island. Not one fire where you can grill makkara (sausages) or toast marshmallows ;) For us, we'll be spending it with friends who have a house by a lake and doing some summer grillin'. For dessert, I'll be making a NY Cheesecake.
~ M who has been eating too much sweet pastries (pulla) and ice cream
34 weeks 4 days
Sunday, June 17
6 weeks to go!
Hello,
Welcome to the the first posting of minibeanie's blog. Well, minibeanie is not so 'mini' now seeing how he is about 43cm long and nearly 2kg in weight. What that means is that I'm a lumbering waddling ball of clumsiness who can frequently be heard whining to her DH, "could u pleaze help me get that?...oh, I need your help in the kitchen..but before that, could u pleazzze make a grocery run for me - here's the list. kiitos."
Only thing is, my tummy is incredibly itchy.
~ M the rolling ball
34 weeks 1 day
Welcome to the the first posting of minibeanie's blog. Well, minibeanie is not so 'mini' now seeing how he is about 43cm long and nearly 2kg in weight. What that means is that I'm a lumbering waddling ball of clumsiness who can frequently be heard whining to her DH, "could u pleaze help me get that?...oh, I need your help in the kitchen..but before that, could u pleazzze make a grocery run for me - here's the list. kiitos."
Only thing is, my tummy is incredibly itchy.
~ M the rolling ball
34 weeks 1 day
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