I am Tamiya…

…in fact, I think all of what I’m experiencing is actually quite normal. But I would like to get it out there – for memories’ sake, and also perhaps I could glean some wisdom from all you clever people

The following will contain references to bodily functions that is not generally discussed (or even thought about) in public. Stop reading now if you are easily offended or grossed out or if this may perhaps change your opinion of me…

• My pee/wee/urine has changed color. Not all the time, but a lot of the time when I go to the loo, it comes out a fuzzy orangey-pinkey color. Darker than my normal yellow/clear ones. My belly buddy at work says she’s got the same thing happen to her. A quick search on Google revealed that the most probable cause is dehydration. I won’t argue with that, because I’m probably not drinking as much water as I should. Liquids, maybe, but that includes my 3 cups of tea at work, some cold drink with dinner and then that’s about it. I’ve never been big on liquid intake.
• I fart. A lot! Excessively so. And they smell. I could enter a farting competition right now, and wins hands down, without even trying. Sometimes I blame it on Boobah, but fortunately, they usually decide to come out either when I’m alone or when everyone else is sleeping. Again, Google came to my rescue. Apparently this is also normal.
• I was wondering the other day if my placenta is able to move around in mah belleh. The reason for this is because in the morning, my tummy feels quite flabby, big but soft, then during the course of the day, peaking at about 12:00 – 14:00, this tummy of mine gets SO super hard that it feels as though I’m being stretched beyond my limits. Sometimes it’s rather uncomfortable. And also, as I mentioned here, currently it seems as though the placenta is in front of the baby. I have to go for another scan on the 9th of April (at 18 weeks and 6 days). Will it still be in the way or will I be able to get a clearer picture of the baby and the gender? Google reckons (more so than not) that it can’t move.
• Another thing on the topic above – with the placenta in front of the baby, will this cause me to not feel any movements sooner rather than later? The last two days I think I’ve started feeling something, but they may also just be gas bubbles (see 2nd bullet). It happens at night when Boobah and I are lying in bed watching our shows, so I’m very much relaxed at that time.
• I can’t remember if I had these pains with Boobah or not (probably pretty much the same as any woman who’s gone through natural labour forgets the pain soon afterwards), but for the last week or so, my pelvic muscles and bones have been aching non stop. A dull ache that gets worse depending on what I’ve been doing during the day. I Googled this also, and even though this is normal, it doesn’t make me feel any better about it. Also, it’s making sleep very uncomfortable at night. Just turning around from one side to the other is so super sore, that I’d rather sleep on one side until it’s absolutely numb before I turn around.
• Almost from the beginning, I’ve slept with a pillow under my belly, and one between my legs. It does feel more comfortable, and the pillow under my belly prevents me from rolling onto my stomach – which happens to be my all time favorite sleeping position. And it’s not so much the lying on my stomach that hurts the baby or me, but my back can’t really handle the awkward position I then find myself in.
• Before Boobah’s pregnancy, I never had a days’ heartburn in my life. With Boobah, I started experiencing it even before I knew I was pregnant. I lived on Gaviscon, and bought the biggest bottles the shops had to offer. It made my bag weigh a ton, but at least I was prepared! It eased up quite drastically after the birth, but it has since returned with a vengeance! I don’t carry a spoon with me for it though, I sommer swig it out the bottle. As many times during the day as I need to, which was four times yesterday. At one stage, I even swallowed my Panado tablets with it. My ancient OB/GYN (yes, he wears a hearing aid and is probably a 100, but he’s fabulous as a doctor) has told me that I can have as much Gaviscon as I need, and if things get really bad, I can have up to 3 Panados at a time. I only take two to start with, but if that doesn’t help, I pop another one.
• I have headaches. Every single day. Luckily not migraines, but they’re there and uncomfortable nonetheless.
• Lately, I’ve been suffering from constipation. That adds to the uncomfortableness I feel daily. I know it’s there, I can feel it there, but it’s just not coming out. It sucks. And when I do feel I need to go, finally, I have a little boy who accompanies me to the loo and likes to keep me company. He laughs at my farts. And that is really distracting! So, whatever *was* there, gets shy and promptly retracts into the deepest dark. We don’t like audiences.
• Fortunately, with the constipation, I don’t have the accompanying piles. Let’s hope it stays that way – touch wood! Proceeds to whack self against the head.
• These days my smoking makes me naar. And it’s not even the actual smoking that I enjoy so much, it’s the ritual of Going For A Smoke. I’m a smoker. I have been for many many years. I’m not a social smoker. I’m an habitual smoker. A through and through one. Please don’t judge me, and please don’t lecture me. The Dad does it every day. But even my ancient OB/GYN is okay with it. He doesn’t condone it, but he doesn’t condemn it either. And I tried that E-Cig thing – It’s a load of crock! I spent more time sucking on that electronic stick, than what I didn’t. And regardless of what they say, it DOESN’T taste like a real one!
• Google is my best friend

Look, this may sound like a lot of complaining, but I am actually enjoying this pregnancy as well. I loved being pregnant with Boobah, and I’m loving it again this time. But life can’t always be just about Moon Rays and Roses.

Much love x 2.25

My next post is going to be password protected. Some people may get offended by what I have to say. It’s not a rant and it’s not aimed at anyone, specific or not, but some peoples stomachs aren’t as strong as others. If you want the password, leave a comment here and I’ll mail it to you, or just DM me.

Much love x 2.25

…maybe PlusOne is NOT a girl…

We went to the Living and Loving Baby Expo this weekend, which was held at Emperor’s Palace. My mum went with, as 1. it’s not the kind of thing The Dad enjoys (the big crowds and stuff) and 2. The Dad had to work anyway. Initially, it was very difficult for me to walk past any stall and not immediately fall in love with what they had to offer and also, I couldn’t exactly buy anything gender-related, because even though I feel in my heart of hearts that PlusOne is a girl, we have no definite confirmation. So, as we walked down isle 2, we came across a 4D Scan stall. They said they do scans from 12 weeks onwards, and that at 17 – 18 weeks is the best time to have one done, because then you can still fit the whole baby on the screen. How cool is that. ALSO, it meant that perhaps, just maybe, we could find out the gender for definite and I could carry on with exploring the show, merrily plucking out and swiping The Dad’s spare bank card that so conveniently made it’s way into my purse.

First I had to phone The Dad and ask him if I could do it. Not so much for permission, but more because I wasn’t sure whether he would’ve preferred to be there with me and all. But he agreed that we could, which made my Mum so super happy. (They don’t live here or even close to here, so this would kind of have been her only chance to attend a scan with me and see her second grandchild like she did her first). We went back and booked our place, which didn’t seem too far off, only 8 people in front of me. Almost TWO hours later, half an hour of which was spent sitting waiting outside their stall, it was finally our turn. Boobah was with us, and very excited to see his baby on the TV screen again.

Right, now about the actual scan: I got on the bed, settled Boobah on my legs so he could see and turned to face the screen. It seems Saturday was just not my day for scans… My placenta was in front of the baby. (Which in afterthought might not be such a bad thing – it provides more protection against the forces that are Boobah, right?) This in itself was not so bad, because they just have to scan slightly deeper. Yes, it makes the images not quite so soft and fuzzy, but more harsh and skeletal like, but I can live with that. Secondly, the umbilical cord was lying right between the legs. Now how on earth do you expect to see anything while the bebeh in mah belleh is riding horsey horsey on his cord?

The technician doing the scan did her absolute very best to see if we can’t spot the gender. She’d look this way and that, then move onto something else, then go back and look again that way then this. This baby was REALLY not letting go of his cord and it lay between the legs the whole time. Eventually the tech said she’s almost certain she saw two lines which indicates a girl. That news didn’t make me entirely happy, because she wasn’t 100% sure. I don’t go on maybes. It has to be either YES or NO, not maybe! Eventually, I offered to lie on my side, maybe get a different angle to work with. Which I duly did. And she got another shot. Almost, but not quite. But then she changed her mind. Wait a minute, she said, I think we actually have a boy hiding in there. In one shot, she pointed something out which may or may not be a boy-bit. She even got a colleague to check and get a second opinion. Now tech #2 was ADAMANT that it’s a boy. She even put the words BOY onto the scan picture. I’m still not convinced though…

With Boobah, when he eventually showed us his bits (the 4th scan after we could officially start seeing), he was definitely a boy, there was absolutely no mistaking it:

PlusOne’s gender scan:

You see why I’m not convinced?

Look either way, I’ll be happy. You know, that whole thing …”happy, healthy baby…” and all. I get that, and I want that too, but on a very (perhaps superficial) level, I would really like to know either way, so I can actually start buying personal stuff. Clothes and decorations and accessories and blankets in the right color and gender scheme. Just like I don’t do Maybes, I don’t do Neutrals. (Or too much green and yellow either, because in my head Green is for Boys and Yellow is for Girls anyway).

Anyhoodle, I’ve started preparing Boobah that PlusOne is more than likely a boy. We have spoken about it before, and he understands it, we just kept a preference for the girly-gender… Now I’m changing that. But like I said, we’re going to my doc again on the 9th. That’s in less than two weeks, and then hopefully I’ll be able to confirm.

Much love x 2.25

…and a few other updates!

Today, we are possibly collecting our *new* car. Everyone shout YAY with me!! The Dad decided that with our ever-growing family, we need a family car that’s also efficient on fuel, as well as being safer on the roads, never mind child-proof. He decided this without really consulting me and had gone by himself to look at cars and striking a deal. I wasn’t really aware of this, as just the week before that, he informed me that we weren’t in the market for a new car at the moment. He’s worse than a pregnant woman with his whims! Anyhoodle, initially I was pretty peeved off with the idea and the way he went about this, but eventually I got over myself and the excitement started to grow. This was about three weeks ago.

Now, just some background info quickly. I drive a Daihatsu Sirion 1.5 Sport. (Was a present from The Dad when Koos, my previous car, started falling apart). It’s a black one. With no name. I haven’t yet decided whether it’s a boy car or a girl car, so thus I cannot decide on a suitable name. There’s not much to be said about the dealership where we bought my car, but I’m super happy with my little number. Easy to drive and light on petrol and just zippy-nippy all round. So, The Dad decided to buy another Daihatsu. This time a Terios LWB, 7 seater. (Same dealership, different salesperson)

Our new car will also be black (this from a guy who hated the idea of black cars!). He phoned them up twice to make changes to the order. They didn’t have a black one available in JHB for us, so one had to be brought up from KZN. Then he decided with TWO little monsters at the back, perhaps it would be wise to have leather seats instead of upholstered seats. Clever thinking, The Dad. Leather can just be wiped down

I wonder if we’ll also have tinted windows…

Also, I totally have to give all credit and kudos to The Dad. He’s trading in his beloved BMW 540 on this Terios. Again, it was HIS idea. Nice as the BMW is, it’s just TOO heavy on petrol. He hardly ever drives it anymore anyway. The Terios, fuel economic-wise is only 1 litre per 100km heavier on fuel than my little car. There’s something to be said for that!

When I heard that the new car is also 1. a Daihatsu, 2. black and 3. a bigger car than mine, I immediately thought how cool would it be if we got MATCHING PERSONALISED NUMBER PLATES!!! Seeing as we now have a Mommy car and a Daddy car, something like MOMMYS and DADDYS would be SO supercute!! I can just picture our cars in the garage, parked next to each other, how cute they’d look….!

The Dad didn’t agree…

In other news, I discovered a pair of maternity pants from my Boobah-pregnancy days. Very awesome, seeing as though I don’t have any pants that fit anymore! It’s not that I’ve picked up so much weight or anything, but before this pregnancy, I’d slowly but surely lost almost everything I’d put on with Boobah. I had just started reaching size 34 again. Not so definite yet that I could walk into any store, pick any pair of size 34′s, pay and walk out, but more often than not, they would fit. I was so proud!

But not anymore. Almost none of my decent-for-work bottoms really fit at the moment. Yes, I do still wear them with the top button open and a long shirt over that, but even that is becoming uncomfortable. There is a positive side to this though: I am no longer just looking like a fat person, but more like a pregnant person. Which means I can wear my tightish t-shirts again without being too self-conscious about it…

And a quick party-planning update: I found the most perfectest, awesomest jumping castle for the day. From a place literally just around the corner. The lady from the place is really very nice, and would really recommend them to anyone in our area for future castle hire! Wanne see what I booked?

Perfect for a little boy!!

Much love x 2.25

So, I’ve been making this chocolate fudge for a while now – actually, I’ve been making it since I was a kid, when I learned from my cousin how to do it. And then the other day when I made it again, I tweeted about it, and it kinda took my twitterverse by storm. It took up 2 tweets just for the recipe, when SheBee requested it. Sproutsmom also took down the recipe, and she’s made it twice since! I made it again tonight, and QueenOfComplex asked for the recipe… This made me think that a blogpost is called for. It would make for much easier future reference and all and such.

Here goes!

Marie Biscuit Chocolate Fudge
•500g (1 Box) icing sugar
•75mls (about a 3rd of a cup) cocoa powder
•250g (half a block) butter/margerine (I like Stork for baking, although it really doesn’t matter)
•1 egg, beaten but not whipped
•1 pack Marie Biscuits, crushed (or in tonight’s case, 800mls Rice Crispies)

•Melt butter in pan on stove or bowl in microwave
•Sift together icing sugar and cocoa powder, to get rid of lumpy bits
•When butter is melted, mix icing and cocoa into the butter. Sommer with a wooden spoon.
•Once it’s all mixed and looks sugary-crumbly, VERY quickly beat in the scrambled egg! This will make the mixture smooth and runny and yummy!
•Then, mix through the crushed biscuits or rice crispies until it’s all coated nicely.
•Lastly, spoon into a decent sized dish, leave to cool and cut into squares just before it’s completely set.
•Lastest lastly, indulge, enjoy, and do not even think of feeling guilty! One can’t deprive oneself of EVERY nice thing out there! Besides, it’s homemade = much healthier than store bought stuff, when you don’t know what’s in there…

Much love x 2.25

…turns out to not always be that viable…

Boobah’s 3rd birthday is coming up soon (in May) and as usual, I’m planning a party for him. I think kids should have birthday parties every year for their birthdays as long as they are still into it.

This year, I decided the basis of the party should be Paint & Pictures. My initial idea included getting each kid (we’re inviting 20, most of them cousins and nieces and nephews) a disposable camera with their name on, with which they could take pictures throughout the day. At the end of the day, they were to hand the cameras back to me, and I would get all the photos developed and put each child’s pictures into the birthday album, that I could treasure and keep for many years to come. Yes, I realize that some of the kids are as young as 1, and others as old as 5, but that was the general plan. I wanted pictures out of their point of view. SO what if most of the photos taken were of the grass. It was still theirs to take…

So I started doing some research on the cameras today. We still have about two months left before the party, and I know my idea would be slightly pricey. So if we started buying some stuff this month and the rest next month, it wouldn’t hit our pockets that hard. Yeah right!! What I didn’t realize was the following:

• There aren’t many SA websites on which to do a price comparison
• There aren’t many SA websites which offer disposable cameras for sale
• The wholesale sites you do find require you buy a minimum of 1000 units – I only need 20
• There are lots of SA Wedding Sites where you can buy disposable cameras. Problem 1: They’re all basically wedding themed. Problem 2: You can buy them in a pack of 10 for R958.00. I need 20. That’s almost TWO THOUSAND RAND for the cameras alone. And that doesn’t even include the cost of actually developing the films afterwards
• I spoke to my photo shop lady at my local mall. She told me that they no longer develop film exposures. There are still places who do, but it’s generally a dying culture

Then Bright Idea #2 hit me! What if I get a Polaroid camera?!?! How cool would that be? And then the kids can even take pics of themselves home afterwards and stuff. Again, there is a kinkel in die kabel*:

• Polaroid cameras generally aren’t sold in this country any more
• They are more than just expensive
• You can’t get the film paper locally – eBay UK or some other international place would be your best bet
• Did I mention that they’re expensive and you can’t get them?**

What does all of this boil down to? Unless I can think of some other creative and exciting way to have the kids take photos, the Pictures-bit of our party is not going to happen.

Thanks to @Angelsmind and @Jenty who helped me with the disposable cameras info.

I’ll also blog more about the rest of my ideas for our party. As always, you are more than welcome to share any ideas you might have to make this party fun and memorable and joyous

Much love x 2.25