13 Weeks

We had Kay and Michael over this week for a visit. Matt took a few days off and took them sledging (sledding) up at Flumserberg. I didn't know this, but neither of them had ever really been up to the mountains and experienced snow like that. They were really lucky because the day was bright and clear and the sledge run was pretty empty. They had a great time as you can see from the photos here.

They had a great day up at the resort and were only a little sore the next day. Poor Kay had bruises on the insides of her knees from bouncing against the sledge. Next time they come, we'll have to attempt skiing. :-)

We had our second ultrasound this week on Thursday. The baby looks so much more like a baby now. We must have spent about 40 minutes with the doctor and the ultrasound. Our little baby is such a mover! It was amazing to see it moving and flipping around and not be able to feel it. Every time our doctor tried to get a good view of the heart valves the baby rolled over away from her. It was really funny to watch our little peach react to the pushing.












She looked at the baby's nasal bone, the femur length, the heart valves, the kidneys - we even saw the little bladder with urine in it. Which means the kidney function is good. According to doc, every looks good. I think our baby looks fabulous!

I think we've chosen a moving company. It is going to cost us about 5.5.K CHF including the cleaning of the flat afterwards which is pretty good. Matt spoke with our landlady and we're going to list the apartment on a rental search engine in hopes of finding someone to take over our lease starting April 1st. As it looks right now, we are planning to move on the 23rd March - just a few weeks away!

Today, we cleaned the attic and the basement. Well, Matt did most of it, but I helped with the attic. We had so many empty boxes from things we bought like small appliances. I always thought if we moved, it would help to sell things if we had the original packaging. Now, we've thrown that all away. We ended up with about six bags of rubbish in the end!

Jason is over tonight watching rugby with Matt. I think I'm going catch up on some Grey's Anatomy.

The Big Cleanup

Oh, I'm so annoyed. I just finished writing a new blog and managed to somehow erase it! GRRR

So, I guess I'll try again.

I spent last weekend going through my closet and my office. I was quite proud of myself because I ended up with four bags of clothes that we gave to goodwill. I was very unmotivated to go through everything, but afterwards I felt good. It's funny how those sorts of things make you happy.

I realized tonight though, that while I am a hoarder of clothes - Matt is a hoarder of electrical stuff. I managed to get us down to one drawer of electronic stuff in our flat about two years ago (pushing most of it into the attic) and over the course of cleaning out my stuff I found three NEW drawers of cords and electronics. Now, I realize over the course of these two years we've made several new purchases, but I didn't know we've spread it out over all the empty spaces in the flat.

I've already mentioned to Matt a few times that I want to go through our basement storage room and attic and electronics drawers before we move and he's suggested we wait to do it after we get to the new place. Hiring movers in Zurich is VERY expensive and I'm not about to pay a guy to move a box only to throw that box of stuff away afterwards. So, we will be taking the next weekend or two to clean out those rooms. I have no problem throwing away older cameras or computers or useless cords, but I know Matt will. I can already hear the fighting...oh well.

On the baby front, it's about the size of a lime now. I also got sick twice this week! The first time was after brushing my teeth on Tuesday morning. I have a hard time brushing my teeth now that I'm prego, but usually all I trigger is my super sensitive gag reflex. This time, it didn't stop until I was actually sick. I thought it was kind of funny, because it was my birthday and I felt like it was baby's way of saying "Happy Birthday Mamma!"
The second time was not as funny. It was Friday night and I started to feel sick while eating dinner and it lasted all night. Finally, before going to bed, I got sick. I forced myself a bit, but I'm glad because I felt better after and could go to sleep. Unfortunately though, I managed to burst blood vessels all around my eyes and neck. Nice, eh?

Matt and I also listened to the heartbeat again on Friday morning. We didn't get to listen for long, because our little lime squirmed away and hid from us back under my pelvic bone. We also went to IKEA yesterday to get an idea of the cost of their baby furniture. We didn't see too much that we really liked. But, my Mom did remind me that we won't be using it for very long and she is right; we don't want to spend a fortune on stuff we'll be using for just over a year or so.

Today we finished last minute preparation for Kay and Michael's visit. It will be nice to have them here. Matt baked some bread in our bread machine and made some quiches and I cooked a stew. It's been snowing off and all all day, so some fresh bread and warm stew sounded yummy. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this week and let them get out and about town a little bit.

9 Glorious Hours...

of sleep last night! It was so nice to finally just rest and actually sleep in a little. I think my problem was just jet lag after all.

I am treasuring sleep right now because I know once the little one is born, I will not get to sleep as much as I normally do. Which is a lot. I can sleep anywhere, much to Matt's embarrassment. In cars, on planes, at friends houses after dinner, on our couch after dinner. I'm not proud. I'm just sleepy. A sleepasaurus is what he calls me. And I'm afraid that creature will go extinct once the baby is born.

I'm sure I'll manage okay, but I know it will be hard. I am a 10pm - time for bed sort of girl who sleeps uninterrupted all night long. Before being pregnant, if I had to actually think about going to sleep before I got to sleep I considered it an off night. If I woke up in the middle of the night, I considered it an off night. Now that I am pregnant, I'm waking up usually at least once in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and if I move around I have to then eat something because baby is threatening nausea if I don't. But, normally I can lay back down and drift off again without any problems.

Matt on the other hand cannot sleep. He gets to sleep alright it seems, but then the slightest disruption and he is up again. Usually (and especially lately) that disruption is me. Apparently, I have been known to hit him the face while rolling over. Now, I realize that getting hit in the face while dead asleep usually rouses the average guy, but he also wakes up at the slightest touch. Another thing I'm fond of doing is searching out his body heat. I can't help it if my feet are icicles, but he is as toasty as a hot water bottle and it's nice to snuggle up. But, he hates it. My late night potty trips are his latest nuisance and he often wakes up in the morning with grumpy pants on and recounts for me just how many times I was up in the middle of the night (as if I didn't know). Aw, bless. How is he going to sleep through a crying baby? Lord knows.

He has actually been very good so far as the daddy-to-be. I am usually the one to make dinner, but lately I have no energy at the end of the day. He has made dinner more than me lately and even goes so far as to read my recipes so he gets it just like I make it. He's a keeper. :-)

Today's is Valentines day. Matt and I don't make too big a deal about this holiday, but he did pop out and bring me back some roses and yummies from Sprungli and did help me clean the house. I managed to scrub our hardwood floors (yuck) and get the laundry done, but did not get to my office or go through the wardrobe. Guess it will have to wait until tomorrow.

I will relax and read a bit tonight. Matt is out in town watching his Rugby. I think I'm quite lucky that I'm not married to a sports freak - he only wants to watch England play at Rugby, Football (soccer), and Athletics (track and field). I am sure when we move to the US, he'll pick up a fancy for those sports as well and I'll loose him to the game on Sunday's and Monday's (and whatever other days they play). At least then it's more sociable and usually at someones house.

Bye for now!

11 Weeks: Jobs, Houses and Heartbeats

Our first week back in Zurich after our trip to Colorado has been really eventful! First of all, Matt was finally announced in his new job as product manager. He has been looking for ages, so it's good he's landed this job. He's gonna rock at it!

We have been looking for a new house to rent since the beginning of the year and haven't had much luck. Well, we found an AWESOME place this week and we were accepted yesterday!
It's a 4 bedroom single family house on the outskirts of a town called Uster. It's about 20 minutes outside of Zurich. It has a huge yard with views of the Swiss Alps and lots of space (room for foreign visitors, hint-hint). What's most important is that Matt and I both really liked it. We start our new lease on March 15th. Now we just have to find someone to take over our current flat and get packing!

We haven't been looking long, but the process is a bit frustrating, so it was nice to find somewhere. We're very excited about the thought of starting our family in our own little Swiss country house!

Last but not least, Matt and I were able to hear the baby's heartbeat this morning. Becca let us borrow her Doppler and we've been trying to get a heartbeat for about a week now. Sure enough, this morning at our 11 week mark, our little fig was thumping away. It's so COOL to hear it for yourself and also very reassuring. We also got Matt's chromosome test results back and all is well. One more thing to feel reassured about.

Pregnancy this week has been difficult, because I think I've suffered from jet lag more than normal. I'm waking up at 3am each night and feeling horribly sick. I cannot imagine what it's like to feel this sick ALL the time and not be able to do anything about it. I hope I get over it this weekend and it's not morning sickness hitting later than usual. I cannot manage on this little sleep when it's just me, now with the fig - I'm a walking zombie! Fingers crossed! (BTW - the baby is the size of a fig now - hence the reference)

Dressing this week has been a bit easier because Becca was very generous and loaned me a bunch of her maternity clothes. That has saved me so much money and gained me so much comfort! I can't believe I'm just now getting to experience the joy of maternity trousers. I would wear those suckers any day - not just when I'm pregnant! They are GREAT!

Going to play catch up this weekend as we need to get the house in order for next week when Kay and Michael (Matt's Mum and Step dad) come to Zurich for a visit. I think I need to go through my wardrobe to make room for the m-stuff. Plus, now that we are going to be moving soon, I could do with a clean up of old stuff! Salvation Army get ready!

Yes, we're blogging

I have always struggled with the thought of having my own blog. Sharing my personal thoughts and experiences with random people on the internet just seems kind of weird to me. Secondly, I am not sure I'd be able to actually come up with enough things to blog about. I have considered blogging my dreams, but then what would I have to talk about during lunch with Philippa and Jason? So, the blogging world until now, has been been untouched by this girl.

BUT, now Matt and I are pregnant. (He hates when I say that. He says I'm the one pregnant and experiencing all the "joys" that come with it, not him). But WE are expecting our first baby (fingers crossed) in early September of this year. So, in order to try to keep you all up to date with the latest happenings with our bump, we thought we'd start a blog. So, here we go!