Scenes from Harveys

Scenes from Harveys
Originally uploaded by b boy.

Today we had a lunch date with each other (as we read somewhere that this was probably a good thing to do to keep the hormonal wife happy). It was the usual lunchtime crowd at Harveys. We were surrounded by tables with 30 something mothers with variously coloured bugaboo prams and babies dressed in the latest designer couture flown straight from the fashion houses in Paris. Apart from this it was nice just to get out and do something at lunchtime during the week. It sort of feels like you are playing hooky, well at least for Mel as I hardly do any work some would say.

Look Ma! I have hands!

11 Weeks
Originally uploaded by b boy.

Today we returned to the OBGYN for another quick check. Noodles is roughly 11 weeks now and is growing quickly. Today (although not clear in this photo) we could see arms and legs. If you look closely at the snow on the screen the big blob on the left is Noodles' head and the small white dots above and to the right are his hands and feet. The best bit was when the doctor got into just the right position with the scanner and Noodles must have realised that he/she had the spotlight on him/her and started showing off. Quite a lot of wriggling around, arms and legs stretching out trying to find more room no doubt. Very exciting to see. In 2 weeks we will have the proper scan and we will have some good quality photos to post. Can't wait!!

The hard yards....

Chest of drawers...
Originally uploaded by b boy.

Every nursery needs a chest of drawers. We happened to have some deep in the bowels of the unit block, hidden away so no-one could see that we once had country cottage style furniture. They were destined for needy or tasteless relatives, or in case no-one actually wanted them, the council kerb-side pickup...where they would have lasted a few hours before the scavenging suburban dwellers caught the wiff of freshly discarded furniture and turned up in their droves with trailers at the ready. But as preparing for the arrival of the newest member of the cook clan can be expensive, we decided that a splash of paint might just do the trick. After some hard work sanding, undercoating, spak filling the VJ grooves, more sanding, more spak filling etc.....you get the point, not to mention numerous trips to Bunnings (saugage sizzle included), we have finished up with a respectable piece of furniture. New handles and Sadie the squirrel drawer liners finished off the ensemble. Oh yes...try to ignore the lovely shade of green inside the cupboard.

Felix...of the cat variety!

Felix the cat!
Originally uploaded by b boy.

Well not long after we ordered this print for the nursery we found out that Greg and Cheryl had called their lovely son Felix. I picked it up from the framers today but now Melinda is having second thoughts regarding the choice of matting. I thought I would get around this problem, of me choosing the wrong one, by getting Melinda to come with me. I am still scarred from the time she asked me to get her degrees framed after assuring me that "anything you choose will be fine as I trust your sense of style". I was proved right...I have no sense of style and Melinda was not happy. This time, even with the Melinda accompanying me, I still seemed to have got it wrong. She feels that the black matt makes this "the Son of Damien" like in appearence and far to evil to be hanging in a nursery. Oh well...what can you do. Change the matting to something a little less threatening I guess. I kind of like his happy face though!

9 Week Scan

9 Week Scan
Originally uploaded by b boy.

Today we went to the Doctors for a reassuring scan to make sure all was still well. Things seemed to be coming along nicely and it is quite amazing the differences you can see in just 2 weeks. Today we could see more obvious looking arms and legs and even a bit of movement from Noodles. He/she was happily playing in it's aqueous environment. The heart is now a proper 4 chambers and we could see it rhythmiclly beating to it's own tune. Back again in 2 weeks for an updated scan!

Karma karma karma karma karma Cameleon!

The latest addition to the nursery. We were not going to get this stuff for awhile but given we are both very impatient and DJ's had 10% off (not to mention the $100 of free linen), who could resist. So violá...the bugaboo cameleon. The name reflects the fact that the coloured canopy and cover can be changed to what ever colour takes your fancy...so long as it's one of the bugaboo collection. As far as prams go this one is fairly funky. Greg and Cheryl can attest to that since they have the Frog. About 101 different configurations which means...yes, I had to read the instructions. But once you work it out it seems so obvious.....who am I kidding! These things are designed to test the wits of sleep deprived parents I am sure. Oh well, only another 29 weeks to wait before we can try it out.

Upwardly Mobile!

What is one of the first things you do when you find out you are pregnant? .........Buy a cool mobile for the nursery of course! (the hanging from the ceiling type not the communication device type). So after much contemplation on the subject we decided that a Flensted was the way to go. This Danish family is credited with making the first modern mobile and are still making them at "Frederiksminde" on the Danish Island of Funen. There are so many very cool mobiles that it was hard to choose just one. In the end we decided on the mobile originally designed for the Guggenheim by Greenberg Kingsley, called Circle Square (yes I realise there is also a rectangle). I hope Noodles will get hours of enjoyment watching the colourful shapes moving in the breeze. After all what else is there to do when you are a baby lying flat on your back in a cot.

My First Photo!

Well after many attempts at the whole IVF thing we have finally managed to do something that we have been so far unable to do.....get the little fella to stick around for awhile. This Monday we had our first scan and we were quite nervous about the whole outcome. Things had started out promising this time as Melinda had been extremely tired and also a little chucky in the mornings. After waiting the first 2 weeks from the Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) we got to do the pregnancy test. To date they had all been negative with the previous cycles so Melinda was stressed. But to her great relief it was positive..Yay!!! Who said fresh was best? Our little frozen guy did just fine. Next there was the 2 week wait until the first scan. This of course was all new territory for us as we had never got this far. After a frustrating and stressful couple of weeks the big day arrived. Would there be a heart beat? Would there be just one heart beat? Twins would have been a worry. But much to our relief, or at least my relief, there was one very happy looking embryo with a nice strong heart beat (136 bpm for the curious minded) and we instantly fell in love with it and named it Noodles. Well at least until it makes it's grand entrance to the world. Then it will get a proper name. The next real scan will be in 5 weeks time and the difference in appearance is quite amazing. Real arms and legs and even a face. You can check out the so+gi link for some cool photos of 3D scans. Of course it is all early days and anything can happen so we still have our fingers crossed. Hopefully Noodles is as much looking forward to meeting us as we are of meeting him/her.