This week in Snowy-Land

I'm going to try to do weekly Snowy updates from now on.

I've been very slack in this respect. Sorry about that. This week, Tricky had her first antenatal appointment with her GP. She had been a little concerned as Snowy hasn't been moving a lot lately but the doctor soon reassured her. There's a strong heartbeat and her uterus is around exactly the right size (a little on the bigger side if anything.) We also discovered that Snowy is in a tranverse lie. This means that, rather than the usual position of a foetus at this stage (bum up, head down) Snowy has settled into a side to side lie. He likes to do things differently, just like his Mum. He's a bit more laid back and cool than the average foetus. This explains why we have been noticing most of the movements to the sides. We read a bit about tranverse lie on the web and became a little concerned but a quick call to Tricky's midwife cooled things down. She was not concerned at all (as was the GP) and said this was no problem and not uncommon at this stage. Snowy will turn around she said. And already, we think maybe he has. Don't believe everything you read on the internet kids.

mmm… maggots.

Some of you will know that my day job is as a pharmacist in a big hospital in London's inner west.

My job there is half web-development and half pharmacist stuff. I spend the pharmacist half on a vascular surgery ward which throws up some pretty interesting stuff. Here's a quick list of some of the things I've seen recently.

• amputations, lots of 'em (usually legs or feet, usually the legs or feet of smokers – you white stick puffers take note)
• one woman who fell 3 floors from her flat window and impaled herself on the pointy metal bannisters below (cocaine-snorting, alcohol-fuelled party-people take note)
• one penile shaft fracture (my eyes water every time I imagine it)
• several stabbings
• one gunshot wound

But one of the most interesting things I've come across is the use of sterile larvae in wound management. Yes, I mean maggots, folks. These are only used on really manky, disgusting wounds, often as a last resort before amputation and they are extremely effective. They've apparently been used as therapeutic dressings since the American Civil War and have been noted in literature as far back as Napoleonic times.

We get them sent from a small award-winning laboratory in Wales in little vials. The tissue viability nurses whack them on the wound and away the little fellas go. They're in maggot heaven, munching on dead tissue, spewing out antimicrobial enzymes and destroying bacteria including the often mentioned MRSA, the so-called superbug (trust me folks when I say there are much worse bugs in our hospitals than MRSA.) When they go on, they are only a few millimetres long and a creamy translucent color. When they come of they have gorged themselves and are more like ten millimetres long and huge and fat, good enough for fishing. The nurses count the maggots on and off but there are always some missing.. hmm.. where do they disappear to? This is the reason larvae can't be used on wounds with a sinus (a hole) or near body orifices, lest any of them escape to the inside of the body (!)

I asked one patient what it felt like to have them wriggling around on their wound and she said it was fine, just a mild tickling sensation. But, she said "At night, if you're very quiet, you can hear them".

Hmm... not very pleasant, but better than a penile shaft fracture any day.

Mmmm…chicken.

We had our 20 week scan a few weeks ago, and I have to say, the image of Snowy resembles a roast chicken.

Made me hungry. I don't get to eat chicken much at home because Tricky doesn't eat it (that's a whole other story) but besides looking like a chicken dinner, here's some other facts about Snowy (I'll fast-forward to 23 weeks because that's what Tricky has just passed). I'm going to refer to Snowy as a he, because its just easier but don't infer anything from it, OK?

• Snowy is about 21cm from head to rump and about 30cm head to toe. That's getting to be too big to do somersaults and other gymnastic feats, so Snowy has been kicking in frustration.
• Snowy now has taste buds and can get to 'taste' what his mum eats (that means Snickers bars, Elderflower cordial and lots of hoisin beef noodles)
• There are some long legs in there. No idea where they came from.
• Snowy is pretty much a fully formed baby now and really just has some growing to do. There are a few things to sort out between now and when its time to come out but should anything untoward happen and Snowy had to come out now, he would have a chance of surviving.
• Sleeping time is usually when Tricky is awake because her movements soothe Snowy to sleep (this is apparently why babies can be rocked to sleep.) On the other hand, wakey time can be when Tricky is trying to rest. Snowy still spends a large amount of time sleeping – takes after his mother.
• Snowy is growing like The Blob, or maybe like Audrey II, the plant in The Little Shop of Horrors. Tricky will attest to this (Feed me! Feed me! Feed me all night long!)
• Some say a foetus has started to think by this time. If so, it would probably only be something very simple like "Gee, that was a dodgy curry" or "Bouncing up and down on mum's organs is fun"
• Snowy can hear Tricky's voice and apparently can distinguish my voice as different from hers. He can also hear and feel Tricky's stomach rumbling and yes, probably her farts as well. Snowy's nostrils are open so its just as well he's swimming in amniotic fluid or he'd be able to smell those farts. Hmm.. Tricky has also been complaining about her nipples being sore lately and "Shit, my fucking tits!" has become a regular catch-cry in our household. I think when Snowy come out, his first words will be Shit, followed by Fuck, then he'll rip off a huge fart, or more likely a series of farts. That's the only way they come in our house

More on Snowy later. And I also a post something about how Tricky's going.

Emiliana Torrini.

Although Tricky is not that keen on it, I absolutely love Emiliana Torrini‘s album, Fisherman’s Woman. Its full of gorgeous vocals and lyrics and (despite what you might infer from her name) Ms. Torrini is from Iceland. Imagine listening to a less nutty Bjork accompanied by just acoustic guitar and you’re almost there.

Favourite tracks, Sunny Road and Thinking out loud.

Link-o-rama

It seems I've been getting a lot of traffic from these two guys lately.

Thanks to Masamichi Ban and his site, pajatti.net, Community for Creators, based in Japan (yet another design site I will have to revisit) and also Gabi Londo from Madrid, Spain (I think that’s his name, sorry mate if it isn’t) in the CSS-mania section of his personal weblog nv30 – well worth a visit.

Thanks guys!

Update
Damn. Must check out referrers more often. I’ve also been getting some visitors from the lovely ladies at Moxie Design Studios from where you can get all of your graphic design needs, plus try a tasty Moxietini while you’re there.