Scary pregnancy stuff.

Tricky and I have made 2 trips to hospital in less than 24 hours last night and today.

After some minor, though very worrying bleeding, Tricky and I decided to visit the A&E department to make sure everything was OK (first baby and all, you know.) The doctor who I thought was an obs-gyn (it turned out he wasn't) reassured us and sent us on our way. Some of the things he said to Tricky didn't ring quite right to her (the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy at 18 weeks for example!) so we ended up getting an emergency booking at the early pregnancy center at Kingston and Tricky had a thorough examination. We heard the reassuring galloping horses of the heart beat and Tricky got the all clear. The really annoying thing is that the specialist doctor we saw the second time, I actually saw him in the A&E department the previous night. Why he wasn't asked to see Tricky is beyond me.

Anyway, all is well, but I should share with you a few things I have learned.

• Always get a second opinion.
• Slight spotting during pregnancy is not uncommon.
• ANY bleeding during pregnancy should be investigated by a doctor. Insist on a specialist.
• Babies are incredibly resilient, even at 18 weeks.
• London taxis are very big inside. I already knew this but jeez they are big. Talk about the Tardis!
• Babies start to deprive you of sleep well before they are born.
• The bright orange cord that sets off a flashing orange light inside the toilet at the hospital is NOT a flushing mechanism. Not sure what it does exactly – I didn't hang around to find out.
• A King Size Snickers® bar at 3pm when you haven't had anything to eat since 7 AM is a true delight.

The Boat Race

Tricky and I have both been ill this week. Pretty much bed-ridden in fact. But we can't live in Putney for 2 years and not go to see The Boat Race at least once while we live here.

The race I refer to is the annual rowing race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities which takes place on the river Thames between Putney Bridge (around the corner from our place) and Chiswick Bridge. The race has been going on since 1829 after a series of letters between two friends resulted in a challenge by to Oxford by Cambridge. Its now an annual event and apparently a big deal.

So, we extricated ourselves from our blanketed cocoon of a sofa and wandered out to mingle with the masses and see what the fuss was all about. There were thousands of people out waiting for the race to begin. The pubs were full, every inch of the shoreline was packed with spectators. There were wild cheers as the race began and then, as the rowers disappeared around the first bend, we turned around and walked back to our house in time to see the winners (Oxford if you’re interested) cross the line on TV. It consumed about another minute of our time with some mucus-addled conversation, and then it was a return to the sofa and the Easter movies. That’s about as exciting as the race got for me. Not very.

More about the race here if you could be bothered.

Photo gallery.

I’ve started a new photo gallery using Expression Engine’s slick gallery module. I’ve posted around 30 of my favourite photos from the few years to start and have lots more to add. At the moment there are 6 categories. I’ll add more of those as well as the collection grows.

A note to Internet Explorer users on Macs. The gallery appears differently on your browser of choice than most other browsers. That’s because I grew tired of tearing my hair out trying to get everything working properly in that once loved browser (I used to use it and love it myself) and have now decided give those visitors who do use it a relatively plain, though completely functional version. If you want to see it as I intended, you’ll have to switch to another more modern browser. I know for you OS 9 users, that might be tough. Sorry.

For those boffins amongst you, you can get some technical details of the gallery here if you’re interested.

Say ‘Hello’ to Snowy.

This is probably the main reason I haven't been blogging much for the past year. And probably the main reason why I have started again. This is Snowy.

That’s right. I’m going to be a father. Some of you will know that a little over a year ago, Tricky and I decided it was time we started a family, before we got too wrinkly. And so, after months of trying, we were on a skiing holiday in the Dolomoites in Italy when Tricky decided to test. This after drinking much alcohol, eating much salami and cheese, skiing some pretty difficult runs (Tricky turned out to be a natural skier) and frequently ending up face-down in the snow (generally doing all the things you’re not supposed to do whilst pregnant.) And there it was, the thin blue line.

After the initial shock (we weren’t expecting it this month), much swearing, jumping about, carrying on and a few tears of joy, and realising the surreal situation (in the mountains in Italy, snowing outside) we decided to nickname this tiny speck of life Snowy. Quite appropriate really. And now Snowy is a robust and rapidly growing 15 week old little ball of life, approximately the size of a pear from head to bum and weighing about as much as a kiwi fruit.

We like fruit comparisons because I gave Tricky a domain name and web space for her birthday last year, near the beginning of the journey and pears feature prominently. Visit her at Up the Duff to see what I mean. And while you’re there, check out the thriving community she has developed there. Some in depth discussions of female bodily fluids - you’ve been warned!

I intend posting a lot about the next 26 weeks and beyond. Not only about Tricky’s pregnancy but more about life in general. I can’t believe I have done this so irregularly since we have been living over here, but now I remember how much I enjoyed doing it while we were travelling and how much fodder I have to do it now.

Stay tuned.

Milan stopover

We are in Milan, home of fabulous fashions (well some of it is unwearable actually) industial-fascist architecture and the spectacular Duomo cathedral.

We’re stopping over on our way to the snowfields of the Dolomites - a village called Campitello to be specific. Travelling by train tomorrow and will spend Christmas there with some friends from home (hi Jenny, Reg, Rohan and Lachlan.)

Will post more soon, including some photos I hope.