interesting...

Marc found this article in the Times Online on December 27th:

As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God

Worth a read!

... and ...

... to complete my last post, I wanted to point out that although there were no photos of it, we very much enjoyed celebrating Jesus' birth on Christmas morning at Christ Church, Bedford.

Also, we had a beautiful - if chilly! - walk on Boxing Day near Sandy, at the RSPB National HQ.

a cracking Christmas!

our two year old!

Simon celebrated his second birthday on Friday. If he was older, he might have been slightly confused by going to a mums-and-toddlers Christmas celebration and being given a present by Father Christmas on his birthday, but at this age he takes it all in his stride! And just seemed slightly perplexed by having about 50 people sing "Happy Birthday" to him while onstage dressed as a shepherd!

He took a while to get warmed up to unwrapping presents in the morning. I was beginning to wonder whether they'd all end up waiting until Christmas (!) but with some help and encouragement he eventually got on with it and loved his new toys.

On Saturday we had a small party for him. Just two other children were able to come, but since Simon still doesn't like crowds of other kids it was probably just the right size for him. He got on very well with the little girl who came, who is a few days older than him. He led her by the hand into the room where we had lunch, and pushed her around on his pushalong Thomas afterwards. They also had lots of cuddles - very cute!

I made a Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake, which I was very proud of!

It's funny to think how different Simon's next birthday will be, in Africa!

growth scan

I saw the midwife on Monday and she decided to send me for a growth scan, as my bump hadn't really grown since the time before (2 weeks earlier). She got me an appointment for the next day (yesterday) which was good, though when we turned up at the hospital the midwife and consultant said I was very borderline and probably didn't really need a scan but they'd do one since I was there (they were very friendly and nice). I wasn't particularly surprised, as I was no bigger than this, and probably even smaller, during my first pregnancy.

The consultant asked how much Simon weighed at birth, and when I said 7lb 1oz he said, "A Marks and Spencer's medium, then!" ... and when we got the results back from the scan he said I'm carrying another M&S medium baby, and the amount of fluid is normal, so it really is just the way I carry babies that makes my bump look so modest!

And here I am at the end of November, on Marc's birthday, at about seven and a half months pregnant.

latest

Life goes on, and we are feeling pretty settled in Bedford now. Marc hasn't found work yet, but did have an interview at a recruitment agency on Monday and they said they might be able to find him some administrative work, though it will be a day or two here and there rather than anything very longterm. I was glad he wasn't working last week though, as Simon and I came down with the dreaded "winter vomiting" bug, and it was wonderful for me to be able to sleep all day and leave Simon in Marc and Mum's capable hands!

This week we have gone back to our usual activities before extra things start happening next week for Simon's birthday and Christmas. Marc and I also had an antenatal "refresher course". I had seen that the NCT ran these, and thought it might be interesting to get some English antenatal training, having had the French version last time. We couldn't make the course that was running in the evenings, so we were offered a 1:1 (in reality 1:2!) course with an NCT counsellor who came to visit us at home. She came for an hour on Tuesday morning and an hour on Thursday morning, and the good thing about it was that we were able to talk about what we needed to know and leave out bits that we were less interested in (breastfeeding, for example, which I already know a lot about!). We particularly appreciated her showing us some relaxation techniques, like different kinds of massage Marc can give me during labour - I'm looking forward to that bit!

The hospital is open for tours again, but they aren't running any of their own until after Christmas. But our counsellor, Laura, is running one on Tuesday evening, and invited us to come along on that. So it looks as if we will get our visit after all, and led by someone we already know and like!

I would welcome prayer that my back would remain strong - it is blessedly well at the moment! - and also that as the baby's head engages this wouldn't cause any problems. Last time I had a trapped nerve in my thigh for the last week of pregnancy and I couldn't walk without a lot of pain, which made an active labour impossible. Thanks!

ironic really

I had a phonecall today from the maternity ward at the hospital, telling me that our guided tour on Saturday has had to be cancelled. They aren't allowing any non-essential visits because of the winter vomiting virus in the rest of the hospital.

Very reassuring.

To think that I'm going to be giving birth in Europe because it's supposed to be safer!