Monday, March 28, 2011

Comparing Belly's! ;o)

With just a few more weeks until Bubble joins the family, we thought it would be beneficial to attend the local Childbirth Classes at the Hospital ... which fortunately is just a block away from our house! While Abigail was having lots of fun with Kyla ... our Pastors eldest daughter ... we spent 3 consecutive Wednesday evenings from 5.30-8.30pm (ish) learning the 'American way' to have a baby!! ;o)
There were 9 'teams' in our classes ... the mums-to-be and coach(es) ... some 'teams' where husband and wife like us, others were mums-to-be and grandmothers-to-be ... 'teams' were between 2 and 4 people in size!! We were the oldest couple there by about a decade, the only ones who already had a child (it's usually for first timers!) the only ones who didn't know the sex of their new arrival ... and the only ones who spoke with a funny accent but that's nothing new to us!!
It was a good chance to get to know a few more people, learn the differences and visit the maternity ward ahead of time ... so we will know what to expect when 'Bubble goes Pop' ... because that's what Abigail keeps telling us is going to happen!! One of the highlights ... which wasn't part of our UK classes last time round, was the chance for the 'fathers-to-be' to wear an empathy belly ... too good a photo opportunity to miss ... but to be fair, we had some fun recreating the poses so you can judge for yourselves who carries a 'baby belly' the best!! ;o)
Amazingly, while giving birth is the same the world over, there are a lot of practical differences to having a child out here. Having the same doctor that you've been visiting over the whole pregnancy deliver the baby, so you have a good chance to get to know them and for them to get to know you ... and both Jenny's doctors are really lovely! All the forms and names of pain relief are different ... and there IS NO GAS AND AIR option ... no wonder 80% go down the epidural route! The maternity ward is really nice with all single ensuite rooms ... which explains why it's so expensive to have a baby out here, between $10,000-$20,000 and that's without complications (thank goodness for our medical insurance!!). The labour and delivery beds look amazing and are referred to as 'transformer beds' and come apart in more ways than you thought possible ... much more hightech than anything on the NHS back in the UK! There is computer system where all the staff can monitor your progress when you're in labour from any room/station on the maternity ward. You appoint your new baby a pediatrician beforehand who will come to the hospital to check the baby over but there is no midwife/health visitor coming to check up on you once you've been discharged. These are just a few of the differences that come to mind!! ... and giving birth seems to be much more of a spectator sport out here ... with a lot of people having half a dozen close family and friends in the room for the majority of the labour!! (No thank you!)
While Jenny has been having random contractions for the last couple of weeks, Jenny's mum is not due to arrive from the UK until next Thursday (April 7th) so we're hoping that Jenny can keep her legs crossed til then. We're also hoping that Bubble will make his/her grand entrance before Easter Sunday (April 24th) when her mum flies back to the UK! Abigail is telling anyone and everyone that 'Nana is coming to play with Abigail and Daddy ... and Mummy's going to hospital' ... here's hoping she doesn't kick Jenny out of the house as soon as Nana arrives! ;o)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Abigail's Antics!

Our little munchkin turned two and a half last weekend ... and is as cheeky as ever!! Every six months we take a height measurement, this time round she was 3ft 2inches ... although given half a chance she would be measured every day ... she's always asking us to come and see how tall she is!!!
As well as her height developing ... so is her imagination, the downside of which means that dreams and nightmares are coming into play and for the last week and a half sleep has been eluding her and subsequently us ever since. It's not just lack of sleep but the fear of going to sleep alone that's been the issue and then waking through the night ... we're going to crack this phase ... and hopefully sooner rather than later with only a few weeks to go til she becomes a big sister ... so please remember us! ;o)
In her happier moments though she's still loving colouring/painting/sticking ... anything creative ... the colouring book above has the added bonus of being a Toy Story one ... all three movies are her new favourite thing ... and referred to as 'Buzz on the Bed' (Toy Story 1), 'The Yee-Ha One' (Toy Story 2) and 'The New Story' (Toy Story 3) ... all very amusing for us!
We enjoyed Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day, UK style, on March 8th ... for our American friends it's the day before Lent ... and we eat large thin pancakes (like Crepes) not small thick ones, traditionally with lemon juice and sugar! It was Abigail's first real pancake day when she helped cook them and ate them knowing what she was doing ... and she LOVED them!!! We had a pancake feast that night ... making a whole batch, starting with savoury and finishing with sweet ones!! These two photos (above and below) show Abigail with her grated cheese and crispy bacon one ... which she followed with a banana and Nutella combination!
She still loves to play with her buddies and Bri continues to be her favourite friend, who she talks about all the time!! They get to see each other at church and MOPS and often have 'playdates' at each others houses so that both Jenny and Bri's mum can get an hour or two off!! They spend a lot of time just giggling together ... it's very cute to watch!!
Abigail has some funny little phrases at the moment ... she told Jenny to 'Stop Songing' the other day in the car and when Mark goes out the door every morning to work she always says 'Be careful Daddy'. You'll often hear her saying 'Don't worry mummy, I'm just ...', a sure sign you need to start worrying!
We'll leave you with an image of her latest mischievous moment ... when mummy is trying to relax for 5 minutes on the sofa before bath-time ... yeah right!!! ;o)

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

MOPS in a Nutshell!

Not that it's really possible to sum up MOPS so easily ... but many of our non-US friends have been asking about MOPS as it's something Jenny is involved in ... so here is an attempt to give you a little glimpse of what it's all about!
MOPS stands for Mothers Of PreSchoolers (www.mops.org) and in Coshocton there is a group that meets on the second Friday morning of each month during the school year. This year (end of last summer) we kicked off with a fun day for the whole family to enjoy with a BBQ and homemade water slides down the hill.
It was lots of fun and as you can see Abigail enjoyed chilling out, fully clothed, in one of the little paddling pools!!
There are other fun events planned throughout the year, last month we had an overnight lock-in ... a chance to hang out, play silly, games, enjoy a spa room, watch movies, get crafty and have some kiddie free time ... except for a couple of newborns who joined us for the event and got cuddles from all the mums there! There are also a couple of resale mornings where you have the chance to either sell off all your old baby stuff or get things you need for a fraction of the price ... the next one is just days after Bubble is born ... so if it's boy ... we'll be first in line to purchase a whole new wardrobe when the doors open!!! ;o)
When we meet each month we have the chance to drop our kids off in different groups and a great team of volunteers come and play/teach them (depending on the kids ages) giving us a couple of hours of 'mom-time'. It's all very flexible though and different children will decide that they would rather stay in with their mum's from month to month ... we all understand how it is!! Our monthly meetings have a different theme each time we meet. The overall theme for this year is 'Mom-ology - The Science of Being a Mum'. Sometimes we watch one of the official MOPS DVD's and discuss set questions, another time we may have a seasonal theme (Christmas Party!), this week it will be a cookery/nutritional theme. Below is a photo from a Spa morning ... a couple of the ladies had make-overs and we all got a 5 minute neck and shoulder massage ... and then practiced some of the techniques we learnt on each other!!
Each month the meetings start with food ... so if it's too rushed getting the kid(s) up and out by 9.30am there is always breakfast ready and waiting!! The main group is split into 5 smaller groups of which Jenny is one of the leaders ... and each month a different group is responsible for providing the food and drink so it's always a little different!! There is a real mix of woman who come, some married, some single, some church going, some not, some with one child, most with more (some have up to 7 kids!), some with their own kids, some with adopted or step-children ... so we really get a chance to learn from each other and be there for each other through it all!! In addition to the main monthly meeting the smaller groups try to get together at least once a month as well, either for a 'playdate' or something else ... this last weekend Jenny's group joined forces with another one and had a lunch/jewellery making party for a few hours which was good fun (see the photo's below!).
Within the Coshocton MOPS group there seems to have been an explosion in pregnancies this year ... with over half the mum's with newborns or expecting over the next few months. Since December, I think I'm right in saying that, there have been twin girls, another baby girl and four boys so far ... but from week to week this is changing and there are a lot more of us almost ready to pop too! It's great that we're all there for each other through this time of adjustment in so many of our families too!! We get to learn from each other and the Mentor Mom's ... a couple of ladies who have grown up kids who come and put a different and encouraging perspective on so many things!
There is a steering committee of 5 led by Amy, with Amanda, another Amy, Angie and Brenda ... all mum's of between 1 and 4 kids who do a great job of organising it all ... it's such a valuable time for all who come ... each one of the steering committee are complete stars for the time and commitment they put into the Coshocton branch of MOPS! ;o)