The little wiggly-poo in my uterus is trying to scratch her way out.... yeouch!
I just bought my first packs of nappies (diapers) and wipes....
the baby will probably be sometime in the next 40 days!!!
I think nesting has set in. I also bought laundry soap today so I can start washing her clothes. I've been searching online for cots (cribs) and nursery furniture. So much to do and so little time!
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Day with Relocation Agent
Yesterday we met with a wonderful lady named Alison who is our "relocation" agent. She took us around the Wimbledon/Esher/Raynes Park/Thames Ditton area. We viewed 5 different properties and got a feel for the different cities.
It was great, except for the fact that we realized how great other parts of England are. I loved the feel of Esher/Cobham/Surbiton/Thames Ditton area. This is an area a bit more "country-ish". The houses are a bit more spaced apart, there is some room between towns, and the houses are much older. One house we looked at we really loved. It was built in the 17th century, and although its been updated, it still has the feel of an old house and has some unique molding. It has 3 large bedrooms (I think the master bedroom was larger than ours in California!), a lovely "reception room" (think living room) with dark wood floors. The kitchen was very nice and recently redone. The down side of the property is that it was in a small town (Thames Ditton) and although it seemed very friendly, we worry that there is not much to do there. We did see lots of families and little kids running around though :-) Also, the property comes unfurnished, so we would be buying furniture for a whole house. Dave likes that because we have the freedom to make it look however we would like. There is also only one bathroom. It is a nice bathroom, but still only one in the house. This property is within our price range, and seems to be the best "deal" that we looked at. It is within walking distance to the train, so we would be able to travel up to London area easily. We would probably purchase a car immediately. Here are some pictures of this place:
My internet is slow, so if you want to see more pictures, visit facebook:
You'll actually have to go about halfway down in the album to see the houses. There are pictures of both places in the album.
The second place that we loved came at the last minute. We were meeting with an "estate agent' and he recommended another place that he had. More expensive (still do-able, but not much wiggle room) - around 200 pounds more a month than the first place. Yet, this is partially furnished (we would not have to buy almost any furniture!), and in the Raynes Park area. This is the area we *think we want to be near. There is a church in this area that we have heard many good things about and have some potential friends down the street. I say potential - we're meeting them on Sunday! The flat is huge! over 1400 square feet, with 4 bedrooms and an office. We might not need to purchase a car since we are close to shops and rail station. This place is currently un-occupied so we would be able to move into it ASAP (which is great for me!)
It was great, except for the fact that we realized how great other parts of England are. I loved the feel of Esher/Cobham/Surbiton/Thames Ditton area. This is an area a bit more "country-ish". The houses are a bit more spaced apart, there is some room between towns, and the houses are much older. One house we looked at we really loved. It was built in the 17th century, and although its been updated, it still has the feel of an old house and has some unique molding. It has 3 large bedrooms (I think the master bedroom was larger than ours in California!), a lovely "reception room" (think living room) with dark wood floors. The kitchen was very nice and recently redone. The down side of the property is that it was in a small town (Thames Ditton) and although it seemed very friendly, we worry that there is not much to do there. We did see lots of families and little kids running around though :-) Also, the property comes unfurnished, so we would be buying furniture for a whole house. Dave likes that because we have the freedom to make it look however we would like. There is also only one bathroom. It is a nice bathroom, but still only one in the house. This property is within our price range, and seems to be the best "deal" that we looked at. It is within walking distance to the train, so we would be able to travel up to London area easily. We would probably purchase a car immediately. Here are some pictures of this place:
This is the communal garden. Pretty much the view from the front of the house. The houses on the left are also in the community. The place we looked at was a bit older than those, though, from the 17th century!
The view from the front door. Look at the wonderful molding around and the chandelier in the ceiling. New tile floors in this room and the kitchen.
My internet is slow, so if you want to see more pictures, visit facebook:
You'll actually have to go about halfway down in the album to see the houses. There are pictures of both places in the album.
The second place that we loved came at the last minute. We were meeting with an "estate agent' and he recommended another place that he had. More expensive (still do-able, but not much wiggle room) - around 200 pounds more a month than the first place. Yet, this is partially furnished (we would not have to buy almost any furniture!), and in the Raynes Park area. This is the area we *think we want to be near. There is a church in this area that we have heard many good things about and have some potential friends down the street. I say potential - we're meeting them on Sunday! The flat is huge! over 1400 square feet, with 4 bedrooms and an office. We might not need to purchase a car since we are close to shops and rail station. This place is currently un-occupied so we would be able to move into it ASAP (which is great for me!)
The living room. Isn't it just so wonderful? Love the wood floors....
The bedroom downstairs. The house has many built-in closets and shelves like this. Love it!
Okay... so now that you know all the info, what would you do? Place 1 - cheap, out in the country, unfurnished, large bedroom, 17th century or Place 2 - expensive, in the city, furnished, lots of room
Let me know what you would choose and why!
Baby update: So... we went to several General Practitioner offices yesterday to see how they would treat me. One of the offices said that I would be seen, but would have to pay out of pocket for everything - doctors visits and the hospital delivery until I have been in the country for 6 months.
The second office said that as soon as I filled out paperwork, I would be seen. But not for my pregnancy, since it is a pre-existing condition. So, I would have to pay out of pocket for everything pregnancy-related, but anything else would be treated under the NHS.
We have a call in to people who know more than we do. Hopefully they can sort this out, since I'm not trying to have an anchor baby! The options are that we can get the NHS to cover everything because we have long-term visas. Second option would be that we pay out of pocket and hope that our health insurance in the US would cover it. This might get tricky since we are now "residents" of the UK. I don't know how the US insurance companies would like that.
Well, pray for this situation! We have lots of decisions to make regarding both the house and the baby. We have limited time, which is making this even harder on us. We have temporary housing for the next month, and the baby could come anytime after that!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Arrival in London
Here's a quick post to let everyone know we arrived in London! It was quite an experience, although I believe God gave us traveling mercies. It could have been much worse, traveling with 10 bags on a 10 hour flight when 8 months pregnant :-)
Check-in at the airport was fairly easy, thanks to Dave's Premier status (frequent flier miles do pay off! - we get to use the special premier check-in at LAX). We did have to re-pack one of the bags, but really for traveling with so many bags, that was easy. We also were in the Economy Plus section of the plane and shared three seats between the two of us. I was able to stretch out, and although I didn't sleep, it was really nice to have that extra room. Also, the plane had really fun touch-screen TVs on each seat, so I played some boring games (Bejewled or Memory anyone?) and watched two movies to pass the time.
Upon arrival at Heathrow, we quickly found all of our luggage. We did have a problem with the stroller and stroller box that we brought. As Dave said, it looked like a bear mauled it. Pretty well said. Good news is the stroller still works. Has a bit of cosmetic damage. Bad news is that the bassinet is broken. We're in talks with both United and a company that "repairs" destroyed goods. So, we should either get a new stroller, a new bassinet or it will be fixed. I was so happy that it was just the stroller, because if any of the other boxes had been destroyed, it would have resulted in a "rainshower" of clothes/books/baby items!
Here are some pictures of our day here!
The bags that we took with us on the airplane. 5 of them... haha... so much for light traveling!
Check-in at the airport was fairly easy, thanks to Dave's Premier status (frequent flier miles do pay off! - we get to use the special premier check-in at LAX). We did have to re-pack one of the bags, but really for traveling with so many bags, that was easy. We also were in the Economy Plus section of the plane and shared three seats between the two of us. I was able to stretch out, and although I didn't sleep, it was really nice to have that extra room. Also, the plane had really fun touch-screen TVs on each seat, so I played some boring games (Bejewled or Memory anyone?) and watched two movies to pass the time.
Talking on the phone to people before we leave... saying last minute good-byes!
Upon arrival at Heathrow, we quickly found all of our luggage. We did have a problem with the stroller and stroller box that we brought. As Dave said, it looked like a bear mauled it. Pretty well said. Good news is the stroller still works. Has a bit of cosmetic damage. Bad news is that the bassinet is broken. We're in talks with both United and a company that "repairs" destroyed goods. So, we should either get a new stroller, a new bassinet or it will be fixed. I was so happy that it was just the stroller, because if any of the other boxes had been destroyed, it would have resulted in a "rainshower" of clothes/books/baby items!
Looking at the box, its actually amazing that there wasn't more damage to the stroller....
Here are some pictures of our day here!
Dave before dinner at the pub. I realized I didn't have any pictures of him!
Our "traditional" dinner - fish and chips and "jacket" with beans and cheese.
Had to take the touristy picture of the double-decker bus. We'll have to ride one of them soon!
Just kidding!
Almost 32 weeks pregnant :-)
Another picture of the pub. Sorry for the bad order of photos.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Update on us
So, here's a long-awaited update.
Life is going well! Our condo is rented out, starting in August, so we are beginning the process of moving. This process is complicated because most likely, we will not be moving to England at the same time that we move out of our place, so we will be living with Dave's parents, or if we're here a little longer, we'll be looking for a place to rent monthly until our visas are ready. We will be having a big garage sale to get rid of lots of our stuff, and may be selling furniture and a car, so if you know anyone interested, keep your eyes and ears open for more information later on. Most of the things that we own will be going into storage as I don't feel they are worth shipping to England.
We will be able to take a total of 230 pounds (each) of things to England. So, we will start packing our bags very carefully! Dave's work is totally taking care of us during our move, and I am so thankful. We will have a budget to buy things that we need once we get there. We have not chosen yet where exactly we will be living, but think we will be in the Wimbledon (SW London) area. We are looking at 3 and 4 bedroom places, so we will have room for anyone who wants to come visit us!
As far as I know, I am still pregnant ;-) It is still really hard to believe and I easily freak out about any little thing that is happening with my body. We had an ultrasound a little over a week ago, and everything was looking alright! Sorry for the unflattering picture, but its the only "bump" picture I have! I'm 16.5 weeks in this picture. I promise I look at least a little better in person. If all goes according to plan, I will probably be giving birth in England. I hear that people have good experiences there, so we'll see what happens!
Life is going well! Our condo is rented out, starting in August, so we are beginning the process of moving. This process is complicated because most likely, we will not be moving to England at the same time that we move out of our place, so we will be living with Dave's parents, or if we're here a little longer, we'll be looking for a place to rent monthly until our visas are ready. We will be having a big garage sale to get rid of lots of our stuff, and may be selling furniture and a car, so if you know anyone interested, keep your eyes and ears open for more information later on. Most of the things that we own will be going into storage as I don't feel they are worth shipping to England.
We will be able to take a total of 230 pounds (each) of things to England. So, we will start packing our bags very carefully! Dave's work is totally taking care of us during our move, and I am so thankful. We will have a budget to buy things that we need once we get there. We have not chosen yet where exactly we will be living, but think we will be in the Wimbledon (SW London) area. We are looking at 3 and 4 bedroom places, so we will have room for anyone who wants to come visit us!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Memorial Box Monday: The baby
Anyways, the MBM posts are about remembering what God has done in your life. So, here we go:
This story is a little over a year in the making. April 1, 2009. I felt a little funny. My parents were in town and leaving that afternoon. I took a pregnancy test, and it was pregnant. Dave took it very well (after claiming it an April Fools Day prank). We weren't trying to get pregnant (although I was very welcome to the idea!). We quickly made up our mind that this was our baby, we would love him or her. We had an ultrasound that went just alright. There was a heartbeat! But, the baby was measuring behind where I thought it should. The doctor told me that I was just wrong on my dates, and that everything was perfectly fine. I had another ultrasound scheduled two weeks later. The day of my second ultrasound, I just felt like everything was wrong. My pregnancy symptoms were disappearing. The ultrasound was so awkward. I could tell something was wrong - the technician wouldn't let us see the baby. I kept asking questions and she would respond, "I'm not authorized to tell you anything". Ah.... then the hour long wait in the waiting room full of pregnant ladies and babies. The doctor came in with a box of tissues and told us that the baby had died.
It was probably one of the worst weeks of my life. And to make matters worse, we had told everyone that we were pregnant. Un-telling people is terrible. Seeing pregnant ladies was tough. Especially those that were about as far along as I should have been.
The good news was that I had time for things I wouldn't have been able to do last year. We had my cousins come spend a week with us around Thanksgiving. I went to winter camp with the Junior High group. We had people come over to our house for dinner, we got to know our neighbors better. I was able to spend more time at the church, with the youth group. We had a sleepover at our house. All these things are things that I wouldn't have done (or had the energy to do) with a child or being pregnant.
So, fast forward to March. Dave and I had been waiting on God's timing. In fact, with all this London talk, we weren't sure that this was the time to have a baby. And sure enough, I was pregnant again. I found this out almost exactly a year after our first baby. While I know that nothing is certain except for God, things are looking very good with this pregnancy.
I have had four ultrasounds so far. The baby is continuing to grow. Today the baby was measuring at 12 weeks, 4 days. I could see its ribs, spinal cord, its heart beating, its arms and legs moving around. The doctor said that the baby was covering its head with its hands. We could see its fingers and even its mouth opening and closing. It looked like a little alien, but in a few quick months its going to be my baby! Ah!!!
This pregnancy came at such an interesting time in our life. I know that it is from God - I could not have planned it better. Our due date is Nov. 25 - Thanksgiving. So, I will give thanks to the Creator of Life who orchestrates life itself. Whether I meet this baby in November (or October, or December), or we meet in heaven I know that this is a blessing from God himself. If you look closely at this picture (sorry its a bit blurry) you can see on the left is its body, the right is the freaky, alien-shaped head. Right in the middle is a hand. If you look closely, you can see all of its fingers :-) Isn't God amazing? The hand on the bottom was moving, that's why its blurry. Praise God!
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