People have said that, alot of the time, new mothers can confuse what they believe to be first movements with the feeling of gas.  To this I say no.  Over the last week I have begun to feel Little Doodle move, and the sensation is so new, so alien, it could not be anything but.   Because of the baby’s size, I only catch the occasional movement: either a definitive poke or a grazing feeling.  But it is amazing.  Up until now Little Doodle has been an invisible entity: something we could see when scanned or the cause of a number of symptoms.  Now the baby begins to make it’s presence known.  According to our books, Little Doodle has the ability to hear, and we talk to it.  And, in just under a month, we go in for the the 20 week scan and will finally get to find out if our Little Doodle is a boy or girl.

Read more…

This past week has marked alot of things:  Christmas, the New Year, and me entering my second trimester.   The first trimester came and went with all the usual symptoms.  Fatigue, being the main discomfort, still continues as I find myself sleeping until one or two in the afternoon if left undisturbed on an off day.  I was lucky in a sense I had nausea for only about a week and a half around week 7-8, but never once did I throw up.  However, on the recommendation of a handful of people, I did buy up items containing ginger to help ease my nausea and whilst it does work, I feel it will have the reverse effect the rest of my life… just thinking about ginger ale at this point makes me ill.  I can also feel my uterus as it grows, which feels like a stretching sensation in the abdomen.

Read more…

Can you pinpoint the exact moment in time where you grew to like something?  Where you knew you’d develop a desire for something?  A singular moment in an infinite stream of experiences and passing seconds we take for granted, moving faster than life itsself.  For MMORPG gaming (massively multiplayer online roleplaying games) I can.  The obsession began nearly ten years ago, in Best Buy, with the exact same artwork shown in the banner above.  I had watched my cousin play Asheron’s Call for no more than a lazy half hour one afternoon, and I can remember being stunned by the concept:  an online world in which many players worldwide played and interacted in.  Gaming for me up to this point had been a solitary activity, or one done on a simple multiplayer mode with one’s siblings.  This was new.

Read more…

When we found out we were pregnant, we figured we were about 8 or 9 weeks.  Then, with the first midwife appointment, she calculated we were actually 11 weeks and booked us into a scan the very next week for the 12 week marker.  Having looked at the photos in the wonderful pregnancy book Mark’s uncle Roland got for us, I could see that the 12 week old fetus would look like a mini human being already, complete with arms, legs, fingers, and toes.

Read more…

Sending it off tomorrow!  Thought I’d share what this is.  This big binder is my next visa application.  But how do you make one?  Well it takes two years of prep.  First, collecting two years worth of mail in my name and the hubby’s from official sources (ie bills, statements, etc). Then, a 17 page application. Next is every official document you’ve ever had, from birth cert to marriage cert, and your passport.  Add in a generous portion of financial proof, from bank statements to pay slips.  And finally top off with a £830 fee.  Stir vigorously, allow to bake for 3-4 months. Serves 1.

Read more…