An interesting visual

This is a visual I just didn't need.... Childbirth Education Doll

Thanks Sarah.

Kevin leaving for his ride to Haarlem.

Week 38 - No baby yet.

Last week was another relaxing week before our little bundle of joy arrives. I had a mid day nap almost every day and continue to feel like a beached whale when it comes to getting up off of the couch or out of bed. 

Thursday we had Diane & Alexander over for dinner. I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and apple pie. Yum. We are still enjoying the leftovers.

Friday I headed to Hilversum to meet Tony and then drive to Houten (south of Utrecht) to see Joosje and her 4 week old daughter. Friday night we had dinner with Mike, Daryl, Alison and Bill at Moeders. This is a restaurant that serves dutch comfort food. I had the "stamppot" which is mashed potatoes with onions and carrots, bacon, kielbasa and a meatball. It was very good and the leftovers were even better.

Saturday we headed to Haarlem with Bill, Courtenay and Brian. We had lunch, toured the cathedral, had a fresh stroopwafel and went to the Frans Hals Museum. We then ordered take out and watched a movie at C&B's.

Sunday found me being unbelievably lazy. I slept until 10 (no midday nap on Thursday, Friday or Saturday and it caught up to me), surfed from the couch until 1:30, finally showered then soaked in a warm bath, followed by a nap and leftover stamppot. Kevin was much more energetic. He rode his bike to Haarlem and back.

Today found us going to our last birth class. We stopped by the hospital on our way home for a quick peek at the delivery rooms. It was a fast visit but I am reassured. Once home we had leftovers for lunch and then I took my standard nap. Now to figure out something for dinner...

Residency!

Kevin has been approved to be a resident of the Netherlands! We have been impatiently waiting for this little bit of news for quite a while. He can now legally work.

We received a letter yesterday saying he was approved and will receive another letter in a few weeks telling us when & where to pick up our residency cards. With the approval letter he can start subbing at the Interntational School of Amsterdam! We are planning on him subbing between now and when our little guy is born, and then again starting ~ 2 weeks after.

Dealing with dutch government offices is something akin to a combination of "Hurry Up and Wait" and "Fetch"!

37 Weeks and counting

Here are this week's belly pictures. I have been experiencing Braxton-Hicks/Practice contractions pretty frequently. They are not fun as I often end up feeling nauseus.

Last week we had our first birth class. It was a private session due to the fact that I procrastinated signing up for one for so long. It is taught by an English woman. She really put both Kevin and I at ease and we both feel like we are much more knowledgeable about how we want this labor to go.

Kevin has picked up two more tutoring clients. One is the son of our birth instructor and the other is another student at the International School of Amsterdam. The schools are on a "Crocus Break" this week, Kevin will start with his new clients next week.

I also attended a lactation class last week. Very exciting, I know.

Friday we had dinner with Mike (a friend we met through Barry & Richard, he has been here since the end of November and is going home at the end of the month), Bill, Mike's co-work Ari and her husband Eric. It was at a Mexican restaurant in Leidseplein. It was excellent! We went out for a drink afterwards, well it was Coke for me and drinks for them. We ended up in a bar on Leidesplein playing some very sad games of pool. There was a live band playing too. Both the coat check girl and bouncer warned me that it would get busy and "rough" later and to be careful. I was definately the most pregnant woman there. It is really nice that you can't smoke in the bars, or if you can it is in a separate smoking room!

Saturday we did a Rick Steve's walking tour with Bill. We started at the train station and walked through the Red Light district, through Dam square, to the Begijnhof and down to Leidesplein. We picked up Mike and his guests from out of town (Alison & Daryl) along the way. Once home I took my standard 1-2 hour nap.

Sunday we met Bill, Mike, Alison and Daryl for Dutch Pancakes in the Jordaan at noon. Before lunch Bill and I stopped in Leidseplein to pick up a museum card for him. Bill and I split a savory one and a sweet one. I think I liked the savory one more!

After lunch we headed home and I took yet another 1-2 hour nap. These really have become a daily necessity.

A couple of weeks ago I signed up to join the American Women's Club of Amsterdam, particularly for their Mom's & Tots sessions on Mondays. This Monday was going to be the first time I would go. The hostess for the week, Linda, lives about 15 minutes away by bike. I had it all figured out how to get there and left with plenty of time. Somewhere along the line I missed a turn and then got more and more lost, ending up in Slotervart. Far east of where I needed to be. After about an hour of wandering the wrong direction, in the rain, I decided to take the Metro home. As a side note, Linda lives no where near a Metro stop, that is how far off I was. I even had my iPhone and a map and still couldn't seem to figure out where I was and how to get back. Once home I took a 2 hour nap to make up for it.

We had a midwife appointment Monday afternoon and had planned to ride our bikes there, however after I went to the grocery store on my bike (a 5 min ride) I didn't have the energy to ride anymore.

Today I tried to go to the pool to swim. I thought that the pool always had at least 1 lane open for lap swimming. I was wrong. I got there and it was closed to all but school kids. I headed home and then Kevin and I decided to go to the Van Gogh museum. We took one look at the line and decided to get a bite to eat instead. Once home I took a long nap.

Taking 4 weeks off before our son is born has been heaven! It is hard to get up in the morning and would be miserable with out the daily nap! I wake up about every 3 hours to go to the bathroom, followed by a little playtime for our son. He is up at 11:30pm, 2:30 and 5:30 regularly, not to mention about every 3 hours during the day as well.

In the last week or so Kevin has been able to hear his heartbeat by putting his ear against my belly. I am a little jealous, but then I get to feel him all of the time - so I guess I have the better deal.

On Maternity Leave - Until June

Well, it is official. I am on maternity leave and due in 4 weeks.

Week 35 Ultrasound Pic

We both agree he has Kevin's nose.

Counting the days until my Maternity leave...

I am now 35 weeks. My last day in the office is Monday, Feb 9th. I will then have about 4 weeks before the little guy is due. The dutch get 16 weeks of maternity leave, legally mandated to start 4 weeks before the due date. 

We had a midwife appointment on Monday. We saw a midwife we hadn't seen yet (there are 5 in the group and I will see all before I am done). She was able to tell that he is growing but was a little concerned about his size. On Monday he was deep against my back so she couldn't really get her hands on him and he isn't exactly a big baby. She sent me for my 4th ultrasound, which was today. 

A quick side note, we didn't know if we were going to be able to have the 20 week one here (to find out the sex) so we had it in the US, then they sent us for another here -- hence the 4. 

Before my ultrasound, I tried to exchange my US drivers license for a dutch one. I tried to do this on Monday as well, but after making to trips two the Municipal office and still not succeeding I had given up. I went back today with even more paperwork then you are supposed to need (when we registered at the town hall in November they had put my place of birth as the US, leaving out the state - this isn't right and it has to have the state for the drivers license). So....today I went back with my birth certificate, because my passport stating my place of birth wasn't good enough. I was there for an hour, waiting for someone at the head office to flip some magic switch and I had to leave to make it to the ultra sound...so close! I have a real appointment on Tuesday so it should all be solved then!

Back to the ultrasound, Kevin was going to meet me there but his hair cut ran long and he forgot his phone so we missed each other. Our little guy is growing just fine. He is about 5.4 lbs right now, in the 20th - 25th percentile. I am actually kind of happy with small - maybe the delivery will be easier that way. Kevin was a 10lb baby, something I didn't learn until I after I was pregnant.

I then had to take the ultrasound results back to the midwife office so that we could make the next appointment - either next week or the week after. Our next appointment is Feb 16th..we are now in the every 2 week range, soon to be once a week and then every 3-4 days.

We ordered a carseat last week. It arrived today...this whole thing is starting to become more real. We also made what I hope to be our last trip to Ikea for baby stuff (at least for a while). His room is simple, functional and done!

3 more days of work! I can't wait.