My "appointment"

I got to see a midwife today! I've learned I don't care at all about the doctor, I want a good midwife - they are the ones who do all the baby delivering... they are also the ones still on strike here in wonderful Aarhus, Denmark.

Since I'm in week 30 I got to finally go to the main midwife center and be seen on a first come first serve basis. Luckily I was first because when my time was over there were 25 annoyed large pregnant women in the tiny waiting room with 8 chairs.

So after having a nervous breakdown all day Sunday and coming up with various plans on how to get out of delivering this baby in Denmark, I feel better today. The midwife was nice (not that I'll probably ever see her in particular again). She confirmed the use of drugs and epidurals, she let me listen to the heartbeat for a long time, and she pointed out where her head, back and feet were... The little kicker is about 2.5 lbs right now. :)


tara

Deer Park

Today we went to the deer park. I don't know why, but there seems to be a lot of deer parks in Denmark. You can go walk around on trails and have picnics and just play in the forest. ...and there are lots of deer around ready to eat any carrots or apples you are willing to share. : ) Afterwards we went to a nearby beach for a bit.

The weather is still great! It's been in the mid-70s, low 80s. The sun is lasting until about 10pm already too. If it gets any hotter I'll be uncomfortable, so I'm happy just like this. ...and nobody seems bothered by the 4:30am sun yet.

85 more days to go with this kicking belly, and I'm just now starting to have my concerns about this whole Danish birth thing. I've decided I'll make up aliments to get real medicine. I'll lie for drugs, no problem... : ) I think talking to a doctor or midwife at some point would make me feel better though. Today I searched the internet and diaganosed myself with 14 diseases and possible complications I currently have or will have.

No Doctors

Yesterday I went for my first doctor's appointment in six months. (...other than the ultrasounds and the appointment where they said, "yep, you are pregnant")

I got there and the office was closed. There were two very long letters written in Danish. I know can read a little... the word for closed is "lukket" and that was written in big red letters next to a word that resembled "strike" but I didn't understand any more of it. I tried to call the number on the letter and I'm sure they told me lots of helpful information... in Danish. So I took pictures of the letters with my phone so I could show someone later and they could read them to me. :) Luckily as I was leaving another big-bellied lady showed up and all she could tell me was that when the strike is done I am supposed to call and schedule an appointment again. I hope they understand this is a fairly time sensitive thing.

All the daycares have been on strike here for about a month and I guess the nurses and doctors joined them just the other week. Sierra's teacher sometimes has to bring her 3 year old into school because she has nowhere else to put him! I don't think it will be over anytime soon - but how would I know...? I'm totally guessing. I can't understand the news or read newspapers... : )

Paul is going to check at work today, but I think we get additional special doctors that we can go to because he is important. I'd like to have someone to deal with this baby at some point. There's only so much I can do on my own!

Bike Ride in the SUN

It's sunny! It's been perfect spring weather for a few weeks now... or else I'm just adjusting nicely and now with happy with anything above freezing.

Michaela's bike never made it into the container when we shipped our stuff here so she got a new one this weekend and she loves it because it has three gears! It's a cute typical Danish bike with the fenders, bell, back "luggage" rack, and key bike lock. We finally went to the big lake a few blocks from our house. It has a nice bike path all the way around and hungry sheep and ducks along the way.

So we all went for a lovely ride by the lake. I blame my inability to keep up with the others on my 15 year old bike that I haven't sat on in 13 years. Even Sierra and her tiny wheels left me in the dust. (Let's all keep in mind the miracle of life I'm currently putting all my energy into creating... and that I have been doing this 24 hours a day, for the last six months straight - without any breaks.) So it's okay if I pedal slow.

We set up the trampoline too. Scotty spent the entire day bouncing in happiness. :) We even barbequed. It felt like an October day in California, but it was great. I was happy.

Our trip home is almost planned. We know we are leaving here on May 23rd but as for exacts... not quite sure. But I've started my list of things we MUST buy. I'm amused while looking through it so I'll share. Every day I add a couple more things as I think about them.

- cat tags/collars
- hanging file folders
- pancake mix
- umbrellas
- scotty pull ups
- infant swim diapers
- cat flea stuff
- white sauce
- graham crackers
- dryer sheets
- folding sandwich bags
- rolling pin
- peanut butter
- parmeasan cheese
- kettle corn
- frosting
- pancake syrup
- garbage bags
- infant tylenol
- kid vitamins
- memory stick
- poofy shower things
- happy's salad dressing