We have almost survived the holiday season! It definitely hasn't been relaxing like we were hoping for but never mind.
We started antenatal classes through NCT (National Childbirth Trust) last week and they've been amazing. We've learned probably more than we want to know about the impending arrival of our little one and have met some other couples who have babies due around the same time as ours. NCT is really good because you have your three classes with your group, then the moms meet up every week for the entirety of maternity leave (about 6 months). So every Tuesday we'll get together and drink tea and vent and share stories. It will be a great support system, especially for me since my normal support system lives so far away!
Between antenatal classes, Christmas shopping, and Christmas traveling, we've also been trying to get all the documents sorted out for my spouses visa. You need about 342702 documents and they all have to be stamped and signed by different banks and employers. It's extra frustrating trying to do it at this time of year because everything closes for the holidays and Mat's been really busy and work and almost all the documents have to come from him. Our appointment is tomorrow morning (keep your fingers crossed!) so we're nearly there but we still have things to frantically try to get stamped by the bank at 9 am on New Year's Eve on our way to the appointment. Also, if my application is delayed or refused, we can't move into our new apartment because they won't approve my tenancy until I have a spouse visa. So not only will I be an illegal immigrant, I'll also be living under London Bridge! It's really no surprise that I've had high blood pressure lately.
Now onto Baby. We had a bit of a scare last week with some high blood pressure and Baby deciding to take an extra EXTRA long nap. Went into the hospital and the second they put the monitor on me Baby decided to wake up and punch it…… typical. Blood pressure is still a bit high (I blame Christmas) but nothing to be too concerned about so I've just been going in for weekly blood pressure checks with the nurse. Other than that Baby is happy as a clam! And getting gigantic, as you can see (chalkboard courtesy of Mathew again).
(I have to be really creative with my photoshopping these days.. in real life I'm pale and exhausted looking but iPhoto can really make a person look like a living human being!)
We had Christmas at the Horvath's in Dorking. Bit of a traveling nightmare because there were huge storms the day before Christmas Eve causing almost all the trains to be canceled and the roads to flood. We weren't even sure we were going to be able to get to Dorking at all! It all worked out in the end though and we had a lovely few days with Mat's family.
We haven't even had a spare second to start thinking about packing up our house and getting ready to move because it's just been a crazy few weeks! I went out to the shed where we were keeping all of our boxes only to find that they are all damp from the lovely London weather so we need to buy new ones. Yet another time I wish I had a car! I can't really lug moving boxes home on the tube and then carry them the mile walk home. London is a hard city to be pregnant in because all of the walking and carrying just gets to be too much when you're as gigantic as I'm starting to feel. I probably walked 4 miles today just going to antenatal class, to pick up keys from Mat, to the post office and back home (when I say I walked, I mean I alternated between walking and waddling). And I spent about £10 on buses/tube journeys in between all the walking! If anyone wants to drive me around for the next month that would be much appreciated :)
We haven't made any plans for New Year's because honestly.. what do you do for New Year's when you're 8 months pregnant? The choices are severely limited, even in a city the size of London. We have a park with a big hill down the street that overlooks most of the city so I think we'll waddle down there at 11:45 (if I'm still awake) and see if we can see some fireworks. Hopefully we'll also be having a cheeky glass of sparkling apple juice to celebrate my approved visa (again people, keep those fingers crossed!).
On that note, I'm off to do some more worrying (I blame my mother for passing along this trait).
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