Catnapping = Kidnapping?

Something very strange happened today.

I was sitting on the sofa looking out the window just after feeding Magnus (he likes to sit by the window while he's eating) and saw a teenaged girl walk down to our front door. She stood there for a few minutes so I figured she had seen our cat sitting outside and came down to give him kos. The next thing I know I see her turn her back and struggle for a few seconds and she starts walking up to the road to meet her friend.

OK. What the hell just happened?

I quickly ran to the door, yelled out in my best Norwegian (I decided to use dialect and slang) and asked where she was going with my cat. She looked completely stunned. I thought it was funny because our cat lept out of her arms and ran into the house, and she looked like an idiot trying to walk off with my cat.

I wasn't so much mad as I was shocked. Why would someone walk up to someone's front door and take their cat? If he was outside playing and was metres and metres away from our house I would understand (alot of cats are outdoor cats here) but come on, my front door? Would someone please explain it to me?

My biological clock is digital.

Just counting down the days... When is this kid going to get here? I'm not the only one who is anxious either. Every night in bed whether it's an easy one or not, Ørjan turns to me in semi-panic and asks if I'm ok. Last night he even turned to me while I was half asleep and said, "Hospital Soon". Ha, like I don't know that already. Each time I plop myself on the toilet I expect to see bloody show but sigh... nothing just yet. Around this time last year I was only days away from going into labour. I keep expecting to go into labour just like I did last year despite the fact that I know every pregnancy and labour is different. I just find it strange that I'm also exhibiting the same behaviours and cravings that I did before I went into labour. The last meals I ate before going to the hospital consisted of salmon and wouldn't you know it... salmon tonight because I've been craving salmon all week. I've also felt more comfortable and at ease than I have during the past couple of weeks. Oh well, we'll see!

Tomorrow I have an appointment scheduled and of course I'm going to have the other Swedish doctor that fills in for Grela. Despite the fact that he's just a substitute for my doctor, he's actually more like my permanent family doctor because I always seem to have him when I go to the health station. He was the first doctor I ever used in Norway, he was the first doctor to examine me when I was pregnant with Magnus (and actually did my other examinations), has performed all my emergency tasks, and he's very easy to talk to... Even if he switches between Swedish and English all the time! Ørjan will be coming home to watch Magnus (which is fabulous) so at least I'll have a little time to myself to get ready. I just wish he didn't feel so paranoid about taking time off work. At least Odd Erik has been positive and said he's ok with giving him the time.

It's now 8pm and I feel another burst of energy coming on. I think I'll go do a few loads of laundry and then search for some recipes for a better buttercream icing. (Decided to make a few dozen mini cupcakes for Magnus' 1st birthday.)

Ut på tur, aldri sur!

Mother's Day is coming up and I've been hinting to this... seriously. WANT THIS.

That is all.

[EDIT]: Ørjan bought it for me!

Could you schedule me a break?

A few things I've been up to... And I still keep pushing myself because I'm desperate and too anxious at this point!

• Magnus' and next baby's laundry
• Organize drawers for baby clothing
• Assemble new twin wagon
• Pack hospital bag
• Pack Magnus's bag (He'll be staying with his farmor while I'm in the hospital)
• Clean out the fridge (OMG we had mystery prawns leftover from December! Ugh!)
• Detailed clean of living room
• Flip and vacuum the sofa cushions
• Organize magazines from subscriptions
• Put up new shelving for livingroom
• Clean bedroom
• Rearrange furniture in baby's room
  
• Clean out inbox
  
• Start decorating for Chinese New Year
• Send in forms for Magnus
• Send application to renew my residence in Norway

JANUARY

• 04.01.08 - Appointment with midwife 12:30
• 14.01.08 - Ultrasound at hospital 11:00
• 17.01.08 - Babyground & Magnus' appointment 13:00
• 22.01.08 - Pregnancy appointment with doctor 09:40 (labwork)
• 23.01.08 - Pregnancy appointment with doctor 14:10
• 31.01.08 - Pregnancy appointment with doctor 10:50

FEBRUARY

• 04.02.08 - Ultrasound at hospital 11:00
• 07.02.08 - Magnus' first birthday!!!
• 07.02.08 - Chinese New Year
• 12.02.08 - Pregnancy appointment with doctor 10:50 (If I haven't already given birth!)
• 13.02.08 - Sophie was born today!!!
• 19.02.08 - Checkup at hospital with midwife 10:30
  
• 22.02.08 - Dental appointment 12:30
  
• 25.02.08 - Helsesøster appointment (housecall) for Sophie
  
• 29.02.08 - Healthstation appointment for Magnus 11:00
  

Aggrevated

I'm started to become very aggrevated. Very, very, aggrevated.

Yesterday morning they scheduled me for an early 9:40 appointment with my doctor (fucking idiot that is NEVER there) and wouldn't you know it? I get there and the reception lady tells me that Grela wouldn't be in until 11am. Why couldn't they have called me to tell me this?! My options were to get my lab work done and wait until after 11, or do my lab work and come back the next day or later. I opted to come back today because it made no sense for me to wait around for a couple of hours... especially since Ørjan had to take time off work to come home and watch Magnus. It really bothers me the way we always get jerked around here when it comes to our health station. I have to go back up there today and it's not just an inconvenience, it's a painful inconvenience. I can barely walk without pain and I haven't slept much due to my size, the size and strength of my contractions, and Magnus' moods. Anyhow...

Last year I had an appointment with Grela and guess what, they scheduled me at 9am on January 2nd! I had to drag my pregnant ass out of bed early, wait around for 45 minutes while everyone adjusted to the first day back, he checked me over for no more than 5 minutes because he was running late, and then wished me luck with the rest of my pregnancy. WTF? I wasn't due until February 20th yet he treated me as if it were my last checkup... which it ultimately was! Every time I have this guy he checks me over, doesn't really pay any attention to what I'm saying, and then quickly writes something up and initials it. What bothers me more is that this guy is supposed to be my permanent doctor yet for 80% of my visits I always receive the other Swedish guy (who is sooooo much nicer - he likes to talk about hockey) that has to take over for his absences. Rydsaa only has a few dozen openings left and I have tried to switch over to him, but for some reason the application hasn't gone through. I realize that he's a specialist and that it will cost slightly more once I'm not pregnant, but it's worth it to have someone that is actually there, and hey, he's also our nextdoor neighbour so he does know us and I trust that he wouldn't screw us over.

I'm also upset because Ørjan decided to come home and help me today because he's afraid I'll go into labour soon and he sees how hard I have it now. He and I have always discussed the pressure and guilt he feels when he has to take off work, but now I just find it absurd that some people have such attitudes. He went into work this morning, explained to the office lady what our situation was, and she had the nerve to tell him, "Well I know how hard it is to be a mother, and now I'm a grandmother and take care of my grandchildren a couple of hours... it's not like I couldn't handle it." Well that's just fantastic. Guess what grandma, we have NO ONE that can help us. The only person I have is Ørjan. We have no family that lives close enough to help us when we need it, and if we ever needed a sitter, we'd have to arrange it well in advance. The first and only time I've had his family babysit for us were the two nights we celebrated around the time of his work's Christmas party. So here I am, days and possibly weeks (let's hope not!) away from giving birth and I'm still the only caregiver for my very active 1 year old son. It is not easy. I do all the cooking, cleaning, washing, and 95% of the care for Magnus. I barely sleep, my body constantly aches, and there is no one to help me. I've been pregnant for over 18 months (that's right!) with only a 3 month break in between - my body is exhausted. When I hear people say that it's not so bad because they've done it before, that they know from experience because they have children, I just want to slap them. I've been pregnant for almost two years, am raising a child with very little help, and I'm doing it in a country and a community that doesn't offer anything but excuses.

Ugh... I'm just so upset this morning. The only reason why I have time to write this out is because I'm sitting here waiting for some other laundry to finish and Ørjan took Magnus back upstairs for a nap. I don't even know if anything I've typed is coherent and right now I couldn't care less.

EDIT: The appointment that was scheduled for 2:10 happened, but he took me at 2:47 (the office closes at 3), and I was out of there by 3:04. Ugh. Ørjan could have just come slightly earlier to look after Magnus instead of coming home early this morning. I hate that we both wasted our day because of this extra appointment that they had to schedule. At least now I have some peace of mind that things are still going as they should. I also have a couple more appointments scheduled for the upcoming weeks... which he has scheduled with the other Swedish doctor of course.

A few updates.

I'm not quite sure if it's that nesting instinct that's kicking in, or whether I'm just being responsible and prepared (for once!) for the next baby, but I've been trying to clean, organize, and order/buy new items for the home and for the baby. I've been buying new bedding, ironing curtains that I've been considering using, and have probably done over 12 loads of laundry this week. I've also been keen on trying to keep myself occupied despite the fact that I just want to sleep at least 20 hours of the day. (I love Ørjan so much for taking more time to look after Magnus while I try to get in some extra rest.) It's been somewhat of a struggle lately since I'm alot bigger than I was with Magnus. Not only is this baby already bigger, but the size of my stomach is larger. Trying to sleep is a nightmare because I don't have a body pillow and I tend to move around and wake up on my back, and it's not easy when you roll over and find a baby next to you. While Magnus has been very good at sleeping in his own crib, some nights are just too hard and we have to take him into our bed between 3 and 6. I also have this tendency to wake up around 4am (to pee of course) and stay up for an hour or two. After an hour of being up I tend to feel hunger pangs, eat something, and then stupidly try to sleep again. Oh well.

The Lunar New Year is almost here... well, not quite, but I'm just so excited because not only is it the year of the Rat (I'm a rat) and the beginning of the cycle, but this year it lands on Magnus' 1st birthday. I'm not quite sure what I can manage to do for his birthday because we're all afraid I might actually be in labour or have given birth at this point, but at the least we can all celebrate together the new year. For Magnus' birthday I plan to decorate the house with all the decorations we purchased during a shopping spree in Chinatown this summer, and I've already started to prepare and freeze dim sum for the little feast we'll have.

Must get back to cleaning now. Thank god Ørjan is upstairs napping with Magnus... I'm afraid I'd never get anything done.

To try before you die

I don't think I've done too badly considering that some items require that you visit certain locations in the UK, Australia, or Asian to obtain them - The BBC's 50 Things to Eat Before You Die 2007 list: ( bolded items have been eaten or tasted)

1. Fresh fish
2. Lobster (With all the Red Lobster visits we had as children, you'd think I would have tried it once!)
   
3. Steak
4. Thai food
5. Chinese food
6. Ice cream
7. Pizza
8. Crab
9. Curry
10. Prawns
11. Moreton Bay Bugs
12. Clam chowder
13. Barbecues
14. Pancakes
15. Pasta
16. Mussels
17. Cheesecake
18. Lamb
19. Cream tea (For the love of God, I cannot add cream or milk to coffee or tea)
    
20. Alligator
21. Oysters
22. Kangaroo
23. Chocolate
24. Sandwiches
25. Greek food
26. Burgers
27. Mexican food
28. Squid
29. American diner breakfast
30. Salmon
31. Venison
32. Guinea pig (If I ever found myself in South America I would try it, I swear.)
    
33. Shark
34. Sushi
35. Paella
36. Barramundi
37. Reindeer
38. Kebab
39. Scallops
40. Australian meat pie
    
41. Mango
42. Durian fruit (Would the stench follow me for the rest of the week?)
    
43. Octopus
44. Ribs
45. Roast beef
46. Tapas
47. Jerk chicken/pork
48. Haggis (I'm willing to try it once)
    
49. Caviar
50. Cornish pasty

How to feed happiness

Some quick news because it's actually good news and not a complaint: Magnus is walking! He's been walking around the house for over a month if he can hold on to something, and he could walk when we'd hold his hand, but now he's walking on his own! He can only walk 1-2 metres before he wants to sit and crawl, but still, we're so proud. You should see Ørjan's face - such pride.

This morning and afternoon were definite struggles, but at least I felt somewhat relieved during the evening. Ørjan took Magnus for a couple of hours which meant I had independent time to do whatever I wished. I probably should've napped but instead I made sushi. We haven't had it for so long and it was an instant pick-me-up. It was great because it meant I didn't really have to do much cooking and there wasn't much to clean up afterwards. The only drawback is that Magnus was incredibly interested in grabbing what we were eating. Oh well.

Oh, and since I didn't mention it in my earlier posts, I'm starting to get slightly paranoid that this baby might come earlier than anticipated. Maybe I'm just feeling more and seeing more signs since I've gone through all this before (just 9 months ago!) but I have this strange feeling that the baby will be here soon. It would be funny if I went into labour before my next ultrasound on Monday. I most likely won't, but you never know.

I am so exhausted. I have no idea how I'm going to handle both Magnus and the next baby at the same time. I feel so guilty that my time is going to be spread so thinly.

On top of everything else, my meds for my left breast make me even more sleepy - but I HAVE to take them. What frustrates me so much is that this is the same breast that had an infection (mastitis) only weeks after giving birth. Immediately I noticed the milk production from the left side decreased and Magnus wouldn't take it so often. I hope whatever I have/had doesn't completely destroy my milk production in the upcoming weeks.

Hicks, heartburn, and a heavy stomach

I've reached 34 weeks. Someone needs to get this baby out of me soooooon! This pregnancy has definitely been more trying and more exhausting than when I carried Magnus. I don't have too much to say because I'm sure it would only be complaining at this point. I've been up since 4 but that's quite normal - The usual need to pee and strange hunger pangs don't afford me too many options. Tonight I woke up with excrutiating heartburn (when I sat up I actually vomitted and felt the acid in my mouth) and Ørjan thought it was labour. HA! If only!

Must try to sleep. So tired but unable to sleep. And why do I feel so hungry? Damn. Only a few more weeks and this will all be over. I'll have an empty stomach, I'll be back to breastfeeding, and I won't feel like a house on legs.

Room to complain

Why does this have to happen every time I have an appointment somewhere? This afternoon I'll be seeing my midwife (luckily) but I know the remainder of the day will be a waste.

Last night was not a dream at all. For the past couple of days I've noticed a couple very large lumps on my left breast. They appear to be blocked milk ducts and I'm not quite sure how to treat them since I'm no longer producing milk. (Although I'll be back in production in only a few short weeks.) I've tried hot compresses, massaging the painful lumps, and have even tried extracting milk or fluids the old fashioned way but nothing seems to work. It's incredibly painful moving around especially when I need to bend or reach for something... and sleeping? Oh god. I have to sleep on my back trying to push my left boob to hang on its side so that some pressure will be relieved. Sleeping on my back at this point is incredibly uncomfortable as well, even if I do prop my head up with several pillows to avoid acid from spewing back up my esophagus. When I'm on my back the baby likes to creep up and position itself under my ribs making it more difficult to breathe and more difficult to stand up during the night when I have to make those trips to pee.

Anyhow... last night. Magnus woke us up at 1:00 with such a loud scream. Rarely does this kid scream (unless he's fallen and hurt himself or had a bad dream) but he chose to last night. Neither of us could do anything to stop him. We tried feeding, giving fluids, singing, rocking, walking him, playing music... and nothing worked. I was beginning to fear the worst that perhaps he had some kind of stomach bug or that he had somehow injested poison without us knowing (I know, crazy, right?) but as soon as he caught view of our cat the laughing and smiling kicked in. I can't even remember what time we managed to fall asleep but it wasn't easy. Magnus kept kicking and moving in his sleep. Poor Ørjan has to wake up for 6 to go to work... he slept in an extra hour and decided to be late.

Now I should also mention that this next part will be a complaint about the weather. WHAT THE FUCK! On the days when I have an appointment (AND NO CAR!) and have to walk to get there, why does this horrible weather have to start? Either it's a snow storm, it's raining like hell, or it's hurricane-like winds could literally pick me up and toss me - bad weather always comes on the days I need to be out.

I feel miserable this morning. Thank god my appointment is booked for 12:30 and Ørjan can watch Magnus while I go to my appointment. I need a break. And some breakfast. I probably won't manage either of these things until after I come home. Ugh.

[EDIT] Appointment with the midwife went well enough despite the fact that this is the second time I've had traces of blood in my urine test. Bjørg also sent me up to see the doctor to check out my lumps and now I'll be on medication because they are so deep and inflamed.

// The major lump is gone but it was not pretty. I decided to poke a tiny hole into one (since a tiny white head appeared) and oh jeezs, a very digsuting pus-filled niagara falls came pouring out. I spent an hour last night just trying to get most out and it's still not fully drained! At least my meds seem to be helping. I am so relieved because last night it wasn't painful to sleep at all. (I didn't have to worry about my left boob being squished!)