General Update

It was 30 weeks on Thursday...and if you have to ask 'for what?!', then you're almost as nonchalant about the whole pregnancy thing as we are; not in a bad way, mind you - it's just that everything is cruising along so well (fingers crossed) that the time is flying by. Before you know it, this little girl is really going to take centre stage!

Not a lot else is happening. The boys have started Little Ninja classes at Flip-out (trampolining facility) and they're loving that. Linc is on a break from swimming, while Carter continues with his classes and has been doing really well.

Summer is almost here, and we've had some beautiful weather lately. Haven't been doing so many nature walks lately, but have been out on the bikes more, which is great for Carter as he is needing the practice!

The boys continue to demonstrate how different they really are; for example, Carter will just about float up the rock wall at the local park, while Linc tackles it with a heap more trepidation - Carter surprised me the other day when I was in the roof as he climbed right to the top of the ladder; Linc, well he freaked out after going up two steps of the same ladder. But a funny thing he said this morning... for context, we were watching some old MotoGP footage and there was quite a few crashes and he said, if my team mate crashed I would stop and help - I wouldn't care about winning... I would stop and help him. Beautiful kid, he really has a heart of gold (which is probably going to be the cause of some interesting/emotional times later in life!)...

Carter had a day at his big school last week - he's going to love it!

Found this little guy, at the little playground 10 minutes up the road!

Mum has nine more days left of work and then she's off for a whole year. While most will be on half-pay, it's still going to be interesting maintaining the life we have become accustomed to! Which is an odd thing to say as life will be nothing like what we have become accustomed to when little miss joins the family!

Adelaide holiday

This school holidays we finally made it to Adelaide to visit the grandparents. And it was one of the most relaxing holidays we've had in a long time; the kids had a ball and it was sometimes difficult to drag them from Nan and Granddad's huge house and backyard. You see, Nan and Granddad had spoiled the kids so they had a bunch of new things to play with when they arrived - like a new scooter each!

But when we did manage to pry the kids off their scooters, we visited the Adelaide Zoo, Moana Beach, Victor Harbour, Granite Island, Urimbirra Wildlife park, and even did a nature walk near Chapel Hill winery / Blewitt Springs on Wine Gum Trail (fitting name!). And yes, we did find a couple of scorpions...(!)...

For Mum's birthday I shouted her (and me!) a night at the Stamford Grand Glenelg; our room was upgraded to a VIP room and we had a spectacular view. It was nice to reconnect and spend some time eating fine food and GELATOS!

All too soon (yep, we could've stayed longer!) the holiday was over; back on the Qantas jet and home in 1 hr 10 min. No issues with the boys and flying; they're already used to it - but the Qantas club helped with free Playstation 4 and Youtube (so Linc could Youtube Minecraft videos!)...

Adelaide Zoo (with Flat Lincoln - part of Linc's school project)

Granite Island

Urimbirra Wildlife Park

Linc with a Childrens Python

Mum, our little girl (hidden) and a cuddly Koala

Snake wrangling (Carter's term)

Moana Beach

So, would we live in Adelaide? Yes. And no. It would be difficult for me to find a job that pays so well so we could afford to continue with the life we have become accustomed to (which has gotten all that much better after re-financing our mortgage at 3.89% pa!). And despite the fact it would be fantastic having a beach nearby, and where winter wouldn't be so soul-destroying, it's a long way from Mum's family, and the ridiculous speed limits and over-zealous enforcement of said speed limits would drive me crazy - try an eight-lane motorway where the speed limit is 70 km/h... seriously...

Back home and we (read, I) have been busy in the garden, planting a row of pittosporum silver sheen to give us some privacy between our deck and the neighbour's ensuite! Oh, and we've entered the sharemarket - just dipping a toe in for now, but it's a marathon, not a sprint!

Carter's birthday party

Carter's birthday party was on Saturday at the Reptile Centre; it was a little belated as the centre was unavailable nearer to his birthday - but we knew it would be worth waiting, and it didn't disappoint. Carter had a fantastic time, and so did Linc, Mum and Dad!

He was amazing, holding all of the animals without issue, and made sure everyone got to pat each animal/reptile.

Pregnancy update - 19.5 wks

So... do I have a story for you...

It all started on August 31, which was our second appointment with the obstetrician; it also marked 17.5 weeks, which meant it was possible to determine the sex of the baby. So obstetrician has difficulty finding the bits (or lack thereof) as baby has their legs crossed. A few other checks later, the baby is doing well, but still not playing ball (excuse the pun). Anyway, OB asks Mum what sex she thinks it is; Mum responds we are pretty sure it's a boy; OB says, yep, I think you're right - about 90-95% sure. Cool. We are excited - over the moon actually - and relieved as we have done alright with the two boys we have, and know what to expect...

Fast forward two weeks to today's appointment with the Fetal Medical Assessment Centre for the 4D scan of our beautiful boy.

And there's no doodle.

The sonographer (who, it turns out, used to work with Mum in retail!) is convinced it's a princess; a number of checks, double-checks, and triple-checks later and she is as certain as can be - we're having a GIRL! She's about 300g, so around the 40th percentile for weight (which is no real surprise given how little the boys were). But there's five fingers and toes and everything is in the right place - including her beautiful little nose and big-ass lips (just like her Momma!)...

So Mum is in shock (and thankfully already laying down!), and Dad reverts to an instinctive 'fight or flight' response and starts backing away towards the door. In hindsight, probably reacting to the clear and present danger associated with our whole world being turned on it's head by a mini FEMALE version of us!

A few hours on and we're coming to grips with it; but it's still one hell of a shock. We had bought some boys clothes, and even had a top five list of boys names. Back to the drawing board!

No doodle!

Incredible image of baby's spine

Five fingers on each hand!

Lenses present in both eyes...

A bit freaky looking, but amazing nonetheless

Isn't she beautiful! Look at that cute little nose and full lips (takes after Mum!)

Happy Birthday Carter!

So proud of you kiddo; turning into quite an assertive young fellow, as you grow and make your mark on the world. Five years has flown by, and watching you develop has been an amazing experience.

Dad's famous Snowman

Today it snowed in Canberra for the first time in almost a decade. While it wasn't enough to settle on the ground at home, it was definitely enough at higher elevations to make snowmen! But being a schoolday, the kids were trapped in school, and it was up to dad to go and make the obligatory snowman. So up to Mt Ainslie I headed (elevation: 846m), made the snowman, had a blast, and then headed back to work!

Little did I know what a stir my snowman would cause. He's a social media sensation, made the front page on the Canberra Times website, and was even on WIN News! Crazy stuff...

In other news, Linc has been complaining of itchy bumps on his ears; Google diagnosis: Polymorphic light eruptions...!

Polymorphic light eruption (PLE) is the most common of the photodermatoses. It is more common in women then men, affecting 15% of women in the UK. Juvenile spring eruption is a variant of PLE, affecting only the ears. PLE can affect any age but is more common in teenagers and young adults. Juvenile spring eruption affects mainly boys aged 5-14 years...

Exciting news...

We are pleased to announce that we are having a baby! Yes, we must be mad...

Due early February, the bub is 13 weeks and going strong (aside from making Mum very crook!).

We had an early hiccup with some stomach cramping, but after some precautionary blood tests and two ultrasounds two weeks apart, all looked good.

5.5 weeks, and all that can be seen is the yolk sack!

8 weeks - a little bit bigger now - about the size of a kidney bean

This was confirmed on Monday at our 12 week scan, with all the right bits, in all the right places (except for a missing nasal bone).

63 mm!

Cute already!

A very healthy 163 beats per minute

Today was our first appointment with the obstetrician; for $3k, let's hope she's actually around to deliver this baby (the last OB didn't make it for Carter!)...

The results of the Combined Risk Assessment tests (chromosonal defects etc.) were very good - i.e. risk of down syndrome went from 1:182 (high risk purely due to age) to 1:1658 (takes into account nuchal fold, blood tests and age). The only non-text book bit was that the sonographer couldn't find a nasal bone (a identifiable nasal bone further reduces the risk of down syndrome).

So, given that there wasn't a nasal bone identified (although the obstetrician didn't seem to care) combined with Mum's history of pre-eclampsia we have been referred to a high risk fetal assessment centre for an 18 week 4D scan - noting there is nothing to worry about, it's just a precaution (as is the aspirin a day that is designed to reduce the risk of early onset pre-eclampsia)... Oh, and we should be be able to ID the sex at this ultrasound!

Here we go again...!