Platypus Diaries Part #9

This is the ninth entry in the diary of my pregnancy. Because it would amount to many pages of reading to cover September through to the present day in one post, I've broken this up into readable bits. Here is part nine:

Platypus Diaries #9

23 March
Attitude change. This is going to be my survival list. There are so many aches and pains and things to be negative about during the last trimester and I refuse to get sucked into a game of self pity. There are also SO MANY reasons to be joyous and happy. This is my third trimester happiness list:

1. There are only three trimesters and they do really fly by
2. Madden will have a sibling to keep her company and vice-versa
3. Soon we will have a sweet little baby who does everything for the very first time
4. I am happy to actually be pregnant at this age
5. So far, everything is normal and there have been no dramas
6. Strangers smile at me
7. I have a whole different wardrobe that I get to wear
8. Feeling warm means that I no longer need to carry a sweater ‘just in case’
9. Lack of judgment for eating a bit more than I used to
10. I get to sit down during surgeries
11. I always get a seat on the train
12. Patients ask me about my baby and tell me about their grandchildren and great grandchildren
13. Most people are happy in my presence – it’s hard to be angry at a pregnant woman
14. People open doors
15. The new hires at work usually get sent along with me for the day to serve as sherpas.
16. After dinner I usually play with Madden on the floor and Eric does the dishes
17. When my daughter sits on my lap, Eric laughs about her lumbar support cushion
18. I get to sleep with a fortress of pillows
19. Insomnia means that I’m very efficient even at 3AM.
20. My shadow is awesome
21. Naps
22. Nesting
23. Buying clothes in the 18-24 month size for one kid and stopping to have a look at the newborn selections as well
24. It’s the second time around – it just has to be easier, doesn’t it?
25. Having a two hour conversation where you discuss nothing but names
26. Laughing hysterically at a name that one of you loves and the other objects to strongly
27. The increase in the amount of emails from friends and family wondering if the time is near….
28. Baby movement!
29. The fact that my lovely Eric still thinks I’m beautiful


27 March
34 weeks. Made a move today to start prepping for baby…took down the box labeled “Madden clothing, 0-12 months”. I didn’t say I’ve opened the box yet, but it’s been located and is now at perusal level.
I would consider that step 1.


28 March
Happy Birthday Eric! I know that it was your day but I do appreciate the fact that you allowed me to take a 2 hour nap this afternoon. That made it feel like it was MY birthday too. Tee hee.
It was another (perhaps last?) hot day here in Melbourne. 31 degrees C, that’s 88 F, I’m truly going to implode.

Insomnia happens at this stage in pregnancy and when it hits, it just seems to linger on through a long night. It was fun to have a 2 am online conversation with Amy, AND I did get to publish to facebook this very cute photo of daddy and daughter….

Happy BDay.


29 March, 2010
Every now and again, the card calls to us from its location in the desk drawer. The card that I am refering to is the one sealed and labeled “BABY”. It is written by the ultrasound doctor and it indicates the sex of our little platypus. Today it is beckoning Eric, two days ago I swear it called me by name. Sometimes it tortures both of us and we promise that when we get home from wherever we are, we are going to open it and read it at long last.

But we don’t.

Ultimately we feel that the surprise is key to the whole experience. So, we go on engaging in this sort of torture and taunting.

It’s become a bit of a game. Eric wants to know the gender…he threatens to open the card… he pulls card dramatically out of desk drawer…he runs around the apartment carrying the card high over his head and pretending to rip into the seal…I scream and chase and we both end up laughing…he relinquishes the envelope and I pretend to hide it again from him in the exact same location from where it was just retrieved.

A week later we repeat the same sequence with each of us playing a different role.

6 April, 2010
My favorite maternity work shirt has become a definite NO. The problem with maternity clothing is that it really only lasts a trimester. What works in the beginning doesn’t even come close to fitting at the end and the stuff one wears during the final trimester looks hilarious at the beginning. The silk shirt in question has done me well so far…it’s a beautiful royal blue, it fits wonderfully and looks dressy and appropriate with just about everything. A real maternity hit. But now my belly button has decided to go out…and there is nothing a silk shirt reveals more than a strange little lump in the middle of the abdomen. When my husband says “NO WAY” to the shirt as I attempt to leave the house, I KNOW it’s not a good look.

Bye bye cute silk shirt – Hello, horrid tent clothing.