Our Fourth Scan

December 14th, 2011: Our fourth scan (20 week). It's nice to know that everything is normal before heading off to Tasmania for our Christmas holidays. 

20 weeks....

December 11th, 2011: 20 weeks pregnant and still not showing much of a belly

December 13th, 2011: 20 and a half weeks and showing off my new maternity pants. I realized while packing for our trip to Tasmania that none of my jeans fit me anymore! 

Time to make the announcement...

As October 30th was my birthday, as well as just past the 12 week milestone, we decided to wait until now to tell people we were expecting a baby. The parents were first. I had to break the news to my parents that I wouldn't be able to drink the bottle of sparkling wine they had just sent to me for my birthday. Gareth's mom was in tears and wouldn't believe Gareth so insisted on speaking to me. I convinced her that yes, she would be a grandparent in 6 months. I then told my niece Nellia and had her break the news to my sister and her family. Her response 'Oh my god!'

It felt slightly odd telling people that we were expecting a baby after so many weeks of hiding it. It's fun though hearing all of the Congratulations and getting advice from experienced parents.

Daddy gets introduced to Baby Barlow - our third scan

October 28th, 2011: Daddy gets to meet Baby Barlow today at our  scan.  This was quite an exciting day as it was our first real look at Baby Barlow. The scan showed that everything with baby was normal, along with confirming blood work. I guess this means that we can tell everyone!

China - October 2011

For our October break we decided to go to China and visit our friend Mike who lives in Beijing. We arrived on a beautiful clear day in Beijing, which is generally unheard of. We found out that there was a marathon that weekend so they had 'made' it rain in Beijing to clear the air. We weren't complaining. 

The Great Wall

After a few days sightseeing in Beijing, we headed South to do some climbing about an hour and half from Beijing. We stayed in a tiny little village, we were the only foreigners and absolutely no-one spoke English. Luckily Mike knows a bit of Mandarin so could at least order us some food. It was quite cold there so we all ended up sleeping in our clothes to stay warm. 

We took a 24 hour train journey to Guilin to do some more climbing. The journey there was the real adventure! We were loaded onto the train where we had booked hard sleeper beds. Unfortunately all that was left were the top bunks but luckily they had some seats in the alley that we could sit on. Actually people were quite friendly and offered to let us sit on their bottom beds with them. No one spoke English but that just made it more interesting. Gareth and Mike made quite the impression when they both pulled out their crocheting. Everyone crowded around them and tried to give them pointers in Mandarin. 

Bike Riding in Guilin

Climbing in Guilin

Mommy-to-be climbing, but taking it rather easy

The daddy-to-be not taking it so easy!

Our Second Scan

September 23, 2011: This is our second look at Baby Barlow. This time we can see a heart beating, although it's still early days (baby Barlow is still a secret to everyone but us!). My pregnancy is still going well, my only complaint being the fatigue. Although may that be due to the 4 weeks of week-long school trips I've been on with 80+ grade 4's and 5's...

Our First Scan

September 01, 2011: This was our first picture of baby Barlow at our first Dr's appointment.  He/she is only a few weeks old. So far the pregnancy is going fine - no morning sickness whatsoever much to my surprise and delight as I'm about to leave for the first of 5 UWC school trips to Pulau Sibu and Taman Negara