Buggawhat?

I've been building up a bit of a reputation - mainly between Erin and I - for being able to spot the brand of a pushchair.  It may be sad but I know the difference between a Bugaboo Bee, Cameleon, and Gecko.

Easy.

And why people would go for a Mamas and Papas Joolz,  Skate or Ziko Herbie.

Sometimes I think a Quinny Buzz 3 is a Bugaboo Bee. But more often than not I get it right.

So I apologise to the parents in London who have been stared at while you're rushing through Oxford Street, having lunch in Barkingside or lazing around on a Sunday in Battersea Park.  It was me trying to figure out what makes each brand unique. 

And Erin now stops me when I start banging on about prams and each ones merit if we're in company so I don't bore them half to death. 

But yesterday at our farmer's market breakfast we saw two - one ofter the other - Phil and Ted's Sports Buggies.  This is the first time I'd noticed them.  After this though, everyone seemed to have them, especially if they had two children.  The youngest was usually in the underneath section asleep.

Anyway, when we came back from our afternoon stroll we stopped off to visit Mamas and Papas and Erin joined me in the hunt for the right buggy.  She doesn't like my early frontrunner .  She thinks they are too big.  I did originally think it was a little heavy when I checked it out but still liked the look and feel of it - like many Americans do with SUVs, I suppose.  After she was prammed-out and we were looking at baby clothes we saw a mother pushing her newborn in a Bugaboo Bee. I'd dismissed these as a kind of Porsche of prams - looks good but overpriced. But up close it seemed all the compact-pushy-thing you'd want for urban living, with attachments for off-roading.  So if we spot one on ebay we may well get one.

Which brings me to yesterday evening when we got home. Erin hopped on the internet to see what prams were in cyberspace.  She saw a black Quinny which had hardly been used going for 400 pounds less than in the shops with three minutes to go on the countdown.  It took us a minute to decide if it would be good for us, making sure it could fit a car seat - Maxi Cosi do Quinnys'.  And a carry cot? Yes. So, we decided to go for it.  Unfortunately we entered the wrong Paypal account - you can't use an American one in the UK.  So we missed out but at least we know the strollers, prams and buggies which are on the streets and in the stores can be bought at a reasonable price if you shop around.

And I know I haven't mentioned Silver Cross.  Or Maclaren yet.  There are too many.

And don't get me started on the running ones.

A walk in the park

I attained my weekend blog goal today.  Erin's sister, Robyn, wanted me to take a photo so she can see Erin's pregnancy progress.

One of our friends, Sarah, stayed with us on Friday night and as we caught up on Saturday morning I noticed Erin across the room and saw, for the first time, signs of a spurt in growth of her bump.  My initial thoughts turned to how a little life was actually in there.  It took me a few moments to get back into the conversation Erin and Sarah had ploughed on ahead with.

In the afternoon we went to Hampstead Heath for a little stroll.  After a lovely romantic walk, slightly spoiled by taking the above photos, we found a spot to lie down and started people watching while munching on our picnic, which we'd bought at our local farmer's market. We wondered whether some couples were on a first date, hoped that others weren't; Watched bright young things flinging frisbees, playing badminton and walking their dogs;  and spotted lots of young couples with their babies and toddlers.  We are noticing that there are a lot more of these families out there than before we got pregnant.

Erin took a turn in relaxation by lying down with her head on my belly.  I was immediately struck with a slight pang of jealousy realising that I wouldn't be able to lie with my head on hers for a while. I said this but then had an idea to see if I could check out whether I could hear what was going on inside Erin.  

It was incredible.  I listened hoping I'd catch at least a quelch but then closed my eyes and was taken to another world. 

There was an initial gurgling movement then what seemed to be all sorts of bubbly activity. I was mumbling about my amazement to Erin only for her to giggle - stopping me hearing anything - and ask, 'What's it's first words then? Is it saying Mama or Dada?.'  I was undeterred. The image of the scan came to me, when the UV turned the gel into dramatic awe inspiring life. I was imagining what was going on with the baby, kicking and stretching or moving around to get comfortable as it was wondering why it's little home was being invaded by a head and ear shape.  My mind took me to the vision of life which had been created and was growing, literally underneath me.  

After this I turned to Erin and told her what I'd just experienced.  She wasn't as excited as I was. 'Hold on,' she said, 'turn over and let me do the same to you.'  Sure enough she described the same gurgling and bubbly sounds I'd experienced.  

Imagination is a wonderful thing.  Either that or I could be about to make history.  And I do look a little further gone. 

Picture perfect...or not

Erin's sister, Robyn, has been bugging me to put a recent picture of Erin up.  Here's one from the wedding we were at last week.

Sorry it's got me in it too.  And doesn't show what people want to see from a pregnant woman. I promise to take more of Erin this weekend.

Angry pregnant

Erin and I have just been chatting and she said: 'Hey blog this'.

As always I'm doing as I'm told. But maybe she didn't mean it.

Anyway, she's basically got a gripe as a pregnant woman.  And that gripe is that she's become public property.  People feel that they can say anything, absolutely anything, to her.  They look her up and down and tell her how she looks. Or they tell her she can or can't do things because of her condition (she hates that word). She also hates the fact that her belly has become the focus of conversation.  People forget that she used to be able to chat about all sorts before getting pregnant.  

The 3 main pregnancy cliches you're probably best avoiding when talking to Erin in the next 4.5 months are:

• 'You should(n't) ... In your condition.'  The bit in the middle has ranged from biking to work to bringing a tray of drinks into a room for a meeting.
• 'Oh, are you craving that?'  This is if she asks for anything to eat or drink - and it might be a cup of tea in the middle of the morning - it's automatically assumed she's craving.
• 'Oh, you can eat that now because you're eating for two.'  Technically she's only supposed to eat an extra 300 calories a day. 

Yes,  Erin's a little bit Angry Pregnant today.

Ears and eyebrows

I've been thumbing through  a book we got when we were in the States. It's The Pregnancy Countdown Book by Susan Magee. 

Erin's now 17 weeks pregnant and here's what it says about the baby.

(And just to wind those up who are adamant the child will be a boy it's written as if she's a she.)

Spread your hand open wide.  Study the distance from the top of your thumb to the bottom of your palm.  At 17 weeks of pregnancy, this is the size of the baby - about 5 inches.  She weighs about 6 ounces.  The cartilage of the skeleton is hardening to bone.  Fat is just now forming under her skin.  The bones of her ears and the nerve endings from her brain are now, or will soon be, developed enough for her to hear your voice and heartbeat. So you can start saying 'I love you,' and maybe she'll hear and raise her eyebrows - because she's got those now, too.

From now when we play music the baby will apparently be able to hear. So lots of Mozart then? I doubt it. A few weeks ago I downloaded a load of Mozart for this stage of the pregnancy but have been thinking about it.  Why play classical music when it wouldn't hear it so much in the house when she - I'll go with the book for today's blog - won't be hearing it when she's born?  So what should we purposely play for her to listen to?

Send me your ideas. Most of you will know what she'll hear if I get my way.

So that's what's happening inside Erin at the moment.

On the outside she had her first I've got nothing to wear moment today.  Her clothes are getting tight and she's just about showing - Looking good might I had.  But for her, the use of those maternity trousers and jeans are fast approaching.