Queasy Queeny

The morning was crisp, the sky was blue, the firsttimers were happily pottering around the house washing the dishes and generally doing bugger all. All was good in the world. Among the quiet contentment you could almost forget that you have something special inside you growing. And that a battle is happening in your body - that this 'something special' is in constant competition with your own body for valuable nutrients.

But this little person can at any time kick up a fuss if its not getting its way.

Imagine our concern when firsttimegirl suddenly felt dizzy and needed to sit down. She then started to go very pale. I turned to get her a drink only to turn back to find the chair she was sitting in was vacant. Then fear struck me. She was in the toilet (that's the bathroom to any American readers). This represented an ultimate test. Of course Im concerned. And of course I'll knock to see whether she's ok. But should I go in?

I can handle blood, guts, cuts and bruises, fairground rides, the scariest of gorey movies not to mention some pretty nauseas sky dives and bungee jumps. But seeing someone be sick is a definite no-no. It tends to cause a chain reaction as far as my stomach is concerned. It conjures up memories of being back at school; on a trip to the Lake District. 15 schoolkids, post big english-breakfast, mini-bus, lots of hills, splat, domino effect. you get the picture.

Pathetically I knocked on the door and asked if she was ok: no reply.

Now me and firsttimegirl have both had some pretty heavy nights out, drunk so much that we cannot talk or walk. We also eaten some pretty dodgy early morning "food". But neither of us have ever had to encounter the sick-thing. Until now.

Thoughts raced through my head; what if she's collapsed? what if she has flushed herself down the toilet? but what if she's being sick that much that she cant speak...... Cmon man, you've got to get used to it, pull yourself together. You're having a baby. Pregnancy is a sharing experience. Its partly your responsibility and you should work through this together.

So I entered the toilet. It was worse than I could've imagined. Not only was she being sick, but she was also sat on the toilet - holding her hands over her mouth. So I left the glass of water on the floor and ran off.

gimme some skin

Its amazing the sorts of things you learn about yourself when you're pregnant - for example, I found out that twins runs in our family - and also because one of my relatives is Chinese then that makes me susceptible to thalassaemia which is a blood disorder that affects asians. Imagine my supportive dad-to-be smug smile turn to horror when I found out I had to have a blood test for this. They say that pregnancy is a sharing experience, and is based around giving and receiving, I didn't realise that this meant me giving my blood and receiving pain in return. There was nothing in the brochure about this.

Which brings me onto another point. Throughout my life whenever I've had to complete forms of any importance I always felt I needed to complete any references to race as white/caucasian. I since found out that Im officially in the 'other' category (yes the category normally reserved for confused drunks and aliens) - again because of my Chinese grandma.

Talking of which, I plan to tell the Chinese one today that she is going to be a great grandma. Being of Chinese origin, she is generally over supportive (although my mums stories of her letting me fall off the sofa onto my head contradicts this) so hopefully it will go ok. Watch this space.

Anyway, onto our pregnancy and from looking at our nice new pack for pregnant people (which will probably be used to scribble phone numbers on in a few weeks time but for now is very interesting and informative) apparently arms and legs growth was the big news for our baby last week - this week means that 'skin is in' and now a special layer has developed into what will become fingers and toenails - clever stuff.

Midwife crisis

Today we have been for our first mid-wife appointment. Being a first-time pregnant couple we did not know what to expect in the slightest - and it really hit home for the first time that we're actually bringing a child into this world!! (and to think we're going to be raising the next generation of politicians and scientists!!)

Anyway, the session went really well and we left with a big pack full of leaflets containing dos and donts. We were thinking afterwards that there seems to be a lot of 'guidelines' to what you can and cant do, particularly around food. Which kind of makes you think; how did generations-gone-by cope when this information wasnt so readily available? Sometimes I think you can be too cautious about these things. We understand the obvious risks associated with smoking and drinking during pregnancy but I mean, eating an apple from a supermarket which has been placed there by a shop assistant whose mother had a bag of cashews in 1995 is hardly going to make our child boz-eyed and talk with a lisp is it? Theyre tough little boggers - even at 12 weeks.

btw - the reason I've used a blue template is because Im convinced its going to be a boy!