My Unborn Baby

This is something new for me, a baby, and it's in my belly.

I can remember the day I found out I was pregnant like yesterday, I had a feeling something was up with me when I did not get my period for 2 weeks. I happen to be walking past a chemist on my lunch break and stopped in my tracks, I thought I have to know for sure and this was the only certain way. I asked the assistant where I find the pregnancy tests and she guided me to the baby section, there are so many to choose from. The assistant assured me they all did the same job so I purchased the test and took it home that night.

I told Andre that I had purchased the test and he wanted me to do it right away...so I peed in a cup (because I did not want to pee all over my hand) and dipped the test fibers into the pee. Now the test is supposed to come up positive after about 5 minutes well, we only had to wait 30 seconds for a positive result, I'm pregnant. I was speechless, I mean I wanted to have children with the love of my life and we talked about it but when it actually happens I did not know what to say. I didn't have to say much anyway Andre was ever so excited and still to this day says it was the happiest day of his life when he found out he was going to be a father. I am excited but weary because of the what if's and I know will I share Andre's excitement once the baby is in my arms.

Pregnancy was not kind to me in the beginning, I had constant nausea 24 hours a day but I never vomited. I was cranky, moody, snappy, tired and I think I almost made Andre hate me during this period. I hated myself because I could not control my own body, I felt like the young girl in the Exorcist movie, possessed by the devil. Saying and doing things I would never in my dreams say otherwise. The nausea stayed with me until 16 weeks before it subsided and I haven't even mentioned the sore gums yet. In to my second trimester my gums on the left side become weak and this was very painful, I could not eat and I still cannot eat on my left side of my mouth.

So far we have had 3 ultra sound tests, the first at 8 weeks. The blob in my uterus did not resemble a baby yet, but it already had a heart beat. Every time we have a scan Andre gets so excited to see the baby, it's a real treat for him because he can have a look behind the scenes once in a while. The second scan was at 13 weeks and now the baby has arms, legs and we see all the internal organs and brain. The last scan was yesterday at 18 weeks with my new obstetrician in Brazil, he is very happy with the baby and I and kept saying how perfect baby looks. It is amazing to see the baby at this stage, we could see all the bones developed and the baby measures 21cm. It's half way to meeting Andre and I.

Thank god now at almost 19 weeks I am finally starting to enjoy my pregnancy, my belly is growing day by day and I love rubbing my buddha belly. For the last three weeks the baby is strong enough for me to feel it moving, at first I thought I had wind but quickly realised that it was actually the baby. Each day the movement gets stronger and stronger and over the past week Andre has been able to feel the baby to, you should see the smile on his face when he feels the baby move. The baby is most active at 10'o'clock in the evening, I when I am settling to sleep, cheeky.

The obstetrician asked if I wanted to know the sex of the baby, at the beginning of the pregnancy I wanted to know so I could pick a name and buy appropriate colours, but now I changed my mind and want a surprise. I figured that I really don't get all that many surprises in my life so I want to wait to the birth to find out whether I am having a boy or a sweet little girl. Right now I don't have any interest in knowing the sex, I am just happy that the baby is healthy and moving. Although I have thought about names, for a girl I would love to name her Jasmin and for a boy I adore Benjamin but Andre is not so keen but one name we have agreed on is Romeo.

Whether is be Jasmin or Romeo, I look forward to finally meeting you come mid april next year.

My new home in Rondonopolis, Brazil

Well here I am in Rondonopolis, Mato Grosso, Brazil. With my new husbands (Andre Gustavo Dinardi Peixoto) family and I am 4 and a half months pregnant. You could say a lot has happened in the last 6 months. There is way to much to write about so I will focus on my first impressions of my new home.

Rondonopolis is a small town with a population of 200,000, to a new comer it would be a bit of a culture shock however I have travelled all through Peru, Bolivia and Brazil before so I knew what to expect. Rondonopolis is a very dusty town, not just any old dust but red dust, I kept waiting for horse back cowboys to stroll down the main roads and my wait is over, last night on the way home form the farmers markets I got my 2 cowboys on horseback, hats and all.

It is very hot in Rondonopolis depending on the season rainy - humid and dry - dry hot, yesterday was very humid hot being rainy season at the moment and no matter how much liquids I was consuming I was constantly parched. I found it difficult to breath at times to. I need to keep a bottle of water with me at all times and pray I get use to the heat. Maybe I should make use of the pool in the back yard to cool down at times.

The night markets were pretty good, lots of fresh produce which is heaven for me and half the market was food stalls preparing dinner for the shoppers. The market reminded me of the night markets in Melbourne in the summer time except it is always summer time here and so every friday and night you can grab a bite, catch up with friends (not that I have any yet) and shop for fresh produce for the week. I experienced my first proper "pastel", a square pastry pocket with various filling, mine being shredded chicken. It was delicious and I will have to try all the flavours. I also had a bite of "pamonha", a creamed corn steamed slice and fresh sugarcane juice, "garapa" mmmmmm. I hope Andre takes me to these markets every friday.

Brazilian people are very friendly and come in all shapes, sizes and colours, I wish I knew Portuguese, I would love to converse with the locals and shop for myself. I will make it my mission to learn asap. One thing that really alarms me about Brazil is they don't really use seat belts, I see pick up trucks loaded with kids on the back and even Andre's sisters always tell me I don't need to wear a seat belt. I wear one anyway because they might be good drivers but I worry about the other drivers on the road.

My new family, are a colourful bunch. Andre my adorable husband is sweet and we are so alike in many ways, we both share a passion for food, arts in all forms and love of course. Our greatest love will be making an appearance mid April of next year.

Iracema my mother inlaw is a work'a'holic, she owns and runs a private school nearby and it is one of the most successful school in Brazil. She is amazing with time management and seems to balance her personal life with her professional life and most importantly she is a loving mother. Grazi (Andre's older sister) and Diego who I have already met in Savona, Italy are still the same, Grazi is a shit stirrer like Andre and has a very strong character and highly opinionated with a soft gooey centre which sneaks out once in a while and Diego is placid and gentle and love football (soccer)

Jerusa is sweet and affectionate, she has so much love to give. She is studding to become a law judge and she will make a fine judge at that. All Grazi, Diego and Jerusa work for their mother at her school, CIE. Maria the maid does not say much but she cleans and cooks for the family everyday except Sundays. That leaves the 2 little fluff balls Sofia and Nicolie who might I add took an instant liking to me which surprised everyone. These 2 little territorial mutts were like melted butter in my palms.

The Peixoto's live and a very beautiful double story home, very new, modern and secure with electrical fencing around the house. Andre and I sleep in the granny flat out the back, it's a small space but we have everything we need including air conditioning (thank god for that). I am loving the food however once I get over the germs and bacteria's I can enjoy it even more.

These were my first impressions of my new home.