7 Month update!

Baby prep is in full gear despite the fact that we're still in limbo with the move to Atlanta. The good news is we do have a house in Smyrna now and the nursery has already been painted the lovely shade of gray that we chose for Bean's first room. The bad news is, that's about all we have. A few days ago I had pretty consistent Braxton Hicks contractions which had me more than a little freaked out and once the worry had passed and we realized we weren't going to meet Bean, it hit me how much we have to do to prepare (and how much of the baby stuff we already purchased is in the container that is sat in customs..)

I've been to two midwife appointments now in Atlanta at Intown Midwifery. I will be honest, a midwifery in the states would probably not have been our first choice if we were insured, but I'm pretty happy with our decision now. We would have used a midwife in England if we stayed as it's standard procedure but it's a little bit different here.

Our first appointment left me in tears as the midwife I met was a bit old school and made me feel guilty because I 1.didn't want a water birth  2. Hadn't read the books she thought I should have read and 3. Made me feel completely and totally unprepared without offering any real help. Luckily, the second midwife I met (they are on a rotating schedule so you may meet the same one twice) was a much better fit for me. She really put me at ease and even gave me some stretches to help with this awful pelvic pain (whine whine whine...)

So, I'm in my 8th month now and here's what's happening:

Crazy Cravings: Does everything count? I mean every. single. thing, from chocolate chip cookies to jalapenos, I want it all. I'm trying to be a little more careful what I'm eating these days as the last month or so I've gone a little crazy and I'm noticing it in my increased cheek size (both sets). Only 2 months left to go so no reason to get carried away now, right?

Bean's Stats: The little guy is growing like a weed and gaining weight like mad. He is around 17.5 inches and 4.25 lbs.

Movement: Holy smokes this kid has moves. As I write this he's celebrating an Arsenal goal with his daddy.  I can feel little hands and feet move across my belly now and he's pretty good at playing bladder bongos. We're only just getting to the point where the occasional kick brings tears to my eyes but it's mostly just the sweet little movements that makes us realize he'll be here very very soon.

Weight Gain/Maternity Clothes: So far so good as I'm just over 30 lbs gain although it seems to go mostly to my face. I won't lie, I was stressing out about gaining weight because I had just about reached my goal weight before we found out Bean was on his way. It doesn't seem so important now, I just want to be careful to not go too crazy so it won't be impossible to get back to normal after he gets here. I'm still in the same size maternity pants that I started in but I do see leggings being a staple in the next few weeks.

Belly Button: In! Thank God, I'm so weirded out by the idea of it sticking out...not long left so fingers crossed it stays securely IN.

Mood: Generally good, just trying to stay busy and not think of the impending labor and delivery right around the corner (yikes!). I'm more than a little nervous about our stuff being held up but very excited about our baby shower this weekend!

Now, I'm off to finish packing my hospital bag because, as more and more people are telling me, it can really happen any time now...

H x

Campfires and Carving

So, we're still living at my parents house......

Our stuff got held up in Chicago because of a box of alcohol we shipped over, now it's being held in Atlanta because of a box of alcohol we shipped over. We really don't even care about the alcohol that much and would gladly have left it with our friends in the UK (Lord knows they like a bit of alcohol) if we'd known it would be such a big deal. I'm thinking that when it finally comes through we'll have a big party where everyone can drink all the bloody alcohol in one sitting-except for me of course because I can't have any.....

*rant over*

In the meantime we've been enjoying the changing weather and the holiday season kicking off with some pumpkin carving, campfires and long walks on the beach. We also had a cheeky little trip to the Flea Market which was a first for Mark, he doesn't like to talk about it. It's a hard life..

Also, Georgia beat Florida. yessssssssss.

Until we fix our camera, I have to rely on iPhone snaps..

 

Amber and I comparing pumpkins

 

Mark takes pumpkin carving very seriously

  

Amber's finished work

 gross

 

Beans very first pumpkin, compliments of his grandpa

 All done

 

Grandpa carving Bean's first pumpkin

 

Roasting marshmallows

  

Our first trip to Tybee since arriving in the states

 

  

Under the boardwalk

 

Amber's a zebra, not a cat.

 The only good thing to come from the Flea Market

I'm going to post a bean update today if it kills me,  as soon as I can squeeze myself into my update dress I will get it up!

H x

 

Roadtripping: North Carolina Mountains

ok ok ok. I told myself when I started a blog that I was going to keep up with it. Life has a way of getting in the way so just a couple weeks later here's what's been going on in the Cleverly abode (or the Odum abode as we're still camped out at my parents house)

We set off bright and early a few Fridays ago following my parents and their gigantic camper to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. We were hesitant to take the long trip as we only had a couple days to spend before having to jet off to Atlanta for our first midwife appointment but we decided when we moved back stateside that we would make the most of living in one of the most beautiful countries in the world so we sucked it up and made the 7 hour drive. 

Believe it or not, it was my first time to the NC mountains, so I was just as excited as M and we weren't disappointed by the views, just by the lack of time we had. We stayed in a campground with my parents camping crew that consisted of 4 other gigantic campers (I think we can call it glamping when the majority of the accommodation has marble counter tops and fireplaces..) We had walks in the woods and M got to experience his first proper Country stores. We ate fried green tomatoes and pulled pork sandwiches and washed it down with Sweet Tea (not M, he hates the stuff)

I took some photos but strangely, when we visited an old church where our friends were married years ago, a church with a long haunted history, my memory card corrupted and we lost them all. Coincidence? It's much more fun to think it wasn't...

Here's a few I snapped with my iPhone..

 

Mountain Man

H x

Farewell London

So, we've officially crossed the Atlantic and unpacked our bags in my parents house where we'll be for the next 4 or 5 weeks before we move on to Atlanta.

I love my hometown, and  I will always have a connection to Savannah that you can only feel with a place you were born and raised but I have a little hole in my heart for London.

I mentioned before that it took me a while to get used to life in the big city, and even had the occasional 'I'm-going-home-I-hate-this-place' moments but once I found my way, I fell in love. I started as the Southern girl who smiled at everyone and always waved at my neighbors, no doubt making more than a few people think I was 'special' and ended as the hardened city slicker who politely avoided eye contact on public transportation and grumpily shouted at tourists who stood on the left side of the escalator.

London is like no other city I've been to, it is bursting with history set along side an ever expanding modern mecca. An ancient Tower, where some of the worlds most powerful rulers lead and some of them died, proudly stands across the river from a building made of glass where the Mayor of London runs the city. You can't walk down a street without hearing 10 different languages and being different is embraced, not ridiculed. Fashion is life in the coolest parts of London, and although I tried my hardest, the fashion scene left me in the dust, but it was still fun to try.

In the 4 years I was there, I never owned a car and only drove once in an ill fated trip down a country road that left Mark clinging to the door handle and screaming like a small and very scared girl. We walked everywhere, and I loved it. 

About a year ago I got the opportunity to work for a London ad agency. A very good friend we met on the beaches of Thailand helped me get my foot in the door and I couldn't be more grateful, it was an amazing experience. I worked on a major fast food brand account and learned so much about the industry, the good the bad and the ugly. We had the super swanky office in the poshest part of London and I met some life long friends. 

Of course, Mark's family lives right outside of the city so we will visit often, but there's nothing like being a Londoner.

London according to my iPhone:

High Tea for my baby shower

 

 

My going away celebration at work

 

Jubilee Oxford Street

 

View from the top of the Gherkin

 

Juls and Mark 

 

Work goodbye gifts

 

One of my favorite people in England

 

Sloane Avenue dahhling

 

Handmade pottery bunting my lovely coworker

 

The Gherkin

 

Julias drum solo in the Soho hotel

 

Mind the Gap

 

Carnaby Street

 

Working hard

 

Jade

 

Creative development at work..

 

Brick Lane curry

Now, I'm off to the beach 

SO So so Sleepy...

Wowzers..I can't believe how incredibly tiring this whole moving countries while 6 months pregnant thing is..

A little update on the past 2 weeks:

Last week M met a potential buyer for his car at our local Underground station. The guy showed up in a suit and tie, looked around the car, kicked the wheels, checked the engine, etc etc. Apparently, he was satisfied with what he saw because he snatched the keys, jumped in the drivers seat, locked the doors, and drove away. He did not pay for the car. We haven't seen the car since. So there's that....

If you see this car...the dude driving it is a filthy THIEF!

We've also been packing up our flat, which we officially finished this week when I polished up the wood floors and all of our belongings boarded a ship to the US of A.

We moved the stuff we can't live without for the next 6 weeks into my in laws house where we are now camped out until we finally leave on  Tuesday (Oct 2nd).

Add a full schedule of leaving do's and goodbye dinners and wrapping up everything at work and you've got one tired/grumpy mama to be.

The countdown to home is winding down with a measly ONE day to go. I think London is sad we're leaving because it's been miserable and rainy all week. Despite the weather, I've been walking around the city soaking in every little detail with a big sad smile on my face because I'm genuinely going to miss this place.

It took me a long time to get settled here and  get used to city life but now it feels like home. This move is the definition of bittersweet.


Anyway, I should probably be doing one of the million things on my to do list..

H x

A Sunday Stroll Down Portobello Road

In an effort to pack everything I can into our last days in London, I've decided to go see some of my favorite places before we leave. So, on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, I talked (bribed) Mark into jumping on the tube and riding into town to take a long walk down Portobello Road in Notting Hill.

Sadly, no Hugh Grant sightings (although as a side note, my boss, Jo,  did see him in his Ferrari near our office so we are on high alert). Portobello Market goes into full swing on Saturdays so we missed the main event, luckily, tons of the shops were still open  with a few market stalls hanging out for any Sunday stragglers. Like any good London tourist spot, there is a sprinkling of cheap tat shops selling every version of a red bus and black cab you can think of. But, if you're carry on you can discover some truly lovely antique and vintage shops to get lost in. Two or three of the vintage stores have some of the best known designer gear, mostly in pretty good shape. Unfortunately, most of it is still out of my budget (vintage Dior bag or a baby stroller..) so we quickly moved on to the more affordable but no less interesting shop next door with shelves upon shelves of trinkets from days long ago. I always find myself looking through these places like I do a museum, hoping that I'll spot that one piece that everyone else has missed hiding amongst the others. Each piece of jewelry holds a story, maybe a gift from a lover,  the old flask a soldier may have used when he returned from the war or the old typewriter that could have helped to write your favorite book. I'm a bit of a romantic, can you tell?

Here's some snaps from our day out..

 Mark perusing some photos

 Every type of door knob you could want

 

Pizza shop window display

 

No idea why, but we both really liked this piece, so we took it home.

 

Trying to decide what's next on the list as we only have FOURTEEN days left!!!

Hope you are all having a lovely week.

H x