Tag: pregnancy
-
End of days.
Since I found out I was pregnant, I’ve been watching and waiting as pregnant peers around me finish up their terms, give birth and move on to parenthood. It’s been a sort of countdown of names, not numbers – first so-and-so, then so-and-so, next so-and-so. Happens to be there have been quite a few, especially…
-
Where we are.
So here we are, me and my belly tenant, at the ‘full term’ milestone. This probably means different things for the two of us, but the more I think about it, perhaps the more it is actually the same. It’s probably so comfy in there, with the warmth and the soothing background noise. And not…
-
Everybody loves a pregnant lady.
Something I’ve discovered – maybe now that I’m so obviously pregnant or that I’ve actually realized I’m so obviously pregnant (it took a while) – is that in Israel, or maybe just Jerusalem, everybody loves a pregnant lady. The old guy scooping me ice cream? Big smiles and bigger scoops. “Have some more, it’s good…
-
Weddings and pregnancy: cans and can'ts.
I learned something new last night at the wedding of two friends. I’ve been to three weddings while pregnant. The last time I had been at a wedding was when I was about a month or so pregnant and before that I was just post-pregnancy test. Last night I was eight months or so pregnant.…
-
Usually not big on excuses, but…
I felt pretty bad about canceling my physio appointment this morning after waiting over two months since I first booked it with my kuppah. I felt worse for the people who are still waiting for their appointments more than I felt bad for myself. I thought I’d get chewed out by the receptionist when I…
-
Preggo thoughts at 5:30 am.
Life lesson learned: a well-fed third trimester preggo is a well-rested third trimester preggo. Unfortunately, I am not always good at being well-fed before bedtime. Which is why I’m up at 5:30 am feverishly munching on cereal and drinking lemonade. Perhaps I would have learned after the first time it happened. I’m not a fan…
-
The "oh, crap!" moments.
On and off I have these “oh, crap!” moments when I remember that pregnancy, birth and preparation for motherhood are more than just a to-do list. So much of my life has been a checklist the last few years… Attending university, working, planning a wedding, moving to a new town… and, well, living in…
-
Birthing at Shaarei Tzedek.
Shaarei Tzedek has quite a different reputation to Hadassah Ein Kerem; offhand I can say that it is more of a hospital’s hospital, procedural, stiff. It’s very religiously-oriented in staff and patients. Less concerned with natural birth, more concerned with working with Hashem to get the baby out and move on (as summed up by…
-
Only classy chocolate for the little one.
Here’s what you get when your OB-GYN is a French-Israeli: “Basically, just make sure you’re feeling movements. Check when you are relaxed and at peace. Make sure you feel some in a half an hour’s time and if not, after an hour, give it some Brenner*… <insert us laughing here> No, really. Give it Brenner…
-
Homebirth in Israel.
UPDATE (April 2011): After this post was written, down the road, for my second child, we did a home birth in our apartment in Tzur Hadassah. I’ve got more info on the subject now from firsthand experience and am happy to share: My home birth story: Israel, Tzur Hadassah, apartment, bedroom. Registering your newborn after…
-
On preparing, inside and out.
It’s amazing how the female body prepares itself for birth during pregnancy. There’s the obvious: the beefing up on body mass, the need for sleep, the extending belly. There’s the less obvious: the slowed metabolism, the hyper hormone production, the nesting habits. There are bi-products: the heartburn, the gallstones, the stocking up on vitamin E. Then there’s…
-
Birthing in Jerusalem hospitals.
As my third trimester quickly approaches, I’ve been getting serious about touring and registering at hospitals, considering alternative birthing options and doing the doula dance. Yep, this is the ‘bureaucratic’ and technical aspect of being pregnant. In the last month we’ve done hospital tours in two popular Jerusalem hospitals: Hadassah Ein Karem and Shaarei Tzedek.…