First, let me say: I’m so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry for leaving for so long without a word.
But, I have a really good excuse: I’m pregnant! See, here’s a (bad) picture of me sort of, kind of, almost visibly pregnant.
And for those of you who know St. Louis, you may recognize the famous and delicious ice cream stand behind us.
The reason that’s an excuse for not posting is that I had a really bad first trimester that included morning sickness that lasted all. day. long. I’ve never been seasick before, but I imagine it’s like taking a three month cruise which you can’t get off of and you’re horribly seasick the whole time. I literally did nothing but groaned on the couch while thinking exclusively about what I could possibly eat next that wouldn’t cause further harm. For a while it was a very small list that seemed to consist mostly of pizza and french fries with mayo. (Definitely NOT stir fry or barbecue, ick. Those things still make me nauseous.) So not a whole lot of posting on the interwebs could be done at this time during the groaning and the almost barfing.
And then we spent the entire month of August in the US visiting our family, so not much posting got done then, either. Luckily, I was starting to feel a bit better for that part or I would have been really upset because I had a list a mile long of food that I needed to eat while in St. Louis. I got to some of them (toasted ravioli!), though some others I still couldn’t really eat (cheeseburgers).
So that is my big news and my big excuse. I know I’ve committed the blogging sin, to disappear without a note, but hopefully I will be forgiven. And I plan on being back and making regular posts again, now that I’m feeling almost human.
Our House in Aarhus 
Awww, my momma-heart is so happy for you … and my grandma-heart is happy for your parents!
I hope your trip home was fulfilling, and welcome back to Denmark. I’ve missed your posts, and am glad you’ll be back.
Congratulations! Gratulerer! I hope you continue to feel better. 🙂
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Thanks Cindi! I’ve missed you guys, too. I would have LOVED to have felt up to posting 🙂 I know my parents are super excited – it will be the first grandchild – though I’m sure they wish it were all happening back home. Is “gratulerer” Norwegian for “congratulations”? If so, I’m surprised! That’s quite different from Danish, which is “tillykke”.
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Yes, it means congratulations. “Lykke til” in Norwegian is “Good luck” (literally, “luck to”).
Isn’t it interesting to compare the two languages?
My oldest (first grandbaby on both sides of our family) was born in West Berlin 31 years ago. No computers, no cell phones — I remember her Dad going home from the hospital to make two very expensive International calls to grandparents in Florida and New York, letting them know of her safe arrival.
I’m so grateful for the Internet and Skype to keep in contact with family all over the world, especially a grandson in New Zealand. I know your parents will feel the same way! 🙂
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I couldn’t agree more! I can’t imagine only being able to write letters and having to wait weeks for a response… So while I do worry about not having the support of that family network (I was really counting on my parents for babysitting help!), I know we’ll get by just fine and that they will feel like they know the baby as he/she grows.
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Let me be the first to say congratulations for the wonderful news 🙂
Wife had a bit of “baby seasickness” as well so i can relate (can’t call it morning sickness when i was mostly in the middle of the night for her lol).
Hopefully you are feeling better and can start showing us the activities for pregnant women in Aarhus 😛
Congratulations once again 🙂
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Thanks! 🙂 I imagine that my posts will start to be more baby related. I’m interested to learn more about how Denmark approaches pregnancy and child rearing.
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That’s nice. We might be moving to Aarhus in December and with a 3 year old child so it would be nice stuff to know 🙂
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If you are thinking of doing that, you (or I guess your wife) should check out this Facebook group “International Mothers in Aarhus.” They are really nice and supportive, very helpful with any questions you might have about being a parent in Denmark, and they frequently organize meetups for parents (mostly moms…).
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Tillykke, tillykke!
I’m so excited for you, and happy that you’re back! I totally understand about the first trimester part. I think I took a brief blogging hiatus as well. Hope you’re feeling much better, and just wanted to say that if you have any more Danish-baby-things questions, feel free to ask away! I know it was pretty confusing for me at first, some things are just so different here 🙂
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Thanks! 🙂 I may just take you up on that offer. I’ve really enjoyed reading your posts about your experiences here with your tiny one and getting ideas and advise from them. Right now I’m mostly just looking forward to meeting the midwives and learning what that whole experience will be like. Although I am also in the midst of a stroller decision dilemma. To go giant Danish pram or not to go giant Danish pram 🙂 I have about 5 months to decide, so I’m not too worried.
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Yeah, it’s hard! For us, we had the huge Danish pram because my sister-in-law had an old one that she gave us. It was really great, especially for the baby days when he could sleep really comfortably in it (also, the lift makes it SO easy to take them into the house while they’re sleeping). Then, when we went to the US we picked up a jogging stroller (100 dollars at Target, go USA!) and since Theo was about 6 months, we’ve been using that exclusively. It’s much easier to maneuver in the stores than the big ones (it has a swivel front wheel that you can lock when you jog). Five months? Does that mean you’re due around the beginning of February?
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Yeah, I’m due Feb 12th. I’m doing all this research online, and of course everyone has a very strong opinion about what’s best for a baby: don’t lay them down too much because they’ll get flat head, don’t carry them too much because they’ll get hip dysplasia, and on and on, lol. The Danish strollers are just so big, and if we’re only going to use it for a few months before the baby starts wanting to sit up and face forward… I think we’re hoping to get most of the stuff from Amazon UK, mostly because I don’t really know where to go baby shopping here apart from Bilka! 🙂 We tried to buy some stuff when we were in the US, but only what could fit in a suitcase, so nothing big like a stroller or crib.
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Yeah, the amount of information and plethora of opinions about EVERYTHING baby-related can be overwhelming. I think what helped me most is just to remember that no matter what anybody else says or thinks, I have to find what works for our individual situation, and let myself be confident in those decisions. There’s also the smaller Danish version–kombivogn which can be switched out to a stroller when the baby gets bigger, so that might be a good option (they also usually have swivel wheels on the front 😉 ). I think Ønskebørn and BabySam are the most common baby stores here, and you can order online from both of them as well. But for furniture, I recommend IKEA, as the others are quite expensive.
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Thanks for the tip. I’ve seen a BabySam here but not an Ønskebørn, and I had no idea where to shop for baby stuff! I’ll definitely check them both out. And hopefully they’ll have some prams/strollers so I can try some different sizes in person 🙂
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Oh, those Danish prams are so expensive! When we actually thought we’d be getting pregnant right away we looked into buying a more America style/price one from Germany.
I don’t know if you have a car or take the bus, but sometimes, the busses in Aarhus can only fit 2 giant prams and then some poor woman is left waiting for the next one.
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I know! On both of those things 🙂 I think I’ve decided it’s because they use it for their kids to nap in until they’re about 3, but I haven’t quite figured out why they’re so large. But this is why I’m thinking we may not go Danish pram. I’d be sooo much more comfortable carrying the baby onto the bus than using one of those huge prams. We are thinking of buying a more stroller style one from Amazon UK, but maybe we should check out Amazon Germany. The problem there is the extra language barrier 🙂
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Congrats! Hopefully the rest of the pregnancy will be much better for you!
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Thanks Mani! I hope so too. Fingers crossed!
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Best excuse ever! And congratulations! 🙂
PS. I LOVE that t-shirt haha!
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Thanks! I totally love that tshirt, too 🙂 He gets so many compliments from 7 year olds 🙂
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Ha! His own kid will love him 😉
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