One more night of silence.

No progress was made on the birthing today other than a natural course of things. Instead a day spent outside in the delicious first warm day of spring. It was just so fulfilling to be out all day. Then in the evening I went down to the hospital to visit Dr K and we walked out along a footpath she had explored earlier. There we sat, eating some nut bibimbap and watching a rather splendid sunset; the sun sinking behind the trees on the horizon. Perhaps the one (?) advantage of a flat landscape, it was a bit like an ocean sunset. Glorious, sitting there together as a couple on perhaps the final day of this previous life, we felt so happy.
Now it's another night back home for me and then work tomorrow. Bit weird as I was hoping to be on holiday now (by holiday I mean paternity leave). Hopefully I can be a little productive while I wait for any news. The next stage is to break the waters which should encourage a natural labour, but that could still take another 24 hrs. Unlikely, I suspect, seeing as how things are progressing, but then you never know. There's a three ladies in the wait and over the bank holiday I think they've been quite happy for them not to go into labour. Tomorrow might be a little different with the Doctors back in force.
I'm super proud of Dr K already and feel ready now for this next step. I shall miss the quiet and miss the bump, the sleep too as well as our peaceful shared current life (and when I express this I see concerned look on peoples faces followed by their urge to try and convince me I'm wrong and that it will be fabulous), but I definitely feel I have made the full journey from doubt and worry to preparation and... I was going to say excitement, that's not quite right, not exactly excitement but rather perhaps 'peace'. Still, should get to sleep and some rest before it's all change please, all change.
2015-04-06

Digging while I wait

Not wanting to let a glorious (exceedingly rare) Bank Holiday Monday go to waste, and while still waiting for Dr K to give me the call to come in (still not yet), I've dug over the vegetable patch in preparation for... for... well, perhaps for growing some vegetables. Quite how conducive having a baby is to vegetable growing I can't yet know. But here's hoping for some planning opportunities ahead and even some shared bonding - father and son in the garden. I guess for a year or so it will be mostly me doing all the work. I wonder if I can have him in the sling while I dig?

gardening in labour limbo
2015-04-06

Getting close now. Was that my final good night sleep?

I left Dr K in the hospital last night as there is no accommodation for partners (and also there is not much for me to do yet). I came home ate and, after sorting out my Toppy PVR which was having a channel crisis and installing the update to MyStuff 6.6 TAP I went to bed. I slept. I woke. A glorious morning met my eyes (far beyond the expectation of the BBC Weather forecast) - is this the day that I become a Dad for real? Update is that Dr K wasn't induced in the end, but looks like she's slipping into labour naturally (hurrah for the collective intuition of her and the staff nurse who decided to temper the doctors desire to push on). Labour is not established yet, and while I wait for the call in I can recharge my batteries a little out here in the garden in the glorious sunshine. I've taken our visiting cat for a walk round the garden - literally on a leash, I've not let him loose as I really don't want him to escape and wonder back to his owner's place.
2015-04-06

Cambridge by bus: at the very best it is much slower than by bike.

This afternoon we have had an impromptu trip to the Rosie hospital in Addenbrooks, which from where we live is highly inconvenient to reach. The bus took 45 minutes and that was with also zero traffic. By bike it is in the region of 30 to 35 minutes (even when 37 weeks pregnant). We are here for a repeat blood test and hoping that they will not recommend inducing the delivery. Fingers crossed.
2015-04-04

Splish Splash!

Repost from 2004

Had a first go at trying to capture those beautiful water droplet images you see. Set my D70 up in the kitchen on my tripod with desk lamp shining on one of my Chinese bowls. Then standing over the setup, I tried to drop drips into the bowl while clicking my remote control to take the images. Some success of which a couple are here for your viewing pleasure:

A coloured drop in the ocean

Classic water droplet

Drop a la 'Crown Paint'

2005-04-02