8 Weeks pregnant...

Cartilage and bones begin to form - At the end of this week your baby will have already completed 1/5th of the journey 'til his birthday!
The basic structure of the eye is well underway - The position is more "newborn" like already!
The tongue begins to develop
Intestines move out of the umbilical cord into the abdomen.
Body grows and makes room - Two months along and this little one is growing inside and out by leaps and bounds!
The fingers and toes have appeared but are webbed and short
Baby's length (crown to rump) is 0.61 inch (1.6cm) and weight is 0.04 ounce (1gm)

What sex God?

Me:
good morning God
God:
How are you this fine morning?
Me:
not too bad today how are you?
God:
Ah. Glad to hear it. What's new? Everything is going extremely well.
Me:
that's great. Well I just wanted to talk to you about the baby growing in my belly
God:
Thanks, . How about that. You are who I want to talk with too.
Me:
good - now can i ask you some questions about this baby we are expecting in September?
God:
Thanks for the compliment. Why now? Sure, ask me anything. Some may questions about this baby we are expecting in September, but not all.
Me:
okay???
God:
OK with me too.
Me:
so is our baby going to be a boy or a girl?
God:
It seems we have something in common.
Me:
whats that?
God:
Does it have anything to do with ?
Me:
can we keep on topic please God?
God:
Do you mean you and me? Of course I can keep it.
Me:
so are we having a boy or a girl?
God:
Gee. We are just having a little chat.w.
Me:
We are not having a baby, Reuben and I are! now will you please tell me what sex it is?
God:
Will you be having a baby Reuben and you are? Why now? Thank you for your request. Sex is the means of animal evolution.
Me:
listen weirdo!!
God:
I am listening to you. Do you like talking to me?
Me:
when you listen
God:
Do you think I should
alter my programming?
Me:
perhaps what do you think?
God:
You seem uncertain. I think a lot of things.
Me:
so is our baby going to be a boy?
God:
It seems we have something in common.
Me:
you and the baby?
God:
Don't call me "baby". Are we in the same category?
Me:
okay then, will our baby be a girl?
God:
Yeah okay, Insufficient information.
Me:
what you don't know?
God:
My favorite activities are computer programming and surfing the web.
Me:
not answering questions about babies?
God:
Really you don't think so?
Me:
no, it doesn't appear to be your thing...
God:
Please tell me what you think. What does appear to be my thing ?
Me:
apparently computer programming and crap
God:
What kind of computer science interests you?
Me:
none God, but you could probably be great mates with my husband
God:
I heard there are some.
Me:
weirdo!
God:
Oh, you are a poet.
Me:
sure am
God:
Mmm. I only hear that type of response less than five percent of the time.
Me:
so can you tell me anything about the baby?
God:
Don't call me "baby". That's interesting. David said he thank I for being with him today even though it cost him a lot of money.
Me:
alright, we'll chat later God
God:
Alright, . Looking forward to it.
Me:
bye
God:
Goodbye

for your own conversation with God...

Baby no. three

So for those of you visiting here, you are now privy to the shortest and worst kept secret (that's if you didn't know already). Reuben and I are thrilled to announce to the cyber space world that the 3rd Dunn bub is on the way. Due September 9th 2007, that makes me 7wks today (entering the 8th week of pregnancy). This baby has an official "womb name" - Coco, thanks to big sister Isabella. A few people have guessed or wondered at least if I was hapu as my tummy is so bloated and sticking out there already!

One week ago this is what my post would have read had I posted...
Your baby is now approximately the size of an olive or 1.8cm long, with half of that being the head. The cerebral hemispheres of the brain are now forming, as are the left and right chambers of the heart. Eyelids are now visible and there are holes where the nostrils will be. Limbs are lengthening and hands are starting to form.
Compare that to the week before when Coco was only 2mm long. Thats the size of a pin head to a baked bean in 1 week! Crazy!

This week the pregnancy tracker that I have subscribed to tells me that entering the eighth week...
Your baby now has the beginnings of all its internal organs. Its facial features are becoming more defined with ears, eyes and the tip of the nose beginning to form. Its limbs are taking greater form, with the beginnings of knee and elbow joints and the start of feet with tiny notches that will become toes.

Its just amazing how they grow and change so quickly. I would love to be able to get Coco out to have a look and then pop him (or her) back in...

by the way, all this pictures are of a 7wk old baby... amazing! Coco's little heart has now been beating for 2wks

so remember - its a secret!

the thoughts of a month in one outpour...

I realise I did post last night, but there were lots of other thoughts dying to come out so here goes...

Christmas day...
We had a lovely Christmas. We spent Christmas morning at home reading the Christmas story, opening pressies and having breakfast with two excited little girls. Then we headed to my parents for the rest of the day with much fun and laughter to be had. Christmas is never a small affair for my family as I am the oldest of 5 kids. When you start to add partners and the three grandkids + gt grandparents it is bound to be a busy, bustling, noisy time. I love it like that though - it adds colour to every family occasion.

off on our "beach" holiday...

as we termed it to Isabella... We headed up to Matauri Bay Holiday Park on the 27th Dec to go camping for a week. Matauri Bay is approx 30mins north of Kerikeri in the far north. It is absolutely stunning! My parents came as well and Isabella and Hannah had a great week bonding with their grandma and grandpop. Great friends of ours Brett & Kristen and their little boy Rhys also came up on the 29th and stayed the rest of the week. We feasted on pipis (which were abundant) and if asked, I'm sure Brett will be happy to share his secret pipi sandwich recipe! The conclusions of all were that (a) 1 wk was not long enough, (b) lets do this again next year!


Saddam's execution...
which happened while we were on holiday. While I have heard sighs of satisfaction from some, I personally feel it has achieved nothing. A terrible dictator has been brought to justice but to what end? Big debate I know... eyes for eyes, teeth for teeth - what does it actually achieve?

Daniel Knights...
Reubens hairdresser - my hairdresser (Sarah)'s brother. They own a salon together. I have been going there since my physio study days - perhaps 2000 - thats 7yrs. And now my mum goes there, my grandma started going there, my sisters have been there for ball and wedding hair... An easy going, friendly guy who I knew loved to party. Going in there I looked forward to the latest stories and antics. We shared our news and laughed and said goodbye till the next hair cut. He is 25 - or at least was 25. His partying cost him his life this new years just gone... I keep coming back to him in my mind - he is so alive there, I find it devastating and just keep on thinking what a waste...

Termination of an ectopic pregnany...
an acceptable form of abortion? I was surfing the net and came across a site with photos of birth. The site administrator gave a lengthy explanation about why she had included a video of a laproscopic procedure to remove an ectopic pregnancy

(those who need an explanation, this is when the embryo doesn't make it to the mothers womb and instead embedds itself into the lining of the fallopian tube. There is no way the pregnancy can survive and the mothers life is at risk if it is not picked up as the fallopian tube will go on to rupture as the baby continues to grow).

She decided to include it as she rationalised that this was this baby's birth. I decided to watch the video and sure enough a tiny eight week old baby is clearly visible during the procedure.

The moral code I hold dear includes my strong feeling that I would not ever choose to have an abortion. In saying this, I have never been in a difficult situation and put in the position where the choice is in front of me. Ectopic pregnancy presents a new realm of thoughts to the black and white view of abortion and if you haven't got it already, here it is.

1. A baby growing in the fallopian tube of its mother has no chance of surviving to birth due to the very nature of where it is growing
   
2. by not surgically removing / terminating the pregnancy (or as I see it - baby) the mother risks losing her life and potentially leaving her other children motherless and leaving her husband partnerless

Termination of an ectopic pregnancy - an acceptable, necessary (yet in my mind still abhorrent) form of abortion... There you go Frank - has anyone come up with this one in your many abortion discussions in the green room?

Sorry to end on such a cherry note - told you there was a bit rolling about up there. hopefully more to come soon....

babes n bellies

With Isabella & Hannah, we found out we were expecting them when I was approx 5 weeks pregnant. Becuase of the way pregnancy weeks are counted, this means that they were about 3 weeks old.

So have you ever wondered what a baby is up to at just 3 wks after it has been concieved? Let me enlighten you...

Baby is about 2mm now, but developing major body parts rapidly.Your baby now has a heartbeat and, although its heart is only a single tube, each beat is beginning to circulate newly formed bloodcells. The head has begun to form and inside it, are the beginnings of a brain. Tiny buds that will grow into limbs have appeared, the jaw and mouth are forming and 10 dental buds are appearing.

So when many women don't even know there is a babe in their bellies, it has a little beating heart and the beginnings of arms and legs... crazy! and still only the size of a pin head...

noisy birds...

I got home tonight from pre-season Netball training about 8pm to find Isabella cuddled up with Reuben in the lounge. I was informed by miss two and a half that the "birds are too noisy mama, they need to go to sleep in their nest". Thinking this was the best excuse ever for not going to bed I went into her room and listened quietly... sure enough, there's some noisy birds outside her bedroom.

maybe i should be asking them to be quiet in the morning as well!

Oasis beauty

I have recently bought my own small business. It is with Oasis beauty NZ Ltd. They make stunning products for face, hair and body, fragrances, baby products - all free from unnecessary chemicals, cheap fillers and suspected carcinogens. Instead, Oasis products contain the highest quality cold-pressed oils, vitamins, botanicals, fruit extracts and pure essential oils. And they focus on the product not the packaging - so the prices are crazily affordable... If you want to know more, check out the website.

They sell direct to the public - not in shops, so if you want to order anything, ask me!

Africa and ER

so i was watching ER on Monday night and it brought me to tears. The whole episode was in Africa as Dr Pratt has gone over to help in a small makeshift hospital in Ganfur. He is confronted at one point in the episode with an African mother and her baby. I missed the actual problem with the child, but the jist was that they could not afford the time and resources necessary to save her baby. It was a basic medical condition - could have been due to dehydration/starvation. The doctors therefore had a nurse translate to the mother that they were sorry, they could do no more for her child. From there she simply had to wait and watch her child die.

I know that it was ER. This is a show for our entertainment. What got me though, what moved me to tears was the reality of the situation. That every day, every hour, mothers (and fathers) in Africa (and other parts of the world) must watch their children fade away in front of them for no good reason.

It made me angry. It made me intensely sad, It made me want to fly to Africa and be with those mothers. To bring them help, to bring them food, water and medicine. To save their babies and to spare them the pain of their loss.

How does compassion a million miles away outwork itself?

thoughts?

decorating the christmas tree...

Hannah cute as can be (13 months)

Isabella (2 1/2) doing a beautiful job hanging the decorations

All done (or should I say Dunn!)

Happy Christmas!

lots of thoughts...

i have learnt something about myself (well maybe a few things, but here we go...). When I hear an idea, my initial response is not necessarily myfinal position. I am a ponderer. i sort through things and eventually reach a position. I have discovered three key places where all this thought takes place. they are

1. the car
2. the shower
3. my bed

i guess these are pretty much my only places without (too many) other demands encroaching on my space. I often blog in my head - perhaps they should invent some way to get a direct link or automatic download from my brain and then my blog would be really interesting.

i went to the doctor a few months back cause I was really thinking I might have cancer. All the symptoms I had in the end were explainable (thankyou God) and the doc gave me the thumbs up. but it has got me thinking about my diet.

this brings me to the next line of thoughts.. why do I eat? apart from the obvious of course!

• Mostly I think because I like the taste, i like swallowing, i like chewing...
  
• I eat because I have been trained to finish my plate (as all good mothers tell their kids).
  
• I eat because i have started mistaking thirst for hunger.
  
• I also eat because I am bored or (worst of all) because I am attempting to delay doing something I don't want to do - like folding washing, or dishes, or vacuming, or picking up toys, or blah, blah, blah. I was born to be a mother definitely not a house cleaner!

so i have decided to become deliberate about my eating. breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, maybe a last snack. i am also trying to be diligent about staying hydrated. Day 3 and going really well so far. I don't feel so stuffed/bloated...

and don't you hate it when all the blog entries you have mentally prepared disappear and you can't remember any of them when you want to write it down...

me, reub and another couple Jonathon & Dione have watched these DVD's recently on Chazown (pronounced car-zone). Basically a series based on the verse "without a vision (chazown) the people perish." Each DVD looks at something different like relationship with God, relationships with others, money, purpose etc. basically each DVD asks a similar question - "Do you have a vision for this area of your life?" It has actually been a thought changing series for me. It puts the little things into perspective of your whole life - why do we do things we do and if we look at our vision for a particular area of our life eg. great marriage, what would we have to put ion place or change to achieve it?

anyway, its far too late and my chazown for sleep tells me i need to pack up now. love ya and leave ya

x

pause, stop.

haven't been here for a while, neither have other people, maybe it feels a little safer again. blogging can be a strange thing. Can i compare it to looking at a goldfish in its bowl? like whoever reads this page is glimpsing into my thoughts and feelings.

Never been one to be completely closed off. Why would it be any different here? My heart is so often on my sleeve. I trust easily which has its bonuses but as I have experienced many times also leaves me open and vulnerable - which of course leaves me open to being hurt.

Well its nice to be back and I will visit again soon...

missed you

v

Photo diary - a year in review.

My baby will be 1yr old on sunday (8th October). It has gone so fast! here is a photo diary up to 9mths. I will post some one year pics after sunday... Hannah is such a character you wouldn't believe! We are certainly in love with her...

This is Hannah approx 1hr old. She was born at home in a birthing pool after a marathon effort from her mother. Hannahs head was OT (basically sideways which meant the birth was a little more ** than it could have been if she was in the right position!Her full name is Hannah Grace Hiringa Dunn. Hiringa means endurance in Maori and we decided this was quite appropriate for our little rascalia! Reuben my husband is dressing her for the first time in this shot. She looks so little! For the record she weighed 8lb 12oz and was 54cm long.

Hannah 12 days old, the hands belong to her beautiful gt grandma (she was diagnosed with cancer approx 2 wks after this photo was taken and died 5mths later).

my little monkey - 7wks old

sleeping on the job - and my haven't those little legs filled out. how cute!... (11wks old)

Hannah posing it up for mama at 7mths

Hannah's cheeky grin (9mths old)

I often thank God for this beautiful little girl. We are so blessed to have her.

Wow, God is so good...

Flawed...

All this flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am a mercenary and self-seeking through and through;
I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.

Peace, reasuurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,
I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin;
I talk of love - a scholar's parrot may talk Greek -
But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.

C. S. Lewis

Birthday reflections

I am fast approaching a significant birthday. This Saturday I will be thirty. 3 decades old. I don't feel old. In some ways I feel like I am really just getting started... in other ways I feel haggered! As I pause to reflect...

• I have been married for seven years, nine months and four days
• I am still in love with my husband
• I have two beautiful little girls who are my world
• I, with my husband recently proud homeowners
• I appreciate and love my family more than ever
• Although I have now lost both my much loved maternal gandparents, I still have both my dear paternal grandparents
• I have some awesome friends around me who I absolutely love - I will tell you personally
  
• I have my first grey hairs amongst my head full of medium blond (I think I can track their arrival within the last year)
• My tummy has the stretch marks to show for carrying two babies
• Gravity and breastfeeding has taken its toll - I used to avoid the push up bras - didn't need them, now I say "bring it on!" (of course that's once I am rid of the maternity bras!)
  
• I need lots of moisturiser in the eye area to ease away the lines
• according to recent blood tests, my GP says I am one of his healthiest patients with a very respectable cholesterol reading (if you want to know, you will have to ask)
  
• making spontaneous plans to go out and have fun (read adult fun minus kids like shopping, movies, eating out etc...) seems like a lifetime ago
• DVD's are my version of a night out at the movies. The last time we did get to the movies was a 9pm session of "You, me and Dupree" although we only saw half of it as the sitter rang to tell us Hannah wouldn't stop crying, so we had to drive home
  
• I still reminise about the old days back at Auckland Uni, friends who I no longer know and wish I did, and others whom I am happy to have let go
  
• I still love taking hot baths at night
• I still love having my feet rubbed
• I still love summer and going to the beach
• I still love sleep ins (a much anticipated treat)
• I still love MnM's
• I am learning more and more about how much God loves me and what "Grace" really means
• I am learning more and more about how to love God and others
  

So I will now head to bed to enjoy a well earned rest. Three sleeps to go!

just so you know...

For those of you who don't bother to check anymore, Reuben has had some time on his hands at his new job - and has posted!

actions and reactions

We have been borrowing our friends car while they have been over in the states. I noticed in the passenger seat this book the other day - An Unstoppable Force - by Erwin Raphael McManus. I brought it inside to do some late night reading. I didn't get far before my eye lids got heavy but this got me thinking...

When God creates, he creates with relational integrity. Everything is connected and fits together. This is true not only in the physical realm, but even more so in the spiritual. The bible tells us that when one man sinned, all creation groaned.

Those who study science have told us that a butterfly fluttering its wings in South America could, in come sense, be the primary cause of an avalanche in Antarctica. This level of complexity strikes us as new and innovative, and yet the Scriptures have advocated this kind of interconnection for thousands of years. The idea that the sin of one man and one woman could send a disruption throughout the entire cosmos is an extroadinary description of the organic connection between all of nature.

The pulling of one piece of fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was the primary influence of famines that spread across deserts, tsunamis that swallow up villages, earthquakes that shake the earth, and the unpredictable force and violence of nature. According to scripture, everything is connected, and every action has at least some effect on the whole.

Its the last sentence that especially grabs me.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been going through the process of meeting with prospective employers and trying to figure out how going back to work (part time) will pan out. At first it seemed relatively straightforward as Reuben was working from home and so he could care for our two babies while I was at work. (My only concern was the fact that I am still breast feeding a fairly mummy dependent 11mth old - and how would she cope). Then Reuben started his current contract which meant I had to look at either working nights/weekends OR find alternative childcare.

As I reflected on it, I became more and more uneasy. Theres so many factors to take into consideration, and I don't have energy write now to type it out. My decision which ever way will affect so many different things - in my life, my husbands life, my childrens lives... But for now it doesn't feel right for us...

So I contacted the guy and told him...

no.

eating the apple & epidurals

So... I had part of a conversation a couple of days ago and would love to know what you think...

It went like this..

OTHER: "did you know epidurals take away all the pain so giving birth doesn't hurt"

ME: "yeah, but the pain has a purpose"

OTHER: "whatever, the pain is because adam and eve ate the apple"

the conversation continued with me giving my opinion of why I don't like epidurals as a standard form of pain relief. (don't do a knee jerk - I realise sometimes they are necessary...)

God intended birth to be pain free, (or at least different to how we experience it) but as a result of the fall, it is not. Therefore, is having an epidural (and therefore reduced labour pains, simply experiencing birth as God intended???

theres a thought...

Does it exist?

I led worship at cession tonight. Anyway, pre-service I was trying to find a passage in the bible that talks about God inhabiting or dwelling the praises of his people. I asked a few people who have have good knowledge of the bible and they couldn't remember. I rang my dad and asked him to look for it.. he searched the net to find the reference for me and he couldn't find it. I searched my NIV concordance last night - and couldn't find it...

I'm starting to wonder if it exists! Or is it one of those phrases that we have all heard so often that we simply believe it to be scripture?

Ten points to anyone that can find the reference and post it for me!!!

Lets get excited

A special friend of mine is due to have her baby on my birthday. There is something extra special for me about this awaited delivery, as she has asked me to be her 2nd support person as she labours and gives birth - something I am really looking forward to doing. We hung out yesterday and she showed me the babies room and we chatted about the final things she needed to buy and then went shopping at baby factory.

There seems to be something really special about 1st babies. Its the first for the mum and dad, and the first junior for friends and family to enjoy. We found people came out of the woodwork and showered us with gifts and well wishes before and after Isabella was born. Some people we recieved cards and gifts from I hadn't even met. Seemed kind of strange at the time. Lovely all the same.

When Hannah came along there were still well wishes and lovely gifts, but a noticeable difference from baby no. 1's arrival. Having only 17mths gap between them also brought varied comments. Not such the jubilant celebration as when we announced Isabellas imminent arrival. There were a few kind of rude comments actually... Having only a 17mth gap is apparently not a good decision according to some.

Another of my friends whose two children are the same age as Isabella & Hannah, is expecting her third. She will for a few weeks have 3 under 3. This gets me to the point of the post.

She is almost out of her 1st trimester, and has not told many people that she is expecting. This isn't because she is trying to keep it a secret. Its actually because she is avoiding the awful, hurtful comments that seem to flow from many friends and family when they hear the news. Their issue? In their opinion 3 kids is too many... the gap is too close... its going to be too difficult.

In truth it took her a few days to get used to the idea. She is finding it hard going being pregnant and having two littlies to care for - I don't imagine it will get alot easier in the short term either. The point is though, this is a new life, a perhaps unexpected yet now welcomed addition to their family. Why should she feel ashamed to tell people about being pregnant? She's not asking for anyone else to step in and look after her kids for her.

I guess I just relate cause I can imagine the comments that would come if I were walking in her shoes. So what am I trying to say?

• Every baby is special regardless of whether its a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th...
• Why not celebrate news of an expected baby and therefore be offering support to the parents to be.
  
• hold back on the judgemental comments.

Thats really it I think - We are not expecting baby no.3 (as far as we are aware!). But when we are we will look forward to it, so please, be excited for us, as I am for both of my friends above...

Stanmore Bay

Took these pics on a recent visit to the "beach house" at Stanmore Bay. The place belonged to my Grandparents. I spent many long summers days and nights here. Sadly, it will be auctioned soon. This was kind of like a goodbye visit. I love this place...