Cable Thieves..... a comedy of errors?

At 3 am this morning Chris and I were woken by what first appeared to be fireworks right outside our bedroom window. We opened the blind to see the electricity pole across the road arching and then two men casually stroll up towards our house bend down and each pick up an end of electrical cable. On Saturday morning, Beatrice told us a group of cable thieves had been active in our road FOUR times during the week and that she was currently without power. The thieves seemed very aware of danger or having been spotted and we were not sure if they had noticed us so we tried to be as discreet as possible and with a huge amount of adrenalin pumping I managed to call our armed response - Chubb, who informed us they would dispatch a vehicle and call the SA Police. By this stage the men had walked onto our block and onto Beatrice (the neighbour across from our house) driveway into the shadows. Within 5 mins, Chubb was there but the men had managed to "vanish" themselves. I was most concerned that they had gotten into Beatrice's garden and were hiding in the shadows, thus putting her at danger. The Chubb guys had a look around and then decided to move onto other roads. We knew that they were still lurking around and kept a steady eye on the driveway. Every now and then one of them would peek out to check if the coast was clear and move back into the shadows. It is still unclear where they were hiding but a quick look this morning has revealed a blanket and some squashed plants behind a pillar in the driveway. Having finally spoken to Beatrice, we are sure they were hiding under the blanket as she says she noticed it this morning when walking her dogs. How convenient ..... a dark driveway, a pillar to hide behind as well as a grey blanket. No wonder the armed response were not able to see them! Eventually by 4 am the armed response team, which by this stage included ADT called it a night and moved away. Within a couple of minutes one man emerged, checked up an down the road and casually strolled away towards the other cut but uncollected cables. A few minutes later the same thing happened with the second man. While this was happening we again phoned Chubb and told them these men were not done with their thieving and had been spotted again, I also mentioned that thus far there had been NO SAP response. With this we were informed that SAPS had merely dismissed the crime in action and had said that they were to phone City Power regarding cable being stolen as this was not their juristriction. We then phoned 10111 and were given the same story. Chris then asked the person since when is City Power responsible for upholding the law? The person on the other side said true and within a few minutes there was a police patrol car. The police stopped and questioned one of the suspects (judging from his clothes we are sure it was one of the thieves) and carried on driving around the area. By about 5am all seemed to have settled so we called it a night and got back into bed to try get some sleep. At about 5.40am I woke to the same "fireworks". I jumped out of bed, phone in hand to call SAPS again whilst trying to watch out the window. I saw one man dash across the road and then all was still. I told the police that the cable thieves were still busy and that I had seen them again and they should send a car "quick quick quick". They told me they had been already..... I acknowledged this but insisted if they got there soon they would catch the brazen thieves. Again we saw the same guy the police had questioned walking up the road towards the traffic light - only this time he was carrying a bag, clearly he was done for the night and had he wares with him.TWENTY minutes after I had called the police, we heard a siren a few blocks away - well, that's clever why not warn them you coming! We still have no clue what happened to man number two but one thing was clear, they certainly didn't get all the wires they had intended to steal and City Power is at it again trying to restore power to the houses that have been affected. So once again, that's where our taxes go and seems SAP couldn't be bothered to catch a criminal in the dead of winter!

Bug Bites

A pregnant woman's prerogative is to reserve the right to change her mind at any point - and then change it back 5 mins later .....if she so wishes. In fact its any woman's prerogative!

And I am no different and have also done just that! When we first found out we were pregnant I said that I was not going to do much in the way of nursery décor ....... but as the weeks have past I have been sucked into the baby world and now cant help myself decorating Jellybean's room.

Finally 2 weeks ago at Gareth's "big walk" we took the plunge and bought our first baby toys (featured in the photo). These are on a spring so can be hung above the change mat or cot to keep baby entertained. Since then, the bug has most certainly bitten and I have been researching cots, compactums, moses baskets etc. Most of the furniture takes approx 8 weeks from ordering and I still have not finalised choice. We have however ordered a chair for the room for me to feed in! In many ways it is still early days (approx 17 weeks left) but at the same time, time is marching on!

As far as the decor is concerned, we have decided to stick to a "unisex nursery" as we will only know what the baby is when he/she is born. I really like the primary/bright colours and so will be using these in the nursery. I also realise that if baby is a girl, I will be persuaded into decorating her room in pink. So in the meantime, while I still have some level of say we will have a bright/happy baby room.

Kung Fu in Utero

Having spent a lovely weekend down in Natal with my family, I arrived back in JHB this morning in time to fetch Chris and head off to meet our new gynae.
We arrived on time to see Dr Mseleku but sadly had to wait ONE HOUR in the reception. Chris battles at the best of times with Drs being late so you can imagine how annoyed he must have been by the time we finally got to see the doctor. I think our saving grace was the fact that he had not seen me for a few days....... ;~)

Anyway, after going through our long history of nuchal folds, cvs and Prof Niccolau, we went through to see our little baby! Earlier, I had commented to Chris that baby had been very active ~ kicking and punching me ~ all day and when Dr Mseleku started the scan she commented on how "busy" baby was. I think she now understands how we managed to feel baby moving from about 17wks. Forget rugby, cricket, tennis etc this baby is already a kung fu fundi for sure!!!!

During the scan, Dr Mseleku checked baby thoroughly and was pleased to point out a very well defined stomach. Remember Prof Niccolau had been a touch concerned regarding the stomach 2 weeks ago. Baby's heart beat was a mild 125 bpm (rather calm for the amount of action that was going on inside me) and now weighs about 526 grams. This means he/she has gained 150 grams over the past 2 weeks.

Having checked baby, and me, she was very happy and has handed us over to Sharon's (midwife) care. Our next visit to Dr Mseleku will be at 36 weeks. She sees us then, to ensure all is well with baby and me for the natural active birth we would like to have at Linkwood. In the meantime, should we have any concerns we can call in and see her but Sharon will do all our checks going forward unless she (Sharon) feels there may be cause for concern in which case she refers us on to Dr Mseleku.

We have also booked our 3D scan for 13 August which will be at 30 weeks and apparently a pretty good time to see baby again. Hope that baby cooperates so we get a nice view of his/her face!!!!

Angel Messages

" I am the Angel of Peace, I bring you new tranquillity and a smoother road ahead"

The additional message for the card reads:

"You have been through turmoil, and your soul is tired. Your mind craves peace and quiet, and I am here to help you with that desire. I will give you new opportunities to spend time alone, where you can relax your mind and heart. I will bring tranquillity to your soul so that you can mirror the peace of mind that is your true Divine Nature. Like the angels, you are able to hover within the eye of any hurricanes that swirl around you right now. Through breath and intention, you can stay centered no matter what's happening in your life. This inner foundation of peace has a powerful healing effect. Your outer life soon reflects your inner peacefulness. Smooth roads are ahead for you now, and the worst is behind you now. A peaceful outcome to the situation is assured"

This is the card I drew from my pack of "Messages from your Angels" cards today when I got home from our visit to Prof Nicolaou. There is nothing sinister or evil about theses card and they are not tarot cards or life predictors. They merely intended to pass messages from our Guardian Angels to us. I have been particularly touched by this message and thus wanted to share it with all of you.

Thumbs up !!!

This afternoon we went off for our visit with Prof Nicolaou - Fetal Medicine Specialist. WOW, what a nice man!!! After catching up on the info provided by Reinette (Gynae) and making sure that Chris could not get a peak at the sex of the baby, we went through to begin the scan. He did a quick overall view of baby before starting the detailed scan.

Jellybean's heartbeat was 145 bpm and already we could see that he/she was very active. I immediately saw the 4 chambers in the heart and already felt a lot more relaxed and confident that all was going to be fine. He then went on to check everything in detail...... The brain, face, eyes, nasal bone, mouth, eyes, lungs, heart, arms, hands (10 fingers) and abdomen. To start, he was a little concerned as he could not clearly see the stomach. We could clearly see the kidneys, bladder & liver so for the balance of the scan he kept coming back to the abdomen to recheck the stomach. By the end of the appointment the stomach was definitely clearly visible and Prof felt confident all was good.

He also spent a good deal of time checking the neck fold for any jelly type tissue. This is a marker that is checked primarily due to the 12 week nuchal translucency reading. Again this was well within the normal range - YAY!!!. The spinal cord is checked for any signs of spina bifida which was clear. Prof then on to the legs and feet (with 10 toes). For the last few weeks JB has been letting me know he/she is around with feet measuring 3.5cm. Last night before we went to sleep, I could feel Jb with my hand so I grabbed Chris' hand and for the first time he got a chance to feel his baby moving around!!! I have a weakness for babies feet...... and I must say those tiny feet looked too gorgeous for words and I got all mushy. There was no sign of club foot and as usual when we first saw the feet they were crossed over each other.

At the end of the scan, Jb was lying head down and feet towards my heart and the spine curving round the right side of my body. The placenta is lying high which is good but has a few "lakes" in it which is probably due to the cells that were taken from the placenta during the CVS procedure. Jb weighs a mere 376 grams and this scan has confirmed that as of today I am 20 weeks and 1 day pregnant!

All in all the THREE of us are in good spirits and feeling a lot more relaxed!!!!

We look forward to enjoying the next 20 weeks as we prepare to meet our bundle of joy somewhere around the 21st October - the given due date. I must admit, it is incredible to know how loved and cared for our baby is already and we thank you all, for all your support, love and prayers over the past weeks.

Half Baked

Its been 4 weeks since our last update, which means that we have finally reached the halfway mark - I am now 20 weeks pregnant! Many people have commented on how quickly the time seems to have gone. I however have felt that it has taken ages, I think its because I found out so early that I was preggi.

As you can see I am rather swell. In the pictures, you will notice how my belly button has popped out. This happened about 2-3 weeks ago. It really looks quite odd and can clearly be seen through my clothes. The second trimester is truly the honeymoon phase..... bar a few ligaments stretching and the normal stuffy nose, there is no nausea, I have normal energy levels, so far no weird cravings & relatively good sleep. It is a truly wonderful feeling when the baby moves around. As for Dad, that's a different thing all together as he is most certainly having a "sympathy pregnancy". By this I mean, he appears to have an increased appetite with a few extra cravings for sweet things, a touch of porridge brain and a slightly more disturbed nights sleep along with the same stuffy nose. Poor guy ;~)

I have been doing preggi yoga twice a week, which is most enjoyable. Our yoga teacher is also pregnant - 23 weeks now - so its been especially nice to have regular contact with someone who is at a similar stage to me.

We have also started researching what furniture etc to get for the baby room. Most of the manufacturers have a 6-8 week waiting period from ordering and I am a tough customer as I know what I want and don't think that I will be able to find all the requirements I am looking for (esp not here in SA). Just another lesson from JB that I need to be more open minded and flexible .... especially as parenthood draws nearer.

Tomorrow is a big day for our little family as we are off to see the specialist for the "anomaly" scan. Prof Niccolau is a Foetal Medicine Specialist. He will do a very detailed scan to rule out any possible structural defects that could have been the reason why Jellybean's nuchal fold was enlarged at the 12 week scan.

Prof Niccolau will hopefully also shed more light on our expected due date. Remember its never an exact science but currently our dates are 10 days earlier than the gynae's date