Great Ocean Road

After a few days in Melbourne, we travelled down to the Great Ocean Road with Mike, Katie, Mum and Dad.

On the way down to Apollo Bay, where we were staying, we stopped at Aireys Inlet.

As we were getting closer to Apollo Bay, we spotted some Koalas in the trees along the road.

This is the view from where we stayed at Apollo Bay.

Melbourne

We spent a week in Victoria last week. The first few days we spent in Melbourne, staying with Michael and Katie, and visiting Geoff and Sarah as well. Here are a few snaps...

We went to the park for a BBQ dinner with Geoff, Sarah, Alex and Vivienne.
Here's Alex on the swing. Alex loved playing with Dave, especially being pushed on the swing.

Here's Vivienne in her Aunty Bronnie's arms.

With Michael and Katie, we went to the Docklands in Melbourne.

Here's Miriam...

...gorgeous.

Miriam and Katie...

...and Harry.

Our First Egg!!

On Sunday, I went down to the chook pen and found a nice surprise. Our first egg has been laid. We were wondering when they would start laying.

Our Birthdays

Dave and I celebrated our birthdays last week.

On Monday, Dave had his birthday.

I cooked him his birthday dinner. He asked for Moroccan Lamb cutlets...

...and a Magnum Ego for desert.

On Wednesday, I had my birthday. We went out to the Ori for dinner with my parents.

19 Weeks

As of Yesterday, Bubba Ralphs is 19 weeks. Whilst at work I started to feel little 'bubbles' in my belly. Eventually I realised that these sensations were being caused by Bubba. It's hard to tell sometimes (I think I may have felt it before, but I wasn't sure). This was really exciting!
This morning, lying in bed with Dave, I could feel the 'bubble' feeling again with the odd 'jab'. I grabbed Dave's hand and put it on my belly. After a while, it seemed like Bubba wasn't going to do anything. While Dave and I started talking, the movements started again. Dave was able to feel the 'jabbing' and 'bubbling' movements of Bubba; he was so excited about it. It was so nice to be able to share this with Dave and for him to experience this lovely moment. I feel reassured now that I've felt Bubba move.

Painting Whilst Pregnant

Whilst I am really enjoying being pregnant, there's one aspect that's driving me mad. You seem to become public property. Everyone seems to tell you what you can and can't do. All of a sudden it's, "Oh..you shouldn't do that while you're pregnant", or, "you can't do that, you're pregnant."
We've recently started painting our house (photos will be coming soon) and I was telling some male work friends about it. Once I'd told them I was painting, they started to tell me that I shouldn't be painting at all. This came as quite a surprise. I asked them why I shouldn't paint and what affect it would have, but they couldn't give me a conclusive answer, only that I shouldn't do it.
I have done a lot of reading about things to avoid whilst you're pregnant and this hadn't come up. I was a little bit anxious by it. On the one hand, I really want to get the painting done. The house will look so much better when it's painted and since Dave has started his course, he doesn't have much time to do a lot of it. I really want to paint the house. But, on the other hand, I don't want to harm the baby. Then I started to worry (yet again), have I damaged our baby?
I set to work doing a bit of research on the internet. I found that painting whilst pregnant can be a risk, it's a low risk. When painting, use water-based paint, have lots of ventilation and do it in small bits. There's no conclusive evidence as to the affect on the baby, but people recommend avoiding it if possible.
I've decided to continue painting, but to be very careful. I'll wear a mask, make sure windows and doors are open, and take lots of breaks.
What do you think?

Vivienne