Heading out for a prenatal visit. Note our "Bark Obama: Unleash the Change" bumper sticker!
A shot of the nursery in progress. Crib is covered in mosquito netting- a must here in Delhi as we are in the midst of a Dengue Fever epidemic.
More of the nursery- we are stocking up on diapers brought by friends from the US- they are available here but wildly expensive. If you are thinking of visiting us you may get roped into bringing a supply along! We are also going to try to use cloth diapers as much as possible. There is already more than enough trash here in Delhi!
And, as always, the requisite Belli belly shot. Here I am at 34 weeks-6
more to go! Topher thinks it makes a great pillow and Paolo is wondering if my skin can stretch any further. I just hope each morning that I can find an outfit that fits!
At out coed baby shower last week- Kelly is trying to guess my girth....
Baby shower project- everyone made us personalized onesies! Now we have quite a supply for the warmer months ahead.
Greetings to friends and family! I hope you are all well. For those of you in the US I can imagine life is a bit frantic with the financial turmoil, and with election day and Halloween approaching. We are a bit removed from some of that though I do get daily calls from Democrats Abroad asking if we have sent in our ballots (yes, for me, no for Paolo since he is not a US citizen! In fact, he was barely able to get a new 4-month visa to the US!). Halloween will be celebrated in full force at the Embassy and at school so I am hoping to get my sugar infusion next week. Maybe there will even be some imported American candies (M&Ms???) as I am not a fan of the sickeningly sweet Indian candies available here. Topher's cat costume is cleaned and ironed.
This coming week will be quite an eventful one here in Delhi as the biggest Hindu holiday, Diwali, is on Tuesday. Paolo will be flying to Italy that morning (2 AM- a "normal" time for international flights from Delhi) as I prepare myself and Topher for a long day and night of constant noise and fireworks. This will be a day when I am glad Topher's hearing has weakened as I am afraid the blasts might disturb him otherwise. This holiday has a similar build up as Christmas does in the US with gift-giving and massive shopping frenzies in the weeks leading up to the holiday. Traffic, normally horrible, has really been unbearable these last few weeks. Once Diwali passes, then, of course, Halloween hits so it is really a week of revelry.
As I said, Paolo leaves this week for a few days in Italy before he heads to the US Nov 2nd for 10 days of conferences and work at his "headquarters" I am trying not to be too jealous of his chance to be back in Washington ( I did get my own chance to be there in June after all!) and am only "punishing" him with a short (one page!) shopping list of things I would like him to bring back with him. Some are practical (baby supplies) and others not (peanut butter, Halloween candy), but I reserve the right to be impractical and demanding now that I am entering my 9th month of "baby baking."
Paolo and I finished a two-week course yesterday on Lamaze and baby care, Indian-style. Some of the advice and tips were very helpful while others made us raise our eyebrows every so slightly. A suggestion for increasing my iron levels, for instance? Soak a raisin on a glass of milk overnight. In the morning eat the raisin and drink the milk. That evening soak 2 raisins in a glass of milk, 3 the next night, 4 the following, etc... Once you get to 9 raisins, repeat the process in reverse until you return to 1 raisin. After this 18 day cycle of raisin chewing your iron levels should be high again. Needless to say, we skipped this idea and instead I am relying on my prenatal vitamins and occasional steaks and burgers at the American Embassy! We did learn a great deal about labor and how Paolo can help me get through it with lots of massage techniques/alcohol (for him!). I enjoyed the massage practice quite a bit! We also got the chance to meet other expectant couples in the class, including two who live right here in our colony. All three of us are due right around the same time so we are happy to have discovered each other as we will be able to rely on each other for advice, sympathy and impromptu stroller walks in the 'hood.
Topher remains, as always, a source of laughter and love here in the house. He is beloved by all of the guards now in our colony and we get greetings from all as we pass on our morning outing. Now that the temps are cool in the morning ("only" 67 at 6AM today!) Topher has his spring back in his step and pulls hard the entire 20 minute walk to get to the lake. It is funny to see how Indians react to this change in weather. I finally put on a long sleeved shirt for these walks, but the guards are wrapped from head to toe in blankets and sit in front of trash fires to ward off the "deep chill." This morning a man was jogging around the lake wearing a full ski parka! Topher still avoids the mid-day 90 degree heat by planting himself under a fan for a long nap but comes alive once again by 6 when the cool evening breezes return. Other than his hearing loss he shows no sign of aging (he will be 8 in February) and has been remarkably healthy even through the intense heat. Ironically, it took bringing him here to India, land of parasites and "Delhi belly," to find a cure for the digestive troubles he had been plagued with since puppyhood. Not a single incident since he stepped off the flight from DC in January!
Happy Halloween to all, and may all your Election Day dreams come true. We obviously are rallying for Sarah Palin- the more Tina Fey impressions we can get, the better...who cares what horror she would inflict on the country! Next month may prove to be an exciting time here in the Belli household (due date Nov 30th) so I will try to keep you updated more often as the big day approaches. In the meantime, enjoy yourselves and write to me if you have not in a while- you know who you are! A big hug, Clara
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