Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Outside view on how best to spend the last weeks before delivery

"The next couple of weeks are a waiting game. Use this time to prepare your baby's nursery or to take care of tasks you may not get around to for a while after your baby's born. Take naps and catch up on your reading while you can. "

Seems I wasn't so wrong (and unique) with my own analysis of the remaining weeks before delivery. The paragraph above just came in this morning as part of an online weekly pregancy update. In a more detailed column, the online update further advices:

"Treat yourself. Use these last weeks (days?) before your baby arrives to do some things for yourself: • Get a pedicure. It's too hard to cut your own toenails now anyway. • Read a novel or go to the movies — these are two things you won't have time for after your baby's born. • Go out for a leisurely dinner with your honey. Chances are you'll be eating take-out and quick home-cooked meals for a while after your baby's born."

I don't think that I will take up on the first advice - the pedicure; the last 28 years I have done well without pedicure, and my belly's small size still allows me to reach my toes. Besides, I do think a bit of callus can't hurt if one likes walking barefoot in the garden. Being a single, the third advice seems a bit redundant, too. Remains just the second one: Movies and novels. Truely, I can't remember a moment in my life when I have read newspapers and books in such an amount as I have done over the past few weeks. And movies: I defenitely have supported the nearby cinema with regular visits. But whoever wrote this advice, seems not to have had 5 extra kgs lying on certain central organs like the stomach and guts when watching one of these never ending hollywood movies like "The Reader". There was more than one moment while watching that movie in which I considered walking out of the theatre, allowing my stomach to get relieved from the babies kicks and weight. If I where to add an advice to my online update: look out for shortfilm festivals! And an advice for non pregnant - yet cinema loving fellows: don't think you have to see the reader just because everybody else is watching it. Might be that I am not enough sentimental to enjoy these types of films, but thinking back of the movie, I would know better ways to spend few Euros.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dear Johanna,
i'll recommand you to go to the " filmtage" to Bolzano. there will be a lot of short films like Dacia Express(55 min) or it might be interesting for you as a past teacher " Lehrer und Lehrerinnen im Dorf (30 min) or "Ein Lehrer macht Schule" (30 min) and so on. The whole program is on www.filmtage.it
Maybe you will ask yourself who I am. Well, I suppose you don't know me, we saw each other once or twice at the AAi in Vienna, years ago. But now, since I've read your article on the "FF" about your stay in Afghanistan, I've been following interested your blog. God luck for your baby and enjoy the filmtage!

Matthias
P.S.: I didn't like "the reader" too, "revolutionary road" was much better!