What every baby needs to thrive

It's common sense, but it's really, really good to be reminded of these things in this BabyCenter article What every baby needs to thrive:

Hug, touch, smile, encourage, listen to, and play with your little one whenever you can. It's also important to answer his cries immediately, especially in the first six months or so, when experts say it's impossible to spoil a child. In fact, responding to your baby when he's upset (as well as when he's happy) helps you build trust and a strong emotional bond.

I'm leaving today for a week long business trip, the first one since Emma has been born. It's going to be a long week without all those hugs and smiles.

Dreams for my daughter

I don't know how every conversation I have at work ends up incorporating my daughter... well... ok, I have a clue. Yesterday morning, in one of these conversations, I mentioned that I'm not a natural disciplinarian. My overriding attitude in general is, "hey, if it's good for you". But she won't know what's good for her if I don't teach her how to know. My goal is to teach my daughter to be a fully functioning adult--to know how to take care of herself and others, to know how to make hard decisions, to be confident in her ability to navigate in the world.

It seems obvious. I'm sure that what every parent wants for their children. But it really sank in when I said it outloud. That's why I'm documenting it. I want to keep it in the front of mind when I'm faced with a screaming toddler, or a screaming teenager. How will the decisions I make about my daughter help ensure she has all the tools she needs when she goes out into the world?

The Thin Pink Line

Yep, that's a pregnancy test! I took it Friday morning. The instructions say that even if the line is faint, it's still positive. Just to be sure, I took another one today. Same results (darker line)!

According to BabyCenter.com's online pregnancy calculator, my due date is November 18th. I go to the doctor on Thursday, so I'll see if she agrees.

So, I am in my 5th week. It hasn't sunk in yet... I've wanted this so much for the past 6 months and I thought I would be giddy (I was when I found out about being pregnant with Emma). My giddiness has been tempered with a "oh my god, what have I done?" feeling in the pit of my stomach. It's going to be an interesting 9 months! Oh wait, I'm getting giddy again! Whew-hoo!!!

So, I'm starting this pregnancy 5 kilos heavier than the last one at 75 kilos (hey, I'm 5' 10", it's not that bad!). I'm trying not to think of this time as the food free for all that it was last time. I haven't had the debilitating morning sickness yet, and although my back, ankles and hips already hurt, I still feel pretty spry.

So... here we go!

Why Billund?

First I move from Brooklyn, population 2.5 million, to Kolding, population 63,583,and now we're moving to Billund, population 8,697... where to next?! Is there ANYWHERE less populated than Billund?

So, why you ask? Billund is where the LEGO offices and the LEGOLAND theme park are located. Kolding is about 40 km away from Billund, and since Emma was born Lars and I drive separately work everyday. Her daycare "mother" is only open until 4:15, and to get there on time to pick her up one of us has to leave work at 3:00. We've been taking turns working from 7-3 and 8-4 (depending on who has late meetings or conference calls). Luckily, LEGO is an incredibily family friendly company and no one has a problem with working around this schedule (provided our work gets done). But it's wearing on us.

There is nowhere in Billund that isn't a 15 minute drive to LEGO. We'll sell one of our cars and have an hour and a half more a day to spend with our little daughter. If we have some sunny days this summer, one of us could even drop her off and go to work on our bike.

The second busiest airport in Denmark is in Billund, with direct flights to London, Paris, Amsterdam, etc. -- which will be handy for vacations. We'll also be visting Lars' parents on many week-ends... and we're hoping that it's somewhat temporary. We still have our five (or is it four now?) year plan to move to the U.S. But in the meantime, we'll have more time with Emma and less stress in general.

Okay, who am I trying to convince?

For Sale

We are really doing it. We're selling our house and moving to Billund.

Danish politics... ??

I wanted to write something after reading this article on how non ethic Danes favor the opposition parties, but realized I had no idea how the Danish government works... or what the article actually means.

My husband sent me to Denmark.dk: Official website of Denmark - Government & Politics page:

"The political system of Denmark is a multi-party structure, where several parties are represented in the Parliament. Danish governments are most often minority administrations, governing with the aid of one or more supporting parties. This means that Danish politics are characterised by inter-party compromising. Since 1909 no single party has had the majority of parliamentary seats."

No single party has had the majority of parliment since 1909? That's very hard to fathom as an American. I'll have to read the entire web site before trying to blog about Danish politics again!