Birth Prep Class...

Well, a bit of a lull in blogging there - usually I reserve blogging for worktime ... a few minutes here, a few minutes there when my brain needs a break. I prefer not to blog at home, as there's precious little time in the evenings to spend with my wife as it is, and I always seem to get caught up making dinner, catching up some email, sorting paperwork, doing household chores, or whatever... So as work was rather busy the past week, I kind didn't put pen to pa... err, fingers to blogkeyboard. But that's behind us now :D

This past weekend we had our birthing prep classes, given by an Australian midwife (we opted for the English class, since German classes would be absolutely wasted on us). Medical insurance picks up the first 100 francs of the course, which is nice too. Nice group of people, very informative classes, and definitely recommended. We covered assorted breathing styles, different stages of labour - and how best to (attempt to) control them, what hospital procedure is for arrival...details of methods of intervention, pain relief, and different birthing positions and apparatus. We covered feeding details, and who to contact in times of trouble. She gave indications of what we our entitlements are from the mandatory medical aid, and proposed exercises for before labour. We also brainstormed partner roles, and situations that may arise... We also watched a video on labour.
I'm sure I've forgotten to mention much of what happened, but suffice to say - it was most informative.

We think we've decided on the colour and pattern of our stroller, and will be placing the order. Yes, it's blue. No, we don't know the gender of our sprog. No, I don't think it's a problem for a girl to be in a blue stroller. I think blue is a nice calming colour, and is suitable for babies of either gender.
We also need to order a bed soon, since there is a delivery time of up to 12 weeks, and will probably buy the car seat soon too - gotta have something to bring sprog home in.

On another note, I signed us up for a "Sephardic culinary evening" on Thursday, where assorted Sephardic titbits will be served. 15 francs each, excluding drinks. It's done by the same chef with whom I did a "pasta art" course - he was born in Morocco. Should be interesting - and I'll try get the recipes if anyone's interested...

The menu: First serving: small pita bread rounds filled with hummus (Lebanon/Syria) The pita bread is sliced in half, and each half is filled with hummus then topped with paprika...both the bread and hummus is homemade. Israeli couscous salad ( Israel) The couscous here are larger than normal - about the size of a pea. The salad will be served with sun-dried tomatoes, orange zest, roasted almonds, and mint. A lemon vinaigrette will dress the salad. marinated mushrooms ( Morocco) These cumin-marinated mushrooms are a favorite from Morocco. Mediterranean green salad ( Greece and Turkey) This salad is an inspiration from the Balkan states. It will have spinach greens, toasted walnuts, and Turkish sheep's-milk cheese. The dressing will be a refreshing combination of lemon juice and orange-flower water. Second serving: bacalao empanadas (Spain) Little pies stuffed with paprika-spiced salt cod albóndigas ( Spain) Little meat balls lightly coated in tomatoes cigars à la viande (North Africa) A typical dish from North Africa, these little phyllo-dough pies are filled with highly aromatic ground lamb warm bulgur pilaf ( Turkey) Tomatoes, feta cheese and green onions flavor the bulgur chermoula ( Morocco) A very popular hot and spicy salsa made from garlic, tomatoes, fresh coriander, and plenty of spices Sweet selections: cardamom cookies (Iraq) an Iraqi specialty apricots filled with rose-scented mascarpone cream ( Turkey) a Turkish specialty - very refreshing! ginger cake ( Egypt) a rich and moist cake with a strong taste of ginger - quite delicious and refreshing!

Yum!