The Pognae

I recently ordered the Pognae baby carrier -- "the best comfortable baby carrier you'll ever wear" -- from gmarket. I decided to go with the Pognae because it looks exactly like the Ergo carrier, but is about half the price. Since I haven't been working for around 6 months, I save money wherever I can, and I had a good feeling about the Pognae.

My good feeling was correct. I've only wore it out once, but it is comfortable and sturdy, and I like the design. The plain ones are cheaper, around 40,000 won, and the graphic design ones are extra. The elephant one I chose was an extra 15,000. The print material is a very soft muslin type of fabric, and the print is not garish or cheesy. There are even zebra print and military print ones!

It's definitely an Ergo knockoff, but it has a few extra features. It comes with an extra head support that is attachable by velcro. There is also a flap where the baby's back is that you can roll down to reveal a mesh material to allow for air flow. One thing I really like is that on all the loose straps there is an elastic attached, so you can roll up all those loose ends so they're not flapping around. For an extra 6000 won, I got the sucky pads, which are quite thick and nice, and reversible.

So I'm pretty happy with my Pognae. It's the first carrier I've picked out for myself...all the others were lent to me -- the Moby, the Ergo, a Korean Baby Bjorn type carrier -- which was great because I got to try many out before purchasing one.

Expat Parents in Korea

http://expatparents.forumer.com

The forum is up and getting off to a great start. I really hope this helps people stay connected beyond the EMCK blogger blog. The thing I like most about this forum is that it is private. Of course there are other Korea forums out there for parents to connect on, but they are open to the whole internet. Users have to register and be approved for this one and I am going to closely monitor the interaction to make sure people play nice! I think it's going to be great though.

I got some work today! Met with a former coworker today at her office in Gongdeok. She now works for one of the biggest education publishers in Korea. Seems I have something to do now rather than surf the internet in the evenings! yeah!

Expat Moms in Korea

I started up a private blog for Expat Moms in Korea last December. I would often get emails from women saying something along the lines of, "I'm glad I found your blog. I'm moving to Korea soon..." I also knew some moms in Korea through Ravelry, and just some moms I had met along the way. Then I met mamaseoul, who gets a tonne of hits to her blog from people searching things like "pregnant in Korea." After a successful lunch with about 6 moms in November 2008, I thought, why not stay connected online? That's how EMCK started.

Since then our little group has grown to between 70 and 80 members. I had no idea there were so many expat moms in Seoul. Many people post often, some just read, and some just come out to events. It's been so nice to see this group grow and watch the amazing exchange of information. I've met some good friends and I hope I have helped others make friends, too. I think I have. That makes me happy.

But since blogger can only accomodate up to 100 blog authors, we now have to change formats. I'm now working on making a forum for expat moms and dads in Korea. It's hard to say whether people will take to it or not, but I'd like to help people stay connected. There is already a board for moms and dads over at www.expatkorea.com, but it's not very active. Anyway, if my forum doesn't work out, I'm still happy because I can still keep the friends I've made. But I'm hopeful that it will be successful. I have a few good ideas in store...

One thing I am a little worried about is the dynamics between the moms and dads. I liked that EMCK was moms only, but I think it's time to branch out a bit. When I think of the expat dads that I am friends with, I know that the interaction will be postive. But it's the people you don't know that you have to be careful of. I've learned that lesson before.

Here's hoping the transformation goes well! I'm off to work on the forum!

+3 days

Well, I didn't think I'd make it this far, especially with having a bit of a scare at 30 weeks with the baby dropping. Everyone keeps saying it looks like I'm carrying really high, so I think this baby has changed her mind.

The doctor will allow me to go over by 2 weeks max. I hope it doesn't come to that. She recommended getting out and walking, so I may just have to take her advice, whether it's comfortable or not.

Yesterday I visited my friend, R, for afternoon tea. It was great to chat about our babies who will be born soon. She's around 38 weeks I think.

...5 a.m. this morning I get a text message that she's in the hospital having her baby -- just 10 hours after I saw her! So strange! I can't help but be a little bit envious, but I can't wait to hear all about her experience.

Here I am yesterday at 40 weeks 2 days. Thought I should take a picture since it's the first time in a while I had gotten out of my sweats, put on makeup, and dried my hair. I call it "Overdue, overtired, and overweight."

0 days?

Ah, it says zero days... no big deal. I'm totally prepared for this to be over with. I have an appointment tomorrow (40 week appointment!) which may give me a clue as to when this will be over.

I decided since I can't sleep I should post these pictures of finished projects. Who knows -- I may not have time to if baby decides to come soon.

My Bella's Mittens turned out OK. They're from the movie "Twilight," which I'll probably never see, but I thought it was a cute pattern. I eliminated the long cuffs though, 'cause I thought those could get annoying under a winter coat.

Also, I crocheted up this ultra easy scarf with the Noro yarn from Dongdaemun. I did a pretty crappy blocking job because I don't like sitting on the floor anymore, but at least it's done and will be wearable as soon as it's dry. Toto likes to supervise these things.But it's hard work...

I'm hungry.

5 days

Down to 5 days. Funny, I found the 2-week mark kind of shocking. Five days is less so. I just feel like this is going to go on forever...

It's a lazy weekend. I didn't do much yesterday except wash up the last of the baby clothes and sterilize the baby items and put them in the cupboard. Today, Sejin and I have just watched a documentary (Who Killed the Electric Car) and we'll probably watch some more TV soon. I'm not a big TV person, but it doesn't take much energy, which I like these days. I may finally photograph the mittens I made and start a new knitting project. It would be nice to squeeze in one or two more projets before baby arrives and I have no time to knit anymore.

As of my last appointment (39 weeks), the doctor was disappointed to see no progress and hinted at getting out and doing some walking. Not going to happen today. I may venture out this week though since I've had an itch to go shopping.

Christmas was so uneventful I didn't even notice it. Some friends, J and S, came over and we went out to VIPs buffet for early dinner. S is also pregnant and just a few weeks behind me, so it was nice to talk about baby stuff and preparations. They brought over a DVD called The Happiest Baby on the Block, which is all about baby soothing. The narrator claims to have all the answers to calming crying babies. I'm skeptical though. If it's as easy as he says and makes it look in the video, why doesn't eveyone know these secrets? Oh well, I'm willing to take any help I can get, so I took mental notes of the techniques in the video.

Waiting Game

Since baby is now full term, it's just a matter of waiting. Waiting can be good or bad. On one hand, I'd like the baby to hurry up and get here so we can start getting used to each other and I can stop going to the bathroom every 30 minutes, but on the other hand, I've been getting some good knitting done. I finished Braidy for Sejin, which I'm really in love with. I made it in record time for a scarf. Scarves usually take me a long time because I get bored with them being so repetitive. I think I'm going to make an identical one of these for myself.Also, I crocheted up some cute snowflakes to put on my tree. They were really quick and I think they make my sad little tree look better. I used a mixture of glue and water to stiffen them.

Now I'm working on a pair of mittens that may or may not work out. The pattern is written for working in the round on double pointed needles, but I don't have the right size needles. So, I'm trying to work them flat and then seam them up. This is my first time doing this and I'm nervous about the result. They may get scrapped. Trouble is, I can't find another mitten pattern I like for bulky yarn.

So that's (aside from some work I'm finishing up) how I've been playing the waiting game.

Oh yes. Toto's boyfriend, Moxie, stopped by yesterday for a visit. She was excited to see him at first, but was then a little put off by how quickly he made himself at home. He stole her throne by the window and went for a nap. She couldn't believe it!

Toto - cautious:

Toto - ticked off ... "Who does he think he is?"

Nice weekend

An unusually social weekend for me. Saturday I had a bunch of girlfriends over for a little crafting. We mostly chatted, but I managed to teach Amy the purl stitch and it was just nice to catch up with everyone. We also enjoyed some tasty treats: Lindsay brought Tim Horton's chai tea and Toblerone, Hayan brought a walnut cake, and Amy brought some Korean cookies. It was a nice relaxing day.

Sunday, today, was the moms' lunch. We met in Myeong-dong and had late lunch at Seven Springs. We had a great turn out -- I think there were 12 adults and 2 babies. It was really nice to exchange information, stories, and support...and eat of course! It's nice to know that there's a number of other expat moms out there who I can call up if I need to later on. And later later on, we'll probably be able to have playdates with our babies.

The lunch was great, but it was also really great and refreshing to get out of the house. Myeong-dong was busy, but today I was totally able to deal with it. I went to Kosney and bought a baby book and a few baby scrapbooking stickers I found, and bought a few makeup products at Innisfree. I can't believe how long it's been since I've been out shopping! Being cooped up indoors sucks, but I think I've saved a bundle of money as a result...I used to love strolling around Myeong-dong making a purchase here and a purchase there. Anyway, today I spent some money on myself for a change and it felt good.

So another quiet evening tonight. I'm pretty tired from today's outing, actually. I'll probably work on my newest project tonight, Braidy. I'm making Sejin a scarf because I realized that I've never actually finished anything for him and it'll be good to take a break from baby projects. The braid in the scarf, though, is pretty intense...more intense than I thought it would be. Luckily the pattern only calls for two braids, one at each end. I'll probably throw a few extra in for kicks, because it looks cool.

I recently finished Baby It's Cold Outside. Not so sure about crocheting anymore. Great for doilies, not so great for garments. We'll see next year how useful the cardigan is.