Extreme Makeover: Baby Edition

Wow! Haven't written anything in a really long time.  Sorry about that.  Lots of things happening though.  First and foremost, we are having a baby!  In Australia, they say that I have "fallen pregnant".  Every time I hear this I feel as if I've either contracted some kind of disease that results in me procreating in 9 months or I picture myself falling in an old 80's Life Alert commercial where I can't help myself.  "Help me, I've fallen...and now I'm pregnant."  But, that's what they say so I just go with it and smile.

So, now that I've fallen pregnant I find myself overwhelmed by the choices one has to make during the process.  What stroller?  Do we get a car seat?  What kind? What color?  Are you going to use a pacifier?  Will you lose your mind before or after the baby gets here?  It's kind of maddening.  But here it's also fun because I get to learn yet another entire vocabulary for baby stuff.  Here are a few examples of the Australian/British word and its American equivalent.  They're fair dinkum, waddayareckon?!

• Pram = Stroller
• Dummie = Pacifier
• Car Capsule = Baby Car Seat
• Nappy = Diaper
• Up the Duff = Pregnant
• Bunny Rug = Blanket
• "You want to nurse the baby?" =  "You want to hold the baby?"  
• Mum = Mom,  typically you see/hear "mum and bub" for "mother and baby"

• Terms for a baby/child =  Ankle biter, Bub, Billy lid, Carpet Grub, Kiddiewink, Happy Lil' Vegemite, Nipper, Rugrat, Whippersnipper, Littlie, Sprog, Little bugger

Oh, and the best thing ever, they have paid parental leave here for both parents.  Apparently the United States is the only industrialized nation to not mandate paid leave for mothers of newborns.  Here's a graphic from the Huffington Post so you can visualize our shame.  Cheers!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/maternity-leave-paid-parental-leave-_n_2617284.html