A BIG Birthday with Family...

In true Weimer family style, my brother had a 10-day holiday and so he convinced my father to take a European whirlwind tour (Helsinki and a few Baltic countries).

Enjoying the pub tram.

All of my favorite dudes feeling the LOVE!

Koff beer pub tram.

They flew into Helsinki just in time for my birthday weekend. So, Charlie and I hopped on a train and enjoyed a weekend with my family in Helsinki. We rented an apartment in the city center and made some killer meals, laughed until we cried, and even had a little dance party. I kept flashing my bare pregnant belly to my father because it freaked him out so much. They experienced all of my late third trimester joys (fat ankles, limited mobility, and constant visits to the bathroom).

On the pub tram at 38 weeks preggo!

Lucky them, now they really know I am pregnant! Our weekend included a picnic with falafal in a park, birthday cupcakes from Brooklyn Cupcakes, a beer tour on the Koff pub tram, and a visit to the international festival. A fun and memorable birthday weekend! 

Oulu: Never Grow Old!

Market Square Policeman...still keeping watch!

Instead of taking the overnight train back to Jyväskylä, we did an overnight in the hip-n-happening town of Oulu, the most populated city in Northern Finland. This was our first visit to Oulu and we really loved the vibe. The market square area at the seafront sports a super "cool" vibe with plenty of cafes, bars, and restaurants to choose from. There is also a small outdoor market and Kaupahalli (indoor market). Our palettes were surprisingly satiated as we stopped for dinner (and good beer for Charlie) at Sokeri-Jussin Kievari and ate delicious pancakes at Pannukakkutalo in the market square. A friend who grew up in Oulu suggested we stop by the Never Grow Old reggae bar for a drink and Charlie loved it so much he jumped for joy! With a water in hand and beer in Charlie's hand we cheered to my first day of maternity leave--woohoo! Now back to reality...time to furnish an apartment.

To Lapland for a Conference!

Midnight SUN!

I was invited to present my dissertation findings at a conference far North in Lapland. So, Charlie and I took this as an opportunity for one last travel adventure before the baby arrives. We took an overnight train to Rovaniemi and then a 2-hour bus to the ski resort town of Levi. A beautiful chalet welcomed us (2 bedroom with kitchen) at Hotel Panorama, perched high on the ski hill. We arrived a day earlier than the conference began and settled in quite quickly by cooking a few amazing meals and simply relaxing and resting (and sleeping in).

After making my presentation I realized that this may be (and should be) the last time I present on my dissertation topic. It was time to close this chapter of my life (say goodbye to my dissertation research topic). Very apropos, considering that the Doctoral graduation ceremony at UGA was 10 days prior. Although I was not there in person to endure the pomp and circumstance I was experiencing my own anti-climatic conclusion to an intense 4.5 years of my life. What a nice occasion for such a reflection!

Restaurant Day in Finland!

Four times a year Finland hosts a food carnival wherein restaurants pop-up for one day around the country. This food carnival is lovingly known as "restaurant day" and anyone can participate by opening a restaurant, cafe, or bar of their choice. They simply need to provide, bake, or cook the food, post the location (home, work, street corner, park, inner courtyard, etc.) of their restaurant to the website, advertise the menu and set-up the logistics, and prepare for a crowd of restaurant-goers eager to enjoy their cuisine.

Our Greek friend is an amazing baker and she teamed up with a group of people (The Crooks Go Veggie) offering a vegetarian feast. This is the pop-up restaurant we enjoyed!

Three euros for fresh coconut milk from Panama.

The menu:
Summery lentil, goat & beetroot paste wraps
Black bean and avocado-lime wraps
Pati’s quinoa salad
Cretan salad with mini spelt cheese pie from Syros Island
Fresh coconuts from Panama
Red velvet cake (our friend Aggeliki baked this)
 

Pregnant in Finland: A Midwife, Doula, and Box

Being pregnant in Finland has been a wild and wonderful ride. The reserved Finnish culture allows me to go about my daily business with very limited comments and advice from random strangers--which would be totally different if we were living in the U.S.

The waiting room in the Central Hospital.

But, that is not the only difference, here are a few others:

1.) Midwives: The maternity system here in Finland is midwife-centric. At the beginning of my pregnancy I was matched up with a lovely midwife who I/we (Charlie accompanied me to every visit) meet with a few times every month. Each visit I take the glucose/protein pee test, get my blood pressure and hemoglobin level monitored, check my weight gain and the fetal heart rate and we discuss anything and everything related to pregnancy (it usually goes like this: we ask 20 questions and she answers them ever so eloquently and knowledgeably). It has been so nice to have this support system throughout the roller-coaster ride of pregnancy. Bonus: our midwife ROCKS! She is so patient with us, answers all of our questions, and goes out of her way to explain the Finnish maternity system and cultural norms around pregnancy and parenthood. No question we ask is dumb and she has certainly educated us about pregnancy, labor, and postpartum issues.

Additionally, midwives (who are specially trained), not doctors, deliver babies. Only in medical emergencies are doctors called in (more on this after the delivery).

2.) Doula: When we were on the train headed home from Italy, we got stuck in Jämsä (a small town just 57 kilos/35 miles Southwest of Jyväskylä). There was a train accident earlier in the day and no trains were able to travel on the tracks between the two cities. As we waited, with 50 other passengers, for our ride home luck would have it we met our future Finnish doula. Her name is Kanerva and she was nice enough to translate the situation for us and then she proceeded to ask me how I was feeling. This led to a conversation about my pregnancy whereby she disclosed that she was a doula. She serves as a doula for a new organization, Baby Blues, established about one year ago. Of course, when she shared this information I could not contain my excitement as I was hoping to find a doula in Finland (primarily to help us navigate the Finnish birthing culture and to translate the language). We exchanged information and the next thing you know Kanerva (and her back-up doula) came to visit us. During the visit, we talked about their role, our expectations, and how we would work together. I have a lot of emotions (fear, anxiety, etc.) about the labor, so having a doula has helped downplay a lot of those emotions. 


3.) Baby box: Expecting parents receive a box of items for their baby, complements of the Finnish government. This year the box was designed to go along with the "World Design Capital " designation that Helsinki proudly embraced in 2012. We received our box and it was like Christmas as we opened it and ooohhhhed and awwwwwed over the abundance of items. Everything from a snow suit, blankets, neutral color clothes to socks, toiletries, and even condoms were included in the box. The box, itself, is specially engineered to serve as a baby bed. See video!

Apartment Hunting & Finding

Lutakko neighborhood: lakefront property!

The past two and a half weeks we have been frantically scavenging all of the housing websites looking for an apartment to move into come June 1. While we have our current apartment until the end of June, we really want to be moved and settled into a new flat BEFORE the baby dances her way into our life. At first, we were looking for a furnished apartment, but with no luck we are now considering unfurnished apartments. Ugh! An unfurnished apartment means that we have a lot of work ahead of us as we own NO furniture, kitchen items, or linens besides a desk chair and microwave. We have also extended the range of neighborhoods we are considering...and are now including an area called Lutakko which is South of the railroad station and very close to the big lake (albeit a little farther away from the city center).

The HUGE balcony in our future flat.

The great news is that we have found our dream apartment (after looking at approximately 15 other flats) in Lutakko. It is unfurnished, has two bedrooms (one small/one large), a sauna, HUGE balcony, wood floors, and it has loads of natural lighting. We looked at it a few days ago and have emailed with the owner a few times...looks like all is good and we will be signing the contract soon. Woohoo! Now, comes the fun part--furnishing it!

Vappu!

As you can see from the photo the first of May in Finland was on the chilly side, but that did not stop the carnival-like festivities from happening. Vappu is one of the biggest holidays in Finland and is known as "May Day". Typically, you see people wearing white sailor-looking hats (the high school graduation hat), drinking sima (a homemade mead), and picnicking at the local park while eating funnel cakes. Our international circle of friends decided to join the crowds and meet up for a picnic in Harju. The cold quickly settled into our bones and we moved the party to our friends flat in the city center where we watched the eclectic Vappu car show (an old time car show with many random American cars in the mix) from their window.

Another Finnish School Visit...Without Shoes.

We visited mama Anne's (our adopted Finnish mom) classroom again and this time with our other American friend, Shawn from New Jersey. Of course, when we entered the school we all took our shoes off...a Finnish tradition. The day consisted of visiting and presenting to approximately 10 classes of students. We made a presentation about life in the U.S. from the Colorado, Georgia, Ohio, and New Jersey perspectives. This school does not receive many international visitors because it is about 45 minutes north of Jyväskylä, so many of the students are shy to speak in English.

Italy: One Year Anniversary & Baby-Moon!

Our last airline trip and holiday together before our tiny dancer arrives. What a better place to spend our "baby-moon" then in one of our favorite countries--Italy! Charlie met me in Rome, after the EMA meeting, and we jumped on a train headed South to a sweet little seaside village called Gaeta. The one-hour train ride (from Rome) did not travel straight to Gaeta, so we jumped a 25-minute bus in Formia headed to our dreamy holiday spot. The comune of Gaeta is a picturesque Italian holiday spot, home to a NATO base, and part of the Regional Park of Riviera di Ulisse. We stayed at the il Vecchio B&B which had a killer balcony that looked out over the village and sea and the owner was great!

Sea Grotto at 29-weeks prego.

Our first night we discovered the best pizza spot where all of the locals were eating, Da Emilio. You know it is good when the tables are full and the patrons are all speaking Italian. Charlie ordered the house wine for 7 euro, thinking it would be a glass of wine (he was thinking he was still in Finland because 7 euro is the typical price for a glass of wine). Next thing you know a beautiful bottle of wine appears on our table. Too bad his pregnant bride could not help consume the Italian nectar...and so, our first night we were both in heaven as I ate pizza and Charlie got loopy on house wine. The next few days we laid on the beach, ate amazing Italian food, and hiked Mount Orlando which allowed for spectacular panoramic views of the village, castle, fortress, and sea. It was the perfect combination of everything we love about travel--relaxation, site-seeing, hiking, adventures, local culture, amazing food and drink, and sunshine.What a great way to celebrate our one-year anniversary and life pre-baby!

Another Erasmus Mundus Association Meeting...in ROME!

Vatican, by night!

Antipasto...we are always well-fed at these meetings.

Earlier this year, I was asked to co-lead a working group on the "Future of EMA". The aim of the working group was to strategically discuss the future challenges/opportunities of our association, as there are some potential challenging implications of the EU proposing to streamline all educational programs under one umbrella. One scenario would be that all programs, including EMA, under this umbrella would lose their brand identity. So, one of my tasks at this meeting in Rome was to co-lead a presentation and discussion on our future. It went well and many great ideas came from it.

Yum! Gelato.

The meeting also became a forum for political posturing with the upcoming elections, which is not a strong suit of mine. I decided that I would be my authentic self and not get all political. Who knows if my strategy hurt or helped my campaign. Many EMA friends and colleagues were surprised when they found out I was with child. In fact, this led to some funny questions...one male friend asked, "How did that happen?" I responded, "Do you really want to know?" And, he embarrassingly tried to eat his words. Overall, though, I felt very supported by the community and no one seemed to think that me being pregnant would hurt my presidency nomination, although many said it would make it more challenging for me to actually win. Time will tell!  

Woohoo! I Made it Through Round ONE...

27-weeks prego and growing!

The EMA election results for round one are in and WOW...I made it to the final round--woohoo! ALL EMA members across the globe (there are approximately 8,000) had the opportunity to vote via an online voting process. Now, the hard part--convincing 200 active members at the annual assembly to vote for me in the final round even though I cannot be there in person to play the political game. Yep, that is right...I will be 8.5 months pregnant and not able to travel to Barcelona. The chances of me winning are slim, but it is worth a try.

Easter in Tampere: Spa Day!

Gettin' ready for the massage!

We decided to take a little Easter weekend escape to the bigger city of Tampere (150 kilos southwest). For our wedding, one of our friends in Tampere (who owns a local yoga studio) gave us a gift certificate to the local spa, Holiday Club. So, we made appointments for massages and spent the day in the pools and sauna. The next day we took a yoga class in English, as there was a visiting instructor from the U.K. (nothing better than melting into yoga in your native language--a rarity these days!) It was a lovely trip and so relaxing.

I am Officially D-O-N-E! Now onto a Post-Doc!

I just received an email from my dissertation supervisor, "I have reviewed document and think you have made all the necessary changes. Congratulations, and please go forward with this. You've done a very good job." 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! No more dissertation. It is really DONE! Words cannot do justice to how I feel. The topping on the cake? I also received word that I will get it published in Finland. Woohoo, it will not just sit on my shelf and gather dust...but it will also sit on other people's shelves and gather dust.

I think that this photo is very fitting for how I am feeling right now...I finally spanked the bulldog (the UGA mascot)!

27 weeks prego!

Other news...this past week I was offered a post doctoral research position at the University of Jyväskylä. Coming from the U.S. perspective, I think it is pretty incredible that they offered me the position, especially considering I will be on maternity leave for nine months beginning May 22. I am super excited, though, and looking forward to having a real job with benefits, salary, and all (it has been awhile!) Start date: April 15!
 

Northern Lights & Glucose Test

Last night, after eating a delicious eggplant curry for dinner, I checked Facebook and saw that the Foreigners in JYVÄSKYLÄ group was blowing up with reports of northern lights dancing in the sky. It was cold (-12c/10f), so we bundled up  and headed (quickly) to the lake. As soon as we reached the lake magnificent rays of light danced in the sky. My photos did not

do any justice to the beauty waltzing above us and soon enough the rays of light disappeared into the darkness of the night. With frozen fingers (from snapping photos) we headed home. This is when I realized that it was also 10 p.m. and I had to start fasting at 9:40 p.m. for the dreaded glucose test the following day (to check for gestational diabetes). Ugh, so I slammed some hummus and carrots and a bowl of granola. (These days I am still waking up in the middle of the night with hunger pains, so 12 hours of fasting=BIG challenge.)   

The following morning, I woke up parched...but I was told not even to drink water. I got ready for the -19c/-2f weather and jumped on the bus headed to the central hospital. I arrived in the labotoria and took a number. In true Finnish style right on time at 9:40 a.m., my number appeared outside door #5. A young woman, who spoke good English, took my blood and then poured the glucose sugary substance in a plastic cup for me and I chugged it like jungle juice. Disgusting taste, but it felt so good to have liquid in my desert-dry mouth. Then, I was sent out to the waiting room for one hour before another blood test. Ugh, one hour to wait..and I was already starving. Luckily, there was a bad English soap opera playing in the waiting room (Days of Our Lives) to help pass the time as my little, 25-week old, lady danced in my pregnant belly--woohoo sugar high! 10:45 a.m. finally came and my number appeared on door #5--blood test taken. But, it wasn't over yet...I had to wait another hour for another blood test. Now, this hour was agonizing. My blood-sugar had dropped and I felt so tired and ill. The little lady was fast asleep in my belly while other babies in the lab were screaming their lungs out after receiving vaccinations. The TV now played a British soap opera as I painfully waited out every long minute. That last hour felt like five hours. Finally--the last blood draw and I hurried to the hospital cafeteria for lunch.

The good news is that we finally got to experience the Northern Lights and I do not have gestational diabetes!

Happy Graduation!

Since I will not be walking in the May graduation ceremony in Georgia, Charlie threw a graduation party in my honor. We had a house full of 20 of our friends from around the world (Finland, Canada, Spain, Colombia, U.S., Poland, Greece, U.K., etc.) The invitation asked people to wear a fun hat, bring a food item to share, and forgo gift-giving. This was much more my style than the pomp and circumstance that beckons a big American research university graduation ceremony. We ate a lot of great food (including a delicious carrot cake from a local bakery), the alcohol was flowing (for some), and the party concluded in the wee hours of the morning. I just love when we bring all of our internationally-minded friends together...it made for a memorable evening with lots of laughs and good conversations.

My plan was to have all of my dissertation revisions (only five minor revisions) done by the party, but it is has been very challenging to get back into it. The (revised) plan is to send it to Sheila on Monday...almost done.