Quase que passou um mes da existencia da sementinha e nem um post-zinho para amostra. Ha que ver isto como um bom sinal, tudo voltou a normalidade (bem, normalidade dentro de certos parametros, e claro) e finalmente a viagem da Sementinha para este mundo esta a correr sem problemas. Quem me conhece bem sabe que a na minha vida nada e simples ou a direito, tem sempre que haver um pequeno soluco pelo caminho. Mas, por agora (e espero que para o resto da gravidez) sinto-me bem como na cancao da Nina Simone :)
No dia 31 de Agosto fui a uma consulta com a parteira. Ela assustou-se um bocado com a historia do sangramento e o tempo todo que durou, expliquei-lhe que era muito pouco, ou seja o suficiente para me deixar paranoica mas, nao o suficiente para preocupar os medicos. Estou sobre ordens estritas de ir a correr fazer uma ecografia se houver algum problema, nao tive para lhe dizer que ja tinha falado com a sementinha e que ela/ele tinha concordado que nao ia fazer mais espalhafato... ou seja, que pelo menos ate ao final da gravidez que se vai portar bem.
A sementinha ja tem sentido de humor, ja apercebi-me disso por tres ocasioes. Nas duas primeiras ecografias e agora com a parteira fez exactamente a mesma coisa. Todos avisam-me que vai ser dificil encontra-la/lo e assim que poem o aparelho na minha barriga ela/ele aparece logo. Desta vez foi um aparelho de ouvir o batimento cardiaco, assim que a parteira pousou o dito o coracao da Sementinha ouviu-se logo em todo o seu esplendor!
A parteira disse-me que e um bebe muito feliz, e as lagrimas vieram-me aos olhos... Sinceramente so de estar aqui a escrever isto ja estou a ficar toda comovida, eu culpo as hormonas!
Entretanto tudo tem estado a correr normalmente. Temos tido grandes conversas sobre como criar a Sementinha, coisas importantes como se vai acreditar no Pai Natal ou nao e se sempre vamos ter uma caixa cheia de roupa de carnaval caso lhe apeteca ir vestida/o de super homem para a escola (provalvemente nao, mas depois da escola pode a vontade).
Talvez uma das coisa mais importante sobre a qual temos falado e sobre a aprendizagem da lingua portuguesa. Nos queremos que a Sementinha fale portugues para que consiga comunicar com a familia, mas temos consciencia dos obstaculos que podem existir para criancas bilingues e chegamos a algumas conclusoes sobre as razoes pelas quais criancas que falam a lingua dos pais quando sao pequenas deixam de o conseguir quando sao adolescentes ou adultas.
O primeiro e bastante facil de ilustrar, basta ir no Verao para qualquer lado onde estejam emigrante a passar ferias com a sua familia. Sao demasiado finos para falar a lingua do povo e querem mostrar que moram la fora e chamam as suas criancas assim "Jean Antoine, Marie Madalene viens ici", se as criancas nao voltam imediatamente partem para a peixeirada e passam a chama-los duma maneira completamente diferente "Joao Antonio, Maria Madalena venham imediatamente para aqui senao parto-vos as trombas" (isto presenciei eu perto da casa do Bico de Passaro em Tras-Os-Montes).
Ou seja e na lingua portuguesa que estas criancas sao repreendidas, compreendo perfeitamente que assim que possam rebeliarem-se contra os pais que a primeira coisa que facam seja deixar de falar a lingua que lhes causou tanta "tromba partida". Em cima disso, alguns dos pais ainda poem-nos em aulas de portugues depois da escola, e a lingua da "repressao" torna-se tambem a lingua da obrigatoriadade, que as impede de ir brincar com os amigos. E porque aulas de portugues? Talvez os pais nao tenham tempo ou nao tenham pachorra de ensinar as criancas a sua propria lingua, mas, ao mesmo tempo sintam-se culpados por isso.
Nos queremos que a sementinha aprenda que o portugues e a lingua do amor e que a usamos para comunicar com as pessoas que apesar de estarem longe, sao muito importantes na a nossa vida. Nao estou a dizer que nao vai ser repreendida em portugues (ate porque vai ser a lingua oficial ca de casa) apenas digo que e muito mais do que meras palavras mandadas ao ar num momento de raiva. E quanto a aulas de portugues, bem, se a Sementinha quiser aprender a escrever e a ler em portugues e so dizer que tratamos disso!
Entretanto tambem ha outras coisas importante e mais urgentes do que aprender a falar portugues, como por exemplo... Sera que da muito mau aspecto a Sementinha usar um fato do dia das bruxa fora desse dia? Chegamos a conclusao que nao e e por isso que compramos este baby grow, afinal brilha no escuro e tudo :D
Almost a month of the Little Seed's life has gone by and not even a little post to show for it. You must see this as a good sign, everything is back to normal (well, normal within certain limits, of course) and finally the Little Seed's journey to this world is going well. Anyone who knows me well, knows that my life is never simple or straightforward, there always has to be a slight hiccup along the way. But for now (and hopefully for the rest of the pregnancy) I'm feeling good like Nina Simone's song :)
On August 31st I had an appointment with the midwife. She was a bit worried about the spotting story and its duration. I explained to her that it was very little, albeit enough to make me paranoid but, not enough to worry the doctors. I'm strict orders to have a scan if it happens again, I didn't feel like telling her that I had already talked to the Little Seed and that we had agreed that she/he was going to cause anymore problems... meaning, that at least until the end of the pregnancy she/he is going to behave.
The Little Seed already has a sense of humor and it showed on three occasions, on both the scans and now in the midwife's appointment she/he has done the same again. Everyone warns me that it is going to be difficult to track the baby but, as soon as the machine lands on my belly she/he shows up. This time it was a heart monitor, and as soon as the midwife put it on the Little Seed's heart was there low and clear for everyone to listen!
The midwife told me that it is a very happy baby and tears came to my eyes... Honestly just by writing I can feel myself welling up again, I blame the hormones!
Meanwhile everything else has been going well. We've been having great big talks about how to raise the Little Seed, about important things like is she/he going to believe in Father Christmas and are we going to to have a box filled with costumes just in case she/he feels like dressing up as superman to go to school (probably not, but definitely yes after school).
Maybe one of the most important issues that we've been talking about is about learning Portuguese. We want the Little Seed to be able to speak it so that she/he can communicate with our family, but we are conscious about the obstacle that bilingual children face and we have have arrived to some conclusion as to why children who speak they parent's tongue when they are little stop being able to do it as adolescents or adults.
The first obstacle is easy to illustrate, just go to Portugal in the Summertime to any of the places where you can find emigrants holidaying with their families. They're too posh for their own peoples tongue and want to show off that they are living in a foreign land so, they call their children in (ie) French like this "Jean Antoine, Marie Madalene, viens ici", if the children don't reply then the gloves are off and they call them in Portuguese " Joao Antonio, Maria Madalena, come here or I'll slap the crap out of you" (I've witness this in the North of Portugal).
Meaning that they use Portuguese to reprehend their kids, no wonder they rebel against their parents by refusing to speak the tongue that caused them so much grief. On top of that, some of the parents put them in Portuguese classes after school, so this isn't just the tongue that "represses" them it also becomes mandatory and stops them from playing with their friend. And why forcing them to take Portuguese classes? Maybe their parents don't have enough time or patience to teach their children their own tongue, and at the same time feel guilty for that.
We want the Little Seed to learn that Portuguese is a language of love and that we use it to communicate with the people that even though they are far away they are still very important to us. I'm not saying that she/he won't be reprehended in Portuguese (after all it is our home's official language) all I'm saying is that it is a lot more that just a few nasty word to be used in a moment of rage. And about the Portuguese classes, well, if the Little Seed want to learn how to write and read Portuguese all she/he has to do is tell us and well take care of the rest!
However there are also other matters that are more important and urgent that learning Portuguese, ie... Is it too odd for the Little Seed to wear a costume outside of Halloween? We arrived to the conclusion and decided that no, not really and bought her/him this sleepsuit, after all it glows in the dark :D
Portuguese cartoons will help and long summer holidays with your family. Good memories.Also as a bilingual child, I find my 1st language ( Welsh) sweeter with endearments than my 2nd. The older I get the more expressive I find it, but I too kicked against it as an adolescent.
ReplyDeleteRegular Skype contact with your families and later an email friend in the family could help :)