Week 41!

Well, at least we would be up to Week 41 if I hadn't already given birth to our beautiful baby boy on Valentine's Day. Isn't he simply adorable, sitting there pondering the world?!? (although I think it is possible I am a bit biased!):

The labour was no where near as horrendous as I had been expecting. My Sunday started like any other day, lying in bed wrestling with the idea of whether to get up and exercise or whether to leave it until later in the day. I had a bit of lower back pain but not enough to stop me from exercising and I just figured that it was an extension of me putting my middle back out earlier in the week, not anything at all attributed to labour.

Anyway, I got up and went to the toilet and the first sign that something could possibly be going on was that as I went to sit down I had a trickle of clear fluid come out when I least expected it. The same thing happened when I hopped back into bed. I said to Matty that maybe my waters had broken and the baby's head was stopping it from all coming out at once, but on the other hand, maybe it was just another one of those unspoken 'pregnancy joys' where your body fails you just a little.

It wasn't until I went to the toilet almost an hour later that I noticed there was a bit of blood in my cervical mucous. I thought that it must be about time to call the hospital and see what they thought we should do. They said to come in just so they could check me out. I had expected to go into the hospital, get checked out and then be sent home until the labour progressed, but that wasn't the way it was to work!

We got to the hospital at about 11.30am and I was hooked up to the CTG machine to check that all was ok with the baby and to monitor the 'contractions'. Matty and I were a bit surprised that they offered us some lunch, but we weren't going to turn down a meal.

We waited to see the oncall obstetrician so that she could assess whether to send us home or not. When she came at 1.00pm she advised us that I was already 4cm's dilated, so I wouldn't be going anywhere.

They hooked me up to the TENS machine and things were going good. Matty sat around watching the Winter Olympics while I walked around the room working on my redwork, much to the midwife's delight (I am pretty sure she thought I was insane!):

Contractions didn't actually start feeling like contractions until about 2.15pm and even then they were mild, but it was time for us to start getting serious about this whole labour business! As you can see we did just that!

At about 4.30pm things started to get a bit tougher as the TENS machine started cutting in and out during the contractions (much to my delight). After it cut out in the middle of five consecutive contractions I decided to move onto the gas, a decision I initially regretted.

I remember telling Matty after two contractions that the gas was making my eyes go all 'googly', I felt horrendously tired all of a sudden and for some reason I kept thinking there was a cat on the bed. Luckily, after a couple more contractions I got used to it and found it quite a good source for pain relief. It wasn't until about 6pm that things started to go a little askew.....

The contractions changed significantly and just felt wrong. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to push or not and the gas was starting to fail. I hopped into the shower for a bit but the only thing that did was make me wet. My lower back was hurting beyond belief so Matty rubbed it to try and give me a bit of relief but it wasn't working. I said that I thought we might need to consider an epidural.

The oncall Obstetrician came to assess me and said that I could have an epidural if I was less than 7cms dilated. When she had a look, the head was right there - I should have been pushing by this stage, but my body failed to let me know. After about 5 pushes, it was decided that we needed to get the baby out as soon as possible as I was going into distress with the lower back pain, so vacuum extraction would be used.

I realise that lower back pain sounds like it should be tolerable, but let me tell you that when I look back on the labour, I can't even remember any pain associated with the crowning or the baby's shoulders coming out - all I can remember is the back pain, the horrendous, horrendous back pain.

Anyway, after about 10 random pushes (my body still wasn't telling me to push) and a small cut, our baby was born at 7.20pm, weighing in at 8 pounds 2 ounces, 54.5cms long and with a head circumference of 34.5cms.

At some point during the last phase of the labour I told Matty that we wouldn't be having any more kids, but once I was showered and dressed and sitting in the chair cuddling our son I whispered to Matty that I thought his son would need a little sister. How quickly we forget the pain!

Here is a photo of us around 12 hours after the birth:

While our baby is absolutely adorable, the unsung hero in this story is my beautiful husband. He didn't lose his cool once during labour and provided me with so much support during the whole experience. I didn't think that I could love him any more than I already did, but I feel as though labour moved our relationship to a whole new stratosphere.

My heart just swells with pride when I look at him holding our son and I am eternally grateful that I have such an adorable husband.

Week 40 (Can you believe it!)

Our due date is finally here and I simply can't believe it! In some ways it feels like it has taken forever to get here, but really it has gone so quick it's hard to believe.

The question on everyone's lips now though, is will I still be here at 41 weeks? And more importantly, will I be a mother by the time I am 30? (Which is on the 18th of February!)

Here is a picture of us from this morning:

This week I am finally feeling like I am starting to get in the swing of this whole 'maternity leave' thing. I don't feel nearly as frustrated with doing 'nothing' as I had been in the previous two weeks and I feel happier in general.

I have managed to get a lot of stuff done this week that has been on the 'to do' pile for quite some time, which means that when this baby comes along I will have more time to create things for him or her rather than trying to get old projects done.

Fingers crossed that this is the last pregnancy update and that next week I will be introducing you to our little baby!

Week 39!

It's hard to believe that this could be the last week that I have my photo taken with my lovely belly (although I honestly think we might get another week or two before this baby decides to make it's move)!

Here is the (somewhat terrible) photo of us taken this morning - I think I need to sack my photographer!

Everyone is asking how I'm sleeping, whether I'm over it and if I want the baby to hurry up and come out? The answers to those questions are that I'm sleeping like a log (only waking once a night to go to the toilet), I'm definitely not over being pregnant and no, I don't want him or her to hurry up and come out. I mean, sure I want to meet our baby, but I'm going to meet it whether it be tomorrow or a couple of weeks from now. I'm not in any hurry!

Apart from my ongoing hand problem, I feel great. I am attributing that to the fact that I have maintained a healthy exercise program for the entire time, have been eating *relatively* well and have an amazingly supportive husband that helps me do the things I can't, so I don't get stressed out that things aren't getting done.

Earlier this week I found that I wanted to spend a lot of time in the nursery, so I decided to start reading The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton to the baby and boy are we enjoying it. Well, I am anyway. I'm not sure the fact that Darth goes a little crazy and starts kicking madly when I start reading is a sign that he/she loves the story or wants me to shut up! Either way, we're reading it.

Unless this baby makes an appearance before next Friday, we'll be back next week with our 40 week belly shot!

Week 38!

My first week on maternity leave has been an interesting week. I have cleaned my house, caught up with some friends and worked on some projects (like my vegetable garden) that I've been wanting to for ages.

While it has been quite a productive week, I'm left asking "What next?". I do have some projects left on my list to complete, but failing that I am left with nothing to do. I have asked some friends what they do to fill in their days and they tend to watch TV or surf the web, neither of which really appeals to me (in fact, I haven't turned on the TV at all during the day in the past week!). Guess I'll have to think up some more projects.

Anyway, I know I should be grateful for this nice and quiet time as once the baby arrives I am pretty sure my time will no longer be my own lol!

Here is a picture from us taken this morning:

According to the midwife I saw yesterday the baby is in the right position and is engaged, but she doesn't think we will be meeting him/her within the next week which is fine by me. I'm not really in any hurry for the baby to arrive and know that it will come out whenever it wants to, regardless of if I try to hurry it along!

Week 37!

It is hard to believe that at 37 weeks I am considered 'full term'. It seems like a life time ago that I held the positive pregnancy test in my hand and broke the news to Matty that we would soon be having a baby!

Now, in a matter of weeks, that baby will be here and life as we know it will change forever...and I can't wait!

Here is a picture of us from this morning:

Today is my last day at work for 12 months and I am pretty excited about that as well. Check out this cake that my friend's mum made for my farewell morning tea today!

Insanely awesome, hey!

I am not really sure how I am going to fill in the weeks up until I have our baby, but I am thinking it will involve craft, baking and a LOT of sleeping!

The Nursery is Finished!

What do you get when you combine a cot quilt, nursery curtains, an owl mobile, a cot valance, two sets of bunting flags, a lamp covered with fabric, a seat topper and a cushion cover for a rocking chair? Well, you get a finished nursery!

One thing that I did before I started up my blog was paint a tree on the wall and fill it with leaves and owls, so while you may have seen everything else in the nursery, a lot of you may not have seen this:

It took quite a while as I painted the tree onto the wall with the aid of a data projector, and then cut the owls and leaves out using cardstock. I think the overall result was quite good! Here is a close up picture of the owls in the tree:

And just for good measure, here is another picture of my favourite thing in the nursery:

It is strange, because I thought that I would feel slightly relieved that I could class the nursery as finished. Instead, I have spent a lot of time in there wondering what else I could do!! I am hoping that the feeling will pass so that I can get stuck into some non-baby related projects.... and I have a lot of those!

Week 36!

It is almost as though everyone expects that by the time you hit the 35-36 week mark you'll be well and truly 'over' being pregnant. People don't seem to be able to pass you in the hall at work without saying "How are you feeeeeling?" in a sad, depressed voice, almost like they feel sorry for you!

Every second person seems to want to ask how your back and feet are holding up and then there are those that seem to think it is acceptable to ask how much weight you've put on... Ummmm... how much weight have YOU put on? Looks like someone ate a little bit too much turkey at Christmas time!

I may be singing a different tune next week, but at this point (apart from the hand problem I have going on) I feel pretty damn good. Here is a picture of us from this morning:

Yesterday I had an appointment with the obstetrician and the baby is measuring at 32 -33 weeks. Normally I would have gotten worried, flipped out and ordered to have another growth scan, but the fact of the matter is that I've been under in measurement the whole pregnancy and every other scan has shown that our baby is quite healthy and happy. So I am not going to let some crazy measurement upset me.

I had the GBS swab done yesterday so just waiting for the results on that now. I'm hoping it comes back negative so I don't need to go into hospital as soon as my waters break, but if it does come back positive then there isn't much I can do about it.

Well, must away. The toy box just arrived in the mail and I am busting to put it together!

Week 35!

Well with five weeks to go we are on the home stretch and I am seriously wondering where the time has gone! I can’t say that I am sick of being pregnant yet (because I am not), but I am sick of the ongoing problems with my hands….

Due to excessive fluid retention I developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which resulted in having to wear splints of a night. Those splints, however, have caused tenosynovitis in both wrists and to put it mildly – it hurts like hell!

The upside of this problem is that I don’t seem to notice a lot of the ailments that other pregnant women seem to complain about, so maybe it is a blessing in disguise! Anyway, here is the picture of us from this morning:

Matty and I celebrated our 4^th wedding anniversary this week too. In a world where so many marriages end in divorce or with both parties fighting on a daily basis, we believe it is important to celebrate each year so that we can be reminded of what a wonderful marriage and life we have made for ourselves.

The highlight of my day was not the digital photo frame that Matty gave me as a gift, but the card that came along with it. Forgetting to buy one he had set about making one himself and although the design was flawed (it was heart-shaped so didn'’t stand up) the fact that he went to the trouble of making me a card at all, just reminded me more why I love him so much.

Here is a picture of us on our wedding day a whole 4 years ago:

Awww isn't that sweet lol!

Weeks 33 and 34!

Well I am back from spending time in Murray Bridge with Matty's family and I must say, I am feeling very well rested!

Christmas day was filled with fun and laughter and a LOT of food shared with those we love and also happened to fall on the 33 week mark, so here is a picture of me on Christmas morning:

Darth decided to put on a show and double in size while we were there, with everyone thinking that it was quite possible I could explode. Within two days of being back in Victoria, I am pleased to report that he/she has decided to return to a more 'manageable' size lol. Here is a picture we took this morning to mark 34 weeks:

I must say that I am excited about what 2010 holds for us especially in the month of February, which will see us celebrating the following:

• My Nana's 70th birthday;
• Matty's Pa's 90th birthday;
• My Aunties 40th birthday;
• My Pa's 80th birthday;
• My Brother's 18th birthday;
• My Nana and Pa's 60th Wedding anniversary;
• My 30th birthday; and
• The arrival of our first child.
  

Gosh, I am feeling tired just reading that list!

I am also pretty excited about the challenges that we will face as a family in 2010 - Learning to care for a child, trying to maintain a healthy relationship and learning to save money while on one wage! It is certainly going to be a big year for us and I look forward to sharing our ups and downs with you all!

Week 32!

I feel good... perhaps even bordering on great! I haven't pre-fainted for a couple of days and as a result I don't have to wear the holter for the next 24 hours to monitor my heart rate - Yay! Here is a picture of us at 32 weeks (erk! my posture is terrible!):

I had an obstetrician appointment this morning and need to have a growth scan done on Monday, but I am fairly certain it is all going to be ok. Darth is really active but the old fundal height is a couple of weeks less than it should be, so the obstetrician wants to have a look in there just in case. I am actually pretty excited as it has been AGES since we saw Darth and it will be nice to see him or her again so long as we don't see any 'bits', as I am still adamant that I do not want to know whether we are having a boy or girl.

In other news, I got splints for my hands to try and reduce the carpal tunnel problem and they seem to be helping a little bit. At least I haven't been waking up due to the pain for a couple of nights, but it is quite annoying still when trying to do craft stuff. Speaking of which, I should be doing some craft now!

Week 31!

I have been a bit slack with posting this week and that is due mainly to the fact that I have been sick. My good old friend Mr. Carpal Tunnel has kept me awake most nights in horrific pain and on top of that I am apparently 'pre-fainting' a number of times a day (pre-fainting is fainting without the blackout, pretty much).

They suspect I just have a nasty virus seeing as my blood pressure is fine (and I usually pre-faint while sitting down lol), but just to be on the safe side they are going to strap me up to a heart monitor for 24 hours next week to make sure there is nothing funky going on there. Good times, good times.

Today I feel pretty good though! I managed to get a straight 4 hours sleep before being woken up by the pain in my hands, which is about 3 hours longer than I had been getting. On Monday I have an appointment with a hand therapist as they suspect I need splints since the pain moves into my arms of a night. Can it get any better?!? lol

At least the baby is nice and healthy and that is the main thing. Here is a picture of us from this morning:

I had big plans this week to make good progress on the nursery, but unfortunately I managed to do very little. I have, however, been doing some work on some craft projects so I might post about those a little later on.

Week 30!

Only 10 weeks to go and surprisingly it is still all a bit surreal despite getting fatter and fatter with each passing day! Here is the photo from this morning:


This week we had a checkup and while the baby is still measuring a little bit small for how far along we are, it is nothing to be worried about.

Although all was good in baby land, the mum isn't doing so well. I have carpal tunnel in all fingers on both my hands! But I tell you what, carpal tunnel, if you think that you're going to slow me down any then you're in for one hell of a shock!

Next week is our last pre-natal class which I am kind of glad about as I have a million things to do and not enough time! I am hoping to focus a bit on getting things ready for the nursery in this coming week, so I will be sure to post about all that action!

29 Weeks!

Tired! That is the word that sums up how I've felt this week. Work is crazy busy and we have had something on nearly every night for the past week or two! I am planning on sleeping all day on Sunday in an attempt to catch up and feel at least semi-human once again.

Anyway, here is a picture of me from this morning at the 29 week mark:


This week brought about a lot of reflecting on my life and how lucky I am to be here as this time last year, I was in hospital after having a tumour the size of a grapefruit removed from my tummy.

I remember how devastated I was to have thought I only had appendicitis and to wake up after surgery to news that I had not only had my appendix and a tumour removed, but that I had also lost an ovary. I felt incredibly angry towards people who kept telling me that everything would be alright and that we wouldn't have any problems conceiving, as they couldn't possibly know how everything would turn out.

Thankfully, everything did turn out alright and in another 11 or so weeks, we will be welcoming our little baby into the world!

Week 28!

What a week! One day it's so cold you need the heater on, the next it's a tropical hot wave and you're sweating so much you need to change 3 times a day. Enough with the crazy weather, alright!

I have not been coping well with the heat at all. More so it is the sleepless nights than the actual heat that is taking it's toll, but none the less I am stuffed and glad that this weekend is supposed to be wet and miserable (apart from the fact that our fence probably won't get done again). Here I am this morning, at 28 weeks:


Earlier this week we started our pre-natal classes and while most people told us they would be an utter waste of time, I am pleased to say that both Matty and I found the first one very enjoyable. I guess it's the age old case of "you get out of it, what you put in".

The first class covered general baby care tips, activities to familiarise the group members and a DVD on breastfeeding. I must admit that I was surprised at the amount of effort required in a 'normal' breastfeeding experience. I had thought it would be much easier than it appeared to be!

One thing that did kind of irk me about the class is that they plugged disposables as the 'superior' nappy choice over cloth for 'environmental' reasons, as cloth nappying apparently uses more water than disposables.

It doesn't take much of a google search to find out that isn't the case. If they were plugging them for useability and convenience reasons then I would understand, but recent studies have shown that disposables use 2 litres of water more PER NAPPY (in the manufacturing process) than cloth. Anyway, I'm hopping off the soap box now.

This coming week I get to do the glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. Sounds like fun! Until then though I plan on sleeping a lot and eating my fair share of icy poles if it's hot!

Week 27!

Wow - Week 27 already! Where has the time gone?


This week I was introduced to the wonderful world of fluid retention. Temperatures reached 32 degrees and my feet ached, my wedding rings no longer fitted on my middle finger (they were too big prior to falling pregnant) and my sciatica started to play up again. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper! On the upside though I didn't do anything ridiculously silly like I did last week, so it wasn't all bad.

Next Tuesday we start our pre-natal classes, which I am a bit nervous (yet also excited) about. I am not really sure what to expect and whether the classes will even actually help. Most of all I am worried about the group that we will be in, as I don't have the tolerance to deal with idiots just at the moment. Fingers crossed they all turn out alright.

Week 26!

Well, what is there to say about this week? This week I managed to wash my hair with my face cleaner, crack a raw egg onto my salad instead of in the frying pan and then to top it off, I lost my electric beaters for 2 hours only to find that I'd put them in the fridge (for safe keeping I told myself!). Anyway, here is a photo of me from today:



As you can see I've chunked up a bit this week and about time I say! Everyone keeps asking me if I am sick of myself yet and I don't have the heart to tell them that, apart from the incessant kicking going on in my belly, I still don't even feel pregnant! Let's wait until the heat sets in though and I am sure it will be a different story.

Another one of our friends gave birth this week to a beautiful little girl, Faith Edith. Matty and I are getting really excited to think that in another 3 months it will be us holding our tiny eenie weenie baby! I am not sure whether I am coming to terms with the labour component of having a baby (that's the part that has always freaked me out) or if I'm still just living in denial that when it happens it will be all rainbows, fairy floss and butterflies, but I am feeling relatively calm about getting this baby out. I mean it can't stay in there forever, right?

This weekend we are planning to get some more things done around the house. I am pretty keen to get the nursery completed so that it's one less thing to worry about, but we'll see how it goes.

Week 25!

25 weeks today! Can you believe it? I certainly can't. We are well over the half way mark now, but no where near the point of reaching the half way mark of actually being ready for the baby.


This week I was sick for a couple of days which left me feeling pretty exhausted. But yesterday I started perking up a bit and I am feeling back to my normal self today. My skin took a bit of a beating though - I had a major pimple explosion and have noticed that my skin is looking a little dry. I think a pamper session might be in order for tonight.

Yesterday I had an appointment with the obstetrician and am pleased to report that the baby is growing nice and strong. While we aren't quite as big as we need to be, there isn't any cause for concern - yay!

Week 24!

Well, the jeans still fit and I have a sneaking suspicion they will fit for at least another week or two.


I must admit I am a bit disappointed with this weeks belly shot as I felt like I was MUCH bigger earlier in the week. Last night, however, I was awoken at 2am with horrific stomach cramps that were so bad that I couldn't even stretch myself out straight in bed. I got up quietly, as I thought Matty would freak out if he knew how much pain I was in, and went to the toilet only to find that I had the WORST case of wind ever recorded in history! Needless to say, my tummy deflated somewhat over the course of the next 4 hours *sigh*.

This past week I have, yet again, been amazed by the fact that people think they can comment freely on your body just because you are pregnant. Some of the comments directed at me this week include "So, how are things going, Tubby?" and "Oooh, you're getting fat". I feel like giving THEM tips on how they can reduce the flab around their mid-section or how they could tone up their 'nanna arms', but alas, I keep my comments to myself.

I am looking forward to the next week, as I have an obstetrician appointment so will get to hear Darth's heartbeat and check my fundal height and other fun things like that. I can't wait!

23 Weeks!

Today I am in slight disbelief that I am 23 weeks pregnant! Where on earth has the time gone and will the coming 17 weeks go just as fast?!?!

I'm pleased to report that I can still fit into my size 10 jeans but I feel that might not be the case next week, as they are starting to feel a little more tight across the waist line than they were last week. Here is a belly shot taken this morning before work:

According to numerous *experts* in the field, I'll have a 'baby explosion' within the next week or two and I'll feel like I'm the size of a house. I didn't feel the need to point out that these supposed experts have been saying that since I was 17 weeks pregnant and we're yet to see this explosion! You will notice, however, that I have chunked up a fair bit since my 20 week photo. Still just look fat though, not pregnant!

Overall I'm feeling pretty good. I was horrifically sick earlier in the week, but feeling a lot better now. Perhaps that is because the weekend is drawing near!

Darth's kicks are getting stronger and stronger with every day and the little monkey has taken to kicking me right where it hurts - on the scar from where I had my tumour removed. Matty has a stern word to Darth about this behaviour (via my belly button) but unfortunately Darth really isn't interested in listening to his daddy! It was worth a shot though!

22 Weeks!

At 22 weeks I have started to notice that my breathing has changed, due largely (I think) to nasal congestion. It makes me feel like I am the most unfittest person on the planet.

I am pretty sure that when I feel like I can hardly breathe, the baby grows to at least twice it's size so that not only do I feel unfit, I also feel like I'm the size of a house! Anyway, here is the belly shot from this morning:


You may have noticed that I still look like I'm half asleep. This is because I have been having the BEST sleep of my life lately. So good in fact, that I'm sleeping through the alarm most days and then waking up feeling incredibly groggy. Hmmm, perhaps Matty has been slipping me something of a night. *Note to self: Don't accept any beverages or food Matty offers me*