A New World Record!

Last night Sam set a new world record... he was the current record holder and now he has made another personal best!

Now you may be wondering what he did that is so fantastic? Well I wouldn't say fantastic... but it sure was an achievement!

I never thought I would see anything like it again, but Sam is a boy who is full of surprises!

It all hapened at about5am. It had been a bit of a restless night, Sam hadn't been feeling great. I was changing his nappy and when I lifted his legs to take off the old nappy it relieved a bit of gas for him. So I thought I would help him out a bit and hold up his legs again. Another noise! And a little bit of poo, nothing to worry about though. Third time lucky though.... and this enormous rumble and loud squishing noise and I looked and he had shooted the poo all the way across to the wall! It was like a splattering of paint all down the wall and all over the carpet.

I was truly amazed! How can so much come out of such a small baby? And at such force and speed!

If it wasn't at such an ungodly hour I might have even taken a photo (you are probably counting yourselves lucky now!).

3 Months

Wow! That last month went so fast! To me it seems like Sam has been around forever, so it seems strange to say that he is only three months old. Also, I have been telling everyone that he is "nearly three months" for so long that it seems like he should be four months old by now!

Our big news is that Sam rolled for the first time today!!! The first time I only saw out the corner of my eye, then he did it one more time, then we grabbed the cameras and waited and waited, but of course he didn't do it then!

Well he has just woken up so I will have to do a Christmas update later.
Happy New Year everyone!

Two Months!

Here are the photos of Sam taken on the 30th November - two months old!

Smile :)

Sam has started smiling now :)
He gives us really big grins, and sometimes he even lets out a little laugh!

He likes being tickled up his arm and under his chin.

I don't remember if I mentioned this on the blog or not, but just after Sam was born they checked his hips (as part of the normal routine) and they said there was a 'slight click'. They gave us a referal for an ultrasound at 6 weeks. We had the ultrasound on the 15th November and have just gotten the results. This is what it says (so you will have exactly the same information that I have)...

"Both hips are demonstrated. There is a lateral placement of the hips. The acetabular angles at 61 degrees are within the normal range. The appearances suggest slight physiological immaturity. A repeat examination in six weeks may be appropriate".

So we will be booking in a follow up ultrasound in 6 weeks time. I am not too worried about this. I have a friend who has been through this before with her daughter and everything is fine now. One of her hips corrected itself by the followup scan, the other one still had problems so she had to wear a brace for a few months. To see her now you wouldn't even know it.

Last night Sam had a feed at 10pm and then not again until about 4am, then breakfast at about 9am. I think that is great! Though he has had a few hungry nights when I have had to get up three times - and because I am not used to that anymore it really takes a lot out of me!

Josh went to give Sam a kiss yesterday, and instead of kissing him on the head like he normally does, he kissed him on the lips. Well Sam chose that exact moment to spew up some milk! It went all over Josh's face and into his mouth!!!

Keeping our fans happy :)

Oooh I have had some requests for more updates on Sam (well one request anyway!)

Here is a picture of Sam having a bath. He has started to really enjoy his baths now, and they smell so nice when I use the Jurlique bath oil that my friends bought us. It does seem a bit too nice to use on a baby, but it is very nice on my hands too - so that is a bonus! I could really tell that Sam had grown today when I gave him a bath and his head was touching the top and his toes were nearly touching the end of the bath. Looks like it won't be long til he has to go in the big bath!

Sam gave me a very nice birthday present last week... he slept from 11pm until 5:30am.
We spent the day in the city and I took him to work for show and tell. I managed to get a lot of people to give him cuddles who don't normally hold babies... he he he!

Now that my birthday is out of the way it is time to start thinking about Christmas!!! We will have to take the boys to see Santa and get a photo taken.

5 Weeks old - the stats

We went to the health centre today for a weigh in. My little booby monster has put on 600g in two weeks. He has now passed the 5kg mark.

Everything is going great.
He still spends most of his time either asleep or feeding.

Weight: 5280g
Length: 55.5cm

Here is a photo of Josh and Sam... it is really hard to get a photo where they are both looking good at the same time!

Late Again!

Now you may or may not know this, but as a family we really struggle to get anywhere on time... especially if it is a morning appointment!
Yesterday we had a playdate at Mumbo Jumbo (indoor play centre) and we were half an hour late. Here is a run down on what happened - just to give you an idea:

We were just about to walk out the door when Sam did an explosive poo which left his back feeling very warm! I went and changed him, including a full outfit change. I then picked him up and he spewed all over himself and all over me! That meant I had to get Kel to change Sam while I changed myself. We finally got everyone in the car and went past the petrol station and it was extremely cheap so we just had to get it then (they always put it up by about 10c on Wednesday afternoons).

The days of just deciding to go out - and just walking out the door, are long gone in this house now!

Now we have to make sure we have a change of clothes for Sam, Josh (and me!). Nappies, Pullups, food, drink etc, decide whether we will need one, two or no prams, and by the time all this happens, Sam is usually ready for a feed so that takes another half an hour!

So now I hope you will understand if we are late occasionally :)

One Month Already!

Its the 30th of October and look how much my little man has grown! He is starting to fit into 000 clothes now, and he has those gorgeous chubby cheeks! I think he must be going through a growth spurt at the moment because he hasn't stopped drinking in the last 24 hours (only a slight exageration!).

Today I definitely thought his eyes looked blue. But some days they look grey and sometimes an almost green colour.

Josh loves giving Sam cuddles and every morning he says "Hi Sam" and then tries to teach him how to say "Hi Josh" in return!

I think we have already got a nickname for Sam too... our little Samboy!

This little Samboy can make big stinkers though! And I have to go and change one now!

A Star is Born!

Yesterday Sam was featured in the Ballarat News. He is famous now!

And here are the photos that were taken in the hospital...

We went for our first walk in the pram the other day... down to the shops. Josh walked along next to the pram, and when he got tired he sat on the front of the pram.

Tomorrow we go to the Health Centre for a weigh in. I am pretty sure that this little milk monster has put on lots of weight!!!

Testing

Just checking that the new URL works...

The Birth Story - Part 2 (Warning... lots of gory details)

OK, now I have time for Part 2 of the Birth story... (if I can remember back that far!)

I was supposed to be going home on Monday morning, but on Sunday I told the midwife that when I wee'd it was coming out really slowly like a trickle and I couldn't really feel that it was coming out, I had to look to see it was happening and when it was finished. She was a bit concerned by this and wrote it in my notes and kept asking about it through the day. Monday morning four doctors walked into my room and surrounded my bed. They asked lots of questions about my wee and suggested that I try double voiding (which is when you go to the toilet, then go for a little walk and go to the toilet again). For the life of me I could not do that... nothing would happen. A few times I felt like I needed to go and nothing happened and it was so frustrating! Also the midwife had felt my tummy to make sure my uterus was going down and it was still above my belly button. They said they like for it to be below the belly button before you go home. She said that it could be my bladder being full that was pushing the uterus up still.

Someone from Urology came and performed a Residual test where they can measure how much urine is still in your bladder after you wee. I had about 400mls left, which is pretty bad. My roommate got to go home just before lunch time, and we had had our babies at the same time, so I was a bit depressed about that. All they would say was that I might be able to go home that night. So Kel came down with Josh and we waited for the verdict. In the end they wanted me to stay another night to make sure everything was ok.

About 8am I was on the phone to Kel (who was trying to find out what was happening) when I said 'I have to go' and hung up the phone as EIGHT doctors surrounded my bed!!!! Now they were getting serious and said that my only chance of going home that day was if I could learn self cathererisation to perform when I got home, and for me to take it easy and not forget to go to the toilet. I agreed to this because I was desperate to go home. They were being extra careful because the registrar had seen a situation where the mum had ended up needing a catheter full time. They said it was probably caused by swelling and nerve damage which meant that my body couldn't tell when I needed to go to the toilet. It can result in urine being left in the bladder which leads to infections.

They did another residual which got 150mls this time, so an improvement, but still not great. They wanted me to get below 50 mls with the catheter when I got home.

I had to wait until 2pm for someone to come and show me how to use the catheter. They said if I couldn't do it, then I would have to stay another night. I went into the toilet with the lady and I tried, but I just couldn't do it. I was in tears, and she ended up doing it for me and got 100mls. I told her that I thought I nearly had it but that I was just scared to push it in further coz it hurt. I was sure that I could do it if I was at home and had a mirror to look in. She had to go off to talk it over with the midwives and doctors. About 4pm we still hadn't heard anything! Kel went off to find out what was happening. Josh was really getting sick of the hospital by this stage! And so was I! I had all the bags packed and ready to go. In the end we took all the bags to the desk and stood there while they typed up my notes. Then I was free

My first try of the catheter at home wasn't too bad. I was actually proud that I managed to do it myself! I got 50mls that time, then 25mls the next day and 10 mls the day after that. Then I stopped doing it, because that is a bloody fantastic result! And everything feels like it is back to normal now. I was supposed to have a follow up on the Tuesday, and we drove to the hospital but someone stuffed up the appointment card and told us to come back Wednesday Not bloody likely on a 32 degree day! It was such a waste of a day (and petrol), but I will be going back the next Wednsday (tomorrow), because I do want to be sure that everything is A-OK. We also booked in an appointment for Sam to have a hip ultrasound at 6 weeks because they found a slight click in the left hip.

So there you go! I'd better put in a photo for the people with weak stomachs who don't like reading the gory stuff!

He's not a Blob anymore!

Welcome to the world Samuel Maximus!

Born 30th September 2006 at 9:42am after 11 hours of contractions, including 3 hours of pushing and a little help from an epidural and a vacuum extraction. A successful VBAC!

On Friday the 29th September I had a nice quiet relaxing day while Kel took Josh, Brandon, Hayley and Riley to the Melbourne Show. I made an appointment at the hairdressers and got my hair cut and straightened. Then I went visiting people, and went home and watched a movie. It was about 6pm when I realised I had been having these strange sensations that seemed to come and go. Kel and the kids got back at 6:30pm. We had fish and chips for dinner and then we went through all the show bags. They had picked out a pink cowboy hat with a tiara on it for me to wear to the hospital!!! By this stage I was starting to get a little bit uncomfortable. I put Josh to bed and told him a secret... "I think the baby is coming".

Me and Kel sat down and watched a movie (The Terminal). I started to write down the times of the contractions so I could see if this was the real thing. After a while Kel noticed that I was leaning over the edge of the couch every 5 minutes or so. I finally came clean and told him. I didn't want to tell him straight away because I knew he would panic and want to go to the hospital straight away. We kept watching the movie and writing down the times... here they are: 8:25 8:29 8:33 8:42 8:47 8:55 9:00 9:07

Then I stopped writing them for a while... I think this is when I sent a message to Kellie to tell her not to drink tonight. She was planning on going out tonight!

9:53 9:57 10:02 10:08 10:12 10:16 10:22 10:29 10:33 10:36 10:42 10:49 10:54 10:56 10:58

About this time we rang Stephanie (our doula) to give her some warning and see what she thought we should do. She said to ring the hospital, so I did. They said to make our way in, but that we didn't have to rush in. I decided to have a shower while Kel went to pick up my sister and his Mum.

I really didn't feel like I was ready to go to the hospital yet. I was rushing around trying to do last minute things and feeling like I was forgetting something. Eventually we got everything together and loaded into the car. I whispered one last goodnight to Josh and we were off. Here is the last pregnant photo of me wearing my pink cowboy hat...




The drive to the hospital was pretty uneventful… except for the few times when the battery disconnected and we lost power for a second! And we found out what the speed check sign says when you are driving too fast. It was a bit uncomfortable sitting through those contractions, but we made it to the hospital ok.

I had the pink hat on as we walked into the Emergency Department at 1:30am on Saturday 30th September. We walked up to the triage window and Kel told the man that I was in labour. You should have seen that man! He had no sense of humour at all! I don’t think he even believed that I was pregnant (the window was higher than my belly). He kind of looked down to check I had a belly! Then he walked off. We stood there waiting and eventually they opened the door with a wheel chair for me! I wasn’t really that bad that I needed a wheelchair… but anyway, I had never been in one before and I am all for new experiences! (I was going to have a lot of those over the next eight hours!)

They took us to the maternity ward (along with another girl who was in labour too and looked a lot worse for wear than me). We were shown to our labour room and I just walked around the room while we waited for the doctor.

The first thing they did was to have me lie on the bed for a CTG monitor to check that I actually was in labour. Thankfully they decided that I was in labour because I would have been really annoyed if they told us to go home!

We showed the midwife and doctor the birth plan and I got a bit disappointed when the doctor kept saying no to things that I wanted like the bath or spa, and to not have continual monitoring. Luckily we had a wonderful midwife who helped to hold the monitors in place while I stood up or leant over the bed.

At 3:30am I had an internal, and they said I was 4-5cm dilated! I was very happy with this news. Then they broke my waters. That was the funniest feeling! It just kept coming and coming and we needed more and more towels to mop it up! Every time I moved some more would come out!

The next part is a bit of a blur, but somewhere along the way while having a contraction I suddenly started pushing! It was totally involuntary; my body just started doing it. Now that was strange!

At about 7am the nice midwife was supposed to be finishing her shift but she said that she wanted to stay for the birth. That motivated me; I thought it must have been going to finish very soon! Unfortunately I was still pushing when she had to go home. But she did promise to come and visit me the next night.

That pushing part is damn hard work and unfortunately you can’t just turn it on or off. I was leaning over a beanbag on the bed for a lot of it, and then we tried lying on my back, and on my side. Nothing seemed to be working and it didn’t really feel like the baby was coming down, no matter how hard I pushed. The other thing I noticed was that I was very vocal… something else that I had no control over. By the end of it I had no voice left!

They called in The Very Nice Doctor in the morning to check me. They were a bit concerned because the baby’s heart rate was a bit slow to recover after the contractions, and I was exhausted. He said that the baby’s head was turned toward the left (looking out the window) so this was making it harder to push him out.

The plan was to go down to theatre and try a vacuum extraction. Then if that didn’t work they would perform a caesarean straight away. By this stage I was happy for them to do anything to get the baby out!

I was wheeled down to theatre and given a spinal block (I remember having a few loud contractions while being wheeled down the hallway). Then there was one last contraction and then nothing . It was amazing to think that I was still having contractions but I couldn’t feel a thing. The other funny thing was that I could have sworn that my legs were lying straight, but when I put my head up I could see my feet (wearing pink socks!) up in the stirrups. The anaesthetist was a little bit worried and asked me if I normally have blue lips… but it was just because I had been drinking blue Powerade during the labour! I vomited once from the spinal and that was blue too!

The Very Nice Doctor used the vacuum to turn the baby around to a better position and they told me when I was having a contraction so I could push. It was very hard to push when I couldn’t feel a thing, so I just did what I thought was pushing! It seemed to work and after about 5? contractions a little pink slippery bundle was placed on my now flat belly! I looked down and yes, he was definitely a boy!!



They took him over to the side to clean him and wrap him up. It was a while before he made any noise… and when he did he sounded like a little sheep!
His head was pulled out of shape from trying to come out for so long and he had a nasty bruise from the vacuum, but they said that wouldn’t take too long to go down. We got to enjoy some nice family time together while they stitched me up. I have no idea how many stitches I got, but The Very Nice Doctor did take quite a long time down there!

So in the end, I got my natural birth (with a little bit of help) and I had no drugs for pain relief until the very end.

The final measurements were:
Weight: 8 pound 7.5 ounces
Length: 47cm
Head: 35.5cm (half a centimetre bigger than Josh!)

His Agpar scores were 7 and 9.

Everything is looking fantastic!

I had a doctor appointment today and everything is looking fantastic!!! :D She said the baby is three above (was four above last week, which means it is starting to engage) so maybe that kerb walking did work! (I went for a walk and had one foot on top of the kerb and one on the road while I walked. Josh followed along behind me! Very funny) And the babies back is on the left hand side, so all that uncomfortable sleep has paid off too :D She thinks I will go into labour this week. But we asked the Magic Eight Ball at Kmart and it said Monday and it said a boy - so there you go!

Its another really nice day today... I feel like I need to be outside, but I don't really want to do anything out there! I've just been wondering around the garden, and feeling very... I don't know the word.. unsettled? Can't sit still?

Tomorrow Kel is taking the kids to the show. I think he is mad, but anyway! I don't know what I am going to do with myself. Might have to go visiting.
Oh and I keep feeling like I need to go to the toilet... but nothing happens. I think its coz the baby is sitting so low now.

The Baby Shower / Blessingway

On Sunday I had a babyshower / blessingway. It was lots of fun, and a nice relaxing time. I didn't want a traditional baby shower this time, so instead we had footspas, massages, and lots of food!

I still had blue toenails left over from Magnetic Island which were looking a bit worse for wear, so Lisa kindly redid my nails in a nice purple colour.

Esther gave me a very nice back massage with oil.

I had the nursery set up with the massage chair and the foot massager, lavender oil burning and nice relaxing music so that everyone could have a turn of just sitting back and relaxing.

I had everyone bring a bead and I made a necklace that I will wear while in labour. Here is a picture of the finished product:

Then we all got creative and had to design a picture to paint onto my belly! Everyone really got into this activity (I think people like getting back to their childhood!!). I chose a design and then everyone had a turn of painting on my belly. Here is the final result...

Here is a closeup of my belly - after a bit of wear and tear! (It looks a bit like a mosaic) I ended up having to pick Kel up from Mark's house (yes I am crazy and went out in public with my belly art!!!) and when I drove home the steering wheel was rubbing on my belly! I can't believe that my belly has grown so much in such a short amount of time - it was fine when I drove on Thursday!!

As everyone left they were given a candle and a name of somebody to call - like a phone chain, so that when I go into labour everyone can light a candle and send positive thoughts my way.

Now I just have to wait for the big event to begin...

Some information

This is some info for people who have been asking about Ballarat Hospital...


Ballarat Health Services - Base Hospital
On the corner of Sturt St, Drummond St and Mair St (Main entrance is on Mair St)

If you are driving from Melton, just keep driving on the Western Freeway until the 1st Ballarat exit. Keep driving along this road, it will end up driving around past McDonalds (this is when it becomes Sturt St). Keep driving until you get to Drummond St and turn right. Then turn left at Mair St. The car park is off Mair st.

The car park costs $2.00 but is usually full!!! There are other on-street car parks with parking meters.

The maternity ward is on the 5th floor.

Visiting hours are 2:30pm til 4:30pm and 6pm til 8pm.

There is a cafeteria on the 1st floor that visitors are welcome to use. There is also a kiosk in the foyer opposite the emergency department.

The phone number for the hospital is 5320 4000.

That's all I can think of at the moment. If there is other info you need, just let me know and I will update the website some more.

The Official Guessing Game

OK, here is a link to a website that lets you log your baby guesses.

http://expectnet.com/games/TraceAndKel

You can enter in your guess for:
* Gender
* Weight
* Length
* Birthday

There will be a prize for the lucky winner!

Terms and Conditions:
Only one guess allowed per person.
Entries must be submitted by the 30th September, however you cannot backdate an entry.
The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into :)

Happy Guessing!

Nearly there!

I am thirty seven weeks now... only three weeks to go (or less I hope!).

I thought I had better update the site again especially since our hospital visit last Wednesday.

We had the 36 week appointment at Ballarat and this guy (I am not even sure he was a doctor!!!) was checking the position of the head. He had no idea what he was doing, and could not tell where the head was. So he took us to the room next door where we got to have a scan. The problem was that he still couldn't tell where the head was! The funny thing was that I was looking at the screen and it looked like a head to me! I could even see eyes and a nose and a mouth. The 'Dr' said he would have to go and get his boss so he left the room. While he was gone, Kel got up and grabbed the scanner and started giving me an ultrasound! It was so funny, and even Kel could see it was a head! But he did hurry up and sit down before the dr came back! When the 'boss' came into the room it was great. He felt my belly and straight away knew it was the head. Then he did a quick scan, pointing things out. He said that the baby still had a bit of vernix, which means that it isn't quite ready to come out yet. And then he said we have a GREAT baby!!! It is in the perfect position and everything looks set for a natural delivery! I am so glad this boss guy came along, otherwise the whole trip would have seemed like a waste. This guy was able to put my mind at ease, and we left feeling very happy! Plus I will know if I see a guy named Marvin when I am in labour to steer clear of him!!!

I have still been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions, and a very sore back at night. Sleeping is getting uncomfortable. But I am looking forward to a half hour massage that I am having at work tomorrow!!!

34 weeks 4 days

Here is a photo to compare to a while back when I was wearing the same outfit. Doesn't quite fit anymore!

I got a gym membership for 2 weeks for $5! Bargain! Every night I have been down to the pool and done a few laps and then floated around in the hydro pool - bliss! It is so relaxing! Especially after all these braxton hicks contractions I have been having.

I girl at work had her baby on the weekend... she was only due a week ahead of me! Now that is scary! Three more weeks left of work now.

The turntable baby

Do you want the good news? Or the bad news?

The good news is that after spending a week in QLD swimming, snorkelling and just generally floating around on my belly in the middle of a blow up ring in the pool... the baby is no longer posterior!!!

The bad news is that it is now breech! (head up instead of head down)
So now I have to start researching techniques for turning a breech baby, which I think involves lying down on an ironing board with my head down and my feet up! Sounds interesting!

Anyway, the plane ride up to Townsville went really well. I only got a little bit of swelling in my hands on the way up. I made sure to get up and go to the toilet midway through the flight - it was the first time I had been in a plane toilet! It sure is squishy in there, especially when Josh came with me!

Nothing much else to report... I have locked in my last day of work as the 19th September. That means exactly 16 more train tickets to buy (which sounds better than saying four more weeks of work!).

I go to Ballarat in two weeks time for my 36 week checkup and chat with the OB. I will be having another scan at around 37-38 weeks to see what position the baby is in. Head down and anterior position would be very nice, otherwise it is looking like another CS for me.

Not Again!

I had my normal 2 weekly checkup on Wednesday (32 weeks) and everything is going fine. Blood pressure is 110/70 (for all those people who like details!). The only problem was that she thinks the baby is posterior...

I kind of had a feeling, after an especially active day from Blob my belly started to feel a bit different. For those who don't know, posterior is when the baby's back is on my back (rather than toward the left hand side where it normally is). Josh was posterior and it is one of the reasons that he ended up in a caesarean.

So I have been doing my research and started scrubbing the floors, lying in the middle of a bean bag on my belly, and next week I am hoping to go snorkelling every single day (while on holiday on Magnetic Island!!!). If the baby is still posterior after all this then so be it, but least I have done everything I can to try and turn Blob around.

Pink or Blue???

Well as you know, this time around I decided to keep the sex of the baby a surprise.

I want the whole feeling of giving birth and then getting to look for myself to see what it is. I also wanted to see if I would have any feelings about it being a boy or a girl.

I have had some people tell me it is a girl, some swear it is a boy!

There is a lunar prediction thing you can do on the internet that is based on conception date and where the moon is at that time - that one says a girl.

Then there are the old wives tales, like the way I am carrying the baby all at the front like a basketball - that says its a boy.
Or the fact that I didn't have morning sickness - that points to a boy too.

Things have felt pretty much exactly the same as with Josh, so that kind of makes me think it is a boy.

Some days I think girl, some days I think boy.
Some days I wish I had just found out!!!

So I am going to ask all of you to leave a comment and tell me whether you think Blob is a girl or a boy. Should we buy pink clothes? Or just stick with all Josh's old blue stuff? What colour should I paint the old drawers that I have been sanding back?
(Can you tell that I am desperate for some comments here?!?)

Ten Weeks to Go

I had an appointment with my local GP today (as part of the shared care system).

She did a urine sample (well I provided the urine, she did the testing!)
took blood pressure, measured the fundal height and listened to the heart beat.

Everything was great. And she was cracking up when she was looking at my belly and the baby was moving all over the place.

She also had a good idea of getting an ultrasound at 38 weeks, or even at the start of labour to check the baby's position... then if it is posterior I can make a decision about whether it is worth trying or not (since that is the reason Josh wouldn't come out).

Here is a special treat... some video footage of Blob's acrobatic antics: http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/traceandkel/?action=view&current=7b98ed9f.flv&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch7

29 Weeks – The Third Trimester

A lot has happened in the past month…

We have now booked into Ballarat Base Hospital. I know that it is a longer distance to travel (about 40 minutes compared to 10) but I really feel that we have the best chance for a VBAC at Ballarat compared to Bacchus Marsh.

We went for a tour of Ballarat and I just got a really good vibe from them. They were really supportive of me trying for a VBAC and said that there was no way I could have had Josh naturally and there is no reason why the same thing should happen for this baby.

Ballarat has a really nice maternity ward with five Birthing Suites, a spa (which I hope I will be able to use) and a kids play room (Josh was already eyeing off the toys!).

I had my first appointment at Ballarat last week. First I saw the midwife who took my blood pressure and explained how things will work. Then we saw the Dr. It was the same Dr who my friend had for her baby and she LOVED him! He explained the risks of VBAC and basically explained that he will let me go to about one week overdue. I need to go into labour by myself (no induction) and I would need to have continuous monitoring. This is to watch out for uterine rupture. I am happy with everything except the continuous monitoring, so I might try and negotiate on that one.

The best news I got from the Dr was that the baby is already head down, and he said that it does not feel like a 4.2kg baby (which Josh was). That is great news for me!!!

I am now doing shared care, which means that every two weeks I see my local GP to have a check-up for blood pressure etc. It will save a long drive every two weeks! I go back to Ballarat at 36 weeks.

This baby has been so active lately! I think I have been having Braxton Hicks too. I didn’t have them last time so I’m not sure exactly, but it feels like my whole belly just goes really hard.

Where's the ball?

On Friday night I went to visit my friend's new baby - a very cute 7 pound baby girl. While I was holding her, Blob started kicking like crazy!
Now I thought that must mean this baby is a boy because he is taking after Josh and bashing my friend's kids up, but other people have said that it means it is a girl because she must have been jealous...hmmm only time will tell!

We have been trying to explain to Josh that there is a baby in my belly, but he is just not interested in hearing anything about the baby... while his cousin Riley is interested in an entirely different way... At Hayley's party yesterday, after playing with some balloons, Riley came up to me, lifted up my top and asked me where the ball was!!!!! So funny!

Lock me up now!

My pregnancy brain is getting worse, I think I should be locked up... it started with me losing Josh's Thomas fork... which he had used on Friday night. I looked everywhere for it and the only thing I could think of was that I scraped his leftovers from his plate into the bin... sure enough, after scrounging through the rubbish bin (outside bin too! ) I found it . After a dishwasher cycle it is good as new!

Then I went looking for by bathers today to go swimming. I couldn't find them anywhere. I had them last Monday for swimming, and I left them in a shopping bag on the washing machine. It seems like Kel saw the bag there and thought it was rubbish and sat it on the inside bin. Then apparently I took the bag outside and put it in the outside rubbish bin... so that one was a joint effort! And that was before rubbish night, so no more bathers! I am spewing about that one! I spent ages trying to find the perfect bathers. I had my requisite padded top, bikini with pink rash top to go over the top. And I lost the lot, as well as a pair of shorts (since my swimming boardies don't fit anymore) I went out today to try and find some more, but I can't find anywhere in Melbourne that sells swim wear in Winter!!! I'm sure I could find them in a surf shop, but they would cost $80 just for the top half!

Josh has kindly given me his cold (must have been those sloppy kisses)... so it is really hard to breathe. I can't take anything like Codral, so I just have to put up with it with some Lemsip, and eucalyptus oil in the oil burner. I think we are going to go through a pack of tissues between us.
I hate not being able to breathe through my nose, especially at night. These last few nights Josh has had the vapouriser in his room, but tonight I am taking it. We bought one of those new plug in things from Coles today so we will try that in his room tonight.
Sweet Dreams!

PS. The photo is taken at 22 weeks and 4 days. (I think we are coming up to 24 weeks this week).

22 Weeks and 3 days

Not much has been happening in the past two weeks. I saw the OB again, after the ultrasound. Everything is going fine. The only thing that he mentioned that I wasn't too happy with was that about my weight... now any sensible man would know not to comment on a woman's weight, especially not a pregnant woman's weight! He basically said he only wants me to put on between 12 and 14 kg for the entire pregnancy. When I told him I put on 20kg with Josh his eyes nearly popped out of his head!

So even though he is a bit silly for going on about the weight thing, I can't help but think about it in the back of my mind and try and eat healthy foods and cut back on the junk food. The funny thing is that I am actually weighing less this time that I was with Josh at the same stage.

Anyway, I won't have to see him again until 29 weeks after I have the blood glucose test for gestational diabetes.

We went to the movies the other day and saw The Da Vinci Code in Gold Class! It was so nice to have a night out, and to relax in those nice recliner chairs eating wedges and sour cream, pizza, and sticky date pudding for dessert! (That was my day off from being healthy!). So much better than just popcorn and coke!!!

I worked out the other day that we have four months to get Josh out of nappies before Blob comes along! Wow - four months! That doesn't sound like much to me! I still can't believe that we are going to have a little baby. I wonder what Josh will be like? I will get to see soon, when a couple of my friends have their babies. I think that he will probably be jealous at first, especially when I am sitting in the rocking chair feeding the baby, but I think he will be really helpful too, like when I need him to get me nappies and stuff like that.

Well I am feeling hungry - again! (What is new?) Better go see what I can find.

Our Cheeky Little Baby

Oh wow, what a week, well actually it has been two! For some reason my Blog site became blocked (they thought I was a SPAM Robot!!!) and then the site was totally gone. I was not happy Jan! (And that is an understatement).

The worst part was that I hadn't even printed any of these pages yet, so that is the next thing on my list of things to do.

So, where was I?

We had an ultrasound at 20 weeks. This is the big one where we found out the sex of the baby... or did we? No, actually this time I wanted it to be a surprise - and the baby did too. It was lying on its belly most of the time being very secretive!

Blob did put on quite a show though, giving us a wave, the thumbs up sign and even sticking its finger up at us (how cheeky!).

In the photos you can see the hand print, and the foot print. The middle picture is of the thumbs up, but it is a bit hard to see. There is also a really good profile shot.

I have been feeling so many movements lately... especially at night time. Kel has even felt the movements now. This morning Blob had an elbow or a knee, or something, sticking right out just above my belly button. It stayed there for about 10 seconds, it was so cool!

I had the closest thing I've come to a craving the other day, actually it was after the ultrasound, me and Kel went out for lunch together to the local Country Club. I had the yummiest Lemon Squash, and since then I have been wanting lemon cordial, lemon slices in water and sour lollies! I wonder if that means anything?

I started going to an antenatal aqua class last week. It was so nice and warm in the water, and I actually got a good workout too!

Well I am going to save this now and hope that it works.

A Belly Photo - 15 weeks 3 days

Here is the first official (published) belly photo. I am actually in shock because I look the same as I did at 20 weeks with Josh.

I think I felt the first movements on Easter morning while waiting for Kel to wake up. I was just lying there and I felt little bubble movements... but then again, it could have been gas!!!
But I did feel it again this morning.

Today I was sorting out all the baby clothes into different sizes. It was so weird to look at all these tiny clothes that Josh used to wear, and I could even remember the first time he wore some of the outfits, or I knew straight away what size it was.

We will definitely be right if we have another boy! We have got Josh and Riley's old clothes. We do have a few girls outfits that we had bought last time, or that used to be Hayley's. But anyway, girls can wear blue right???

We really don't need any bibs... I think we have got enough to wear three a day for a month before we would have to wash any! And we have lots of hats, and HEAPS of shoes (thanks to Riley's donation).

Fifteen weeks - and maternity pants already!!!

I am in shock today... I went to get dressed this morning and the pants that I wore one week ago don't fit me anymore. So I had to get out my maternity pants! I am only fifteen weeks and already wearing maternity clothes!!! My belly has just popped right out over the weekend. The other thing that is wierd is that my old maternity pants were too big! Like, even the thighs were baggy, so I must have lost weight since I was pregnant with Josh - strange because back then I was going to aerobics twice a week, and all I have been doing this time is going for a walk at lunch time. I haven't put on any weight yet, but I have a bigger belly and boobs!

I have been doing lots of reading lately. A book that I just finished was called "You don't have to have a repeat cesarean". Reading that book has made me feel confident that I should be able to attempt a VBAC. I read in two places that when a baby is brow presentation it is impossible to deliver naturally! It makes me wonder why they couldn't work that out earlier for me. And having a posterior baby (the baby's back on my back) makes for a very difficult labour. I knew last time from 38 weeks that Josh was posterior but they didn't tell me anything to do to try and get him to turn around. I have now read a whole heap of stuff about 'Optimal Fetal Positioning' to encourage a baby into the right position. The most important thing is to sit with my back perfectly straight - not slouched. Since I spend most of my waking life sitting down (at work and on the train) I had better keep that one in mind.

Everybody Knows!

On Wednesday we had our 12 week scan. It went really well, and the Ultrasound (US) guy was very good. He obviously loves his job - he just got so excited when the baby moved around!

I can't believe how much the baby has grown in three weeks! It has arms legs now, and was rolling around onto it's stomach, then back onto it's back.

Then we headed for the OB. It was a long wait this time, and a pretty uneventful visit, except for us trying to talk him into giving us a referal for the US so we didn't have to pay the $60.

The next US is at 18-19 weeks. Then we see the OB a week after that.

Today I finally told everyone at work. I printed a copy of the US and put it on my wall at my desk. It took two hours for anyone to notice (that is what it is like working with a bunch of guys!!!). And of course they noticed when I wasn't there! Lenise said that she thought that I was the week before, and another couple of girls made the same comment! So I guess I couldn't hide it much longer anyway! I actaually got sprung on my lunch break last week by someone from work while I was looking at baby stuff at Big W! Luckily I think she just thought I was looking at stuff for Josh, coz she was there buying stuff for her boy.

Nothing much else to report... no morning sickness, I have started to put away the clothes that I won't be wearing for a while, and I bought a few pairs of pants and loose tops.

Ten Weeks

Well things have been plodding along nicely. Slowly we have told more people. Now I just have to tell the people at work. Though they probably have started to guess already - we had a drinks night on Friday night and I was asked why I wasn't drinking. I said that I was trying to be healthy. I don't think they bought that one! I will probably tell them in a couple of weeks time, when we hit the twelve week mark.

I told the rest of the family at Ben and Anna's wedding. I wasn't going to, but I had been getting some comments - I actually think this was the world's worst kept secret! And it turned out that half the people at the wedding knew and were coming up and saying congratulations, so after all the formal wedding stuff, I told the future great-grandparents the news.

I have been taking a photo each week in the same position in the same clothes, so I will be able to see how I grow each week. This week I think the belly is really starting to show, my pants have been getting tight, especially by the end of the day. Oh and those nightly toilet breaks have started already. It seems to be 2am every morning.

I think I will go and update Josh's website now, and put in a link to Blob's website. How exciting, it means I might actually get some comments to my messages!

I can see you Blob!

Today we had our first scan - to try and work out dates. I was amazed to see proof that there really is something in there! Blob certainly lived up to it's name - looking like not much more than a blob with little buds for arms and legs. The sonographer was able to show us a beating heart, a stomach, a bladder, the cord and we even saw the baby move a little bit. I am in awe that all this has already been created at 9 weeks and 2 days of age - that is the date that came up after he did the measurements. So that means I am a little bit ahead of where I thought I was... hmmm interesting.

Here is a photo - the very first photo of Blob!

Checking out the facilities

We are coming along nicely at about 8 or so weeks now. I have been to see Dr Samuels on Thursday. We had a nice chat about birthing options - I don't think that I have mentioned yet that I am hoping to have a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After cesarean). A lot of people think along the old lines of "Once a caesar, always a caesar" but there has been a lot of change in that area in the last twenty years. I have been doing lots of research so I know all my options. I can probably go into that another day, today I just wanted to talk about my first OB (obstetrician) visit, and the visit to the hospital.

Dr Samuels is a man who looks like he is in his 50's and he has a strange accent that we can't quite place. The best part is that he fully bulk bills all his visits and the ultrasounds. He told me that we can talk about VBACs more when we get closer to 30 weeks. Hopefully this baby won't be posterior (babies back lying against my back) or big (like Josh was). Otherwise it is quite likely that I will have an elective cesarean.

I am booked in for an ultrasound next Wednesday to try and work out dates. They aren't too sure of dates at the moment and they want to nail it down a bit more accurately. I'm not really too fussed about the dates, but I will be very happy to catch an early glimpse of Blob.

Today we took a tour of the Bacchus Marsh Hospital, where we are planning on going this time around. I really wanted a change of scenary from Werribee, plus Bacchus Marsh is a lot quieter, and I am more likely to get a room to myself. They have two birthing suites (with double beds) which look like hotel rooms. They are new rooms built last year. Then there are two labour rooms, which are pretty basic rooms to have the baby in. Then after the baby is born, you spend 24 hours in the birthing suite, then you are moved to the ward. It sounds like a lot of moving around to me, but anyway... Another plus about Bacchus Marsh is you don't have to pay for parking! And it is only 15 minutes drive from our house.

Those wierd pregnancy dreams!

You have got to laugh at some of the dreams you have when you are pregnant. I was reading over some that I had with Josh the other day. I'm glad that I wrote them down, because there is no way that I could remember those dreams now!

I had a dream last night that I was hugely pregnant, and the baby was pressing its face against my stomach so you could see the impression through the skin. Then I told Kel to get a camera. While he was gone, suddenly the baby was lying on my belly, it was a girl with dark chin length straight hair, and she looked like she was a two year old! I put her on the boob for a feed and she started talking to me, complaining that I was doing it wrong!!! Cheeky thing!!! I was not happy that I had given birth to a 2 year old!!!

I'm about 7 weeks now, nothing much happening yet... I have been getting up to pee the last couple of nights, and I have been more hungry, but that is about all. Oh and I think I noticed a new stretch mark yesterday. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but I was in the change room at Target with all those mirrors and lights. It is a darker colour than the other ones. Boo hoo, I guess that I will be getting lots more of those over the next 8 months.

Big Brother

Over the weekend we told most of the family (and a few friends) about Blob. Kel made a thirt for Josh that said "I'm gunna be a big brother". Then we just let Josh tell everyone! It was funny waiting for them to notice the tshirt!

I'm at the weird stage now where it doens't feel real. I haven't really got any symptoms yet, so I just keep hoping that everything is ok. At least when you get morning sickness you know everything is ok!

Tick Tick

Here is my ticker. It will tell you how many days along the little blob is.
Hopefully if it works properly, you should be able to come back to this over and over and it will be on the current date.

Hmmm only 246 days left according to my ticker! That just seems like so long away! Not much has changed on the outside, nobody else can tell that there is a little Blob growing in me... but I have noticed that my sense of smell is really sensitive at the moment, my back is aching (not sure why) and my boobs are sore!

A funny thing happened at work today. Well I should start at the start... I woke up in the middle of the night with the feeling that somebody was poking me in the ribs from the inside. It hurt and it was keeping me awake for about an hour. I asked Dan at work about it (coz he is studying to be a nurse), but I didn't mention the fact that I am pregnant. I will tell them at about 12 weeks. Anyway, he took my blood pressure, and it was good, and he suggested that maybe I was pregnant and that the baby was trying to get out! :) So funny, I will have to tell him that story in another 8 weeks!!!

Introducing - The Blob

Wow - This is my first entry for Blob's Blog. Today is the 1st February 2006, and at 5am this morning, after waking up with a bursting bladder, I did a pregnancy test. It was a test left over from last month, because I just didn't believe the tests last month and ended up using three before I actually believed that it was negative. Anyway, this time I wanted to make sure there there would be no need for squinty eyes, or magnifying glasses, so I waited until day 35. It was a mean feat, and I must thank my buddies and chocolate for helping through it! I did the test, and I swear it was only 30 seconds later that this bright pink line showed up! Amazing! What is even more amazing is that the faint line in the test is the 'control' line, and the dark line is the 'test' line. So there is no doubting this test result!!! Not that I needed to test anyway... I had a feeling that this was the month for us.

I took some measurements today - my vital stats, so that I can compare them when I get big and fat. The main ones are: 63.2kg, and a bellybutton measurement of 86.5cm.

Oh and if you are wondering, we are due in October 2006. That is all I am giving away... since nothing is set in stone anyway, and I have been known to go 10 days overdue anyway!

It feels so weird that by the end of this year we will have another addition to our family. I have already started to get ready, by doing up the back room for Josh. We will leave his room as the nursery and move him into the back room when he goes into a 'big bed'. Now that will be an adventure!