tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37627061758842150962024-03-13T18:34:25.842+11:00Embracing MotherhoodTerrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-19130391338969716792015-04-09T15:32:00.001+10:002015-04-09T15:32:43.539+10:00Stay Positive!So I felt the itch to blog today, and my current hosting on my main blog is down for whatever reason, so, nearly a year later, I am blogging right here again. <br /><br />The last 10ish months have not been without drama - parenting two kids who were two under two for the majority of the last 10 months was no walk in the park. There have been moments of pure bliss (oh my god I got them to nap at the same time?!) to sheer frustration, to infuriating anger, to soulful tears, to absolute joy. It's a rollercoaster, let me tell you!<br />
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And I won't lie - I need to be real - there have absolutely been moments where I wanted just to get off the ride. I just wanted to put them in their rooms and walk out.The reality of parenthood is that you love and care *so* much for these little people that when they don't listen and they don't understand and they just cry all the dang time that you break down, because your love for them is so overwhelming and you don't get why they don't get it. Why can't you just sit and watch a movie?! Why can't you put your toys back in the box? Why can't you put your wet nappy in the bin rather than leave in the middle of the living room?<br />
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I believe I went through more than Baby Blues after having Emmett. I thought PND would be something that you would only get with a first baby. I believed that after having Lily, who was such a difficult baby who never slept, screamed a lot, cried a lot, that I could deal with anything this new kid could throw at me.<br />
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Instead, I was battling both of them. Emmett started off just perfect - he slept well, he woke just for feeds, was happy while awake, then slept again. Then came teeth, and he turned into a completely different child. Now I am lucky if I can get 2-3 hours sleep during the night without having him wake up. He's still a really happy little kid (until nap/sleep time or nappy changes), but he's obviously very different to what he was. Which is to be expected I guess.<br />
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So I did fall. I fell hard into (undiagnosed) late onset PND. I never saw a doctor, but I recognised what I was feeling as abnormal. Thoughts went through my head, wondering how my little family would cope with me were I not around. The amount of tears I have cried in the last 10 months is probably the most I have ever cried since I was a child myself. The amount of times I've been so, *so* close to snapping have been countless.<br />
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I'm out of that darkness now - well, mostly out, it's more just needing my eyes to see rather than a torch - and I'm coping better. I still have moment of what is, in hindsight, complete insanity and illogicalness, to coin a term, but I'm better than I was before.<br />
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My point in sharing this and being so candid is to be there with other mums going through the same thing and letting you know you are never alone in this. Speak to someone, get some guidance. Whatever you are doing, whichever way you're doing it, is amazing and just perfect the way it's being done.<br />
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Solidarity, sisters!<br />
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Till next time,<br />
TerriTerrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-6074560122358036132014-05-31T14:58:00.003+10:002014-05-31T14:58:58.650+10:00And then there were four!<div style="text-align: justify;">
So after <a href="http://terrieve.blogspot.com.au/p/our-birth-story.html">my birth story with Lily</a>, this one isn’t going to seem a lot different! Things went down pretty similarly excepting the time of day and the sex of the baby at the end of it all!</div>
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I had been having minor contractions in the week or so leading up to my labour – very irregular and not painful in the slightest, so I just put them down to Braxton Hicks. I was due on the 18th, and definitely expected going past my due date as I went 11 days over with Lily.</div>
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The 18th came and went without event. By the 22nd I was having the minor contractions. On the 23rd, I lost at least part of my mucus plug, which made me hopeful because with Lily I’d gone into labour within 48 hours of my plug going. I was so ready for this baby to be out – I could deal with the same pains and things I’d had when I was pregnant with Lily, but I had an excruciating muscle pain across the top of my belly which was getting beyond bearable.</div>
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The 24th went by without much event, until late afternoon, around 5-6pm, where I started getting contractions that were still irregular but getting quite strong. I started timing them, and they varied from 5-20 minutes apart each time, so I wasn’t too concerned yet, just kept timing.</div>
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By 8:15pm, they started getting more regular, approximately 7 minutes apart at that point. I counted a few more before contacting my mum around 9:15, letting her know she’d better come over. Meanwhile, Michael got on the phone to the hospital and let them know we were heading through shortly, and I contacted my midwife to let her know too.</div>
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By 9:30 my dad had also arrived to stay at home with Lily, so Mum, Michael and I headed off on the half-hour drive to the hospital. We got about 10 minutes in, and Michael asked me if I had everything – I said, “I think so?”, and then I realised I’d forgotten the baby’s bag!!! The whole reason we were going to the hospital in the first place! I said oh well, just get Dad to bring it through and I’m sure the hospital will have a bunch of stuff anyway.</div>
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I continued having contractions on the car ride, between 3-5 minutes apart, and regulated out to 4 minutes by the time we got into the delivery suite at about 10:30pm. My midwife put me on the CTG for about 20 minutes, confirmed it appeared I was in active labour, and examined me – I was a stretchy 5cm. I was very relieved because I was worried that they’d just send me home and that it was all in my head! I continued to labour by wandering around the room for a while, swaying with contractions. I was anxious to get in the tub too soon, but by about 11:45 I decided I’d get in. The water provided some relief initially, but after an hour & a half or so (about 1:15), the pain was back up to ‘High’. I moved around in the bath, to sitting on my bum and leaning back against the side of the tub.</div>
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It was great to begin with but my body started to tell me that I needed to get out of the tub, and onto the bed on my knees. I told my midwife between contractions that I needed to get out. She tried initially to talk me out of it because she knew how badly I wanted to have a waterbirth, but I told her that I need to be on my knees. She offered me gas & air, which I took for a couple of contractions, but then I started feeling so space-cadety that I just wanted out. My mum and Michael helped me out of the bath (I had one contraction as I stepped out and squatted down on the floor), and got up on the bed. My midwife had raised the back of it up so I could drape my arms over the top of the bed and kneel.</div>
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Once I was up there, I felt a lot better, and it wasn’t long before I started feeling the need to push. I started pushing, and then felt baby’s head right down low. I remembered what it was like having Lily, and knew it was going to hurt, but this time since I knew what it was going to be like, I just went inward, bore down and pushed as hard as I could. His head came out after about 3 pushes, and his body in the next 2 or 3.</div>
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My midwife had Michael cut the cord rather quickly after his body came out, which surprised me because I’d requested delayed cord clamping, but it wasn’t long before I realised why – the cord had been around his neck and he wasn’t breathing. Another midwife (who’d come in to assist my midwife for the delivery) had whisked our baby up to the heat lamp and was rubbing him down to get him to breathe. Michael rushed over to him and the look of worry on his face scared the shit out of me. Not long after (although it seemed like ages!), our baby let out a little whimper and then a louder, gurglier cry. It was such a relief, I just cried out for him. I had to deliver the placenta before I could hold him, so I assisted my midwife with a small push to release it.</div>
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My waters and everything had made a real mess of the bed, the absorbent pads and things on it, so the midwifes had to clean all that up before I could turn around and sit back to hold my baby. I turned around, my midwife checked me for tearing (I had a small graze), they handed my baby to me, and he was PERFECT. In every single way. We had skin-to-skin time, and he latched on almost straight away. My midwife had worked a shift already on which was now the day before, so she headed home and said she’d be back later in the day and check in on us.</div>
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After a short while the other midwife weighed and measured him – both of which I asked her to do twice because I couldn’t believe the measurements she was telling me!</div>
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So, welcome to the world:</div>
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<b><u>Emmett Robert</u></b></div>
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25th May 2014</div>
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Time: 2.17am</div>
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Weight: 10lb 2oz</div>
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Length: 57cm [~22.5in]</div>
Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-66851994971472454232014-02-03T09:33:00.001+11:002014-02-03T09:33:39.462+11:00The Dreaded GTT, and Other RandomnessWell, I'm writing this post while sitting in the waiting room of the local pathology clinic. I'm here for the next 2.5-3 hours for the delightful Glucose Tolerance Test, something I'm sure all second-and-subsequent time mms look forward to *eyeroll*<br />
Seriously, this is the most annoying, depressing bloody test I've ever had. It sucks more than the 3.5 weeks I spent in hospital in Hobart. Really. Not only have I not eaten since 9pm last night (now 9:22am) but I have to have blood taken at least twice and drink a horrible flat lemonade which tastes like shit. Not looking forward to the next couple of hours of this.<br />
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In other news, I've suspected Lily has been teething for the past few weeks, and my suspicions were confirmed last night when I was able to take a look at her gums to find one tooth had broken through on the top right side, looks like another one or two is pushing through on the left, and possibly another two on the lower gum. Poor little bugger - she's obviously been going through hell with these 'teefers', but at least I can say I did the right thing by giving her Panadol and Nurofen often, which I was kind of worried about since I didn't know for sure that her teeth were the problem, but I'm now justified in my medicating her!<br />
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My mother-in-law has been kind enough to buy Lily her first "big girl's bed". It's still 5-7 weeks away, but it is a custom order so a wait is to be expected I suppose! We looks at frames because I wanted something with storage underneath, but all the frames had a sort of bar or something just outside of where the mattress sat, so if she fell out she'd be likely to hit her head or other parts. So we've ended up ordering an ensemble with 2 drawers built into the base, and a headboard. The base will be a fuchsia color from a durable, hardwearing fabric, and the headboard will be a velour-esque fabric in magenta. It's going to look awfully cute - I can't wait for it to arrive and for her to have her first night in a big bed! I'm hoping it will improve her sleep too, being a more comfortable mattress than a foam cot mattress.<br />
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Anyway, I've babbled on long enough. Hope to be back soon with more updates on our growing family :-)Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-54362153046239797652014-01-04T10:05:00.000+11:002014-01-04T10:05:01.340+11:00It's a...On Christmas Eve, we went for the 19-week morphology scan, to make sure baby was growing in accordance to my dates and nothing was longer or shorter than it should be. Everything was looking fine, particularly this...<br />
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Yes - that, dear friends, is a baby penis. We're having a boy! <br />
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I can't lie - I was a little disappointed when we first found out, only because I was so looking forward to having another little girl (and since we already have all the clothes, it would have been easy!). I guess I thought it would be easier on Lily, since she is (and will continue to be) the only girl amongst her sibling and her cousins, but I guess that doesn't matter too much ultimately. Once I went shopping for some little boy clothes, I was feeling a little more enthused and am now pretty excited to welcome Emmett Robert into our lives!<br />
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As for Lily, she celebrated her 1st birthday on the 26th November '13, and had an awesome party on the 30th - she was definitely spoilt rotten, and the sheer number of people who showed up for her party just shows how much love this little girl has around her; I think we had about 40 guests in total. She had so much fun and totally flaked out at the end of the day (!). Here's just a couple of shots from her party:<br />
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I just can't believe our little girl is 1 already, and that we have another on the way - what a whirlwind the past couple of years have been!</div>
Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-12939210925698557182013-10-31T15:48:00.002+11:002013-10-31T15:48:54.717+11:00New Life<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Wow so it's been a while since I last posted, thought I'd better get another post in before the end of the month ;)</div>
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Firstly, happy Pagan New Year to all my Northern Hemispherean friends who are today celebrating Samhain, and to my fellow Southern Hemisphereans, Blessed Beltane! Can't believe we're back here again!</div>
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And speaking of being back here again, we have some special news - Michael and I are expecting our second child in May 2014! It's a little sooner than we originally anticipated - we were planning on trying for our second late <em>next</em> year, when Lily was about to hit her 2-year mark, but this one decided s/he must exist now (!) so I'm currently 11 weeks in, making me due on the 18th May 2014.</div>
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I can't lie - I'm SUPER anxious about this pregnancy. I think because of all the stuff we went through when I was pregnant with Lily (read <a data-mce-href="http://elevenmoons.net/2012/05/eventful-weekend/" href="http://elevenmoons.net/2012/05/eventful-weekend/">here </a>and <a data-mce-href="http://elevenmoons.net/2012/08/nothing-worth-doing-is-easy/" href="http://elevenmoons.net/2012/08/nothing-worth-doing-is-easy/">here</a>), I am frightened that the same thing will happen again, even though rationally I know that every pregnancy is completely different. I've had awful dreams that I've lost the baby, that we went for a scan and couldn't find a heartbeat, and all these scary thoughts even though I've had no reason to believe anything is wrong - and all was confirmed as just fine when we went for a scan today; little heart flickering on the screen, and growing well. It was so reassuring to see that little heartbeat, and to see little bubba wriggling around - I nearly cried out of relief.</div>
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I know what I went through with Lily is the least of it - and that others have been through much, much worse - but it was a scary time for me and with nothing worse to compare it to, those moments were some of the most frightening I've ever experienced in my entire life. I spent nearly 3 weeks of last year not knowing if Lily was going to be born premature, or if she'd even make it at all. </div>
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And I know that every thing turned out perfectly in the end, and we now have a super healthy 11-month old who is growing and developing in leaps and bounds (started walking in the last week!), but I think between scans, until I can feel baby moving, that fear is always going to be there. You can't shake it when you've been through difficult times in similar circumstances before - it's human.</div>
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That being said, we're SUPER excited to be adding another little kiddo to our household - our little ones will be 18 months apart almost exactly - and I think that's a great age gap to have. They'll hopefully grow up really loving each other and getting along well and sharing their fun moments (not without arguments of course, but that's part of being a brother or sister!).</div>
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Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-65593595169926526242013-09-12T07:28:00.000+10:002013-09-12T07:28:49.461+10:00Update - September 2012<span style="text-align: justify;">I completely forgot about this blog - sorry!</span><br />
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We've been on an interesting journey the past couple of months. I returned to work in June, only to be laid off as a redundancy 4 working days later. I was pretty disappointed after giving my employer 3.5 years of my dedication and loyalty, but now we're just cutting our losses and I'm continuing to look for part-time work elsewhere (and I've been applying for -everything- *sigh*.</div>
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Lily is now 9.5 months old, has 2-and-a-half teeth, is almost standing (with guidance, not support!), and I have no doubt that she'll be walking by the end of September. We're still having issues overnight with her waking numerous times a night, but nothing we can't deal with I guess. She's got curls coming through which, let's be honest, she was destined for anyway! </div>
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Here's the munchkin and I at her Poppy John's birthday celebrations:</div>
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Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-7703962952832888682013-06-03T14:28:00.001+10:002013-06-03T14:28:16.529+10:00How Time FliesLily is now 6 months old (today she's exactly 27 weeks), and growing like an absolute weed. I weighed and measured her this morning - she's over 10.5kg and is 75cm tall.<br />
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We today went shopping for more outfits for the monkey, since she's growing so fast - she was in 00s early, and is now almost fully grown out of them. The poor thing has been wearing pants too short for her legs lol.<br />
So her Nanny (my mum) and I took her out shopping to Target and she was spoilt rotten with a whole new wardrobe full of 0s and 1s - a lot of items to mix-n-match and create new outfits for the winter months.<br />
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Meanwhile I've been slowly packing away the stuff that no longer fits properly into boxes under her cot - we'll keep them in case the next one (no, not yet!) happens to be a girl - if it's not, then I'll donate them because I'm definitely not going to have more than two!<br />
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In other news, there is definitely a tooth on its way through - Lily's cutting her first tooth in the front on the bottom lefthand side. I was so excited for her when I first saw it, and it's becoming more and more prominent all the time. Can't wait till it finally actually pops through and we can take awfully cute photos of Mr. Toothie.<br />
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I think that's about all for now. I'll edit this post if I think of anything else, or add another one.Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-61913932306593995582013-03-23T09:59:00.000+11:002013-03-23T09:59:10.321+11:00WoahTime flies when you're having fun, eh? Lily is now nearly 17 weeks old!<br />
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She's grown so much - 6cm in 8 weeks, and put on nearly a whole kilogram. Her fine motor skills are tuning up and she's babbling more than ever. She's been on one bottle of formula each day because I'm supposed to be going back to work fulltime next month and we want her to be used to a bottle and formula. I'm still intending on breastfeeding in the mornings, around lunchtime (as I will have an hour lunch break) and in the afternoon/evenings. <br />
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We had our checkup with the CHN on Tuesday, and she suggested breastfeeding her as often as possible, particularly since she was having a 'Wonder Week' and waking 2-3 times overnight rather than her usual one, to keep my supply up. She said if she didn't settle back to once per night to consider starting her on solids - being pureed meat and veg. Apparently rice cereal is 'old fashioned'. I found that quite surprising, and it kind of goes against everything else I've read and heard, so I don't think I'm going to start with meat and veg and I will start with rice cereal. But since then she's settled back down into her once-a-night pattern, so I'm going to delay solids for a little longer if we can, since she's not even 4 months yet. I think I'd rather just go with my instinct when it comes to feeding my child!<br />
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Anyway, gotta head off to our nephew's birthday party shortly, so I'll try to post again soon!Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-80934586779321771672013-02-10T21:39:00.001+11:002013-02-10T21:39:24.578+11:0011 Weeks Old<div style="text-align: justify;">
Our beautiful Miss Lily is 11 weeks old tomorrow. The time has just flown, I can't get over it.</div>
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Yesterday Lily attended her first wedding ceremony, that of a good friend of ours. The photo is a bit blurry but she wore a beautiful navy dress with flowers, a little pink cardigan (not in this photo as it was too hot) and her Mary Jane socks :)</div>
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Lily's big thing this week has been giggling, particularly at her daddy - today she even squealed with delight when she saw him and gave a big smile. I wish I had the video camera at the time because it was so beautiful! But we caught the end of this particular smile on camera:<br />
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We have our 12 week check next Tuesday (19th Feb) so I'll update with her measurements and such then!Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-15801692037084062402013-01-08T11:22:00.000+11:002013-01-18T11:22:08.686+11:00First Smile<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was our first 'proper' smile - i.e. in reaction to something, rather than wind :P</div>
<br />Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-18211941771063506752013-01-04T11:18:00.000+11:002013-01-18T11:19:21.087+11:00Lily's First Christmas<div style="text-align: justify;">
So they say a baby's first Christmas should be memorable, and ours sure was. I was hit with gastro on Christmas Eve (along with half of Michael's side of the family too), so my Christmas Day was spent either in bed or on the loo - wonderful.</div>
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Michael was so great that day, though - he didn't get ill, so he looked after Lily almost entirely for the whole day (bar feeding, which was the only contact I wanted to have with her because I didn't want her to get sick as well). By Boxing Day I was feeling a little better, but by the 27th December I felt almost 100%.</div>
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My sister Alisha and her fiancé Jernej were down from Melbourne for Christmas - which sucked in a way because we didn't get to see much of them, being that I was ill - but we managed to get some time together on the 27th and 28th before they headed back home.</div>
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So since we missed out on a big, exciting Christmas Day, I decided that I wouldn't let the cute outfit I'd bought for Lily go to waste - so I dressed her up and took some "official" photos, on January 3rd :P</div>
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So effin' cute.</div>
Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-9761160595651164742012-12-05T10:44:00.000+11:002013-01-18T11:02:57.040+11:00Our Birth Story<div style="text-align: justify;">
This post will be lengthy – I want to share my whole experience, so feel free to skip it if you like!</div>
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Our little girl was due on 15th November, but as per my last post that date came and went
with no sign of impending labour. I had an appointment with my midwife
Marilyn on the 16th, who suggested making a time with my OBGYN to discuss
induction. I had that appointment on the 19th, and he was willing to
induce me the next day. I said I’d actually prefer to wait it out a
little longer, since I’d only be 5 days over my due date at that point
which I didn’t think was allowing enough time for baby to make her own
way out, plus I didn’t like the idea of induction which can lead to a
cascade of interference, and all I wanted out of my
birth experience at this point was to be able to do it on my own if I
could. So we agreed the following Monday (26th) would be induction day,
giving our little girl a total of 11 days past my due date to make her
own way.</div>
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We had Jonah’s (our nephew) birthday party on the 24th – that morning I’d
woken up with some small pains but nothing dramatic, but I did lose my
mucus plug. Upon calling the maternity ward to let them know, they said
without contractions or broken waters, labour could be within the next
24 hours or within the next 2 weeks. So we went along to Jonah’s
party and I didn’t have any further signs of anything happening until
the next morning, where I started having very mild contractions about 10
minutes apart. After a shower, the contractions eased to about 15
minutes apart, then 30 minutes apart, then disappeared almost
completely.</div>
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At 4:30 Monday morning (induction day), I woke up very uncomfortable
and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I got up and went to sit in the
loungeroom. Almost immediately, I had some relatively strong
contractions. The first two or three were about 7 minutes apart,
followed by the next two or three being 15 minutes apart, but then they
started hitting hard between 2-5 minutes apart. I woke up Michael and
asked him to come sit with me in the lounge as I was feeling a bit
anxious, but I didn’t even get to sitting down before the contractions
hit harder.</div>
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I called the ward, where luckily Marilyn was on duty and answered.
I told her the details and she said she’d get things ready for us. Michael called my mum (who was my second support person and our taxi!) and
she came to get us. On the half-hour drive to the hospital, my
contractions regulated out to about 4-5 minutes apart, with an
occasional “aftershock” contraction between the bigger ones.</div>
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We arrived at the hospital at about 6:30am (the exact time I’m not
sure of but I’m guessing it was about then!) and Marilyn hooked me up
to the CTG machine to measure how far apart my contractions were and
make sure baby wasn’t in any distress. Everything was good, the CTG
confirmed my contractions were about 4 minutes apart, so Marilyn
examined me to find I was 5 centimetres dilated. This made me super
happy because I knew then that I was halfway there already, and so far
I’d done it all by myself. By this point it was about 7:15am (judging
from my Facebook updates!), meaning if I hadn’t gone into labour myself,
I would have been coming into hospital for induction in 45 minutes’ time! So thankfully, our girl
was helping us out and saving me the worry and stress of induction.</div>
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I stood around and swayed, rocked, and breathed my way through my
contractions. They gradually got stronger and stronger. Around 8am I got
into the birthing tub, which initially relaxed me and helped ease the
pain of the contractions, but as they got stronger, the water didn’t
really help any. At this point I asked for some pain relief, so we
started with gas & air, which didn’t really help the pain but it did
help me catch my breath and take deeper breaths. Marilyn examined me
again and found I was 8-9 centimetres, and told me if I was going to
have baby in the tub then they’d need to up the temperature of the bath
water to 37 degrees. I was already feeling hot and almost a
little sick so I didn’t want the temperature increased – Marilyn
suggested I get up and try to empty my bladder, to help make a bit more
room for bub, but as I started to get up, the contractions just hit me
one after the other and I could barely get up out the tub. I squatted
back down in the tub before getting out and Marilyn put the back of
the birthing bed up so I could kneel on the bed and face the wall
behind, slinging my arms over the back. This was a relatively
comfortable position and let gravity help the process along too.</div>
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A few more minutes in this position with gas & air, and I found
myself needing to push. Marilyn examined me one more time and said
we’re ready to get this baby out, I was a full 10 centimetres dilated
and ready to rock’n'roll! I took a few deep breaths on the gas & air
and pushed with all my might – it was a very strange feeling: you want
to push with the contraction (and the pushing eases the pain of the
contraction), but the pain “downstairs” is pretty intense so you’re kind
of between a rock and a hard place.</div>
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I don’t remember much else at this point except pushing at least two
big pushes with every contraction – and I do recall between contractions
feeling like I’d gone two steps forward, one step back because I could
feel baby’s head coming through, but then retract back in.</div>
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Finally, when my Marilyn said, “Let’s get this baby out, Terri! You
can do it! I can see her head!”, I knew I had to do this. I bore down
and pushed with all my might, and with some pretty excruciating pain,
her head popped out. I remember screaming “Ow ow ow ow, it hurts, it
hurts!”, and Michael told me a few hours later that this was the only
point that he was really worried and scared for me, but luckily my mum
was there to give him a reassuring look.</div>
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With my next contraction, out came the rest of her (another very
strange feeling – it felt like my insides fell out!) and Marilyn
(after initially checking her over and cleaning her off just a little)
told me to sit up and passed our baby girl between my legs. When I saw
her, I just couldn’t believe it – a little person lay on the bed before
me! I immediately picked her up and held her close to my chest, just
exclaiming “Oh my god! Oh my god!” over and over again (I remember looking at her hands and thinking "Fingernails! She has fingernails! I hadn't even thought about fingernails!"). Michael cried
(as I expected him to!), and I don’t think I even looked at my mum at
all; it was all about our little girl. At about this point, there was a
knock at the door – my dad and my nan had arrived – so we just asked
them to wait about 10 minutes while we got sorted!</div>
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I had requested that the cord be allowed to stop pulsating before
clamping and cutting so about 5 minutes after her birth, Michael cut the
cord. I was given the injection to help birth the placenta (I had to
help by pushing a little as the cord was apparently quite thin), and
then handed baby over to my hubby to hold while I turned around and Marilyn and another midwife (who I didn’t even know was there for the last
part of my labour!) cleaned me and the bed up so I could sit down and
have skin-to-skin with baby.</div>
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Once I was all covered up, my dad and nan came in. They couldn’t
believe that as they’d walked through the front door, their
granddaughter and great-granddaughter had been born. Baby latched on to
my breast within about 15-20 minutes of being born – this was an amazing
bonding experience that I would not have changed for the world.<br />
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Photos were taken, and she was taken off and weighed, measured,
cleaned up and dressed. I was allowed to get up and go to have a shower,
then we were walked down to the ward where I would stay for the next
couple of days. We came home on Wednesday 28th November <img alt=":)" class="wp-smiley" src="http://thegeekwitch.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" /> </div>
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So, introducing…</div>
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<a href="http://thegeekwitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/lilyfae.jpg"><img alt="" class=" wp-image-697 aligncenter" height="384" src="http://thegeekwitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/lilyfae.jpg" title="lily fae" width="288" /></a><b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Lily Fae</span><br />
</b>26th November 2012<br />
Time: 10:33am (6 hour labour!)<br />
Weight: 7lb 9oz<br />
Height: 52.3cm</div>
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Thank you to everyone for their well
wishes, congratulations, support and blessings – we are over the moon to
have our own little bundle of joy! <b><br />
</b></div>
Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-82546389612656535112012-11-21T12:19:00.000+11:002012-11-21T12:19:39.832+11:0040 Weeks, 6 DaysTomorrow I will be 41 weeks pregnant.<br />
<br />
I really had hoped that our little girl would have made her way into the world by now. I know, I know - due dates are only a guide and babies can be born 2 weeks either side of that date, etc. etc.<br />
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I guess being that for the past 9 months, all I've been able to think about is having a baby, and now that it's finally here and the build-up has come to a peak and it's all very exciting, all I want is to be holding her in my arms and cuddling her and being a little family. I said, after my stint in hospital, that she'd either come early or, more likely, keep us waiting after everything we've been through. The latter seems to have been proven! <br />
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And it makes it more difficult when people keep saying "Just relax, let go, it'll be fine, she'll make it here" - like I said, for the last 9 months this pregnancy has <i>been</i> my life, all I can think about, and now that the time has finally arrived, it's hard to just let that go and let be what will be.<br />
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I have "ideals" for my birthing experience, and while I know the world (particularly unpredictables like giving birth) does not run to ideals but will run how it will run, it would be nice to know that at least some of my wishes could be granted. For example, being able to have a water birth. If I have to be induced (I'm scheduled in for induction on Monday 26th should she not arrive by herself by then), then chances of my being able to have a water birth are reduced. And induction runs the risk of a cascade of interference - firstly they'll try gel, then they'll try breaking my waters if that doesn't work, and then an IV of pitocin, and finally there's the possibility of being taken in for an emergency C-Section. Each of those steps takes me further and further from my "ideal" experience.<br />
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I know that I should just be grateful for the chance to have a baby at all - that she's healthy and grows well and all that - and trust me, I am. It would, however, be nice to have it all run to a natural beat, rather than a medical one.Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-17607745358333576062012-11-03T13:28:00.001+11:002012-11-03T13:28:18.814+11:0038 Weeks Update<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lack of updates, sorry guys. Have been busy with finishing up at work and other commitments!</div>
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<b>Weight Gain:</b> Total of around 8kg, after initial loss of 7kg. </div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Innie or Outtie:</b> Still rockin' the innie - don't think it'll pop :P</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Maternity Clothes:</b> Pants yes, tops not really - I still fit into most of my old tops (but most of them are bigger and baggy anyway.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Sleep:</b> Terrible night's sleep last night but generally pretty good. My usual pattern is two "bad" nights (ie waking up more than twice) followed by one good night.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Pregnancy Perk:</b> People helping me! The cashier at the supermarket was very helpful, and the lady I purchased M's anniversary present from carried it out to my car even though I insisted I'd be fine with it :P</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Embarrassing Pregnant Moment:</b> None that I can think of!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Best Moment this week:</b> No real "best" moments - just knowing it's not long till we get to meet you.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Baby Purchases this week:</b> First Christmas outfit :D</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Gender:</b> GIRL STILL!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Movement:</b> Gives me a few good bashes every now and then but has definitely settled down into a pattern (although I'm still working out what that pattern is).</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Food Cravings:</b> Nothing really.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Food Aversions:</b> Still bacon!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">How’s Mummy?</b> Getting a little over being pregnant and just want to meet our little girl already - hoping you'll show up before your due date but who knows - just want it to be done!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">How’s Daddy?</b> Daddy's good, also getting anxious to meet you in person - he's so lovely, says "I love you" to both me and you when he leaves for work <3</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">What I am looking forward to:</b> ARRIVAL DAY! </div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Our Baby in Veggie/Fruit Terms:</b> Baby is now the size of a watermelon, approximately 3.5 - 4kg and 50cm in length.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">What Baby Peanut is up to: </b>The last bits of vernix caseosa (the white goo keeping baby's skin
moist) and lanugo (downy hair) are slowly shedding into your amniotic
fluid. Baby's head is about the same circumference as her abdomen, and
her head could be covered in an inch or so of hair.Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-48613042992631870202012-10-07T11:43:00.000+11:002012-10-07T15:58:24.768+11:0034 Week (and 3 Days) Update<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've now been home for 3 weeks and things are looking pretty good!</div>
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The Monday before last, I had an appointment with my OBGYN, who said it was fine for me to return to work after my stint in Hobart, and that there was no longer any sign of the clot on my placenta. I don't need to see him again until 7th November!</div>
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This Thursday just been, I had an appointment with my midwife, had my second Anti--D shot, checked on bub's heartrate and my growth (both of which are spot-on perfect). She didn't see any reasons for concern about heading forward at this point, which is VERY exciting considering we've had a bit of a rough time!</div>
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Yesterday was the Baby Shower, hosted by my awesome mum, and it was great! We were SO spoilt with gifts, it was unreal! I feel so overwhelmed with love and support right now, it's just amazing. We had an awesome afternoon tea with fun games and lots of laughs, yummy food and fantastic company - I couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable afternoon.</div>
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I have so much sorting to do and a final sweep of the baby's room to clear out the last bit of mess before it's completely finished and I can finally post photos for everyone - I'm itching to show you all the room but not before it's perfect!</div>
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<u><b>34 Week Stats Update:</b></u></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4tcfYQWvsBLM6L_NLjDTWqqPXVvMWPR2fh6o-mDoqE34oRkS2vPg4Df8h1-GQ7t2MPU_HGbnQYh-ruPLk1vlBzjmy_Vliy6l2v8ykyJAUpFH3-HW2YLCUOdSZJ49h9BZ43dcUWGDjzo/s1600/615040_10151096949363920_551481928_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP4tcfYQWvsBLM6L_NLjDTWqqPXVvMWPR2fh6o-mDoqE34oRkS2vPg4Df8h1-GQ7t2MPU_HGbnQYh-ruPLk1vlBzjmy_Vliy6l2v8ykyJAUpFH3-HW2YLCUOdSZJ49h9BZ43dcUWGDjzo/s400/615040_10151096949363920_551481928_o.jpg" width="280" /></a><b> </b></div>
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<b>Weight Gain:</b> Total of about 6kg, after the initial loss of 7kg.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Innie or Outtie:</b> Still an innie!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Maternity Clothes:</b> When I'm out-and-about, definitely. But at home, I can still fit fine into most of my t-shirts and pants :)</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Sleep:</b> Sleeping okay, just waking up with a dead leg every so-often, and finding it difficult to get to sleep in the first place. A normal night now involves waking up maybe once every couple of hours.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Pregnancy Perk:</b> I have to say the attention, don't I?! And being able to eat whatever I want without excuses :P</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Embarrassing Pregnant Moment:</b> None that I can think of! I don't embarrass easily though!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Best Moment this week:</b> The Baby Shower, for sure - this girl is one spoilt child already!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Baby Purchases this week:</b> None this week, didn't have to!!!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Gender:</b> Still a girl, and we've had pretty much every radiologist confirm this every time we've had a scan!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Movement:</b> Still a wriggly worm.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Food Cravings:</b> Nothing out of the ordinary - I still enjoy strawberries but they're not really a craving at the moment. </div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Food Aversions:</b> Still bacon - can't get my head around it at the moment.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">How’s Mummy?</b> Very happy! Glad that everything's now going smoothly. My morning sickness has returned but it's really only in the morning and of an evening when I'm trying to get to sleep. Otherwise, I'm fine. Things are starting to look positive for the final outcome!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">How’s Daddy?</b> He's wonderful - been very supportive and just my rock for the past 3 weeks. He's been taking the time to relax and play his video games before bub arrives!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">What I am looking forward to:</b> Our next midwife appointment, being able to discuss my birth wishlist (it's not a plan! The moment you call it a plan, it's not likely to follow!) and see if she's happy for us to travel down the waterbirth route that I so want.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Our Baby in Veggie/Fruit Terms:</b> Baby is now the size of a butternut squash, approximately 2kg and 45cm in length.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">What Baby Peanut is up to: </b>She's filling out and getting rounder -- she'll need her fat layers later to regulate her body temperature.
<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>If you've been nervous about going into premature labour, you'll be
happy to know that 99 per cent of babies born at week 35 can survive
outside the womb -- and most have no major problems. Although your
baby's central nervous system is still maturing, her lungs are nearly fully developed by now.</div>
Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-5962059682555732992012-09-17T08:39:00.001+10:002012-09-17T08:39:02.825+10:00Home!<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm finally home - they let me come back a week earlier than they anticipated because I'd been asymptomatic for over a week, and my clot (I finally found out it was a retrochorionic haematoma) had disappeared almost completely as of Thursday. The clot itself was 35x59x48mm, which is pretty huge but still less than 5% of the placenta itself.</div>
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Retrochorionic haematomas are more common in early pregnancy, but since mine happened in my last trimester, they were obviously quite concerned. Luckily, bubby stayed put but she would have been in the right place had my bleeding not settled.</div>
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Alls good so far - have to call my OBGYN tomorrow and make an appointment to see him about continued care, whether I'm still considered high risk, and if I can return to work between now and a couple of weeks before baby is due.</div>
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Just happy to be home really</div>
Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-808013336408995812012-09-12T08:53:00.001+10:002012-09-12T08:53:25.982+10:00HotelOn Saturday (8th September) I was released from the hospital and have been staying at a hotel only 5 minutes from the hospital, and am now being treated as an outpatient.<br />
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While I thought it would be better to be in a hotel room (my own space, no interruptions, quieter), I almost miss the hospital for the simple fact of company - you're never really alone in hospital, with people coming and going from your room, you almost always have someone to talk to. <br />
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Anyway, today I have an appointment at the hospital, in the high risk antenatal clinic, so I'll be heading in there and requesting that I be allowed to go home sooner rather than later - I don't think being away from my family is very helpful. I have a scan booked in for Friday, I'm hoping that they will agree to let me go at least by the weekend. I mean, it's my right to refuse any further treatment or attention.<br />
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It seems rather cruel and inhumane to keep a 30-week pregnant woman away from her support base for 4 weeks, at the most emotional point she'll ever experience in her entire life. I only get to see my husband on weekends, which SUCKS majorly, and the occasional family member or friend during the week. I manage to keep myself occupied, but I still don't think it's the right place for me to be - how can someone heal or rest in an unfamiliar place?<br />
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Rambling thoughts from someone who hasn't got a lot of sleep the past 3 weeks. I don't know. I just want out.Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-16310363252268568032012-09-03T20:45:00.000+10:002012-09-03T20:45:01.245+10:00Knit knit knitYesterday we had a visit from one of the nurses in the NICU, who just wanted to have a yack with us about what happens in NICU and that kind of thing. She's also a lactation consultant so she ran through with me briefly about how to breastfeed and how the milk is produced, etc. which was good to know because I do intend on breastfeeding but because of this interruption in proceedings, we hadn't had a chance to get to antenatal or breastfeeding classes yet.<br />
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During our conversation she asked me how I was holding up, if I was keeping myself occupied, etc. I said yes, in general I'm okay. If I was on strict bedrest I'd be going completely nuts, but since I am allowed to go out and such, I feel generally okay. She said she's a knitter and I said that I had been for a while, but sort of let it go by the wayside. She suggested I start it again, maybe knit something for Bub, and I though it was a brilliant idea.<br />
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And it definitely makes the day go quicker - I spent all of today just in my room knitting and watching Grimm (TV series, if you didn't know). I'm not a skilled knitter but I did manage to pull off a good chunk of a baby blanket for Bub:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigr1a1BlPSbt6zubCLyUxC-obZ3LLSOjWtx-NITrLBAsmHgnw6r4UNROGnYANpxncq3UVjE9l7ioDO4VRiUrClKBAHsKQrTmnlhxQXUHzU6NmTdGWL6-GzU8KS552knuFaQEMFys-O5sc/s1600/289534_10151055098823920_1690341096_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigr1a1BlPSbt6zubCLyUxC-obZ3LLSOjWtx-NITrLBAsmHgnw6r4UNROGnYANpxncq3UVjE9l7ioDO4VRiUrClKBAHsKQrTmnlhxQXUHzU6NmTdGWL6-GzU8KS552knuFaQEMFys-O5sc/s400/289534_10151055098823920_1690341096_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Doesn't really look quite right here because it's 100 stitches squished onto the one needle, but you get the idea.<br />
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There's been a couple of mishaps with one or two dropped stitches, and the time I had to undo about 6 rows because I'd purled instead of knitted at the start of a couple, but other than that it's looking quite cute and I'm really pleased with how it's turning out - I can't wait to wrap my little bubba in it, and tell her later on (when she understands) that I knitted it just for her while I was in the hospital, wondering if she'd decide to be born early or not.<br />
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It's been quite therapeutic and a good use of time. I'm excited to get it finished - and I still have two weeks to do it in.<br />
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Tomorrow's schedule is another ultrasound, in which they'll check how Bub is growing - I read today online with some research that if she's not grown any more since my last scan two weeks ago, that I might be in for a C-Section - so let's hope she's grown that little extra that tells them she's a 30 week old and not a 28 week old anymore!Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-18279592533317814482012-08-31T13:54:00.000+10:002012-08-31T13:54:01.195+10:00One Week Down, Three To Go<div style="text-align: justify;">
Feeling rather low today. I've been in here for a week and 3 days, with 2 weeks 6 days left to go. Not that the time I've been in here has seriously dragged or anything – it’s not been terrible, but it just sucks being in hospital when you don’t feel sick or bad in any way.</div>
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The only time I've felt ‘sick’ since the 21st August, when my initial bleed happened, was when they told me I’d have to come here to Hobart and I got anxious and upset. I've not had any pain at all and it feels so useless being here.</div>
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I may have said it before here, and I may have not, but up until this point in my pregnancy I've felt so strong and so empowered. Like nothing could stop me. Like, “Hey! I'm making a human! What’s YOUR super power?!”. I wrote about how I feel about becoming a mother, and that I'm so excited to be on this journey, and that it’s the most magnificent phase of my life, and that I'm looking forward to meeting this little person even though I already “know” her.</div>
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And it still is, and I still am excited to be on the journey – I can’t wait to meet this little girl whom I've been growing from a zygote to become this amazing, moving, living, breathing thing that I can hold, tangibly, and pour all my love, support, pride and affection into, to help her grow and become a contributing member of society.</div>
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But this occurrence feels like it’s taken a lot of the magic away – it’s made my pregnancy into a condition, not a miracle. It’s a plight, a reason for concern, not a magical experience. I feel less empowered and more out of control, I feel less strong and more helpless.</div>
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I know that in the larger scheme of things, four weeks won’t have seemed that long and it will all be worth it when this baby finally meets the big wide world, but for the moment, it's the longest four weeks of my life and I wish it would end.</div>
Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-84007503813138307142012-08-26T12:42:00.000+10:002012-08-31T12:43:15.048+10:0028 Week Belly Photo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-45199717926661714302012-08-25T12:41:00.000+10:002012-08-31T13:19:12.578+10:00Nothing worth doing is easy...<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you’re friends with me on Facebook ,you’ll probably know the saga already and therefore my telling you over again in this post isn’t really going to be telling you anything new. But feel free to read anyway, of course - I can’t stop you!</div>
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This will be a really intense, long post - just warning you.</div>
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<b><u>Tuesday, 21st August 2012</u></b></div>
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Went to work as per normal, everything was the usual, I was getting shit done and feeling pretty positive about the amount I was doing. Had a phone call from a client, then got up to go and talk to one of my workmates about it (around 3:10pm). As I was standing by her desk, I felt a leak in my pants, and a small trickle down my leg. I tried to stop it by ‘clenching’, but it seemed to continue. I thought, “Fuck, I’ve peed myself,” and excused myself quickly from her office and headed out to the Ladies’ room.</div>
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I got out to the toilets, pulled my trousers down, and to my absolute horror, I had blood all the way down my right leg. I don’t really remember much else about that instant other than it scared. me. shitless. I looked in the loo and there was blood everywhere there too. I wiped myself, stuffed a little TP in my knickers, and tried to remain calm. Washed up my hands, walked (briskly) back into the main office, and immediately told the lady I’d been talking to that I need an ambulance. She thought I was joking to start with until she saw my face. She sat me down in her chair and calmly called for the paramedics. In the meantime, I called Michael and told him to remain calm, I’d experienced some bleeding and we had an ambulance on the way, but I feel fine (which I did, other than being a little panicked). I told him to get in touch with my Dad (who I’d tried calling a couple of times) for him to go pick him up from work.</div>
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The paramedics were amazing. They showed up within 2 minutes of being called, and kept me calm. I felt a little light-headed when they put a cannula into my arm to get some fluids into me, and was laid down on the floor to relax and recover. They stuffed a beautiful (ha!) large pad into my pants to collect anything else that might leak and took me straight out to the local hospital.</div>
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From here on in it’s a bit of a blur - I remember being wheeled straight up to the Maternity ward at the MCH, where I was immediately attended to by two nurses and a doctor. The first thing the doc did was check on bub, and he said (much to my relief) there appears to be plenty of fluid around her. They did a speculum inspection, took some swaps of the blood I had there, and it showed negative for amniotic fluid. Another relief. In this time, Michael and Dad arrived, and the doctor went out and told them what had happened. Michael filled out paperwork then they both came in and sat with me.</div>
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A little while later the doc and nurses did another speculum, to do a bit of cleanup and make sure that it wasn’t a rupture in my birth canal and that they could see the mucus plug, which seemed okay.</div>
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I was then sent down for an emergency scan just to check on everything on the more high-tech equipment, and bubby was fine - measuring up perfectly and didn’t appear to be in any distress. Placenta was also okay, no detachment and definitely not low-lying. They then did an internal scan, and the radiologist said that everything there appeared to be okay - my cervix wasn’t closed but wasn’t open either, but it didn’t appear to be changing at all.</div>
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I was sent back up to the ward where another doctor came in and did ANOTHER freaking internal exam on me - I don’t have any problem with internals but crikey four times in the space of a couple of hours seemed excessive even to me at that point. Anyway, they couldn’t see anything wrong, or nothing that they made apparent to me anyway. They talked about the possibility of sending me to Launceston or Hobart hospitals. Michael said he’d better get me a bag packed because, regardless, I’d be at the MCH for at least a night and would need some clothes, toiletries, etc.</div>
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It was at around 6:15pm, shortly before Michael and Dad got back, that one of the nurses told me it looked like I’d be sent to the Royal Hobart Hospital. I almost thought she was joking. Hobart (Tasmania’s capital) is approximately 3 hours from where I live. For some this might seem like nothing (hell, for some this is their daily commute to work!) but for me, being from a small city and used to having everything nearby, this was just horrific. I was pretty upset at the news, but tried to take it in my stride. I knew that the RHH is the best for neo-natal and premmie baby care, and if bub was born early, then we’d be in the best place for the best care available.</div>
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Around 6:30pm my mum arrived at the hospital. It seemed I only saw her for about 5 minutes before they told me that the paramedics were ready to go. They airlifted me to Hobart (Michael would come down in the morning - I told him that was the best option, get things organised at home and come down the next day because it’d just be me sitting in a hospital bed and having tests/swabs/etc. done, pretty boring for him). I arrived at the RHH around 9:00pm, was taken straight to the maternity ward.</div>
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At this point I have to say that EVERYONE I dealt with through this process - 8 paramedics in total, two doctors, countless nurses, a radiologist and a pilot! - was amazing. I was so fortunate to not run into any egos or bad bedside manners. Everyone was just great.</div>
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The first nurse I dealt with at the maternity ward at the RHH was wonderful - she made me a cup of tea and offered me some sandwiches (which was awesome because I hadn’t eaten anything since around 12:00pm), and I was allowed to eat in peace despite being in a shared room. A little while later a doctor came in and checked my pad, still fresh blood at that point but the flow had gone down significantly already. He just had me change it over so they could see the amount that collected between then and the next time they checked.</div>
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This is where things start getting hazy because I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I remember another doctor coming in and removing the cannula the paramedics had originally given me because she couldn’t get any blood out of it, and giving me another in my wrist. She took blood, and I didn’t hear anything about that so I assumed that was all clear. After this one of the paediatricians came in to talk to me, about their facilities for premmie babies because there was a chance that bubby might be born early. I took most of what he said in and didn’t really have any questions for him, but it seemed to me like this was the best place for me to be if bub came early.</div>
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<b><u>Wednesday 22nd August 2012</u></b></div>
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I tried getting some sleep but it was 12am before I managed to get anywhere, and I woke up every hour or so until 6:00am-ish. Doctors came in to see me a little later in the morning, after breakfast, and told me they wanted to continue to keep an eye on the bleeding. Once that stopped, they’d continue to monitor me for 24 hours, after which if no further bleeding occurred, I might be able to go home.</div>
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Michael and my mum arrived at around 12:00pm on Wednesday, bringing me some stuff from home including my laptop, clothes, toiletries, etc. so I was set for a stay if I had to. Mum left at around 2:30-3:00pm for the drive home, and Michael stayed behind and checked into a hotel nearby. He came back and sat with me until they moved me to a private room (which is ideal because I’m a light sleeper and easily distracted from my sleep). I had another scan at around 4:00pm and the radiologist, after consulting with his doctor, said it looked like a little bruise or scab or something had split open and that’s the cause of the bleeding. The way he described it sounded very positive and it put me in a better mood. Michael went and got some food, came back for a little while then went to his hotel for the night. We had been discussing the possibility of being home by the weekend because my bleeding had subsided, and from what the radiologist had said, it sounded less than threatening.</div>
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<b><u>Thursday 23rd August 2012</u></b></div>
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Michael came in to my room around 8:00am and we continued discussing the possibility of getting home by the weekend, started to make plans, etc.</div>
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The doctors came in and we were feeling rather positive - until they mentioned that the scan showed the bleeding had actually come from the placenta, and they wanted to continue to monitor me till 32 weeks. I was only 28 weeks today - so that meant at least another 4 weeks in hospital, in Hobart, away from family. The other hospitals in the state - the ones closer to home - do not have the facilities to care for a baby before 32 weeks gestation so the RHH is the best place for me and bub right now. I was immediately upset, as anyone would be - my spirits were crushed. Michael was strong enough to keep it together and ask the questions and express how I was feeling to the doctors. I pretty much bawled my eyes out after the docs left and we had a moment of pure anger/sadness together. I knew what they were telling me - from a medical standpoint, this is the best place for me to be should baby arrive early, and I understood that. But emotionally, it hit me for six - I wanted to be near my support base, my family.</div>
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We discussed it a little further later on, letting it sink in a little bit more, and came to the conclusion that we just have to work with the cards we’re dealt, and just try to keep things as normal as possible. Michael went out and got me a few more things that I’d need - like bigger shampoo/conditioner bottles, some body wash, razors, DVDs to watch, etc. - to keep me occupied and keep things normal.</div>
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He went out for dinner after I ate mine, and back to his hotel room. I was emotionally drained so I tried to get an early night - I think I was asleep by 10:30pm.</div>
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<b><u>Friday 24th August 2012</u></b></div>
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Woke up relatively early, still no bleeding other than old blood. Michael came in around 8:00am and the docs showed up around 10:00. Ran through essentially what we’d been through yesterday, which I was better prepared for and understood a lot better. I had my morning blood pressure taken and temperature, and got connected up to the CTG to check on bub and make sure I wasn’t having any contractions at all. All clear, all good.</div>
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And since then, I’ve just been sitting in my room. We were given clearance by the docs to go outside, so we went out in the fresh air for about 20 minutes this afternoon, which I enjoyed - it was nice to get out of the clinical environment, even if it was out into the city street rather than some serene location.</div>
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So at the moment, we’re just crossing fingers and toes that everything goes as it should, that bub stays where she should for the minute and just take every day as it comes.</div>
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All of your positive vibes, healing energies and thoughts are definitely helping - thank you ♥</div>
Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-4917511529243115362012-08-22T12:43:00.000+10:002012-08-31T13:01:46.758+10:00"Peanut" at 27 Weeks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9fojz0tLN1rtnnefo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9fojz0tLN1rtnnefo1_500.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-1093113507393484562012-08-10T13:02:00.000+10:002012-08-31T13:08:26.427+10:00Flu and OBGYN appointment<div style="text-align: justify;">
So things are going relatively well, excepting the fact that I’m at home sick with the flu right now. Have had a terrible cough since Tuesday, off work since yesterday and not going back till Monday unless I have some miracle sleep tonight which gets me well again. The cough has been the worst part – not being able to breathe halfway through hacking up a lung isn’t fun, along with feeling like I’m going to crack a rib. I also hate the sinus and headaches that comes with it. Urgh.</div>
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I had my Gluten Tolerance Test (GTT) and blood tests for rubella, Vit D, Hep B & C, syphillis, etc. and they all came back fine except I’m a little Vitamin D deficient (surprise surprise – I’m pregnant over winter in Tasmania, the least sunny of all places in Australia) and also iron deficient, so a strong vitamin regime has commenced and I’m otherwise feeling okay.</div>
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Had an appointment with my OBGYN yesterday, bub’s going well, very active little girl who wouldn’t keep still for him to get a good look at, but he confirmed again she’s definitely a girl. I’ll have them check again at my 30 week scan on the 10th September too, just to be sure!
Also he confirmed that my placenta has moved out of the way of the cervix, which was concerning me slightly as it was covering it a little at the last scan, but it’s a good 3-4cm out of the way now, which means no c-section unless bub doesn’t turn or in case of emergency, which is positive.</div>
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Everything else is going well – I’m feeling pretty good in general and looking forward to meeting the Karate Kid who is living rent-free in my belly right now!
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Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-7709825194011341482012-08-10T12:40:00.000+10:002012-08-31T13:28:24.487+10:0026 Week Update<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Weight Gain:</b> About 4kg still</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Innie or Outtie:</b> Innie still - but I have a very deep innie bellybutton so if it pops at all it won’t be till much later.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Maternity Clothes:</b> Yup, too big for the regulars now!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Sleep:</b> Sleeping pretty badly - waking up every hour or so, at least being able to get back to sleep but getting more than 2-3 hours uninterrupted sleep is a godsend.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Pregnancy Perk:</b> Feeling so empowered!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Embarrassing Pregnant Moment:</b> None, other than dropping things and having baby brain.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Best Moment this week:</b> Going to Melbourne to see your Auntie Alisha and Uncle Jernej, and coming home where your movement completely picked up after very little movement over that weekend (which freaked me out!).</div>
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Oh and finding out that the placenta has moved, so no chance of a c-section unless you don’t turn, or if it’s an emergency - yay!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Baby Purchases this week:</b> None this week, will probably be getting your bassinet later this week though.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Gender:</b> Still a girl, as far as we’re aware!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Movement:</b> Heaps of movement, you barely sit still!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Food Cravings:</b> Strawberries are still up there, along with icecream.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Food Aversions:</b> Pizza and bacon. </div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">How’s Mummy?</b> Got the flu at the moment, which scared me a little because I didn’t want to subject you to any more drugs or anything but luckily it’s just gentle Panadol for us at the moment, and plenty of rest. Also low on iron and Vit D but am upping my dosages on both so we should have that in order soon.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">How’s Daddy?</b> He’s been so loving and caring - taking care of me while I’ve been sick, bringing me home nice things, cooking dinner, he’s been wonderful. He kisses you goodbye before leaving for work every day <3</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">What I am looking forward to:</b> Meeting you!</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">Our Baby in Veggie/Fruit Terms:</b> You’re the size of an eggplant! Approximately 36cm long and around 760 grams in weight.</div>
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<b style="font-weight: bold;">What Baby Peanut is up to: </b>Baby’s soaking up your antibodies, getting her immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and she’ll soon be practicing the blink…perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.</div>
Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3762706175884215096.post-50020270093246613922012-07-23T12:39:00.000+10:002012-08-31T13:30:11.235+10:0023 Week Update<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>How Far Along:</b> 23 weeks</div>
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<b>Weight Gain:</b> Not sure - maybe around 4kg?</div>
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<b>Innie or Outtie:</b> Innie.</div>
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<b>Maternity Clothes:</b> Yes, they’re much more comfortable than my regular clothes.</div>
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<b>Sleep:</b> Sleeping okay, but need the aid of a pillow between my knees to help my spine!</div>
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<b>Pregnancy Perk:</b> Attention is the main thing that I’ve been getting - that, and being able to look at cute clothes and baby things!</div>
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<b>Embarrassing Pregnant Moment:</b> None this week.</div>
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<b>Best Moment this week:</b> Feeling more definite movement.</div>
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<b>Baby Purchases this week:</b> Bought a cot sheet set, a mattress protector, some bibs, a little romper, and some other bits and pieces.</div>
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<b>Gender:</b> Still a girl, as far as we’re aware!</div>
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<b>Movement:</b> A lot more definite - it felt like you karate kicked and punched me in my back and front at the same time last night.</div>
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<b>Food Cravings:</b> Strawberries, and watermelon - neither of which are in season at the moment.</div>
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<b>Food Aversions:</b> Pizza, strong curries.</div>
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<b>How’s Mummy?</b> Doing well today - have been for about the last week, feeling very positive.</div>
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<b>How’s Daddy?</b> He’s doing good, starting to get excited!</div>
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<b>What I am looking forward to:</b> It’s always the next scan, being able to see how much more you’ve grown. And getting the nursery finished.</div>
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<b>Our Baby in Veggie/Fruit Terms:</b> You’re the size of a grapefruit! Approximately 28cm long and around 500 grams in weight.</div>
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<b>What Baby Peanut is up to:</b> Her hearing is well established and she can make out a distorted version of your voice, the beating of your heart and your stomach rumblings. Loud noises often heard in utero, such as the barking of a dog next door or the roar of a vacuum cleaner, probably won’t bother your child when she hears them outside the womb.</div>
Terrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13682568458935546875noreply@blogger.com0