So... since the last real installment back in Aug 2012 there have been big changes for us. We made the decision to move to Great Barrier Island permanently. The older Terri got the more urgent it became for us.
We made a pact to either buy a home or start building a new home on Tom's section by the end of 2011 ... and then things eventually started falling into place for us. The 'perfect' property for us came along. We negotiated a private sale so there were no agents involved (therefore no comission and fees). The house is large, comfortable, water tight (mostly) and has an outstanding view out towards Kaitoke Beach on the east coast. Our closest beach is a 2 minute drive down to Blind Bay on the west coast. We found a few established fruit trees on the back of the section and an abandoned chook run.
We installed solar panels so that we didn't have to rely solely on generator for power then we moved out here at the end of October 2011.
It's been over a year now and we are slowly making our mark on the section. We got ourselves 3 chickens and are eagerly awaiting our first eggs. Slowly we are establishing food crops on a very small scale, mostly in pots and containers at the moment but bit by bit we are building up the soil to a point where we can have a few dedicated food plots. I have tomatoes growing in pots that would give any triffid a run for their money, a few herbs in, rhubbarb, black/boysen/raspberry bushes all in the ground, we've planted citrus trees and have just started eating Tom's first crop of spuds.
When I think about it we have acheived rather a lot :)
Terri is thriving out here. She attends the local playcentre and loves the beach, fishing, and outdoors in general. It's a great place to raise kids.
We are living the good life!!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Last post Aug 30 2010
Wow... it's been a while to say the least. I wasn't even sure whether I'd ever be back but over the years I've been an on and off 'journaller' so maybe that's how my blogging goes too...
...
lets see how long I last this time...
...
lets see how long I last this time...
Monday, August 30, 2010
Bye-bye my baby... bye-bye!
In the last week or so I've come to the realisation I no longer have a baby in the house... we now have a little girl!
Terri is beautiful and every day I love her more.
She must have gone through a bit of a growth spurt in the last 10 days, she seems more grown up than ever before, getting much more substantial! Her personality is shining through and physically she is getting so much stronger and more able every day. Whilst she has been on the move for a while now, she is just starting to sit without support and it makes her seem so much more grown up.
She is a bit of a trickster... a couple of nights ago I was changing her nappy after a night feed when she let crack a real ripper of a fart... and despite being mellow and sleepy she cracked up laughing and before you knew it the two of us were giggling madly in the middle of the night.
Then on Sunday we were at the markets when I realised she seemed to be getting odd looks from other shoppers... when I looked into the pram... she was there chomping on the bunch of silverbeet I had put in my shopping basket, a big piece torn off in each hand and another hanging out of her mouth...with the cheekiest look on her face!
We are having so much fun together... every day is a new adventure.
....
... but even so I kind of miss the wee baby she was.
Terri is beautiful and every day I love her more.
She must have gone through a bit of a growth spurt in the last 10 days, she seems more grown up than ever before, getting much more substantial! Her personality is shining through and physically she is getting so much stronger and more able every day. Whilst she has been on the move for a while now, she is just starting to sit without support and it makes her seem so much more grown up.
She is a bit of a trickster... a couple of nights ago I was changing her nappy after a night feed when she let crack a real ripper of a fart... and despite being mellow and sleepy she cracked up laughing and before you knew it the two of us were giggling madly in the middle of the night.
Then on Sunday we were at the markets when I realised she seemed to be getting odd looks from other shoppers... when I looked into the pram... she was there chomping on the bunch of silverbeet I had put in my shopping basket, a big piece torn off in each hand and another hanging out of her mouth...with the cheekiest look on her face!
We are having so much fun together... every day is a new adventure.
....
... but even so I kind of miss the wee baby she was.
Monday, August 23, 2010
800 nappies...
…Give or take, that’s how many cloth nappy changes we’ve done here. I only know this because of the number of nappy liner rolls we’ve been through. 800 nappies changed, washed and folded. I never dreamt just how easy it would be!
I think some people thought I was a little nuts when I told them I was planning on using cloth nappies and to be honest I had concerns of my own about being able to keep up a cyclical routine of getting them washed ready for the next wearing. I had visions of soak buckets and nappies hanging from the curtain rails on rainy day. All based on my little girl memories of the nappies Mum used for my younger siblings… oh how nappies have changed since then… thank goodness!
Going cloth was a bit of a no-brainer for me. I just couldn’t bear the thought of using disposables full time. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not totally anti-disposable and we certainly use them on occasion. In fact the couple of months we spent on the Island back in March-May that is all we used… a couple hundred or so… I didn’t like it very much but we don’t have a washing machine over there and it just wasn’t practical to be down at the Laundromat every couple of days, queuing for a spot and waiting around. Spending half our time doing the washing would have completely negated us being over there! If I’m going away for a couple of days I’ll take disposables so I don’t have to cart the nappy bucket with us… I’ll admit it is very convenient… but while we’re at home … nah, it’s cloth for us!!
I wash every couple of days, whenever the bucket is full and have e enough nappies to go about 4 days before we run out but that never happens. There’s no soaking, I keep a dry bucket for all the used nappies and wash when it’s full. I peg them out on a small airing rack that is the perfect size for one load. This will dry indoors in about 24 hours under the heat pump if the weather is crap but as much as possible I dry them out in the fresh air… whipping the whole rack indoors if it starts raining. And I especially love taking all the fresh nappies in and getting them all folded ready for the next wearing…. Mmmmmm-mmm… the smell of clean nappies!!
I have never regretted the decision and would recommend them to anyone… for anyone that still thinks it’s too much work… here’s a pic of two days worth of nappies out drying….
... whoops... not there's not!! I can't seem to get a picture in here for some reason! Will add later if I can :)
I think some people thought I was a little nuts when I told them I was planning on using cloth nappies and to be honest I had concerns of my own about being able to keep up a cyclical routine of getting them washed ready for the next wearing. I had visions of soak buckets and nappies hanging from the curtain rails on rainy day. All based on my little girl memories of the nappies Mum used for my younger siblings… oh how nappies have changed since then… thank goodness!
Going cloth was a bit of a no-brainer for me. I just couldn’t bear the thought of using disposables full time. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not totally anti-disposable and we certainly use them on occasion. In fact the couple of months we spent on the Island back in March-May that is all we used… a couple hundred or so… I didn’t like it very much but we don’t have a washing machine over there and it just wasn’t practical to be down at the Laundromat every couple of days, queuing for a spot and waiting around. Spending half our time doing the washing would have completely negated us being over there! If I’m going away for a couple of days I’ll take disposables so I don’t have to cart the nappy bucket with us… I’ll admit it is very convenient… but while we’re at home … nah, it’s cloth for us!!
I wash every couple of days, whenever the bucket is full and have e enough nappies to go about 4 days before we run out but that never happens. There’s no soaking, I keep a dry bucket for all the used nappies and wash when it’s full. I peg them out on a small airing rack that is the perfect size for one load. This will dry indoors in about 24 hours under the heat pump if the weather is crap but as much as possible I dry them out in the fresh air… whipping the whole rack indoors if it starts raining. And I especially love taking all the fresh nappies in and getting them all folded ready for the next wearing…. Mmmmmm-mmm… the smell of clean nappies!!
I have never regretted the decision and would recommend them to anyone… for anyone that still thinks it’s too much work… here’s a pic of two days worth of nappies out drying….
... whoops... not there's not!! I can't seem to get a picture in here for some reason! Will add later if I can :)
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Once again time has escaped me…
In a few days Terri will be 6 months old… How did that happen? It has gone so fast! My beautiful wee monkey…
I’m not going to carry on a blow by blow account of the rest of our hospital stay and adventures since then… I’m pleased to have the birth story down on paper and the rest all seems irrelevant now. Besides, if there is anyone out there reading this then it will all be old news anyway. So… onwards and upwards.
My maternity leave finished at the end of June so I’m back working again… gasp! Yeah, well with Tom’s work a bit thin on the ground (he’s self employed) it will be good to have a steady income. Luckily I’m able to work from home and can be flexible with when I get me hours in so can work around Terri’s feeds and play time, getting work done while she’s asleep during the day or evenings. I am sooooo lucky to be able to do this otherwise I know that I couldn't have left our wee one to be in the office…. I’d have been an emotional wreck!
The first couple of days were pretty good, they are easing me back in while my brain gets back up to speed! It’s a bit like riding a bicycle though and I’ve surprised myself a bit with how I’m slipping back into the groove. This week is a little different though because it is school holidays and we have Libby up for the first week. Tom has been great and has stayed home to help out with the girls so I can get back into work. He has a wee bit of work tomorrow morning though so we’ll see how that works out.
Anyway… I have some other entries up my sleeve so maybe I’ll get another one up over the next week or so. Don’t hold your breath though!! LOL!!
My maternity leave finished at the end of June so I’m back working again… gasp! Yeah, well with Tom’s work a bit thin on the ground (he’s self employed) it will be good to have a steady income. Luckily I’m able to work from home and can be flexible with when I get me hours in so can work around Terri’s feeds and play time, getting work done while she’s asleep during the day or evenings. I am sooooo lucky to be able to do this otherwise I know that I couldn't have left our wee one to be in the office…. I’d have been an emotional wreck!
The first couple of days were pretty good, they are easing me back in while my brain gets back up to speed! It’s a bit like riding a bicycle though and I’ve surprised myself a bit with how I’m slipping back into the groove. This week is a little different though because it is school holidays and we have Libby up for the first week. Tom has been great and has stayed home to help out with the girls so I can get back into work. He has a wee bit of work tomorrow morning though so we’ll see how that works out.
Anyway… I have some other entries up my sleeve so maybe I’ll get another one up over the next week or so. Don’t hold your breath though!! LOL!!
Saturday, June 05, 2010
The birth story... finally!!
So remember my rant about drugs, pain relief and how women have been giving birth for centuries?
Well… perhaps I jinxed myself!
So… I should have known when they wanted to induce me into labour that the intervention was only just beginning.
It had been explained to me that as an “older mother” I should have baby by the due date. I was told that late in the pregnancy the placenta starts to struggle to supply all the necessaries to baby and being an older mum would only compound that… better that baby arrives in prime condition rather than going beyond the due date and losing condition because the placenta wasn’t delivering the goods. Made perfect sense to me… in theory.
So, on Thursday 7 January I toddled off to the hospital so they could get things up and running… we arrived late afternoon and it was about 10pm by the time they got me all monitored up and applied the gel… I felt a few twinges and settled in ready for baby to make it’s presence felt … not long now!! I was nervous but very excited!
I was in the area where all the arrivals were first investigated to see if they were really in labour (and then either shown to a delivery suite or sent away again). There were people coming and going constantly so between the nerves, excitement, twinges and disturbances it was well after 3 in the morning before I managed to get some broken sleep.
In the morning all the activity in my uterus had subsided… how disappointing! I was told more gel would be applied later in the morning but of course it didn’t happen until the afternoon, and we started again. By this stage I was starting to lose a bit of confidence in the hospital staff as they debated just when my due date was… WTF???!! But the twinges started again, the monitors recording all the contractions and this time around I asked for some sleeping pills to get some rest while all around other women were arriving in various stages of labour, many of them going on to have their babies.
When I woke on Saturday morning I didn’t need to look at the monitors to know that everything had ground to a halt again. When I got up to stretch my legs I discovered I’d been bleeding and so the midwives organised an internal exam which resulted with them breaking my waters…. Something was bound to happen now right?
I would walk.. or rather waddle… around the wards, down the stairs to the ground floor and out into the hospital grounds to try and get things moving… nothing seemed to work!
Finally in the early afternoon I was transferred to a delivery suite… some privacy … woohooo!! At 2pm they started the drip and the contractions intensified… but still weren’t happening fast enough for me to be officially in labour. The worst thing about this was that with all the monitors I was essentially confined to the bed… so much for all the yoga and dance and massage classes!! As often as I thought I could possibly get away with it I would ask to be unplugged so I could use the loo. I’d shuffle of into the toilet with my drip, lock the door behind me and sway and circle my way through the contractions for as long as I thought I could reasonably could. Oh the relief!! If I was really lucky there would be no-one there to hook me up to the monitors when I got out again so I could stay on my feet and move. The contractions got stronger and stronger but weren’t increasing in frequency so they tried to increase the drip dosage ever so slightly… oh cripes! Contraction after contraction with no rest in between, baby wasn’t getting any rest either so they would wind it back again and I’d be back to every few minutes.
The gas was hooked up at 6pm and I tried a few wee “sips” but didn’t find it particularly helpful until my midwife arrived and told me to use it every contraction, and to “keep breathing it in until you think you’re at the top of the contraction then take one more suck on it and ride back down the other side”….. yep, that helped! And still things weren’t progressing. Baby hadn’t moved any further down and I still wasn’t technically in labour.
Late in the evening I discussed with Tom the possibility of having an epidural. By this stage it looked like it was going to be another looong night. I was okay on the pain front, I felt as though I was handling it okay but it was exhausting me and was conscious that I needed to be okay for baby on the other side of the birth. We couldn’t get any indication from anyone how long things might yet take….I could be there for days at this rate!! By this point it had completely escaped me that my waters had been broken so there was a finite amount of time before more drastic intervention would happen.
At about 11pm my midwife told me that if I was considering an epidural I had make a decision fairly soon as there was a long line of emergency c-sections ready to roll and the anaesthetist would not be available again for quite a long time. We talked it over again briefly and by 11:20pm it was being administered. That certainly took the edge off and I even got a few naps!
I was getting really frustrated with the registrar who was happy to let me continue on as I was indefinitely despite it seeming as though they were not actually getting me into proper labour. It was a huge relief when the shift changed and after another internal I was told baby was posterior (and they only just noticed???!!) and wasn’t moving further down… Oh and my pelvis is rather shallow … maybe that’s why baby isn’t moving further!!?? Still at least we were getting some action. The epidural was starting to wear off so they got me pushing for about 45 minutes before re-examining and deciding that it wasn’t going to happen that way! They told me I could stop pushing… hell no! That is not something I could just turn off once I’d started so I had to keep going until they could top up the epidural. I would be going to surgery… baby would be coming out the sun-roof…
My midwife handed Tom some scrubs … “What are these for?” Sunshine you’re coming with me! Poor Tom, surgery had never really entered our sphere of possibilities and now after 3 nights and days of contractions we were going to theatre.
As we made our way to theatre we were almost jovial… baby’s arrival was finally almost a reality!!
Theatre was amazing… party time! Every one had different, brightly coloured headgear, 60’s and 70’s party music playing (I remember Suzie Q, Devil Gate Drive), not a single kiwi in the place (except myself!) and once they knew baby was a “surprise” they started laying bets on the gender. I half expected to be offered a glass of wine or chips and dip!!
They had asked Tom whether he wanted to watch and he blanched, I don’t blame him! So they told him they’d keep him informed and he could decide. So… off they went performing the operation… it’s hardly a gentle thing, despite the epidural I still knew I was being pulled and contorted… I felt like a sack of potatoes! Next thing they were telling Tom they could see the head and did he want to watch now… hesitantly he kinda started to stand… it was like he really didn’t want to but felt compelled to simply because they were telling him… anyway before he could get completely to his feet I felt an almighty heave… and a weird sucking sensation as if my lungs were being ripped out through my …. well … you know…. And the surgeon exclaimed “OH.MY.GOD!!!” following closely by everyone else in the room … Holy moly!!, sheesh!!, Crikey!! Tom leapt to his feet by now and was standing there with his chin hitting the floor. I was the only one there that had no idea what was going on!
“Tom! WHAT IS IT???!!!”
“A girl! We’ve got a girl!!”
“NO!! Why is everyone freaking out? WHAT IS IT?!”
“Oh babe … she’s enormous!!”
Phew!!! Is that all! At this point Tom was whisked off to watch her being weighed, cut the cord, get the first photos (or rather the nurses did – he was so shell-shocked).
Once all the formalities were over they brought her over… and she looked right at me…. I was smitten… our Terri was finally here!
Well… perhaps I jinxed myself!
So… I should have known when they wanted to induce me into labour that the intervention was only just beginning.
It had been explained to me that as an “older mother” I should have baby by the due date. I was told that late in the pregnancy the placenta starts to struggle to supply all the necessaries to baby and being an older mum would only compound that… better that baby arrives in prime condition rather than going beyond the due date and losing condition because the placenta wasn’t delivering the goods. Made perfect sense to me… in theory.
So, on Thursday 7 January I toddled off to the hospital so they could get things up and running… we arrived late afternoon and it was about 10pm by the time they got me all monitored up and applied the gel… I felt a few twinges and settled in ready for baby to make it’s presence felt … not long now!! I was nervous but very excited!
I was in the area where all the arrivals were first investigated to see if they were really in labour (and then either shown to a delivery suite or sent away again). There were people coming and going constantly so between the nerves, excitement, twinges and disturbances it was well after 3 in the morning before I managed to get some broken sleep.
In the morning all the activity in my uterus had subsided… how disappointing! I was told more gel would be applied later in the morning but of course it didn’t happen until the afternoon, and we started again. By this stage I was starting to lose a bit of confidence in the hospital staff as they debated just when my due date was… WTF???!! But the twinges started again, the monitors recording all the contractions and this time around I asked for some sleeping pills to get some rest while all around other women were arriving in various stages of labour, many of them going on to have their babies.
When I woke on Saturday morning I didn’t need to look at the monitors to know that everything had ground to a halt again. When I got up to stretch my legs I discovered I’d been bleeding and so the midwives organised an internal exam which resulted with them breaking my waters…. Something was bound to happen now right?
I would walk.. or rather waddle… around the wards, down the stairs to the ground floor and out into the hospital grounds to try and get things moving… nothing seemed to work!
Finally in the early afternoon I was transferred to a delivery suite… some privacy … woohooo!! At 2pm they started the drip and the contractions intensified… but still weren’t happening fast enough for me to be officially in labour. The worst thing about this was that with all the monitors I was essentially confined to the bed… so much for all the yoga and dance and massage classes!! As often as I thought I could possibly get away with it I would ask to be unplugged so I could use the loo. I’d shuffle of into the toilet with my drip, lock the door behind me and sway and circle my way through the contractions for as long as I thought I could reasonably could. Oh the relief!! If I was really lucky there would be no-one there to hook me up to the monitors when I got out again so I could stay on my feet and move. The contractions got stronger and stronger but weren’t increasing in frequency so they tried to increase the drip dosage ever so slightly… oh cripes! Contraction after contraction with no rest in between, baby wasn’t getting any rest either so they would wind it back again and I’d be back to every few minutes.
The gas was hooked up at 6pm and I tried a few wee “sips” but didn’t find it particularly helpful until my midwife arrived and told me to use it every contraction, and to “keep breathing it in until you think you’re at the top of the contraction then take one more suck on it and ride back down the other side”….. yep, that helped! And still things weren’t progressing. Baby hadn’t moved any further down and I still wasn’t technically in labour.
Late in the evening I discussed with Tom the possibility of having an epidural. By this stage it looked like it was going to be another looong night. I was okay on the pain front, I felt as though I was handling it okay but it was exhausting me and was conscious that I needed to be okay for baby on the other side of the birth. We couldn’t get any indication from anyone how long things might yet take….I could be there for days at this rate!! By this point it had completely escaped me that my waters had been broken so there was a finite amount of time before more drastic intervention would happen.
At about 11pm my midwife told me that if I was considering an epidural I had make a decision fairly soon as there was a long line of emergency c-sections ready to roll and the anaesthetist would not be available again for quite a long time. We talked it over again briefly and by 11:20pm it was being administered. That certainly took the edge off and I even got a few naps!
I was getting really frustrated with the registrar who was happy to let me continue on as I was indefinitely despite it seeming as though they were not actually getting me into proper labour. It was a huge relief when the shift changed and after another internal I was told baby was posterior (and they only just noticed???!!) and wasn’t moving further down… Oh and my pelvis is rather shallow … maybe that’s why baby isn’t moving further!!?? Still at least we were getting some action. The epidural was starting to wear off so they got me pushing for about 45 minutes before re-examining and deciding that it wasn’t going to happen that way! They told me I could stop pushing… hell no! That is not something I could just turn off once I’d started so I had to keep going until they could top up the epidural. I would be going to surgery… baby would be coming out the sun-roof…
My midwife handed Tom some scrubs … “What are these for?” Sunshine you’re coming with me! Poor Tom, surgery had never really entered our sphere of possibilities and now after 3 nights and days of contractions we were going to theatre.
As we made our way to theatre we were almost jovial… baby’s arrival was finally almost a reality!!
Theatre was amazing… party time! Every one had different, brightly coloured headgear, 60’s and 70’s party music playing (I remember Suzie Q, Devil Gate Drive), not a single kiwi in the place (except myself!) and once they knew baby was a “surprise” they started laying bets on the gender. I half expected to be offered a glass of wine or chips and dip!!
They had asked Tom whether he wanted to watch and he blanched, I don’t blame him! So they told him they’d keep him informed and he could decide. So… off they went performing the operation… it’s hardly a gentle thing, despite the epidural I still knew I was being pulled and contorted… I felt like a sack of potatoes! Next thing they were telling Tom they could see the head and did he want to watch now… hesitantly he kinda started to stand… it was like he really didn’t want to but felt compelled to simply because they were telling him… anyway before he could get completely to his feet I felt an almighty heave… and a weird sucking sensation as if my lungs were being ripped out through my …. well … you know…. And the surgeon exclaimed “OH.MY.GOD!!!” following closely by everyone else in the room … Holy moly!!, sheesh!!, Crikey!! Tom leapt to his feet by now and was standing there with his chin hitting the floor. I was the only one there that had no idea what was going on!
“Tom! WHAT IS IT???!!!”
“A girl! We’ve got a girl!!”
“NO!! Why is everyone freaking out? WHAT IS IT?!”
“Oh babe … she’s enormous!!”
Phew!!! Is that all! At this point Tom was whisked off to watch her being weighed, cut the cord, get the first photos (or rather the nurses did – he was so shell-shocked).
Once all the formalities were over they brought her over… and she looked right at me…. I was smitten… our Terri was finally here!
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
5 months have gone by? What the ...???
Oh my!
Where has time gone?
And how could I have possibly left you in the lurch?
And what the hell have I been doing?
Oh dear... busy busy busy!! Thanks to those of you who have called by to my empty and echoing blog! How I've neglected you!!
I will try to get some stuff up, my birth story and what we've been up to since.
Our wee girl is gorgeous... .JPG)
and I love, love, LOVE being a Mum!
I'm sure the other mothers out there will forgive me for neglecting my blog in order to wallow in motherhood!!
Back again as soon as I can!!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
11:29 10-1-2010
Terri Jennifer
arrived via emergency c-section.
We did it!!
We are all absolutely delighted. I'm back home now and concentrating on settling in and healing so it may be a while between posts but I'll try to pop in as much as possible!
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Any time now...
We've been kind of in limbo since Christmas waiting for this wee one to decide to make it's entrance into this world... we haven't put life on complete hold but have been a bit limited in how far we can venture from home. Days have been consisting of trips to the park and beach and the odd bit of shopping around house chores.
However if baby doesn't hurry along soon then matters will be taken out of it's hands. I'm meant to be going into the hospital about 7pm to get induction under way. I'm getting quite a few "tightening" sensations that seem to get stronger as the day goes on but I don't think they class as contractions so we shall just have to wait and see what happens. We'll take Libby for a walk to the park in a couple of hours so maybe I'll have a crack at the flying fox to see if that helps... LOL!
Libby has been very patient waiting to meet her new sibling ... although she raced in on New Years Day to wake us up with a rendition of "Happy Birthday" for baby. I guess she took us quite literally when we told here baby would arrive in the new year! She has been in early nearly every morning since to see if baby arrived while she was sleeping and has been taking big sister duties very seriously, helping out around the house.
Here's our wee mother hen helping the midwife listen to baby's heartbeat...
Will update you all with baby news as soon as I can!!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
I'm soooo loving this!!
As excited as I am to meet our new family member face-to-face I have to admit that now that there's only about 3 weeks to go, I'm kind of reluctant to give up my preggy status.
I have enjoyed pretty much every moment of this pregnancy, especially once we were through the first 12 weeks and fairly certain that baby was well ensconced in my tum. It has all been such a wonderful and truly amazing adventure, and even more so now that I'm getting such vigorous movements, kicks, thrusts, turns and hiccups in there... a wee person practising its moves and breathing right here inside me - it blows my mind!! I feel so privileged to be part of something so awesome!
I have been extremely lucky having such a smooth ride with my pregnancy. No major morning sickness really - a bit of queasiness early on but nothing too gross. I've had aches and pains that are to be expected from a body becoming stretched to capacity. Starting to get a bit of pubic symphysis ... er... discomfort... in the last couple of weeks so that has given me a bit of a preggy shuffle as I try to keep my knees together to avoid it progressing to something more painful. The last few days has seen my feet swelling a whole lot more and I've noticed my right hip and thigh getting quite numb if I go for a walk around the shops in my lunch breaks or stand too long.... perhaps baby has dropped as I suddenly seem to have more lung capacity!
Thankfully I've been getting some pretty good sleep despite having to get up every couple of hours for the loo. Have started having some very full on dreams about the birth (which I can never remember detail about once I've woken) and breastfeeding the last couple of nights... I hope that isn't Bub's way of warning me about an early arrival!
So I am really grateful to have had such a cruisy pregnancy and like I say I've enjoyed every moment of it!
I have been extremely lucky having such a smooth ride with my pregnancy. No major morning sickness really - a bit of queasiness early on but nothing too gross. I've had aches and pains that are to be expected from a body becoming stretched to capacity. Starting to get a bit of pubic symphysis ... er... discomfort... in the last couple of weeks so that has given me a bit of a preggy shuffle as I try to keep my knees together to avoid it progressing to something more painful. The last few days has seen my feet swelling a whole lot more and I've noticed my right hip and thigh getting quite numb if I go for a walk around the shops in my lunch breaks or stand too long.... perhaps baby has dropped as I suddenly seem to have more lung capacity!
Thankfully I've been getting some pretty good sleep despite having to get up every couple of hours for the loo. Have started having some very full on dreams about the birth (which I can never remember detail about once I've woken) and breastfeeding the last couple of nights... I hope that isn't Bub's way of warning me about an early arrival!
So I am really grateful to have had such a cruisy pregnancy and like I say I've enjoyed every moment of it!
It will be a bit weird to lose the bump and gain a bundle ... but that will be a whole new adventure!
.JPG)
(me - kicking back at our work Christmas party - harbour cruising)
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Downhill slide...
... has it been that long since I posted last? Where is the time going?
Not long now... 14 working days... yes I'm counting!! Until we wind up work for Christmas... and then I'm on maternity leave!
I'm in my 34th week now and have been told that (due to being a "geriatric" mum) I'll be induced if baby hasn't arrived by about 8-9 January... hopefully it won't come to that, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see... but to think that in just 5 weeks time the bundle will be in my arms and no longer in my belly.... crikey!!
I'm getting a lot of action these days... it's surreal to think that all that wriggling in my belly is a whole new person! I'm getting very excited at the prospect of meeting this little one face to face.
My energy levels have swings and roundabouts but as the weather heats up I'm finding I tire a whole lot quicker. Whilst I might start a task with a hiss and a roar and loads of energy I seem to need a little lie down a lot more often than anticipated. Consequently there are a number of unfinished taks on the go at the moment but mostly trying to get a semblence of order for all the clothes and baby gear I'm accumulating - especially since my baby shower!
In spite of this I'm having a wonderful time being pregnant, even now that belly is starting to weigh me down and get in the way a lot! I feel as though I have a constant smile on my dial as I go about my day silently communing with this new life inside me... my own delicious secret... except the size of the bump means it is by no means a secret these days!
Not long now... 14 working days... yes I'm counting!! Until we wind up work for Christmas... and then I'm on maternity leave!
I'm in my 34th week now and have been told that (due to being a "geriatric" mum) I'll be induced if baby hasn't arrived by about 8-9 January... hopefully it won't come to that, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see... but to think that in just 5 weeks time the bundle will be in my arms and no longer in my belly.... crikey!!
I'm getting a lot of action these days... it's surreal to think that all that wriggling in my belly is a whole new person! I'm getting very excited at the prospect of meeting this little one face to face.
My energy levels have swings and roundabouts but as the weather heats up I'm finding I tire a whole lot quicker. Whilst I might start a task with a hiss and a roar and loads of energy I seem to need a little lie down a lot more often than anticipated. Consequently there are a number of unfinished taks on the go at the moment but mostly trying to get a semblence of order for all the clothes and baby gear I'm accumulating - especially since my baby shower!
In spite of this I'm having a wonderful time being pregnant, even now that belly is starting to weigh me down and get in the way a lot! I feel as though I have a constant smile on my dial as I go about my day silently communing with this new life inside me... my own delicious secret... except the size of the bump means it is by no means a secret these days!
Monday, November 09, 2009
Sniffle, snort, hack, cough... Cluck!!??
So, sitting around waiting for the plane didn't do me any favours and by the time I woke up the following morning feeling pretty crappy!
I considered staying home but I knew I had an appointment with the midwife so I decided I may as well go into work... maybe once I got into work I wouldn't feel so bad... I was wrong.
I worked from home for the rest of the week to try and keep on top of the workload without passing the bugs around the office. It wasn't one of my best ideas.... I ended up doing a lot of extra hours simply because it was right here... I worked through 15 hours one day but by the Friday afternoon I was ready to have a meltdown... despite being at hom, the fact I was working, and the long hours, meant I wasn't resting. I wasn't feeling any better... in fact quite the opposite.... I was feeling resentful towards work, angry at myself, missing my Tommy and generally miserable. I got quite tearful... not good, because that just made my nose run worse, I was working myself into a state and was feeling guilty, bad mother getting so sick... what effect was all this having on bubs?
I had an early night and vowed not to touch work all weekend. It was a very quiet weekend... I picked up some DVDs and assigned myself to the couch to rest... and rest... and rest. I started feeling more human slowly. I was a bit worried about the side splitting coughing... poor baby must be wondering what the heck was going on! But then again given the reaction in my tummy after a coughing fit I began to think baby thought it was on some sort of rollercoaster and was having a great time.
I woke up Monday morning feeling better but still nowhere near 100% so I called into worked... or rather emailed... to update them on where all my projects were at and to tell them I was taking a sick day... another day on the couch... bliss!
Tuesday saw me back in the office again... hacking and coughing a bit but other than than, vastly improved. And then... I was asked if I'd been to the doctor while I was sick. I hadn't because I figured there was not a lot they could do unless I ended up with an infection... I just needed to let it run it's course. And then, I was asked what my symptoms had been... head cold, snotty nose, feeling shite, cold moving to chest, coughing.... huh? It was at this point I was told there had been a confirmed case of bird flu atwork... yes... bird flu... and that person had the same symptoms as I had!! Yipes!!
I did a bit of googling and rang my midwife to see if I should be concerned at all.... not really. Mind you I figured that it was too late for me to do anything about it anyway by this stage... if I'd also had bird flu then it had been and gone and I was too late to do anything else about it.
It may well explain my need to re-organise the entire house... again... or maybe it's just a high level of nesting instinct kicking in. Either way I'm not sure Tommy will recognise the place when he arrives back from the island!!
I considered staying home but I knew I had an appointment with the midwife so I decided I may as well go into work... maybe once I got into work I wouldn't feel so bad... I was wrong.
I worked from home for the rest of the week to try and keep on top of the workload without passing the bugs around the office. It wasn't one of my best ideas.... I ended up doing a lot of extra hours simply because it was right here... I worked through 15 hours one day but by the Friday afternoon I was ready to have a meltdown... despite being at hom, the fact I was working, and the long hours, meant I wasn't resting. I wasn't feeling any better... in fact quite the opposite.... I was feeling resentful towards work, angry at myself, missing my Tommy and generally miserable. I got quite tearful... not good, because that just made my nose run worse, I was working myself into a state and was feeling guilty, bad mother getting so sick... what effect was all this having on bubs?
I had an early night and vowed not to touch work all weekend. It was a very quiet weekend... I picked up some DVDs and assigned myself to the couch to rest... and rest... and rest. I started feeling more human slowly. I was a bit worried about the side splitting coughing... poor baby must be wondering what the heck was going on! But then again given the reaction in my tummy after a coughing fit I began to think baby thought it was on some sort of rollercoaster and was having a great time.
I woke up Monday morning feeling better but still nowhere near 100% so I called into worked... or rather emailed... to update them on where all my projects were at and to tell them I was taking a sick day... another day on the couch... bliss!
Tuesday saw me back in the office again... hacking and coughing a bit but other than than, vastly improved. And then... I was asked if I'd been to the doctor while I was sick. I hadn't because I figured there was not a lot they could do unless I ended up with an infection... I just needed to let it run it's course. And then, I was asked what my symptoms had been... head cold, snotty nose, feeling shite, cold moving to chest, coughing.... huh? It was at this point I was told there had been a confirmed case of bird flu atwork... yes... bird flu... and that person had the same symptoms as I had!! Yipes!!
I did a bit of googling and rang my midwife to see if I should be concerned at all.... not really. Mind you I figured that it was too late for me to do anything about it anyway by this stage... if I'd also had bird flu then it had been and gone and I was too late to do anything else about it.
It may well explain my need to re-organise the entire house... again... or maybe it's just a high level of nesting instinct kicking in. Either way I'm not sure Tommy will recognise the place when he arrives back from the island!!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Fattie goes fishing
Ha!! I look like a bean bag with a hat on!! This was taken on Labour Weekend when I went out to the Barrier to see my Tommy. I dare say it's the last time I attempt kayak fishing until after baby arrives now! Still it was a lovely afternoon to be out on the water and the fact that none of my catch were keepers (by our measure) didn't matter at all... especially when Tom had a couple of snapper on board by the time we finished up so there was plenty for dinner... mmmm!
Tom had already been away for a couple of weeks at this point and I was missing him a lot. Work had been really hectic so it was an instant salve to arrive on the island! It really is a magical place!
Saturday morning we went down to the local market day for a look around and catch up with anyone we knew. Then back to the bach for a nap before heading off for the aforementioned fishing trip.
I slept like the dead that night ... a welcome change from the wakeful nights I'd been having! And Tommy got his first few kicks from wee fatty dancing about in my belly while I was asleep!
Sunday is golf day... given how much Tom enjoys his golf and the fact he only plays on the Barrier these days I could hardly tell him he couldn't go... I walked around the first nine holes with them. The course has some stunning outlooks so it wasn't really a hardship and the boys were a laugh ... despite my ignorance of the finer points ... or really of anything to do with... the game. I left them to it for their second nine holes and hung out at the club house. I had a book with me but hardly needed it as people are always so friendly and inclusive. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting a few new people until Tom got back.
Monday saw me wake up with the blues. I felt really quite unenthused about the idea of heading home again and ended up getting a bit teary about ... sheesh! Harden up girl!
Tom dropped me at the airport just after 2pm and had to race off to meet someone arriving on the ferry in Tryphena. A short while before we were due to head off we were told that take off would be delayed as the weather at the other end was abysmal and there wasn't enough visibility to land the wee planes. I caught myself hoping it would stay that way and give me one more night before having to go home. It started looking more and more likely ... but then just after 5pm there was a gap in the weather so we all piled into the plane and were whisked away. We flew really low all the way back to dodge the cloud which was ... er... different.
We got back to the mainland before the weather turned again which was both a relief and a disappointment. What a sook!!
Mind you as it transpired over the next day or so I was coming down with a cold/flu bug so perhaps I should lighten up on myself a bit!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Huge Day Out!!
No I'm not refering to my rapidly expanding waistline... but rather the street fair that is part of the Kowhai Festival events in Warkworth. Through our dance teacher, we were invited along to perform as part of the street fair and take part in the Sole Parade.
There were four of us that went along, car-pooling for the trip. We left Auckland about 11:30 giving us plenty of time to get to Warkworth, finish dressing and get to the stage we were to perform on.
We had decided to perform a piece we all knew to some extent but is not entirely choreographed so it left room for modifications depending on what we found when we got to the venue... I'm glad that we had made this decision! We had a bit of confusion over where we were meant to be but that got sorted by one of the fluoro yellow jacket brigade ... phew! By the time we negotiated all the street stalls - and let me tell you this took some self control avoiding browsing on the way - it had started to drizzle... And the "stage"... well to be honest, it didn't look safe enough for more than three people to sit on let alone dance on... crikey! Fairly quickly the decision was made to dance on the pavement instead... it was about now that the drizzle ramped it up a notch and turned into rain. Looking at some of the other dancers shivering in their gorgeous (but sheer) costumes I was pleased about the costuming choice that had been made for our performance... but still it was pretty chilly!
When it was our turn the cold wet pavement was a bit of a shock and it was very strange to be perfoming in an unknown space ... we had as much room as the crowd would allow us, but the closer you got the further back they would move... still it was very exciting! Cold feet were forgotten completely by the time we'd finished as I tried to calm down my heartbeat and shaky hands... boy that adreneline is powerful stuff!!
After that a couple of us headed off to find the meeting point for the parade while the other two returned the swords and other gear to the car and picked up my teacher's drum. It was blimmin freezing waiting around for the parade but a short time before it started the wind dropped, clouds cleared and the sun came out... next thing we knew we were waved off down the street... here we go!
I have to admit I played up a bit! Ha! Well, I figured I wouldn't want to go to a parade to just watch people in different gear walking down the road so by the time we turned into the main street I was ready to give the crowd something other than a fancy dressed pregnant lady to look at.... So I danced! As best I could and still keep pace... I was having a great time! Stopping here and there to shoulder shimmy or do a few hip drops for the crowd.... heck... it's not like I'm going to see anyone I knew!!
And then...
... suddenly an enormous camera lens jumped out in front of me, clicking away... holy moly! Next thing a big smile popped out from behind the lens, it was Karen from work!! When I'd mentioned the festival to her during the week she got quite excited and told me she was planning to make the trip up there as there would be loads of opportunity for her to practise her photography. I hadn't seen her when we performed so I just figured that she had been put off by the weather... not so! Mind you she'd tried to find us performing but had been told that the dancers had cancelled... what a shame. She took some fantastic photos including an awesome preggy-belly shot that I adore! Here's a sample...
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
There were four of us that went along, car-pooling for the trip. We left Auckland about 11:30 giving us plenty of time to get to Warkworth, finish dressing and get to the stage we were to perform on.
We had decided to perform a piece we all knew to some extent but is not entirely choreographed so it left room for modifications depending on what we found when we got to the venue... I'm glad that we had made this decision! We had a bit of confusion over where we were meant to be but that got sorted by one of the fluoro yellow jacket brigade ... phew! By the time we negotiated all the street stalls - and let me tell you this took some self control avoiding browsing on the way - it had started to drizzle... And the "stage"... well to be honest, it didn't look safe enough for more than three people to sit on let alone dance on... crikey! Fairly quickly the decision was made to dance on the pavement instead... it was about now that the drizzle ramped it up a notch and turned into rain. Looking at some of the other dancers shivering in their gorgeous (but sheer) costumes I was pleased about the costuming choice that had been made for our performance... but still it was pretty chilly!
When it was our turn the cold wet pavement was a bit of a shock and it was very strange to be perfoming in an unknown space ... we had as much room as the crowd would allow us, but the closer you got the further back they would move... still it was very exciting! Cold feet were forgotten completely by the time we'd finished as I tried to calm down my heartbeat and shaky hands... boy that adreneline is powerful stuff!!
After that a couple of us headed off to find the meeting point for the parade while the other two returned the swords and other gear to the car and picked up my teacher's drum. It was blimmin freezing waiting around for the parade but a short time before it started the wind dropped, clouds cleared and the sun came out... next thing we knew we were waved off down the street... here we go!
I have to admit I played up a bit! Ha! Well, I figured I wouldn't want to go to a parade to just watch people in different gear walking down the road so by the time we turned into the main street I was ready to give the crowd something other than a fancy dressed pregnant lady to look at.... So I danced! As best I could and still keep pace... I was having a great time! Stopping here and there to shoulder shimmy or do a few hip drops for the crowd.... heck... it's not like I'm going to see anyone I knew!!
And then...
... suddenly an enormous camera lens jumped out in front of me, clicking away... holy moly! Next thing a big smile popped out from behind the lens, it was Karen from work!! When I'd mentioned the festival to her during the week she got quite excited and told me she was planning to make the trip up there as there would be loads of opportunity for her to practise her photography. I hadn't seen her when we performed so I just figured that she had been put off by the weather... not so! Mind you she'd tried to find us performing but had been told that the dancers had cancelled... what a shame. She took some fantastic photos including an awesome preggy-belly shot that I adore! Here's a sample...
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Good enough to eat!!
I flew to Napier on the weekend to visit my sister and my brother's family.... especially the newest member of the family .... wee Isobelle who is just a wonderful bundle of cheeky, gummy smiles.... oh my, how could you possibly resist this...
YUM!!!
And as for her older sister, Georgia... well, she is growing up so fast! And she's as bright as a button!
"Come see my room Aunty Neen.... see... here's my bed... and my books... and my toy box... and ... lets do a puzzle!... Aunty Neen... come on"
A real little chatterbox giving a running commentary on what's happening... or should be happening!
The girls are little treasures ... but it was also great to see my bro and his wife... it's been a while since I saw them (in person and not via Facebook)! I stayed at my sister's place and we had some "hangin" time just spending time together.
It's likely to be a while before I get down that way again so I hope I managed to get my fill of he girls... but everytime I look at these photos I know I want more!! LOL
Monday, September 14, 2009
Modern animals...
... for thousands of years babies have been born into this world through a very natural process... when did we turn that into a procedure? Why have we become so afraid of this process that we medicate ourselves to the point where we are no longer part of that process? We let others take control of something we should be entirely responsible for?
Now, perhaps one day I'll read back over this and laugh at my naivety.... I'm picking that some of you reading this will roll your eyes.... what would I know about any of this? And you're right... I know nothing about what giving birth will be like and it is unlikely that anyone will be able to adequately explain it to me.... in terms of what it will be like for me.
I've seen plenty of animal births ... lambs, calves, pigs.... in general the mothers involved made themselves as comfortable and safe as they could then settled in and got on with the job.
Quite early in the piece Tom suggested I have the baby on Great Barrier... an isolated island with no hospital and should intervention be required it would be a helicopter ride before it was available... I told him (in no uncertain terms) that it was most certainly not on the agenda... and then had nightmares , the kind where I woke myself up screaming and bawling ... woke Tom up too... and possibly the neighbours.... it has not come up in conversation again!
But I guess I have to admit I was really quite terrified at the prospect of labour. After all you hear all the horror stories of the pain and the agony... and high on the list of discussions is what pain relief you'll choose... "Go for the epidural - you won't feel a thing"
Won't feel a thing? What? I chose to have a baby... it took quite a while to get to this stage, a successful pregnancy... why on earth would I want to opt out on participating in the birth? How bad can it be.... really? I mean if it were really so bad then surely evolution (or common sense) would have dealt with this a long, long time ago by preventing women from having more than one child ever. There are plenty of people out there that have done it many, many times ... and many of those were well before the more modern "civilised" times and methods.
I have nothing against hospital birthing rooms ... I'll be having a hospital birth so that if I do need help it is available ... I guess what I'm trying to say is why has the emphasis become more focused on the agony and it's relief... why can't we accept that in our society and embrace the pain? Why are we so afraid of hurting?
What am I trying to say here? I'm not entirely sure... maybe I'm trying to understand why the birthing process isn't supported and honoured in our society as much as it is in other cultures. The focus seems to be only about the final outcome... the child... rather than the whole cycle.
I don't know that I'm expressing myself very well. Please understand I'm not knocking how anyone chooses to deal with giving birth... I'm just trying to sort out how I feel about it ... for me.
I can say though that I've been feeling much more reassured and confident about my ability to do this...
The yoga classes help a lot with the breathing techniques to re-focus attention and "active" relaxation, understanding where tension is held and seeking to actively release it.
Then on Saturday Tom and I went to a course together - Massage for Labour. To be honest I probably got more out of it than Tom did despite it being aimed more at the guys. I guess the discussions around the labour process and how if you're feeling comfortable and safe then your body deals with labour quite naturally... not without pain ... but, all going well, without intervention... and talking about the benefits of avoiding intervention, why it's important for both baby and Mum.
It seems a bit weird going to a course to learn how to do something that for since the beginning of time has been one of the most natural things in the world.
Still... It's helping me understand how I want the birth to go and how, for that to happen, I need to get my head around it...
Now, perhaps one day I'll read back over this and laugh at my naivety.... I'm picking that some of you reading this will roll your eyes.... what would I know about any of this? And you're right... I know nothing about what giving birth will be like and it is unlikely that anyone will be able to adequately explain it to me.... in terms of what it will be like for me.
I've seen plenty of animal births ... lambs, calves, pigs.... in general the mothers involved made themselves as comfortable and safe as they could then settled in and got on with the job.
Quite early in the piece Tom suggested I have the baby on Great Barrier... an isolated island with no hospital and should intervention be required it would be a helicopter ride before it was available... I told him (in no uncertain terms) that it was most certainly not on the agenda... and then had nightmares , the kind where I woke myself up screaming and bawling ... woke Tom up too... and possibly the neighbours.... it has not come up in conversation again!
But I guess I have to admit I was really quite terrified at the prospect of labour. After all you hear all the horror stories of the pain and the agony... and high on the list of discussions is what pain relief you'll choose... "Go for the epidural - you won't feel a thing"
Won't feel a thing? What? I chose to have a baby... it took quite a while to get to this stage, a successful pregnancy... why on earth would I want to opt out on participating in the birth? How bad can it be.... really? I mean if it were really so bad then surely evolution (or common sense) would have dealt with this a long, long time ago by preventing women from having more than one child ever. There are plenty of people out there that have done it many, many times ... and many of those were well before the more modern "civilised" times and methods.
I have nothing against hospital birthing rooms ... I'll be having a hospital birth so that if I do need help it is available ... I guess what I'm trying to say is why has the emphasis become more focused on the agony and it's relief... why can't we accept that in our society and embrace the pain? Why are we so afraid of hurting?
What am I trying to say here? I'm not entirely sure... maybe I'm trying to understand why the birthing process isn't supported and honoured in our society as much as it is in other cultures. The focus seems to be only about the final outcome... the child... rather than the whole cycle.
I don't know that I'm expressing myself very well. Please understand I'm not knocking how anyone chooses to deal with giving birth... I'm just trying to sort out how I feel about it ... for me.
I can say though that I've been feeling much more reassured and confident about my ability to do this...
The yoga classes help a lot with the breathing techniques to re-focus attention and "active" relaxation, understanding where tension is held and seeking to actively release it.
Then on Saturday Tom and I went to a course together - Massage for Labour. To be honest I probably got more out of it than Tom did despite it being aimed more at the guys. I guess the discussions around the labour process and how if you're feeling comfortable and safe then your body deals with labour quite naturally... not without pain ... but, all going well, without intervention... and talking about the benefits of avoiding intervention, why it's important for both baby and Mum.
It seems a bit weird going to a course to learn how to do something that for since the beginning of time has been one of the most natural things in the world.
Still... It's helping me understand how I want the birth to go and how, for that to happen, I need to get my head around it...
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Grump frump...
... so I've progressed from feeling "a bit off" to feeling like a complete bitch... grumpy, whiny bleeergh! I don't like feeling like this and I'm soooo over hearing myself whine and complain... it's only serving to make me even grumpier and pissed off with myself... a vicious cycle! I feel like picking fights and being arguementative just for the hell of it... very unproductive behaviour and very negative attitude.... I know this and yet I'm still bitchy!
And then by the time I leave work I'm ready to melt down into a puddle of tears... I don't like feeling this way one bit, it sucks!
Where oh where did my happy hormones go? Waaaaaaah!!! Up until this week I've been feeling really good, nothing phased me, I wasn't feeling at all stressed... everything was groooooovy baaaabbbyy!!
Sigh!
I can only hope that Bubs is going through a bit of a growth spurt and maybe I'm just extra tired. Surely this will pass... I'll make more of an effort to get enough sleep and hope that this suckful attitude is over soon.... before everyone else gets as pissed with me as I am!
And then by the time I leave work I'm ready to melt down into a puddle of tears... I don't like feeling this way one bit, it sucks!
Where oh where did my happy hormones go? Waaaaaaah!!! Up until this week I've been feeling really good, nothing phased me, I wasn't feeling at all stressed... everything was groooooovy baaaabbbyy!!
Sigh!
I can only hope that Bubs is going through a bit of a growth spurt and maybe I'm just extra tired. Surely this will pass... I'll make more of an effort to get enough sleep and hope that this suckful attitude is over soon.... before everyone else gets as pissed with me as I am!
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
A bit off...
Mostly I think I'm tired so things are affecting me a bit more than normal... not to mention the hormones!! A few things have happened in the last couple of days that has dampened my spirits somewhat.
The most recent of which... I found out today that the reason one of my work-mates is working from home at the moment is because his wife has had a miscarriage. It has brought so much raw feeling to the surface. I have been in contact with him through email to offer what comfort and help I can. I suppose it is different for everyone but I know it was a huge comfort to me to know I was not alone ... and so I can't not say something to them... I feel it's my duty to pass on the sympathy and empathy I was afforded. Just writing this has the tears streaming down my face again ... My heart breaks for them!
On the whole though I have had a wonderful few days. I visited my midwife yesterday and am pleased to say every thing is as it should be... blood pressure is good, measurements are on track and the wee heartbeat (that is doing somersaults all day) in my belly is strong. Fabulous news! And all in all I feel fantastic... I don't count being a bit more tired as a problem as it is something to be expected!
Last night at work we had a baby shower to farewell another workmate who is off on maternity leave now. She is having a girl so there was an abundance of pinkness about... and plenty of cooing over the gifts of wee shoes and clothes... I can see this wee girl will be as fashionable and funky as her gorgeous mother!
And... I think I'm suffering my first full blown craving... I reeeeeaaaally, reeeeeaaaally want some chinese takeout noodle soup! It's been forever since I've had any... since my 'usual' place closed down. I believe the takeaway down the road has it on the menu... so... after a couple of days of this, I think I'll treat myself to some on my way home from belly dance class... hopefully I can knock it on the head!
And so, I'd better head off to class now... the endorphins will do me good!!
The most recent of which... I found out today that the reason one of my work-mates is working from home at the moment is because his wife has had a miscarriage. It has brought so much raw feeling to the surface. I have been in contact with him through email to offer what comfort and help I can. I suppose it is different for everyone but I know it was a huge comfort to me to know I was not alone ... and so I can't not say something to them... I feel it's my duty to pass on the sympathy and empathy I was afforded. Just writing this has the tears streaming down my face again ... My heart breaks for them!
On the whole though I have had a wonderful few days. I visited my midwife yesterday and am pleased to say every thing is as it should be... blood pressure is good, measurements are on track and the wee heartbeat (that is doing somersaults all day) in my belly is strong. Fabulous news! And all in all I feel fantastic... I don't count being a bit more tired as a problem as it is something to be expected!
Last night at work we had a baby shower to farewell another workmate who is off on maternity leave now. She is having a girl so there was an abundance of pinkness about... and plenty of cooing over the gifts of wee shoes and clothes... I can see this wee girl will be as fashionable and funky as her gorgeous mother!
And... I think I'm suffering my first full blown craving... I reeeeeaaaally, reeeeeaaaally want some chinese takeout noodle soup! It's been forever since I've had any... since my 'usual' place closed down. I believe the takeaway down the road has it on the menu... so... after a couple of days of this, I think I'll treat myself to some on my way home from belly dance class... hopefully I can knock it on the head!
And so, I'd better head off to class now... the endorphins will do me good!!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Oooohhmmmmm ... and other mutterings
I'm not sure if I mentioned that I was going to preggie yoga ... I think I may have... but the class yesterday held a special surprise. Apparently the last class of the month is always spent on restorative yoga to promote relaxation and boosting the body's defence systems. This meant lots of long poses and meditations... or in layman's speak, lots of lovely lying about! My description really does not do it justice, it was WONDERFUL! Ohhhh bliss! I came out floating ... mmmmm!
On other matters... I'm a bit tired of hearing negatives about pregnancy and having children... "Life's over now" I get told.... paaah!! And if I say I'm a bit tired, I'm simply stating a fact... not bemoaning my existence... there is no need to to gloat that "there's plenty more of that to come".... piss off!! Don't you think I know that? Good lord... if it's so bad why did you keep having more after the first one!! I'm very aware that there will be a lot of hard work involved in bringing up a child but I also believe the rewards will far outweigh the trials. I might be busting for a pee, bloated, constipated, tired, achey, etc at times but I'm not complaining for goodness sake! There are also time when I feel fantastic, full of energy and glowing.... why look at me sceptically as if to say "enjoy it while it lasts".... if you don't want to hear it, don't ask!! If you've nothing constructive to offer keep you lips zipped!! Sheeesh!! That.is.all..... Ooohhhmmmm....
The other morning I was dozing, having hit the snooze button and waiting for the alarm to go off again. Lovely... all snuggled in with Tom... and then he said...
"Did you fart?"
"What? Nooo!"
"Well did you tummy rumble?"
"Noooo? Why?"
"Something's moving in there!!"
Hahaaa!! I got news for you Tommy!
On other matters... I'm a bit tired of hearing negatives about pregnancy and having children... "Life's over now" I get told.... paaah!! And if I say I'm a bit tired, I'm simply stating a fact... not bemoaning my existence... there is no need to to gloat that "there's plenty more of that to come".... piss off!! Don't you think I know that? Good lord... if it's so bad why did you keep having more after the first one!! I'm very aware that there will be a lot of hard work involved in bringing up a child but I also believe the rewards will far outweigh the trials. I might be busting for a pee, bloated, constipated, tired, achey, etc at times but I'm not complaining for goodness sake! There are also time when I feel fantastic, full of energy and glowing.... why look at me sceptically as if to say "enjoy it while it lasts".... if you don't want to hear it, don't ask!! If you've nothing constructive to offer keep you lips zipped!! Sheeesh!! That.is.all.
The other morning I was dozing, having hit the snooze button and waiting for the alarm to go off again. Lovely... all snuggled in with Tom... and then he said...
"Did you fart?"
"What? Nooo!"
"Well did you tummy rumble?"
"Noooo? Why?"
"Something's moving in there!!"
Hahaaa!! I got news for you Tommy!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Halfway... ish
Goodness me what on earth is going on with time at the moment... It seems an age since we first found out I was pregnant and yet time seems to be racing rapidly towards d-day. I feel as though I've worked for 7 days straight since yesterday and yet Friday weekend seems forever away!
We had a scan today to check baby is developing well... and so it is... apparently in the 92nd percentile (ie top 10%) size-wise so far... yikes! It was a relief for me to see bubs curled up in there and knowing it's all good... I have to admit there was a certain amount of trepidation before the appointment... was everything going well, was baby developing as it should .... is was very pleasing to hear it was all okay. I will have to go back for another scan at 30 weeks to check the position of the placenta as at the moment it's a bit low. At least I've read enough to know this isn't a problem at this stage.
Aside from that I really need to try and get here a bit more regularly ... if I do that it could well end up being a load of mundane stuff but I feel I need to form a bit more of a habit... I'm sure I've said this before so we shall just have to wait and see what eventuates!
We had a scan today to check baby is developing well... and so it is... apparently in the 92nd percentile (ie top 10%) size-wise so far... yikes! It was a relief for me to see bubs curled up in there and knowing it's all good... I have to admit there was a certain amount of trepidation before the appointment... was everything going well, was baby developing as it should .... is was very pleasing to hear it was all okay. I will have to go back for another scan at 30 weeks to check the position of the placenta as at the moment it's a bit low. At least I've read enough to know this isn't a problem at this stage.
Aside from that I really need to try and get here a bit more regularly ... if I do that it could well end up being a load of mundane stuff but I feel I need to form a bit more of a habit... I'm sure I've said this before so we shall just have to wait and see what eventuates!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)