A Whirl-wind Week

Today my baby is a week old. That's right, she was born last Wednesday 14/10/09 at 3:01am. We've called her Wren and are still thinking about that middle name.
She was a few days late, but managed to arrive before her scheduled induction of 8am 14/10/09. Why was I scheduled for an induction just 4 days after my due date? Good question...they usually will let you go longer if everything is well. Unfortunately for me, I had hypertension and low platelets when I visited the midwife on the 8th which spurred worries of pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome. I went into hospital for observations and home twice before (3rd time's a charm) actually leaving with a baby.
My waters broke on Monday morning around 10am while coincidentally my midwife was here checking my blood pressure. This was all very well and good and exciting, but I wasn't in labour yet. I was told if things didn't get going - ie. if I didn't start contracting - I would have to go into hospital for antibiotics due to the risk of infection with ruptured membranes over 18 hours.
Well, I didn't manage to have any contractions all day Monday, just continued fluid leakage, so my husband drove me to hospital to stay the night and came home for his last good, long sleep in a while.
Tuesday morning, still no contractons so I had to have some prostoglandin gel to try and get things going. Still nothing. Artificial rupture of the fore-waters seemed to get things going a little better but still not true labour. As the day wore on, the contractions increased and I was coping rather well with the company of my husband and a TENS machine. My mother in law came a bit later in the day to support me as well. We went waking and did loads of stairs
An exam revealed I had dilated about 4-5cm in the early evening. The obsterician was consulted and ordered an oxytocin drip. This really got the contractions going and distraction wasn't cutting it. After this point I feel I decompensated rather quickly...used the gas, momentarily went in the water and then called for an epidural.
The epidural made all the difference in the world. I was calm, comfortable and coping. And able to get a much needed nap in. The fact was, during the 2 hours between starting the oxytocin and me calling for the epidural, I had not dilated any further despite the intense contractions. Four hours later, after a couple top-ups on the epidural, it was time to recheck progress and possibly schedule me for a ceaser if I'd not progressed to at least 8cm.
At 2am, I was fully dilated and effaced and it was time to start pushing. One hour, and a lot of pain later, we got our baby girl.
Wren is an absolute pro at being a baby. She eats well, she sleeps a lot, she makes funny faces, and she dirties a lot of nappies.
We didn't stay long at the hospital, opting instead to come out to the Helensville Birthing Center for a couple of nights support before venturing home on Friday afternoon. Since being home, we've had a few visitors but made no outings ourselves. Big sister came out for her usual weekend visit and began her journey of getting used to a new baby. Otherwise, we've been content getting to know each other and whiling awat the hours snuggling and knowing we are well from the check ups performed by the midwife which have proven how well our baby bird is getting along.

Coping Mechanisms

Only 5 days left until my due date. It's one of those assignments you can't ask for an extension on, either...and if you're told to hand it in early, you'd better be ready.
How am I dealing with this? In the usual way I handle stress and fear, with detachment and apathy. Things will be fine in the end. I did a bit of preparation a while ago and am mostly well-informed about what will happen so why worry?
Why worry? Because this time it's not a grade, or a class that needs to be passed, it's a human life that I will have to foster and protect. Knowing this doesn't seem to make much of a difference, however.
The babies things are not finished being set up in our room. I open my eyes each morning to an unorganized menagerie of furniture that seems like it can't fit in the space we have. I go shopping, hubs and Miss 3 in tow for storage solutions and can't manage to choose anything from the available options. We possibly need additional baby clothing but I've not the determination to go through everything we do have and check.
What I do have the passion for is sourcing cute nursing lingerie...hopefully the breastfeeding thing works out or else I'll be looking for ways to unload some high-end knickers and drop down bras...

TMI?

There are days when questions regarding my pregnancy are met with annoyance and a curt response, especially when those questions come from strangers. There are other days, however, when I can’t stop burbling. Makes me wonder, how much information is too much? What do people actually want to know and what am I forcing upon them when I’m in my “receptive” mood?
Today has been a day of burbles. I’m in a familiar environment with a familiar group of clients and I seem to be talking an awful lot about myself. And my bump. I think the type of information I give is relatively innocuous and certainly not TMI in the sense that I’m not talking bowel movements or discharge. But really, is the type of information I’m disseminating interesting? Due date, gender, agreement that my feet are a bit swollen and I’ve broken out my jandals on non-working days, minor complaints about the physical aspect of my job, the fact that my maternity leave starts on Friday… Blah, blah, blah.
I was looking at yesterday’s newspaper today while eating lunch and I saw in the “Sideswipe” column, a reader submitted blurb about parents over-indulging their desires to talk about their offspring. Apparently this man had been stuck on a long international flight beside a new mother and heard all sorts of interesting tid-bits about whether baby slept the night, how many diapers they went through in a day, how much the bub was eating, when the first smile was, etc, etc. I thought to myself, “Poor man, nowhere to escape on an airplane” and then began wondering if I’ve started to morph into the woman sitting next to him.
If you end up sharing space with me before or after I give birth and I can’t find a more interesting topic than the impending arrival of my child or what it’s been like since she’s arrived, go ahead and tell me if you’re bored with it. I won’t be offended…I promise. Well, I’ll try not to be offended. It would be good if you managed to let me know how interesting other things I may have to talk about are though…

Personal Space? What's That?

So, yesterday I made a foray to the mall to collect party goodies for the upcoming 3 year old madness that will be happening this Sunday and to shop for the perfect present for said 3 year old. All was good, the shopping was fruitful and hubs agrees that I've chosen a suitably brightly coloured and exciting present befitting a 3 year old.
While my focus was on a 3 year old, everyone else's focus was on someone who has still about 30 days before making her debut.
The first shop I went into, an elderly lady said hello and began asking me questions such as "how much longer have you got to go?" and "do you know what you're having?" I just thought she was a lonely elderly lady. I was wrong. In each shop I visited, someone managed to comment on my belly. "When are you due?" or "How much longer?" were the most common questions and I think my answer of 4+ weeks to go surprised many. The other comments tended to be "Wow, you're big!" or "I bet you'll be happy when it's over." One lady shared with me how a week ago she'd delivered a little boy 7 weeks early and was just out doing some shopping to finish the nursery before they let him out of the hospital.
People have also begun to imagine it's appropriate to rub my stomach. I am not a Buddha and I will not bring you good luck. Up until very recently, the only people who had been brave enough to touch or rub my stomach are my husband, my husband's daughter, my MIL (although hers have been quite tentative little touches) and one of my friends before she went back to Canada and the belly was barely a bump. One of the ladies who questioned my due date yesterday, reached out and gave my stomach a bit of a stroke which shocked me - she was a complete stranger. And I was left feeling somewhat akward when a very nice lady who runs one of the venues where I teach first aid classes put one hand on either side of my bump and rubbed up and down while cooing something to the baby (at least she was not a stranger). I'm not quite sure of how to respond to these things...if I wasn't pregnant, there's no way you'd be so familiar and rub my stomach, so what's changed? Do pregnant women, once they reach a certain stage, lose their right to privacy and personal space?

Bunny Bump

Hubs and I have chosen a name for our little girl, but we're not advertising. If it was up to Miss Almost 3, her name would be Suzie (Siouxsie, perhaps?) or Charger but I don't think those pass muster.

The ever-cute Kendra, of Girls of the Playboy Mansion fame, is expecting as well. She's due on Christmas Day - about 11 weeks after me. That makes her about 21 weeks at the moment. She's recently found out that she and her football player husband, Hank Baskett, are having a boy. What are they naming him? Hank Baskett IV, of course.

Here are a couple pics of Kendra and her hubs as she shows off her new bump.

If you want to keep up with Kendra's development, you can follow her blog, her facebook page, or her twitter!

The Final Countdown

That's what they call it when you get into single digits. And here I am at 31 weeks pregnant. 9 weeks to go.
For me the final countdown is having everyone remark how big I am or questioning whether I'm going to give birth during CPR demonstrations; it's having to wear wrist braces to bed and sleep with my arms straight while laying on my left side; it's more frequent meltdowns; it's continued obsessions with food and shopping; it's antenatal classes where I feel anti-social; and it's fear and self-doubt.
On the plus side, it also means there is a party coming up. A baby shower. I was thinking of just planning and doing it all myself but my friend, Bianca - who is also expecting, offered to help me plan and execute it. I love planning parties and I've seen, and blogged about, some pretty cool baby shower ideas. I don't know if we'll go for an all out theme but we're planning a meeting next weekend to talk about it and do a bit of brainstorming. The other thing that makes it so amazing that Bianca has stepped up to do this, is that she will be on holiday the week before the date we've set for the shower. Thanks again, Bianca, it's going to be so much fun :)

Products for Preggies that bring on the LoLs

Ages ago (okay a few months ago), I was complaining about belly bands and my pants falling down. No one came to me and told me there were garter belts that would keep my pants up. When I saw them today, I burst out giggling. Would I actually attach suspenders to my bra to help keep my pants up? They seem really funny but at the same time, useful. Hmm... If you're interested, you can find Belly Ups here.


So I suppose I'm at the stage when people are going to start touching my bump. I'm not sure how I feel about that. When I teach classes now, to avoid being bombarded with questions about the bump during breaks, I've begun to add small details about the bump in my introduction (it's a girl, due Oct). The bump is certainly quite big now and there are times when you can't just feel the movement but see this little monster kicking me. These temporary tattoos are a good novelty item if you're into exposing your belly. These tell people where they can touch, what the sex is, or on a bad day tell them to get lost. If you want them, you can get them at Perpetual Kid.

Gender Bender

So, what'll it be? Boy or Girl? Girl or Boy?
Some parents wait until their due date to find out but I am that kind of really curious person who would peek at Christmas presents if I thought I wouldn't get caught!
Today is the day of our 20 week scan. Both my husband and I are hoping to find out the sex of our baby. Not that it matters mind you... I suppose we're hoping for a boy but only because of all the girls born in the family already (7 girls and no boys in the youngest generation so far).
There are a number of less scientific methods of predicting the sex of your baby. Are you hairy? It's a boy! Is the bump low? It's a boy! Is the bump high and visible from the back? It's a girl! Does your wedding ring swing like a pendulum over your stomach when suspended from a strand of your hair? It's a boy. Does your wedding ring move in a circle over your stomach when suspended from a strand of your hair? It's a girl. Is the fetal heart rate over 140? It's a girl. Do you crave cheese and meat? Boy. Do you crave sweets? Girl. Is your right breast bigger than your left? Boy! There are also various online quizzes which will tell you - mine have said boy. And last but not least if the year you conceived in and the age which you conceived at are both odd numbers then it's a girl.
It's all very confusing really so I'm really looking forward to something scientific today! Is it a boy? We'll see but we won't be disappointed either way.

Happy Birthday

Wishing a very happy birthday to my baby-daddy, husband, and best friend today.

Our baby's birthday is expected to be 10 Oct, 2009.

Want to find out what your due date is? Use this simple due date calculator.