Looking a bit startled (probably sick of all the photos!), but he doesn't really look like he's only a few days old!
Friday, December 30, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Saturday, December 24, 2005
What a cutie!! We love Preston so much :) Today has been a very busy day though, with our coffee group this morning at our place - it was so cool to have all the babies born so far hang out together! Then Dan's family were here for the rest of the day/night, and by the end of it all Preston and I were both a bit tantrumy so I'm hoping for a good sleep since we are both very tired. His feeding quantity has increased by double or triple today so I'm guessing he's having a big growth spurt. My milk must be yummy. At least the longer feeds are mostly equalled with a longer sleep too. And my Pam Anderson breasts are getting a bit better now - yesterday when my milk properly came in, they were ENORMOUS and rock hard - I really wished I had somewhere exciting I needed to go that required the most revealing top ever to be worn (or even just taken a photo!), but it's also very painful. Today is much better now that they are starting to deflate :) Well time for bed now. Tomorrow Preston will be 1 week old!
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Introducing... Preston ShenHao Too.
ITS A BOY.
3.84 kgs, (or 8 pounds 7)
52 cms long
healthy as.
We did it! Wow, we finally made it. I just posted some pics if you really wanna see!
And what a couple of days it has been. I've just managed to steal away from Birthcare, and I am hoping that Belinda and Preston are getting some sleep - neither of them have had much of that since Friday. I've hacked into the baby blog and am gonna tell as much of the story as I can before I fall asleep.
DAY ZERO
So, it all starts on Friday morning, at the bright and early time of 7:30. We were to show up at the Womens Assessment Unit of Auckland hospital for an induction, bright and early, and prepared for a long day.
We had packed lots and lots of stuff, just to make sure we were prepared. A bag of food/snacks, with all of Belinda's essentials (cheese and crackers, fruit, nuts, drinks, museli bars, etc), a bag of clothes for the hospital, a bag of baby clothes, another bag of clothes for post-natal, and my laptop.
Friday started with a lot of monitoring. The on-site midwife wanted to hear the baby's heartbeat, and check Belinda's contractions to see what was going on at that point in time. There was a steady heartbeat, around 130-140 most of the time, and there were contractions going on, not very strong - but fairly often.
This monitoring went on for a good while... over half an hour before our own midwife Jan Clifton turned up to get things going. She gave Belinda some medication to bring on the labour, and pretty much left us to it (as far as I can remember). The medication is meant to take anywhere from 4-24 hours to bring on labour, so we had no idea what would happen.
After that it was down to hourly monitoring to make sure that both Belinda and Baby were handling the medication properly, and up to us to pass away the time for the rest of Friday. We went on lots of walks to make sure Belinda kept moving, checked out the hospital and surrounds, and kept ourselves busy. We ate some great food from the grafton shops down the road, Belinda kept working on a Mr. Men CrossStitch Alphabet Chart that she had started a while ago, and we churned through a heap of Alias Season 3 DVDs that we had bought especially for this.
After a loooooooooooooong day, we decided to try to get some sleep, and prepare for the next day. Belinda was starting to feel a bit of pain by that time, and I had to sleep on a lay-z-boy. Unfortunately for Belinda, she was starting to move into real Labour before we went to sleep - so it wasn't a very good night for her. We had brought along a TENS machine which gave her some pain relief, and one of the midwives was extremely persistent (read: annoying) that Belinda take some panadol.
During the night, every time I roused a little Belinda was in a different position, or milling about the room. She was extremely uncomfortable. The best part though, was that we were expecting this level of discomfort, and it just reinforced the fact that the baby was coming. YAY!
DAY ONE: 17/12/05
Fast forward to the morning, and Belinda was really really sore. It was very hard for her to speak, so all I could do was give her massages, and make sure she was OK. We asked the midwife to call Jan back in for an assessment, and hopefully things were already underway.
Jan finally arrived back in at around 8-ish (memory is hazy here) and gave Belinda an inspection. She was 1cm dilated. After the whole night of effort and pain, we had hardly progressed at all. Poor Belinda.
Well, we needed to move things along, since Belinda was in a whole lot of pain, and things needed to happen. Belinda's waters were broken, and Belinda was moved to the Delivery Unit down the hall. There was a little mucousa when the waters broke, which usually indicates that the baby is a little distressed.
It was about 8:30 by now, and we put Belinda into the shower to try some water for pain relief. I got into my togs and kept the water on her lower back, which was one of the most painful parts at that time. Belinda was starting to buckle with the pain, so we requested an epidural for pain relief. We wanted to do our best to avoid pethidene, which we heard had strong negative effects on the baby.
The epidural for those of you who don't know, is placed directly into the spine. Pain relief is administered through a small tube, and is able to be topped up every now and then. I highly recommend it!
So belinda was placed on a drip (which included some syntocinin - which helps bring the labour along as a synthetic form of oxytocin), and had a couple of blood samples taken. Then she was asked to stay as still as humanly possible while this epidural was placed into her spine. Thank goodness for a fantastic anaesthetist, it all went smoothly and within a few minutes belinda was OK. She started chatting again, and could have a brief sleep.
Fast forward to 11:15 am, and our first inspection after moving to the delivery unit - OMG 6cm! WOW! A sigh of relief (kinda) from Belinda, we were making progress. Epidural was topped up, and belinda could relax.
Fast forward again to 1:30pm and our second inspection: and well, we could see the baby's head. I gotta tell ya - now that was exciting. Belinda was still under pain relief, everything was fine, and Jan basically told us that we would just start pushing. It was a flurry of activity as Jan got everything ready, we prepared Belinda, and Helen made her way over to help me out.
BIRTH
There's not a lot to say about the rest of the birth. Belinda did remarkably, but since she was still under pain-relief, it wasn't too difficult for her. She could still feel what was happening (thanks to the epidural's light dosage), and just pushed with the contractions. Each push made some progress, and we needed to adjust position slightly over time to help the baby along.
After an hour of pushing, and an episiotomy, the head was out, then the body, and it was all over! The pain was definitely enormous for Belinda for the last few pushes, but she did extremely well, and was all OK. Once everything was under control, I jumped on the phone to the direct family, then rushed back in to help. Belinda needed a few stitches, and Jan did everything to clean up in no time. Baby was perfectly healthy, opened his eyes, and yelled at us straight away. He fed within 20 minutes or so, once Belinda was all OK.
Belinda had lost a lot of blood, and was fairly pale white. She threw up as soon as she sat up, so I did my best to slow things down a little for her. I sent out a mass-text to everyone in my phone, and did my best to ignore the half hour of constant ringing from it. Sorry if I didn't get back to you, but my attention really was on Belinda and the baby. We slowly packed up - Belinda was taken out of the hospital in a wheelchair, I brought along the car, and we moved to Birthcare (the Auckland Central Post-natal care facility).
Belinda was greeted at Birthcare with a gourmet meal, and once we were all settled in, we had some visitors etc etc.
I went home at about 9ish... extremely exhausted, and hoped that Belinda would get some sleep. Tried my best to email pics, but I was too tired, couldn't find Belinda's blogger password, so I gave up and hit the bed.
DAY TWO - 18/12/05
I got to birthcare at 8:30 ish. Belinda had had a rough night, with lots of screaming, feeding and so on. Our baby is HUNGRY. He's also LOUD. It's great. His cries make us really happy, cause we know he's healthy! I'm so proud, and am laughing out loud as I write this.
Today was a long day, and I don't really have much to write. We did our best to keep the baby happy, despite his constant hunger. There were lots of visitors, and gave everyone their chance to meet the baby - who we announced as Preston ShenHao Too. We'd come up with the name around August or so, before we heard of 2 other occurences of it. Mum had actually chosen it amongst others, and had emailed us a list. We loved it straight away, and have been calling him that at home whilst in the womb.
Belinda has only really had a few hours sleep in total over the last 3 days, so hopefully there are no more visitors for a few days. Her pain relief is wearing off too.
Feeding is easy for Belinda (relative to stories we have heard), and Preston is latching on really well. Preston is feeding every hour or two, and is the loudest baby in the building. honest. I gave him his first bath this evening, much to his discomfort. He's clean now, in outfit #2, and hopefully asleep.
I left at 8:30 pm, and we had a great day overall. All the grandparents are absolutely stoked, everyone who has visited is really excited for us, and we're adjusting to the baby really well.
Well, what a day! Hope you enjoy the pictures posted above this, Belinda will probably post a little more in a couple of days when she is out of Birthcare.
In the meantime, I'm gonna get some sleep.
Dan.
3.84 kgs, (or 8 pounds 7)
52 cms long
healthy as.
We did it! Wow, we finally made it. I just posted some pics if you really wanna see!
And what a couple of days it has been. I've just managed to steal away from Birthcare, and I am hoping that Belinda and Preston are getting some sleep - neither of them have had much of that since Friday. I've hacked into the baby blog and am gonna tell as much of the story as I can before I fall asleep.
DAY ZERO
So, it all starts on Friday morning, at the bright and early time of 7:30. We were to show up at the Womens Assessment Unit of Auckland hospital for an induction, bright and early, and prepared for a long day.
We had packed lots and lots of stuff, just to make sure we were prepared. A bag of food/snacks, with all of Belinda's essentials (cheese and crackers, fruit, nuts, drinks, museli bars, etc), a bag of clothes for the hospital, a bag of baby clothes, another bag of clothes for post-natal, and my laptop.
Friday started with a lot of monitoring. The on-site midwife wanted to hear the baby's heartbeat, and check Belinda's contractions to see what was going on at that point in time. There was a steady heartbeat, around 130-140 most of the time, and there were contractions going on, not very strong - but fairly often.
This monitoring went on for a good while... over half an hour before our own midwife Jan Clifton turned up to get things going. She gave Belinda some medication to bring on the labour, and pretty much left us to it (as far as I can remember). The medication is meant to take anywhere from 4-24 hours to bring on labour, so we had no idea what would happen.
After that it was down to hourly monitoring to make sure that both Belinda and Baby were handling the medication properly, and up to us to pass away the time for the rest of Friday. We went on lots of walks to make sure Belinda kept moving, checked out the hospital and surrounds, and kept ourselves busy. We ate some great food from the grafton shops down the road, Belinda kept working on a Mr. Men CrossStitch Alphabet Chart that she had started a while ago, and we churned through a heap of Alias Season 3 DVDs that we had bought especially for this.
After a loooooooooooooong day, we decided to try to get some sleep, and prepare for the next day. Belinda was starting to feel a bit of pain by that time, and I had to sleep on a lay-z-boy. Unfortunately for Belinda, she was starting to move into real Labour before we went to sleep - so it wasn't a very good night for her. We had brought along a TENS machine which gave her some pain relief, and one of the midwives was extremely persistent (read: annoying) that Belinda take some panadol.
During the night, every time I roused a little Belinda was in a different position, or milling about the room. She was extremely uncomfortable. The best part though, was that we were expecting this level of discomfort, and it just reinforced the fact that the baby was coming. YAY!
DAY ONE: 17/12/05
Fast forward to the morning, and Belinda was really really sore. It was very hard for her to speak, so all I could do was give her massages, and make sure she was OK. We asked the midwife to call Jan back in for an assessment, and hopefully things were already underway.
Jan finally arrived back in at around 8-ish (memory is hazy here) and gave Belinda an inspection. She was 1cm dilated. After the whole night of effort and pain, we had hardly progressed at all. Poor Belinda.
Well, we needed to move things along, since Belinda was in a whole lot of pain, and things needed to happen. Belinda's waters were broken, and Belinda was moved to the Delivery Unit down the hall. There was a little mucousa when the waters broke, which usually indicates that the baby is a little distressed.
It was about 8:30 by now, and we put Belinda into the shower to try some water for pain relief. I got into my togs and kept the water on her lower back, which was one of the most painful parts at that time. Belinda was starting to buckle with the pain, so we requested an epidural for pain relief. We wanted to do our best to avoid pethidene, which we heard had strong negative effects on the baby.
The epidural for those of you who don't know, is placed directly into the spine. Pain relief is administered through a small tube, and is able to be topped up every now and then. I highly recommend it!
So belinda was placed on a drip (which included some syntocinin - which helps bring the labour along as a synthetic form of oxytocin), and had a couple of blood samples taken. Then she was asked to stay as still as humanly possible while this epidural was placed into her spine. Thank goodness for a fantastic anaesthetist, it all went smoothly and within a few minutes belinda was OK. She started chatting again, and could have a brief sleep.
Fast forward to 11:15 am, and our first inspection after moving to the delivery unit - OMG 6cm! WOW! A sigh of relief (kinda) from Belinda, we were making progress. Epidural was topped up, and belinda could relax.
Fast forward again to 1:30pm and our second inspection: and well, we could see the baby's head. I gotta tell ya - now that was exciting. Belinda was still under pain relief, everything was fine, and Jan basically told us that we would just start pushing. It was a flurry of activity as Jan got everything ready, we prepared Belinda, and Helen made her way over to help me out.
BIRTH
There's not a lot to say about the rest of the birth. Belinda did remarkably, but since she was still under pain-relief, it wasn't too difficult for her. She could still feel what was happening (thanks to the epidural's light dosage), and just pushed with the contractions. Each push made some progress, and we needed to adjust position slightly over time to help the baby along.
After an hour of pushing, and an episiotomy, the head was out, then the body, and it was all over! The pain was definitely enormous for Belinda for the last few pushes, but she did extremely well, and was all OK. Once everything was under control, I jumped on the phone to the direct family, then rushed back in to help. Belinda needed a few stitches, and Jan did everything to clean up in no time. Baby was perfectly healthy, opened his eyes, and yelled at us straight away. He fed within 20 minutes or so, once Belinda was all OK.
Belinda had lost a lot of blood, and was fairly pale white. She threw up as soon as she sat up, so I did my best to slow things down a little for her. I sent out a mass-text to everyone in my phone, and did my best to ignore the half hour of constant ringing from it. Sorry if I didn't get back to you, but my attention really was on Belinda and the baby. We slowly packed up - Belinda was taken out of the hospital in a wheelchair, I brought along the car, and we moved to Birthcare (the Auckland Central Post-natal care facility).
Belinda was greeted at Birthcare with a gourmet meal, and once we were all settled in, we had some visitors etc etc.
I went home at about 9ish... extremely exhausted, and hoped that Belinda would get some sleep. Tried my best to email pics, but I was too tired, couldn't find Belinda's blogger password, so I gave up and hit the bed.
DAY TWO - 18/12/05
I got to birthcare at 8:30 ish. Belinda had had a rough night, with lots of screaming, feeding and so on. Our baby is HUNGRY. He's also LOUD. It's great. His cries make us really happy, cause we know he's healthy! I'm so proud, and am laughing out loud as I write this.
Today was a long day, and I don't really have much to write. We did our best to keep the baby happy, despite his constant hunger. There were lots of visitors, and gave everyone their chance to meet the baby - who we announced as Preston ShenHao Too. We'd come up with the name around August or so, before we heard of 2 other occurences of it. Mum had actually chosen it amongst others, and had emailed us a list. We loved it straight away, and have been calling him that at home whilst in the womb.
Belinda has only really had a few hours sleep in total over the last 3 days, so hopefully there are no more visitors for a few days. Her pain relief is wearing off too.
Feeding is easy for Belinda (relative to stories we have heard), and Preston is latching on really well. Preston is feeding every hour or two, and is the loudest baby in the building. honest. I gave him his first bath this evening, much to his discomfort. He's clean now, in outfit #2, and hopefully asleep.
I left at 8:30 pm, and we had a great day overall. All the grandparents are absolutely stoked, everyone who has visited is really excited for us, and we're adjusting to the baby really well.
Well, what a day! Hope you enjoy the pictures posted above this, Belinda will probably post a little more in a couple of days when she is out of Birthcare.
In the meantime, I'm gonna get some sleep.
Dan.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
It's Eviction Day tomorrow!
So far there is still no baby...I can't believe it. I've grown so big in the last 10 days as well that now I have lovely stretch marks all over me. Grrr. But I guess since they are just new, they will hopefully go away quickly. Can't be bothered taking another photo - just imagine my swimsuit photo enlarged a bit. I'm so giant that pretty much all I've been wearing this week is a sarong! At least its comfy and 'airconditioned'. (it's been SOOOO hot).
I've been taking cold baths to try to cool down, but the last couple of weeks my feet and hands have started to swell a little, and when I get out of the bath I've got elephant feet until the next day. It took me three days to get my engagement ring off without ripping my whole finger off, but I can't get my wedding ring off. Hopefully this puffiness goes away soon. No shoes fit, and I have resorted to wearing jandals, but even they are too tight sometimes!
So with no baby yet and being 10 days overdue today, we have an induction set for tomorrow morning :( I really didn't want to do that, but I'm running out of time. Hurry up baby - you have about 19 hours to change your mind and come out on your own!
Haven't got the instructions yet for any preparation required, but the method is via a prostaglandin hormone pessarie thingy that is supposed to stimulate contractions.
I just got the report from my scan the other day - and this baby is going to be huge! OH NO! I don't know how its going to fit out of me - the estimated weight is just over 8 pounds! I was expecting something in the range of 6.5 - 7 pounds. Well that really puts me in a bad mood - now my odds of having a caesarian are higher. And the margin of error is 6.8pounds - 9pounds! He better be on the smaller side....yikes. Now I'm all scared!
The next message should hopefully be some news of the baby - but don't forget if you want us to text or pxt you straight away, please email me.
I've been taking cold baths to try to cool down, but the last couple of weeks my feet and hands have started to swell a little, and when I get out of the bath I've got elephant feet until the next day. It took me three days to get my engagement ring off without ripping my whole finger off, but I can't get my wedding ring off. Hopefully this puffiness goes away soon. No shoes fit, and I have resorted to wearing jandals, but even they are too tight sometimes!
So with no baby yet and being 10 days overdue today, we have an induction set for tomorrow morning :( I really didn't want to do that, but I'm running out of time. Hurry up baby - you have about 19 hours to change your mind and come out on your own!
Haven't got the instructions yet for any preparation required, but the method is via a prostaglandin hormone pessarie thingy that is supposed to stimulate contractions.
I just got the report from my scan the other day - and this baby is going to be huge! OH NO! I don't know how its going to fit out of me - the estimated weight is just over 8 pounds! I was expecting something in the range of 6.5 - 7 pounds. Well that really puts me in a bad mood - now my odds of having a caesarian are higher. And the margin of error is 6.8pounds - 9pounds! He better be on the smaller side....yikes. Now I'm all scared!
The next message should hopefully be some news of the baby - but don't forget if you want us to text or pxt you straight away, please email me.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Scan was fine
I had a scan this morning to check for amniotic fluid levels and they were all fine. All the anatomy checks were great as well, so there is a happy little baby inside me. It was nice to have a little preview as well - I got to see a cute little button nose and some cute little lips!
So we are being induced on Friday morning, unless an appointment becomes available sooner, or if things start to happen on their own.
So we are being induced on Friday morning, unless an appointment becomes available sooner, or if things start to happen on their own.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Eviction date is set
Just came back from my midwife. I am now 41 weeks - that is 1 week overdue!! Come out little baby!
Unfortunately there are no signs that he is going to come out by himself in the next day or two, so we have set an induction date for Friday morning. He's getting evicted if he doesn't move out by then.
Tomorrow morning I have to have a scan to check that there is enough amniotic fluid and placental function to last until Friday, otherwise I'll have to see if I can induce earlier (although at this stage Friday is the earliest appointment available).
So that is my NO BABY YET news. Grrrrr.
Unfortunately there are no signs that he is going to come out by himself in the next day or two, so we have set an induction date for Friday morning. He's getting evicted if he doesn't move out by then.
Tomorrow morning I have to have a scan to check that there is enough amniotic fluid and placental function to last until Friday, otherwise I'll have to see if I can induce earlier (although at this stage Friday is the earliest appointment available).
So that is my NO BABY YET news. Grrrrr.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
:( Getting very frustrated now...
Can't believe it's now saturday night and I still have no baby. I'm going to possibly lose it at the next person who says something well-meaning like 'well the baby will have to come out sometime!' or 'first babies are often late' - yes I have heard these a million times from all sorts of people (mostly random people I don't know, like in the supermarket) and it does NOT make me feel better hearing it so much. You wouldn't believe how many strangers insist on asking when the baby is due. I am never going to 'politely' make conversation with a pregnant woman again - it's soooo irritating!!
I had a bit of an emotional meltdown last night, so I was sure something was about to happen seeing as I haven't had any emotional issues the whole pregnancy, but still nothing. Now I'm very concerned about the prospect of being induced (I have an appointment on Monday to discuss the options). I don't want to be induced, but I also don't want to wait any longer than Monday or Tuesday to have the baby - otherwise he will be so big that he wont fit out of me anyway, and I certainly don't want to have a caesarian. So there is a bit of urgency that this baby hurries up and decides to move out tonight or tomorrow!!
I suppose the only potential good thing is that even though all the other babies born in my antenatal group were early and are very small (except for one who was born on the due date and is normal sized) that my baby will hopefully be normal sized and healthy. And cute. There better not be any complications or health issues.
That's it for now, I'm a bit grouchy as you can tell.
I had a bit of an emotional meltdown last night, so I was sure something was about to happen seeing as I haven't had any emotional issues the whole pregnancy, but still nothing. Now I'm very concerned about the prospect of being induced (I have an appointment on Monday to discuss the options). I don't want to be induced, but I also don't want to wait any longer than Monday or Tuesday to have the baby - otherwise he will be so big that he wont fit out of me anyway, and I certainly don't want to have a caesarian. So there is a bit of urgency that this baby hurries up and decides to move out tonight or tomorrow!!
I suppose the only potential good thing is that even though all the other babies born in my antenatal group were early and are very small (except for one who was born on the due date and is normal sized) that my baby will hopefully be normal sized and healthy. And cute. There better not be any complications or health issues.
That's it for now, I'm a bit grouchy as you can tell.
Friday, December 09, 2005
I'm feeling sorry for myself :(
Just came back from my coffee group - where BOTH the other ladies due to have their babies this week had them on Tuesday! :( So now I'm determined to have this baby tonight - I'll have to try more things to help bring on labour. But I guess the baby will come out when he is ready. Better not be any later than Sunday.
Sigh...
Still nothing. I'm starting to wonder if I'm even pregnant at all, or if it's just been my imagination all this time.
This morning I have to embarrassingly go to my coffee group, WITH NO BABY! There are three of us in the group due this week, and we were all planning on having our babies with us this week - and I was the first due out of us. So if there are other new babies there today, I'm going to be jealous :(
I'm just so huge at the moment and so tired - even though I had nothing planned for this week since I assumed I would be in hospital, I can't even do much at home since I've run out of power and simple things like bending over or doing the dishes are difficult because of my enormous tummy. There is a lot of housework, tidying, unpacking etc to do, but I just can't (be bothered, mostly).
We need some more name inspiration since our ONE choice we had has kind of been ruined by a few different people. We may still use it, but if you have any good ideas, please let us know!!
This morning I have to embarrassingly go to my coffee group, WITH NO BABY! There are three of us in the group due this week, and we were all planning on having our babies with us this week - and I was the first due out of us. So if there are other new babies there today, I'm going to be jealous :(
I'm just so huge at the moment and so tired - even though I had nothing planned for this week since I assumed I would be in hospital, I can't even do much at home since I've run out of power and simple things like bending over or doing the dishes are difficult because of my enormous tummy. There is a lot of housework, tidying, unpacking etc to do, but I just can't (be bothered, mostly).
We need some more name inspiration since our ONE choice we had has kind of been ruined by a few different people. We may still use it, but if you have any good ideas, please let us know!!
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Where's my baby??!!
No post yesterday because nothing happened. I suppose I felt a bit stranger than usual, but Dan said that was just my humour.
Still woke up again this morning without having gone into labour...grrr... but since I've been up for the last hour or so, I've had about 8 small contraction-type things, so maybe something will happen today! They are like a tight tensing up of my stomach muscles for about 10-20 seconds, and are not painful, I'm just quite aware of them. So even if they are contractions, I'm still a loooong way off yet. But I hope they are and I hope they increase so I can have our cute little baby today!
Maybe I'll have a better update in a few hours.
Still woke up again this morning without having gone into labour...grrr... but since I've been up for the last hour or so, I've had about 8 small contraction-type things, so maybe something will happen today! They are like a tight tensing up of my stomach muscles for about 10-20 seconds, and are not painful, I'm just quite aware of them. So even if they are contractions, I'm still a loooong way off yet. But I hope they are and I hope they increase so I can have our cute little baby today!
Maybe I'll have a better update in a few hours.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Today's midwife appointment
Can't believe I actually had to make my appointment :( The midwife was surprised too! She said she really thought I would have had the baby by now, but obviously it's still happy inside me. Dan has a theory that my placenta is so healthy that the baby has no need to leave yet (normally from about 39-40 weeks the placenta starts to deteriorate which may be a reason labour is triggered).
She thinks it wont be too far away, as the baby's head is very far down into my pelvis, and its heartbeat is great, my blood pressure is great and everything is favourable. So it can't be long now I hope.
As a backup plan, we have an appointment scheduled for next Monday to discuss an induction if I still haven't had the baby by then. Let's hope I don't need to keep that appointment!
She thinks it wont be too far away, as the baby's head is very far down into my pelvis, and its heartbeat is great, my blood pressure is great and everything is favourable. So it can't be long now I hope.
As a backup plan, we have an appointment scheduled for next Monday to discuss an induction if I still haven't had the baby by then. Let's hope I don't need to keep that appointment!
Monday, December 05, 2005
No news today either
For all you dedicated daily blog-readers, I thought I had better let you know that NOTHING HAS HAPPENED YET! Just in case you were getting all excited thinking that I haven't posted anything yet, so therefore I must be in the hospital.
The due date according to the scans was today, and the due date according to my calculations is tomorrow. So this baby can't be too far away.
I'm sure that once contractions start and we decide to go to the hospital that I will be able to spare a few minutes to post here first so you can REALLY get all excited!
Fingers crossed it happens soon. I have a midwife appointment in the morning.
The due date according to the scans was today, and the due date according to my calculations is tomorrow. So this baby can't be too far away.
I'm sure that once contractions start and we decide to go to the hospital that I will be able to spare a few minutes to post here first so you can REALLY get all excited!
Fingers crossed it happens soon. I have a midwife appointment in the morning.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Hurry up and come out!!
Still no baby.... my tummy is getting very uncomfortable now since there is no room to play inside, just room to stretch and POKE. Ouch.
I've been hoping for days now to hurry up and start labour, but still not much. I think I may be getting a bit closer today - I've had a couple of weird stomach cramps which could potentially be mini contractions, but they stopped hours ago.
So now I'm trying everything I can think of to trigger labour (without being medically induced), including all the nutritional and herbal things I know of, plus I did a search on the internet and resorted to trying a whole list of old wives tales. I think I have tried everything on the list. I'm currently eating a giant pineapple fruit salad which is my last resort. I might go for another strenuous walk up some hills soon - it felt like it was doing something yesterday.
Oh well, the baby will come when he is ready, but it better not be too many more days otherwise he might not fit out! I've been so ravenously hungry this week so I assume there is a growth spurt going on....
I've been hoping for days now to hurry up and start labour, but still not much. I think I may be getting a bit closer today - I've had a couple of weird stomach cramps which could potentially be mini contractions, but they stopped hours ago.
So now I'm trying everything I can think of to trigger labour (without being medically induced), including all the nutritional and herbal things I know of, plus I did a search on the internet and resorted to trying a whole list of old wives tales. I think I have tried everything on the list. I'm currently eating a giant pineapple fruit salad which is my last resort. I might go for another strenuous walk up some hills soon - it felt like it was doing something yesterday.
Oh well, the baby will come when he is ready, but it better not be too many more days otherwise he might not fit out! I've been so ravenously hungry this week so I assume there is a growth spurt going on....
Friday, December 02, 2005
Here is the map to Birthcare where I will be staying after having the baby (hopefully today or tomorrow or SOON!). You can click on the map to make it bigger. The address is Birthcare, 20 Titoki St, Parnell. If you want to come to visit (please do!) I think visiting hours are 2-8pm, but maybe call first to check. If you are coming from Remuera area, come up Ayr St and through the funny intersection down Domain Rd and turn into Titoki St when you hit the domain. Or if you are coming from the motorway, get off at Khyber Pass and make your way to Carlton Gore Rd, then turn into George St (with all the fancy terrace houses), and then into Titoki St. There is lots of parking.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Only days to go....
I officially am due next monday or tuesday (depending on which chart I look at), but I'm kind of hoping it will be before that. My tummy is huge, as you can see below (sure, laugh all you like at my swimsuit edition photo, I can take it!), and there is a very squirmy person hiding inside it who we are very curious to meet.
Went to the midwife again yesterday and everything is still going fine - it's just a waiting game now. We made an appointment for next week, but we are not expecting to keep it.
I've been really hungry this week, and also a lot more tired - I've been having afternoon sleeps which is good.
And in the last couple of weeks since my tummy is stretching so much I have finally managed to develop some stretch marks - not too bad though, and I'm sure I can get rid of them once I shrink again.
I'm all ready and waiting! Looking forward to some time out at Birthcare as well - it is kind of like a hotel/hospital. Should be nice.
If you have a pxt phone and want me to send you a picture after the birth, please email me and I'll make a list.
Off to find me some snacks now...
Went to the midwife again yesterday and everything is still going fine - it's just a waiting game now. We made an appointment for next week, but we are not expecting to keep it.
I've been really hungry this week, and also a lot more tired - I've been having afternoon sleeps which is good.
And in the last couple of weeks since my tummy is stretching so much I have finally managed to develop some stretch marks - not too bad though, and I'm sure I can get rid of them once I shrink again.
I'm all ready and waiting! Looking forward to some time out at Birthcare as well - it is kind of like a hotel/hospital. Should be nice.
If you have a pxt phone and want me to send you a picture after the birth, please email me and I'll make a list.
Off to find me some snacks now...
I LOOK SO FUNNY! Here is my last pregnancy picture I will post. I am 9 months / 39 weeks. So I decided to do a special swimsuit edition just so you can see how crazy pregnant bodies are! But luckily I haven't put on any/much weight anywhere else so I'm hoping to return to a normalish size pretty soon.
Our baby's development 39 weeks
Your baby's ready to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) Your baby's organs are fully developed and in place, and the outer layers of skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.
If the week passes and your baby stays put, don't panic. Only 5 percent of babies are born on their scheduled due date. And your baby can't make you wait indefinitely for his arrival. If you go past your due date, your provider will schedule you for fetal testing (usually a sonogram) after 40 weeks to ensure that it's safe to continue the pregnancy. If you don't go into labor on your own, most practitioners will induce labor when you're between one and two weeks overdue.
Ok, I am all ready for the baby to come ANY TIME NOW.... I certainly don't want to be induced (after learning about what they do at antenatal class).
If the week passes and your baby stays put, don't panic. Only 5 percent of babies are born on their scheduled due date. And your baby can't make you wait indefinitely for his arrival. If you go past your due date, your provider will schedule you for fetal testing (usually a sonogram) after 40 weeks to ensure that it's safe to continue the pregnancy. If you don't go into labor on your own, most practitioners will induce labor when you're between one and two weeks overdue.
Ok, I am all ready for the baby to come ANY TIME NOW.... I certainly don't want to be induced (after learning about what they do at antenatal class).
Sunday, November 27, 2005
No news yet
Ok, well I made it through Gran's funeral and work this weekend without going into labour. I've officially finished work now and get 14 weeks maternity leave (yay!), and I have nothing planned for the rest of the week. So I could have a baby any time now.
I have a midwife appointment on Tuesday (if required), and then I have my first antenatal Coffee Group meeting on Friday.... so it is entirely possible I could have the baby and be out of hospital between now and then, and be able to take our new baby to coffee group! (By the way, coffee group is just the name for the antenatal group that all the women from my classes go to - I certainly hope it doesn't mean we all sit around and drink coffee, since that would be a problem for our breastfed babies!)
Anyway, we shall see what happens this week. I feel like I am getting head-butted from the inside, so perhaps someone is thinking about making an appearance...
I have a midwife appointment on Tuesday (if required), and then I have my first antenatal Coffee Group meeting on Friday.... so it is entirely possible I could have the baby and be out of hospital between now and then, and be able to take our new baby to coffee group! (By the way, coffee group is just the name for the antenatal group that all the women from my classes go to - I certainly hope it doesn't mean we all sit around and drink coffee, since that would be a problem for our breastfed babies!)
Anyway, we shall see what happens this week. I feel like I am getting head-butted from the inside, so perhaps someone is thinking about making an appearance...
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Still no baby...
Nope, no baby yet, so I made it to my antenatal class tonight much to everyone's surprise! After last week's paranoia creation, everyone thought I would not be there......but it turns out one of the other ladies had her baby instead! (quite early though, so I hope everything is ok - we didn't know any details except that she was in the hospital instead of at our class). Tonight was our last class, and next week our official 'Coffee Group' starts, where we all meet up weekly and bring our babies and share all our issues. Should be fun! I am the next one due, and then the rest of the ladies are due mid-late dec, so I guess I get to be the guineapig for everything.
Today Dan and I went on a tour of Birthcare, which is the postnatal hospital where I get to stay for 3 days after having the baby. Basically, we have the baby at the hospital, and then after a couple of hours when we are ok to move around, we get transferred to Birthcare. So if anyone wants to come to visit me (once you know I've had the baby), I will be at Birthcare, 20 Titoki St, Parnell (it runs parallel to Parnell Rd, but is on the edge of the Domain near the museum). I get 3 days free accomodation there if I choose a twin room, or I can pay $250 a day and have a private room. However we discovered today that they have millions of rooms and there were heaps and heaps of empty ones so we figured I'd try my luck with a share room and hopefully get no room-mate, and then if I do and it's dumb, then I can get a private room.
This baby is very squirmy and is starting to really hurt me now that he is so big and is running out of room. Another REALLY annoying thing that has happened is that I have turned into a giant FRECKLE FACE!!!! NOOOO!!!! I had managed to fade away my stupid freckles (haven't been outside in forever), but silly hormonal changes interfere with the melanin production in your skin and can make freckles more prominent and darken random areas of skin. STUPID FRECKLES! Dan just laughs at me, so I get no sympathy. Oh well, I suppose its really about the worst symptom of my pregnancy, so that is actually doing very well indeed.
I have to make it through Gran's funeral tomorrow without having the baby (we are taking my hospital bags in the car just in case we need to make a hasty departure), and then I am meant to be working this weekend for the last time, so the baby can come anytime from Monday onwards.
I'll be waiting.
Today Dan and I went on a tour of Birthcare, which is the postnatal hospital where I get to stay for 3 days after having the baby. Basically, we have the baby at the hospital, and then after a couple of hours when we are ok to move around, we get transferred to Birthcare. So if anyone wants to come to visit me (once you know I've had the baby), I will be at Birthcare, 20 Titoki St, Parnell (it runs parallel to Parnell Rd, but is on the edge of the Domain near the museum). I get 3 days free accomodation there if I choose a twin room, or I can pay $250 a day and have a private room. However we discovered today that they have millions of rooms and there were heaps and heaps of empty ones so we figured I'd try my luck with a share room and hopefully get no room-mate, and then if I do and it's dumb, then I can get a private room.
This baby is very squirmy and is starting to really hurt me now that he is so big and is running out of room. Another REALLY annoying thing that has happened is that I have turned into a giant FRECKLE FACE!!!! NOOOO!!!! I had managed to fade away my stupid freckles (haven't been outside in forever), but silly hormonal changes interfere with the melanin production in your skin and can make freckles more prominent and darken random areas of skin. STUPID FRECKLES! Dan just laughs at me, so I get no sympathy. Oh well, I suppose its really about the worst symptom of my pregnancy, so that is actually doing very well indeed.
I have to make it through Gran's funeral tomorrow without having the baby (we are taking my hospital bags in the car just in case we need to make a hasty departure), and then I am meant to be working this weekend for the last time, so the baby can come anytime from Monday onwards.
I'll be waiting.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
No baby yet...
Well this time last week I was hoping to make it to at least this time this week, and I have. My next goal is to make it through this weekend, then I can have the baby. (Gran passed away this morning and I would really like to be able to go to the funeral). In some ways I think it is nice how things have turned out - the closing of one amazing life story, and the beginning of another.
I just came back from my midwide appointment, and she says the baby has moved into the optimum position for birth, and his head is very low down in my pelvis - all good signs that the baby is getting nice and ready to make his way into the world.
I just came back from my midwide appointment, and she says the baby has moved into the optimum position for birth, and his head is very low down in my pelvis - all good signs that the baby is getting nice and ready to make his way into the world.
We've been getting baby presents this week!!! It's so exciting getting all sorts of cute little things, so thanks everyone! This one in the photo is just so unique and clever that I had to put it on my blog before I undo it. It's a bunch of 'flowers' made from baby clothes! What a great idea! Thanks Rene and Diane :)
Saturday, November 19, 2005
We decided we needed some more clothes since the ones that I bought a few months ago are honestly going to last about half a day. So I went to the Pumpkin Patch clearance store and bought lots of cute things. Now that I have them, I guess they are not all that practical, but at least our baby will look groovy!
This is our styley stroller. It has about a thousand fittings you can add or subtract and make it big and giant, or just big. It looks really snuggly, and I really want to go for a ride! It even has a huge compartment underneath so I can take all my ebay parcels to the post office each day while taking the baby for a walk :)
We bought a cool carseat from TradeMe! I was going to hire one from Plunket, but then I figured it would be a yukky one that 10 other babies would have pooed and vomited on, so I might as well buy a second hand one that has only had 1 baby in it, then I can resell it. Plus this one looks so much cooler than the other brands. It is made by "Phil and Ted's Most Excellent Buggy Company"! That cracked me up, but Dan thinks it is soooo lame.... tee hee
Not long now!!!
Yikes! Look at how much the butterfly has moved along! There are only a few days left..... eeek! Officially I have just over 2 weeks left of my 40 weeks, although the 40 weeks counts from 2 weeks BEFORE you actually get pregnant.
My tummy is so big and full and fat now, and is pointing down towards the ground rather than sticking out, so everyone (everyone is an expert of course) keeps telling me "Oh, the baby wont be long now - probably only a few more days!" Even at our antenatal class, our teacher said she didn't think I would make it to our class next week, and got everyone to compare their tummies to mine to point out how dropped mine is... NOW I'M ALL PARANOID! I went straight home from our class and packed my hospital bag, just in case. I must admit, I have been feeling a bit stranger these last few days - slightly achy, a bit sort of pre-periody crampy feeling, as well as an increase in the Braxton Hicks contractions (like practice contractions as your body gets ready), and today for the first time in my whole pregnancy I verged on a slight bit of emotional weirdness! (I have been very lucky and haven't had any emotional issues or hormonal imbalancy type annoying stuff so far). I just have to get through tomorrow at work (I had been saving up all my work for the weekend since I'm not working during the week at the moment), and once all my work is done, THEN I am free to have the baby :)
So it could be any time now! I'm thinking that all the things that are starting to happen are just getting my body prepared, and I have a feeling I will be at least a week away yet. So stay tuned! Things are about to get exciting!
My tummy is so big and full and fat now, and is pointing down towards the ground rather than sticking out, so everyone (everyone is an expert of course) keeps telling me "Oh, the baby wont be long now - probably only a few more days!" Even at our antenatal class, our teacher said she didn't think I would make it to our class next week, and got everyone to compare their tummies to mine to point out how dropped mine is... NOW I'M ALL PARANOID! I went straight home from our class and packed my hospital bag, just in case. I must admit, I have been feeling a bit stranger these last few days - slightly achy, a bit sort of pre-periody crampy feeling, as well as an increase in the Braxton Hicks contractions (like practice contractions as your body gets ready), and today for the first time in my whole pregnancy I verged on a slight bit of emotional weirdness! (I have been very lucky and haven't had any emotional issues or hormonal imbalancy type annoying stuff so far). I just have to get through tomorrow at work (I had been saving up all my work for the weekend since I'm not working during the week at the moment), and once all my work is done, THEN I am free to have the baby :)
So it could be any time now! I'm thinking that all the things that are starting to happen are just getting my body prepared, and I have a feeling I will be at least a week away yet. So stay tuned! Things are about to get exciting!
Our baby's development 34-38 weeks
Yes, yes I've been slack. Here is our baby's official development for the last few weeks so you can tell what is going on in my GIANT tummy:
34 weeks
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is probably almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her central nervous system is still maturing and her lungs are well developed by now. If you've been nervous about going into preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that 99 percent of babies this age can survive outside the womb — and most have no major long-term problems related to prematurity.
35 weeks
Your baby's getting big. He weighs a tad over 5 pounds and is just over 18 inches long. Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.
36 weeks
Your baby is still putting on the pounds — about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is a little less than 19 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the creamy substance that covered and protected her skin during its submersion in amniotic fluid. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, which will stay in her bowels until birth. This blackish mixture, called meconium, will become her first bowel movement.At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Babies between 37 and 42 weeks are considered full-term; a baby born before 37 weeks is pre-term and after 42 is post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position by now, which is optimal for a smooth delivery.
37 weeks
Congratulations! Your pregnancy is now considered full term — meaning your baby is developmentally ready to handle life outside the womb. (Babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 weeks are post-term.) Your baby probably weighs a little over 6 pounds at this point and measures between 19 and 20 inches, head to heel.Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children are born blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.
38 weeks
Your baby has really fattened up. She likely weighs between 6 and 7 1/2 pounds now (boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls), and she's probably between 19 and 20 inches long. She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test with your pinky! Her organs are fully developed and in place, but her lungs and brain — though developed enough for her to function now — will continue to mature right through childhood.Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If your baby is born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)
34 weeks
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is probably almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her central nervous system is still maturing and her lungs are well developed by now. If you've been nervous about going into preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that 99 percent of babies this age can survive outside the womb — and most have no major long-term problems related to prematurity.
35 weeks
Your baby's getting big. He weighs a tad over 5 pounds and is just over 18 inches long. Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.
36 weeks
Your baby is still putting on the pounds — about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds and is a little less than 19 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the creamy substance that covered and protected her skin during its submersion in amniotic fluid. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, which will stay in her bowels until birth. This blackish mixture, called meconium, will become her first bowel movement.At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Babies between 37 and 42 weeks are considered full-term; a baby born before 37 weeks is pre-term and after 42 is post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position by now, which is optimal for a smooth delivery.
37 weeks
Congratulations! Your pregnancy is now considered full term — meaning your baby is developmentally ready to handle life outside the womb. (Babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 weeks are post-term.) Your baby probably weighs a little over 6 pounds at this point and measures between 19 and 20 inches, head to heel.Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children are born blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.
38 weeks
Your baby has really fattened up. She likely weighs between 6 and 7 1/2 pounds now (boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls), and she's probably between 19 and 20 inches long. She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test with your pinky! Her organs are fully developed and in place, but her lungs and brain — though developed enough for her to function now — will continue to mature right through childhood.Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If your baby is born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Minor drama this week
Yikes! I'm 36 weeks tomorrow! That means only 4 weeks to go.....it's getting very very close now!
We had a minor drama this last week, but nothing too much to be worried about. The midwife measures my tummy each visit, and this time I was measuring about 3 weeks short of what I should be so she sent me off for a scan just in case the baby had stopped growing. Dan and I weren't too worried because we are both small people, and the average sizings we are being compared to are taken from the rest of the population, and Asian/small genes are probably not well represented. Anyway, I went for the scan and they said things were fine and I was probably about 1½ weeks under the 'average' size so it was no big deal. Our baby is very low down in my pelvis which would have made the external measurement seem misleading. They also said the estimated weight at the moment is over 5 pounds, and I think the baby is meant to gain about ½ a pound a week from now, so if that is the case, he will be over 7 pounds when he is born and that is perfectly normal.
We went to the Parent and Child Expo last weekend to get bombarded with advertising and marketing towards new parents. There is so much stuff we can buy, but I don't know how much of it is essential. I wanted to buy a certain stroller, cot, breastpump and baby hammock there, and I ended up with the breastpump and hammock, and some other bits and pieces. I'll go buy the stroller I want tomorrow since that shop wasn't at the show! The cots at the show were too expensive, and there is a cot factory that advertises in every baby thing I've picked up, so they will be worth checking out.
The baby hammock looks fun - it hangs from the wall or ceiling, and then the baby snuggles into it and apparently its quite cosy for them. I'm going to hang it in my new Trading Room in our new place so I don't have to keep running upstairs all the time. Hmmm, running. Haven't been able to do that in ages (not that I would ever run for fitness or anything, just in short bursts, eg if it's raining). I'm basically a waddler now. I am big and giant and have a very heavy tummy.
I have hardly any clothes that fit - actually I have a pair of jeans, some trackpants and two skirts, and that's it. I really need more clothes, but I'm not going to buy anything that I'm only going to wear for 4 weeks max (I suppose our baby could come at any time now - but I'm hoping he will hold on for at least another 2 weeks). So I'm making do with wearing these clothes all the time, but it's getting so hot here.... And I can't wear pretty shoes either since all the extra weight makes my feet really hurt.
We moved into our new place this week, so that is exciting! I planted the vegetable garden in advance, so now things are sprouting. I have a big Trading Room for all our excess stuff we want to sell, and now that I'm not working during the week, I have time to slowly work through all the boxes and list everything. I have got so many bids at the moment on the various sites I list on - it's great getting rid of stuff and building up a baby fund!
We had a minor drama this last week, but nothing too much to be worried about. The midwife measures my tummy each visit, and this time I was measuring about 3 weeks short of what I should be so she sent me off for a scan just in case the baby had stopped growing. Dan and I weren't too worried because we are both small people, and the average sizings we are being compared to are taken from the rest of the population, and Asian/small genes are probably not well represented. Anyway, I went for the scan and they said things were fine and I was probably about 1½ weeks under the 'average' size so it was no big deal. Our baby is very low down in my pelvis which would have made the external measurement seem misleading. They also said the estimated weight at the moment is over 5 pounds, and I think the baby is meant to gain about ½ a pound a week from now, so if that is the case, he will be over 7 pounds when he is born and that is perfectly normal.
We went to the Parent and Child Expo last weekend to get bombarded with advertising and marketing towards new parents. There is so much stuff we can buy, but I don't know how much of it is essential. I wanted to buy a certain stroller, cot, breastpump and baby hammock there, and I ended up with the breastpump and hammock, and some other bits and pieces. I'll go buy the stroller I want tomorrow since that shop wasn't at the show! The cots at the show were too expensive, and there is a cot factory that advertises in every baby thing I've picked up, so they will be worth checking out.
The baby hammock looks fun - it hangs from the wall or ceiling, and then the baby snuggles into it and apparently its quite cosy for them. I'm going to hang it in my new Trading Room in our new place so I don't have to keep running upstairs all the time. Hmmm, running. Haven't been able to do that in ages (not that I would ever run for fitness or anything, just in short bursts, eg if it's raining). I'm basically a waddler now. I am big and giant and have a very heavy tummy.
I have hardly any clothes that fit - actually I have a pair of jeans, some trackpants and two skirts, and that's it. I really need more clothes, but I'm not going to buy anything that I'm only going to wear for 4 weeks max (I suppose our baby could come at any time now - but I'm hoping he will hold on for at least another 2 weeks). So I'm making do with wearing these clothes all the time, but it's getting so hot here.... And I can't wear pretty shoes either since all the extra weight makes my feet really hurt.
We moved into our new place this week, so that is exciting! I planted the vegetable garden in advance, so now things are sprouting. I have a big Trading Room for all our excess stuff we want to sell, and now that I'm not working during the week, I have time to slowly work through all the boxes and list everything. I have got so many bids at the moment on the various sites I list on - it's great getting rid of stuff and building up a baby fund!
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Our baby's development 33 weeks
33 Weeks
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and measures 17.2 inches from the top of his head to his heels. His skin is becoming less red and wrinkled, and while most of his bones are hardening, his skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. This will help him ease out of your relatively narrow birth canal.
Yes I'm getting a bit concerned about the 'relatively narrow birth canal' especially when you think of how large a baby is. I really don't think we are physiologically designed to easily give birth. It is going to HURT. A LOT. However, an interesting thing has been happening recently - all the bones and ligaments in my pelvic area have all dissolved away in preparation, and now I feel a bit better about actually fitting a whole person out of me. I just hope they know how to re-harden afterwards, because it really feels like all my innards could fall out if I sneeze too violently or something. Walking and rolling over in bed are also becoming increasingly difficult. Actually, rolling over in bed is pretty painful. I was talking to a pregnant lady the other day who is about 5 weeks ahead of me, and she was all exhausted and exasperated and everything and said pretty soon I would be sleeping sitting up in bed with a thousand pillows holding me up.
We started our ante-natal classes last week. It's a bit silly (lots of group work and brainstorming on large sheets of blank newsprint with coloured markers etc), but fun - and there are about 14 couples all due in December so hopefully we can make some friends. Of course, we are the youngest :( Stupid differences in life-goals...oh well.
Found someone to replace me at work, so I wont be working much longer - hooray! And hopefully we are able to move this weekend.
That's it. I don't even know if anyone reads my blog. I hope someone does!
7 weeks to go. HURRY UP!
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and measures 17.2 inches from the top of his head to his heels. His skin is becoming less red and wrinkled, and while most of his bones are hardening, his skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. This will help him ease out of your relatively narrow birth canal.
Yes I'm getting a bit concerned about the 'relatively narrow birth canal' especially when you think of how large a baby is. I really don't think we are physiologically designed to easily give birth. It is going to HURT. A LOT. However, an interesting thing has been happening recently - all the bones and ligaments in my pelvic area have all dissolved away in preparation, and now I feel a bit better about actually fitting a whole person out of me. I just hope they know how to re-harden afterwards, because it really feels like all my innards could fall out if I sneeze too violently or something. Walking and rolling over in bed are also becoming increasingly difficult. Actually, rolling over in bed is pretty painful. I was talking to a pregnant lady the other day who is about 5 weeks ahead of me, and she was all exhausted and exasperated and everything and said pretty soon I would be sleeping sitting up in bed with a thousand pillows holding me up.
We started our ante-natal classes last week. It's a bit silly (lots of group work and brainstorming on large sheets of blank newsprint with coloured markers etc), but fun - and there are about 14 couples all due in December so hopefully we can make some friends. Of course, we are the youngest :( Stupid differences in life-goals...oh well.
Found someone to replace me at work, so I wont be working much longer - hooray! And hopefully we are able to move this weekend.
That's it. I don't even know if anyone reads my blog. I hope someone does!
7 weeks to go. HURRY UP!
Monday, October 10, 2005
Isn't this cute? It's a handy little all in one suit with domes all over it for easy dressing I suppose, or maybe handy if the baby is the Incredible Hulk and likes to burst out of his clothes all the time! It is soft fuzzy fabric and says "On holiday I saw... a boat, fish, lighthouse and octopus". I especially like the octopus on the back - it is fat and fuzzy and very textured.
My private little baby shower
Well I decided that since I can't have a baby shower (lack of friends in the country), that I would have my own little baby shower and go out and buy some cute little clothes so our baby has something to wear in the first few days! I bought NewBorn sizes, but apparently they are only big enough for about a week or so, or sometimes not at all, depending on the size of the baby when it's born. I thought I would post the pictures in case anyone who was thinking of buying a present for the baby knows what we already have. I guess any sizes of clothes above NewBorn would be sensible. The only other baby clothes we have is all the knitting I have done, which is probably not going to be useful until next winter.
So yay for cute little baby clothes! It's hard to believe there is something in my tummy that will soon fit them!
Everything else is going fine - I'm still felling totally normal and not pregnant, apart from the big kicks and punches I get. My clothes are getting much smaller though, and it's getting annoying not having much to wear anymore. I went maternity shopping the other day because I'm getting a bit desperate....but everything is so expensive, and really I am only going to get another 8 weeks wear out of them. I bought 2 nice skirts though which is good, because i only have a couple of pairs of pants that still fit, and even my maternity pants are too small now.
What a fattie I must be! I have one pair of maternity jeans that are still a tincy bit too big, so I guess they will become my best and most comfortable item of clothing for not too sunny days. I actually wore out my smaller pair of maternity jeans. Can't believe it.
And I need all new bras now. I can't understand why maternity bras are so ugly! Underwear shops are filled with pretty and sexy bras for non-pregnant people, but once you make use of them and get pregnant, you get downgraded to ugly, big, giant, functional cover-all things that only come in a couple of designs and weird colours. And you can't wear them under tshirts because everything shows through, plus now I am starting to leak a little, so I get to use lovely breast pads, and they just stand out so much under clothes. Sigh. I really need to sort out this general lack of maternity fashion issue. I've been trying my best to be glamorous, and I do get lots of compliments, but it's getting harder now that i'm a big giant pregnant person, about to explode!
I'm well on the way to the end though - 32 weeks now and only 8 to go. Everyone seems to think I'm so big that surely I will pop early, but hopefully not too early. I think anything after 36 weeks might be ok, but i'd rather make sure everything goes to full term.
We start ante-natal classes on Thursday, so hopefully they will be fun. I have been reading lots of birthing stories on my website thingy with all the other women due the same week as me - it sounds horrible! I'm sure I'll cope though since virtually everyone else gets through it.
That's it for tonight.
So yay for cute little baby clothes! It's hard to believe there is something in my tummy that will soon fit them!
Everything else is going fine - I'm still felling totally normal and not pregnant, apart from the big kicks and punches I get. My clothes are getting much smaller though, and it's getting annoying not having much to wear anymore. I went maternity shopping the other day because I'm getting a bit desperate....but everything is so expensive, and really I am only going to get another 8 weeks wear out of them. I bought 2 nice skirts though which is good, because i only have a couple of pairs of pants that still fit, and even my maternity pants are too small now.
What a fattie I must be! I have one pair of maternity jeans that are still a tincy bit too big, so I guess they will become my best and most comfortable item of clothing for not too sunny days. I actually wore out my smaller pair of maternity jeans. Can't believe it.
And I need all new bras now. I can't understand why maternity bras are so ugly! Underwear shops are filled with pretty and sexy bras for non-pregnant people, but once you make use of them and get pregnant, you get downgraded to ugly, big, giant, functional cover-all things that only come in a couple of designs and weird colours. And you can't wear them under tshirts because everything shows through, plus now I am starting to leak a little, so I get to use lovely breast pads, and they just stand out so much under clothes. Sigh. I really need to sort out this general lack of maternity fashion issue. I've been trying my best to be glamorous, and I do get lots of compliments, but it's getting harder now that i'm a big giant pregnant person, about to explode!
I'm well on the way to the end though - 32 weeks now and only 8 to go. Everyone seems to think I'm so big that surely I will pop early, but hopefully not too early. I think anything after 36 weeks might be ok, but i'd rather make sure everything goes to full term.
We start ante-natal classes on Thursday, so hopefully they will be fun. I have been reading lots of birthing stories on my website thingy with all the other women due the same week as me - it sounds horrible! I'm sure I'll cope though since virtually everyone else gets through it.
That's it for tonight.
Our baby's development 30-32 weeks
30 weeks
Your baby's a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and fills out your uterus. Her eyes open and close, she's able to distinguish between light and dark, and she can even follow a light source back and forth. Once she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have a visual acuity of only 20/400 — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.
31 weeks
This week, your baby measures about 16 inches long. He weighs a little over 3 pounds and is headed for a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and he's beginning to accumulate a layer of fat underneath his skin in preparation for life as a newborn. As a result, his arms, legs, and body are filling out.
32 weeks
Your baby's a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and fills out your uterus. Her eyes open and close, she's able to distinguish between light and dark, and she can even follow a light source back and forth. Once she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have a visual acuity of only 20/400 — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.
31 weeks
This week, your baby measures about 16 inches long. He weighs a little over 3 pounds and is headed for a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and he's beginning to accumulate a layer of fat underneath his skin in preparation for life as a newborn. As a result, his arms, legs, and body are filling out.
32 weeks
By now, your baby probably weighs almost 4 pounds and is almost 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. She has tiny toenails now, and her fingernails have grown in, too. Some babies have a head of hair already; others have only peach fuzz.
Peach fuzz! How cute! I bet our baby will look like a tiny budda or something for a while.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Here is me at 7 months. I'm a bit bigger than the last photo, although from side on you can't really see how much I'm spreading out to the sides now... Space is now at a premium for our little baby, and i'm starting to get frustrated by all the tickles and jiggles and squiggles I feel all day and night! 70 long days to go.....
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