i'm back

Well ... tomorrow Benjamin will be 11 weeks old, eeeek! Where on earth has that time gone?! And I thought my pregnancy went quickly. I've settled into motherhood well and we're really enjoying our time together getting to know one and other!

The first month was such a blur. The hubby was lucky to be able to take 4 weeks off work which meant that we all got to enjoy those precious early moments. It was also a god send as I could recover properly from the cesarean with Mark there to help throughout the day. Recovery over and Mark well and truly back at work, me and Benjamin have been settling into our new routine, which includes baby groups, walks, meeting people and attempting naps ...

And, with all this 'time off' from blogging I've racked up quite a few topics which I want to cover, so apologies if you get bombarded in the next few weeks!!

Cx

I'm still here

Just taking some time to adjust to mummyhood, and trying to figure out if I'll ever have the time to post again!

Cx

new arrival ...

On Friday 9th September 2011 we welcomed our beautiful baby boy, Benjamin John Davies, into the world. He is absolutely perfect and we are totally besotted, I just cant stop looking at him and drinking in every little detail.

The delivery wasn't as straight forward as I would have liked but I would go through it all over again, ten times and more for our little man! After a strange day where I seemed to cry at everything and didn't feel 'quite right' my waters broke at 3.15am on Thursday 8th. I wasn't experiencing any contractions but was advised to go into hospital to be checked, they confirmed that the membranes had ruptured and advised me to go home where labour would hopefully follow and to return the next morning to be induced if it had not. Sure enough at home the contractions started, they were somewhat mild (in comparison to what was to follow) and irregular. I had some concerns over the colour of the fluids, mainly clear with some green flecks, so was advised to return to hospital. The midwifes assured me that they were not concerned about this but would progress with the induction as I was already there, so at 4.15pm I was induced. I hadn't really mentioned my thoughts on induction here before, but it was one of the things that ideally I would have liked to have avoided as rather than build gradually the drugs progress you well into labour quickly, not allowing much time for your body to produce it's own pain killers, however I wanted the baby to arrive the safest way possible

I progressed from 1cm to 6cm very quickly, but the pain was unbearable. I had been given diamorphine which had no effect and the gas and air provided more of a distraction rather than any relief. My hubby was wonderful and supportive throughout the whole thing. I cant imagine what it is like to watch someone you love go through so much pain when there is nothing you can do to help. When I was told I was 6cm dilated I quickly opted for an epidural, which thankfully didn't take that long to arrange. The difference that this made was like night and day, very quickly I couldn't feel the contractions which was marvellous. Following the epidural I progressed to 8cm slowly and unfortunately that is as far as I got, they think that this is down to the position of the little tinker. At first the consultant said that they would give it another two hours to see if I had progressed any further, if not then we would be looking at a section. I think it was at this point that I realised, even if I made it to 10cm I didn't have the energy to push, I asked to be examined after an hour when they did this I was still at 8cm so the epidural was topped up and I was prepped for surgery.

What follows is a bit of a blur, I was very nervous and trying to keep my mind off what was happening! Mark joined us when they were ready and it started, no pain just as strange feeling and then a tiny cry! The next thing I heard was Mark telling me that we had had a boy "a beautiful baby boy". We were both so emotional! Words can't describe how I felt when I saw him for the very first time. After I was put back together again, we spent the rest of the day getting to know each other, having lots and lots of cuddles!

A week later and we're at home, adjusting to new surroundings and new roles. I thought my pregnancy went fast but this week has gone by so quickly! We're getting there with breastfeeding, thanks to lots of support and encouragement from family, friends and professionals. And I hear that eventually you do get into more of a routine, but hey - sleep is overrated when you have something this special!

Cx

39 weeks!

Today I'm 39 weeks through my pregnancy, looking back it's been such an amazing time and that is what I need to keep in my mind as I'm growing (still!) more uncomfortable as the days go on!!

This week I got fitted for some nursing bras at good old M&S. I thought I would go now and get some basic ones and then go back a few weeks after the baby has arrived to be fitted again and pick up some prettier ones ... who says functional has to be boring?! I know my body has changed a lot throughout the pregnancy but I wasn't quite expecting to have gone up three whole cup sizes, with the possibility of these increasing again! My new bras are so comfy ... now I just need to get the hang of these clip things at the top! I also bought some basic nursing tops which I thought would be great for around the house, I hadn't planned on getting any but H&M has a pack of two in for £20, not bad! Upon recommendations of mums I've been stockpiling cheap vest tops to wear under normal tops, just as good as nursing tops for modesty and you don't feel like you still have a restricted wardrobe apparently.

In the interest of science, last week I posted that I was going to be trying some of the old wives tales of how to induce labour ... well, as you can tell by this post none were successful! I did have two 'false starts' last week but I think that they were a sign that I really need to start taking things a bit easier and get as much rest as possible!!

Both were with the same symptoms, increased moisture (sorry!), intense back ache, hip pain and accompanying tightenings. I was so convinced that the second time was the start of things that I timed the contractions, they were 9 mins apart and each lasted just over a minute. When I called the labour ward for advice they recommended that I take paracetamol and rest and to head in when the contractions got more intense, closer together (around three in ten minutes) and longer. All symptoms seemed to disappear within an hour and a half ... very frustrating at the time BUT at least I know what to look out for, and when to contact the hospital and head in!! Also on the positive, my body is certainly preparing itself for the main event ... I just hope that it all happens naturally and I don't need to be induced in three weeks time!

Not in the interest of taking it easy, me and the hubby have been making the most of our last few weeks as a twosome. On Saturday we went out for breakfast and had a lovely meander around Durham, you forget how nice places are when you live there. Yesterday we went to the seaside for a walk, the weather was great and we were talking excitedly about how nice it will be when we can bring the little one for a plodge in the sea! We then went for lunch (scientifically spicy chicken!) and had a look round the shops.

In the nicest possible way, I hope the next post is a birth announcement rather than a countdown update!
Cx

the other hospital checklist

As d-day is approaching fast, I've noticed that I seem to have another 'to do list' in preparation for the hospital, which quite literally involves preparing myself. I'm not talking about mental preparation or physical, in terms of pre-natal exercises etc. oh no, I'm far more shallow than that it would seem! For me this list involves preparing my body for whatever exposure I may come up against (and I hear there is lots of it!), closer to holiday prep than readying myself for the arrival of our little munchkin! This is what I've done so far ...

• Manicure
• Pedicure
• Eyebrow wax
• Full body scrub
• Leg and bikini line hair removal
• Intensive conditioning treatment

Pedi aside, what is great about this is that I have been able to do them all at home, indulging in a little me time while resting and nesting. Ok, I did have a go at the pedi but it's near impossible being this shape. The best I could do was reach and try my best to aim for a nail! Time permitting I would also like to have my eyelashes tinted but I would definitely need to go to a salon for that!

I know it's not necessary, and I'm sure that the midwifes wont care that my finger and toe nails match as the baby is coming. But it makes me feel better and a bit more confident going in to things!

Cx

38 weeks!

TODAY (yes I am being good this week ...) I am 38 weeks through my pregnancy ... and boy do I know it! I feel cumbersome and huge and have reached the point where I am ready for this baby to come. Thankfully the tooth (or lack of) is feeling better, thanks to some low dosage codeine that helped me through ... I have definitely been punished for eating all those cakes etc. over the past few months.

Where do I start? I have had a strange week, part spent in bed because I haven't been sleeping well and part making up for it by cleaning and ironing absolutely everything. I have been getting more and more sudden pains ... down there ... thanks to the baby 'headbutting' as we like to call it. One more thing which I have been experiencing is what a pain in the bum pregnancy is, literally! Sudden sharp shooting pains in that region, not good!! Nobody tells you about these things at the start, so when you start to experience them there is that panic of whether this is normal ... apparently it is, and very common too! I'm starting to think I might write my own 'warts and all' pregnancy book!!

So I've reached that point, as many women do, where I'm starting to think that trying the old wives tales of ways to bring on labour might not be such a bad idea, in the interest of science you see! It all started on Saturday when we went to the metro centre (shopping centre), the hubby wanted to get some new clothes and I never mind a spot of retail therapy even if it isn't for me, after the clothes shopping was done we headed to the newly opened wagamama restaurant where I ordered the katsu curry ... it was lovely but immediately afterwards I started to have really strong contraction like sensations, not painful but more intense than any I have had before. This accompanied by the fact I've been having constant dull aches in my lower back for the past few days made me think that this might be the start of something. By the end of the day the contractions had gone but the back ache was still there and a little stronger than before. Sunday I woke with the same back ache and regular but painless braxton hicks, we had also planned to go out for a belated birthday curry that night so I had my hopes high that the same thing might happen again, but to help things we decided to go out for a walk (something else that is supposed to help). The walk made sure we were hungry and the curry was beautiful, back ache was still there and I had some more painful tightenings but that was about it! I woke very early this morning and needed the loo, but I could barely get out of bed and when I did I felt like I couldn't walk because of the pains ... down there, I did eventually make it to the loo and the pains wore off! Today I have been absolutely exhausted, spending half the day in my PJs but determined to try some more remedies we went out again, this time for a shorter walk and for a hot and spicy pizza (according to babycentre forum these have proved successful for other people) so here I am, chronic heartburn and hoping that maybe this is what will have an effect!

So in summary, two curries have failed and hopes are currently riding on a hot and spicy cheesy bites pizza, if not I have stocked up on pineapple for tomorrows experiment, fresh pineapple is meant to help but you have to eat around 8! I have two large boxes of pre prepared fruit (which is probably all I would end up with if I was put in charge of preparing 8 of them!) which I plan to munch my way through tomorrow ... probably in between ironing and cleaning :)

I also have a midwife appointment tomorrow, hopefully the little rascal will have moved from back to back - I have been really good and done my exercises every day!

Cx

37 weeks!

On Monday I was 37 weeks through my pregnancy, which means that the baby is now classed as full term and could come any day now ...

Sunday was my 29th birthday, I had a lovely day with family, my mum even cooked a roast dinner which is unheard of. I have, however, stored my birthday bubbly allocation for use once the baby is here and has settled in to a feeding routine! Sunday was eventful for a whole other reason too ... I hadn't felt much movement throughout the day and despite trying the usual tricks, ice cold drinks and high sugar content food, I wasn't getting much of a response so that evening we decided to go to the hospital to be checked out. The midwifes were lovely and I was put on a tracker to monitor both me and the baby. Thankfully everything was fine, as junior decided to start jumping around as usual once the monitor was put on and we ended up with what was described as a textbook trace. Although nervous for obvious reasons to begin with, the whole experience really put me at ease, knowing that the staff are so friendly and supportive has certainly relieved some apprehension about when the actual time arrives!

Monday was also an eventful day, as we spent another night at the hospital ... for non pregnancy related reasons! I've had a problem with one of my back teeth for a while that I have been putting off and putting off, at the weekend this really came to a head and I was in agony. Still being stubborn as a mule I didn't do anything about it other than mope about, take paracetamol and put bags of frozen anything on my face. I held out until Monday night when I gave in and went to the emergency dentist, who promptly removed the offending tooth. I had read somewhere that it wasn't recommended that you have dental work, like fillings, during the later stages of pregnancy. Obviously you can't leave cavities untreated either! I'm still in lots of pain from the extraction, which was difficult to say the least, and the only thing that we are allowed - paracetamol - wasn't even touching the pain I'm in. So today I contacted my GP who has prescribed me a low dose of codeine for the next couple of days to help as things settle down! Fingers crossed!!

Other than that I feel fine, I've got used to the braxton hicks and the babies 'headbutting' as we now like to call it. Lets see how the little one reacts to my current 'smooth food' diet!

Cx