ten weeks old

my little girl is ten weeks old

Lucy has a toy called Crunchie. It crunches and Lucy loves it. She grabs it and eats it and stares at it. She is becoming more and more alert every day. She winks and smiles and raises her eyebrows.

She does a cute opened eye thing if you take a photo of her with the flash.

She has started to laugh. It's only happened a few times. She mostly just gurgles but a few times she has been really laughing. It's the best.

She has a bit of a sniffly nose again. It was really sniffly on Saturday night. I put her down to sleep and she sounded like a little baby pig. So I called my mum and she said to drop some saline up her nose. It worked really well and she slept for a good long while.

She is becoming much more vocal. She sings along with me and chatters away. She likes words that start with G (gee, gah etc). Her cries are getting louder. She cries when she is overstimulated and sometimes it is tricky to get her to calm down. Myl is a superman at getting her to be happy. He sings to her with his big deep voice and she is in heaven.

She is getting better at feeding (or am I getting better?) Sometimes she is very picky about the side she wants. She will make hunger signs and then wail if I give her one side so I think she isn't hungry till I try the other. It's never the same side though. She is a kook!

We went out for dumplings with my siblings on the weekend. Lucy loves her aunts and uncles. She put on a very good show of smiles and cuddles. Sometimes I think she is better behaved for other people than for me.

I love her oh so much. Looking at her makes my heart ache. Holding her makes me feel so happy. I'm loving being a mama. It is so wonderful.

i think i feel a flu coming on...

You know that tingly feeling in your throat?
The feeling of slightly blocked sinuses?
That very dull ache in your head?
That drowsy feeling that makes you doze a little when you aren't supposed to?

I've got that right now. It feels like the very beginnings of a flu.

I'm actually pretty lucky. Till the little one comes I have very little to do except make sure the house is all ready for her arrival.
SO this morning I had a nice sleep in, ate some porridge for breakfast and got some vitamin c into my system.

I hope this hint of the flu doesn't turn into the full blown thing. I don't much fancy being fluey in labour.

My hands and feet are still ridiculously itchy. I've tried cool baths, oatmeal baths, Alpha Keri ointment, rest and elevation, walking in only rubber thongs, walking in bare feet and I've been trying not to scratch them. Really I have.

Nothing really seems to work very well.

Boo hoo.

One thing that makes me smile though is this little baby girl doing what looks like palates in the womb. All of a sudden one section of my belly will be pushed right up into the sky like there is a whole knee being pressed into one spot. It will stay there for a bit then come back down. It's pretty amazing and if I didn't know there was a baby in there I would probably be worried about some kind of "Alien" reenactment.

checkup.

I just got back from my 29 week checkup. The first of the fortnightly visits.

I feel awful.
I was feeling all sprightly and well this morning as we left. When we got there I got to see the midwife pretty much straight away. She was really friendly and lovely.

I was supposed to have my glucose test (for gestational diabetes) before Christmas but it just didn't happen so I had it done today. They got me to drink the sweetest drink I have ever tasted. It was thick and syrupy like cordial without the water in it. It had a slight fizz. After drinking that I was feeling even more sprightly.

The midwife took my blood pressure - 120/65 (perfect she said)

She felt around for the little one but couldn't figure out where she was. I think she was sleeping at the time. In the mornings I don't really feel her. She is moving right now and I can tell exactly where she is.
She found the heartbeat and said it was good.

Then I had to wait an hour to get my blood tested. I sat in the waiting room and read a book about babies. I began to feel a bit drowsy. It felt like I was coming down from that sugar high. Myl went to move the car and when he was gone the time came for the blood test.

I felt pretty good about the needle. I could tell this midwife would be really good at blood tests. But I was still feeling a bit drowsy. As soon as the needle went in (which I barely felt) i started to feel dizzy. I told the midwife and she told me to drop my head and keep my arm still.

She finished up the test and gave me some iced water. I felt so dizzy. The water helped. Myl came in just at that moment and gave my head a pat. I like that.

She told me to lie down next time.

After finishing my water I went out to the car where Myl was waiting. I began to feel a bit queasy. When I got to the car I felt like I needed to vomit. You know that horrible feeling in your throat. I wound down the window and contemplated running into emergency for a vomit bag. Feeling woozy we drove on. I was holding an empty packet of shapes (just in case) and had the window wound right down. Myles started to pray for me and I started to feel better. Crisis averted.

I still feel a bit under the weather. It's a cool day today. So odd for Janurary. So we are having a nice little relax in the lounge room.

It's nice. More water I think.

Oh the burn

This morning I woke up with heartburn.
I had a bit of it before but now it is back with a vengeance.

It's really painful and I have had pretty regular bursts every five or so minutes.
I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to get my thyroid results so I'll ask her about it but I found a few helpful tips.

1. Eat smaller and more frequent meals. In stead of three big meals eat six half size ones throughout the day.

2. Don't eat before bed.

3. Avoid fatty/spicy/acidy/tomato foods.

4. Don't stress.

5. Drink a small glass of milk with honey in.

So on this very rainy first day of summer I'm gonna take it easy with my wonderful husband and try get rid of the burn.

Sore head, runny nose and moving belly.

 

Im lying in bed typing this on my phone. Its a pitiful sight. My nose is dripping like a leaky tap and my head feels like it has collided with a brick wall. Sleep seems like a tricky concept.

But.

All is peachy because my bobbin started to move. Thats right I can feel all sorts of little wriggles and squirms going on. It started yesterday with popping bubbles as I was driving and now I can feel the little one moving about. No big kicks though. Heres hoping that means we have a gentle little soul in there.

Ok time to attempt some sleep.

where it's at

So at this stage all is really well with the little one.
We have heard the heartbeat on two separate occasions and it is loud and strong.
Bobbin is moving round like an athlete and having a great old time.
I can't feel any movement just yet but I'm sure it's only around the corner.

We have an ultrasound appointment on the 26th. Only 2 glasses of water this time so it should be ok. It will be so exciting to see the little bob again this time looking less like a blobby duck and hopefully more like us?!?!
And yes we are going to find out if its a little girl or boy but stay tuned for more exciting info on this topic...

My belly is just starting to pop out which is so nice. It's good to finally be starting to feel pregnant but I'm so lucky to have missed out on all the nausea and pain I know other women experience.

I'm loving having this little one inside so so much!


image credit - tumblr chaispice

silly sick and sad

I am all three of these things this week.


Silly - I'm sure you are all aware of the term "comfort eater." I am not a comfort eater. I really like food and cooking and reading Jamie Oliver cookbooks but in order to enjoy I have to be happy. Most of the time I am happy so this is not a problem. But in the morning or lunchtime if I am at home on my lonesome the desire to cook is not within me.

This presents a bit of a problem when there is not one but two to feed. I keep needing to remind myself that I need to eat lots and regularly and healthily because it is not just me I am feeding. So my morning ritual consists of;

Wake up
have a shower
feed the bobbin... etc

I need that mindset otherwise Myles comes home and I realise that I am starving.

Its very silly... hence the title.

Sick - I think this would also be correctly labeled as silly but for the purpose of a cool title lets leave it as sick. I have hypothyroidism. It's not a big deal. I just take a pill a day. Easy right?

Well... these are special pills. The chemist told me to keep them in the fridge. (Quite a few times actually) But did I listen? Well yes... and no.

 I looked at the packet a little while ago and read that after 21 days at below 25 degrees you must discard all extra pills. In a packet of 200 I thought that sounded harsh but figured that meant you kept one blister pack in the fridge and the rest in the cupboard so they don't need to be thrown out?

Actually I'm not so sure what I thought.

But in reality it just means you can have them out of the fridge (below 25 but higher than cold cold fridge temp) for 21 days and after that chuck em out.

So I have had my pills in the cupboard with one pack in the fridge. That pack is almost gone. I am very silly and need to go get a new pack. Lucky they only cost me five bucks! Thanks PBS!

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.


Sad - these silly and sick things make me sad. They sometimes make me feel like I will be a bad mother and forget to feed/medicate my child. Mostly they just make me laugh at myself at how rediculous and imperfect I am.


Hmm maybe I should just blame it on being pregnant and rename this post. When you get pregnant your brain turns to mush?

results at last!

One of the midwives from the birth centre just called with my results.

She said I have antibodies.
I had no idea what this meant but she said it was good.
She also said there was no recent trace of the virus in my system.
Which is GOOD!

It means baby is ok and doesn't need to be monitored etc.


Such a weight off my mind and an answer to prayer.

Happy days.
Thanks to God.

please pray

I just found out that one of the little kiddos I nanny for has a thing called slap face.
No, its not worth calling Docs over. Its a flu like virus that gives you a big ole rash on the cheeks. Looking a bit like a slap.

It usually doesn't affect adults unless of course you have a small one inside.
Which I do.

It's unlikely that anything will happen. I think its about 5% but if it does the little one could have sever anemia. And that's not good.

So I'm going to get a blood test and if its +ve I need to be closely monitored = not a lot of fun.

So please pray (if that's what you do) that there would be nothing wrong.
And pray that my mister and I would not be so worried.

I'm already all worried that my belly is not big enough, baby isnt there/growing/alive etc.
Silly things I know but they are still worries.

Thanks all. I will keep you posted.

Image Credit: tumblr

Oh my nausea.

Warning: This post may contain TMI about vomiting, nausea and sickness. If this makes you feel as queasy as it makes me maybe read another post about cute happy baby things.


Its hit.

The nausea.

I thought I was well and truly going to miss it being out of the first trimester on Tuesday but as the weekend approached as did the queasy feeling in my stomach, the headaches and the loss of appetite added to terrible feelings of hunger.

I have never really been a vomiter. Pretty sure I can count all the experiences of vomit on one hand. There was that time in primary school where I threw up in sick bay. I had the lucky treat of a lunch order that day and I could see my tasty saussage roll on the floor. (I warned you not to read this if it made you feel sicky.) The horrible 24 hour bug in high school that started as quickly as it stopped and the beach mission wonder. Myl and I were at dinner with a family in the caravan park and I started to feel unwell. I excused myself no less than three times to go hurl in the bathroom each time coming back to eat the next course of the meal. I will never look at salmon kebabs the same way again.

So I have not thrown up yet. I will not let myself unless it is absolutely unavoidable.

It is not a nice feeling making or receiving a delicious meal and feeling so so hungry for it only to eat a few mouthfuls and be very full or fit to throw up.

Just to make my sob story complete I have also got the swollen glands and blocked nose. I am one sick and sorry looking chicky.

But on the bright side with any luck it will all be over by Tuesday. This is the first sign of it and some women are sick for weeks if not months.




In other news. I went to see my parents for Dad's birthday this weekend (I'm sure a post will follow). As mum is a midwife she has a stethescope and we listened to the little ones heartbeat. It was so soft and sounded so fast and unlike an adult heartbeat but it was there and that makes me smile.

Image Credit: Flickr user EvilErin


Edit - Just ate some pizza and got through the whole thing. That food is magic.

Start of Week 9

Dear little one,

You are the most precious little thing.

It was so wonderful to see your picture.

I am imagining you in my life in a few

months time and it is very exciting.

I'm imagining us having fun together,

exploring parks and going out around

town. I hope we become good friends.

I felt a teensy weensy bit sick this week

but only when I ate a crumpet. Some 

people say that if you don't get nausea 

you have a very cranky baby. I hope

you won't be cranky. Ill just sing you 

a lullaby if you are.

xx

6 or is it 7 weeks?

Edit: Its the end of 7 weeks today 30/7. Start of week 8 but you say that you are 7 weeks till the 8th week is over.