Oopsie Daisy

Flowers from the aunties in Sweden! Complete with an Aussie florist's brave attempt at Swedish.

Shopping trip.

Today Daisy got to go shopping with mamma and pappa at Warringah Mall. First car trip since coming home! She was rather uninterested, in fact she was deeply unconcious in the pram for the entire event. 

Shopping success! Mamma is finally out of her pyjama bottoms!

Daisy not paying much attention to the fact that she's at the mall...

Test drive

Woohoo, the sun is finally shining and I'm out of the house, test driving the pram around Dee Why! Well, not so much driving actually as walking along next to Dwayne who won't let go of the handle bar... Proud daddy.

Adorable

Daisy's grandmother was here most of the day today, pretty much refusing to let go of the baby apart from (reluctantly) at feeding time. She even had dinner with Daisy in her arms.

When she had to leave she wanted to help change a nappy first, so we made a two woman job of it. Daisy made the otherwise uncomplicated procedure slightly more interesting by projectile pooing as soon as the dirty nappy came off. Grandma is quicker than she looks, she got out of the way and didn't catch any of the mess. My trousers and the bedsheets however had to go straight in the washing machine, and we definitely need to buy some carpet cleaner tomorrow...

Dwayne was equally shocked and impressed by the capacity of such a little body. I have warned him, this is only the beginning of the encounters with Daisy's bodily functions. There will be plenty of poo, pee, vomit and other unpleasantness to deal with in the years to come.

Good thing she's adorable.

Daisy's first bath

Five days old, enjoying a nice bath.

Attack of the monster boobs

My baby and my boobs have now all decided that milk rules. My boobs are GINORMOUS.

They don't even jiggle any more, they just  sit there in all absurdness looking like the most overstated boob job you ever saw.

Geez.

Third day blues, and fourth day home!

So I, the least hormonal woman on this planet, ran straight into the classic third day blues yesterday. I have not accumulated that much crying through my life I think.

I had a terrible night leading up to day three in the hospital. Daisy refused to feed even though she was clearly hungry, I struggled with her for hours in the night without success. There was some drama happening in the maternity ward and the midwives didn't have time to help us. When I did manage to catch some sleep, I had terrible nightmares.

The morning of the third day started with general weepiness, crying because my husband is so great or because my daughter is so cute. But then the pediatrician entered the scene...

I don't like doctors. Even the nice ones have a scary clinical way about them. They possess none of the coziness the midwives all have. This one was two apples high and had an annoying chirpiness about her. I'm sure she was nice enough, but she came to tell me my baby had lost 1% too much weight (yes, one percent) and I was not going to be allowed to leave the hospital and to top things off I would have to feed the baby formula.

Through my veil of hormonal tears what I heard was: "You can't feed your own baby who is now dangerously dehydrated, so we're going to hold you hostage and force feed your baby artificial crap."

Need I say I got slightly hystercal after that? Dwayne, having barely ever seen me cry and certainly never seen me fail and despair, got angry and went and spoke to the midwives. They took him seriously and started paying me a lot more attention, but unfortunately none of the girls that I already knew were on duty. I saw different people every feed, had to explain the situation over and over again, and the worst bit - each midwife had a completely different opinion and approach. So I cried and cried and Daisy refused to eat and all was miserable.

But then, as the night shift started, my saving angel Belinda came on! She is a down to earth, no nonsense, comforting person. She actually pulled out a chair and sat with me and listened and let me cry. She reassured me and explained the situation to me and made everything seem so much less like the end of the world. Then she helped me feed Daisy Piglet through the night, first breast and then a top-up of formula. She made sure I slept and she came in to wake me up for feeding time and didn't leave the room until things were working. By this morning Daisy was eating perfectly well and we haven't had to give her any more formula since.

Even the small chirpy pediatrician was happy to discharge us, so this very moment Daisy and I are snuggled up on the sofa watching telly whilst Dwayne waits on us. Bliss!

Sleepy girl with tummy full of breast milk.

Third day with Daisy

Daisy Piglet is doing well. She is not entirely sure about the feeding process, which is why we opted to stay in the hospital an extra night and get some round the clock feeding assistance. But today is going home day for Piglet!

View from my hospital window. I'm sure if you're here for a less joyful reason, this view would help brighten things up. 

Most drastic and fast weight loss ever. 

Daisy Piglet, barely three days old.

Daisy Piglet

Daisy Joan Cassidy (aka Daisy Piglet) has arrived! She was born on a horrendously rainy winter Sunday (23 June) and spent her first few minutes in a room lit up by lightning. But hey, is there a better way to spend a horrendously rainy day than to produce a baby?

I went through labour pretty much the same way I went through the pregnancy - with minimal fuss and no complications. 

It all started as if someone had turned on a switch at 8am, with contactions every three minutes, and progressed steadily from there. We went to the hospital at midday to check on things, and then I opted to go home again to chill for a bit. Around 4pm Dwayne decided it was time to go back to hospital, so we went in and by 7.32pm Daisy was born.

In my opinion childbirth is not as terrible as one is lead to believe. I did not want any drugs, but had decided to go for gas if I felt I needed it. I ended up not using the gas in the end, because I didn't want the distraction.

It's terribly uncomfortable, rather overwhelming at times and all-encompassing by the end. But totally doable as long as you have the right mindset.

Here are my top tips for childbirth:

- Chillax. Whatever you do, don't waste energy stressing. Play dead between contractions and pretend that the last one never happened and that you have AGES before the next one.

- Have a rock solid birth companion with you. Dwayne was amazing. I wasn't very communicative, but he immediately learned to read one word sentences and act accordingly. He also didn't leave my side for a moment, didn't take his hand off my back for the entire process, and knew not to bug me with anything but relevant questions or midwives' orders.

- Make sure said companion hits the gym in advance. Dwayne had to hold the entire weight of me and Daisy Piglet when the midwife suggested I needed to stand up right near the end. I hung off his neck, not actually standing at all through contractions. It did cross my mind that it must be very heavy for him, but I quite  frankly didn't give a pony's tail.

- Turn off the lights, make sure people shut up unless giving you helpful hints, don't look at the clock, in fact don't bother opening your eyes at all. Go into he zone and stay there. Time is of no relevance.

- Don't be afraid. Millions upon millions of people have done it before, and succeeded. It has to be done, no turning back now, so go with it.

- And finally, it's hard work and not for the faint hearted - so don't be faint hearted! 

There is an amazing prize for the winner in the end after all. In my case, a fat pink Daisy Piglet. She skipped the blue stage and went straight to incredibly cute and pink, with no drugs in her little body. Just the way I wished for her first moments on Earth to be!

Come on little Blob

Let's go for a walk!

Happy due date, little Blob!

40 weeks today. It's a grey and and rather boring day. I have no other plans today, so come on little Blob, let's see some action!

(Or perhaps tomorrow, I did actually plan to make pasta sauce tonight...)

Now, where's that baby?

My Hug-a-bub baby wrap has arrived! All I need now  is a Blob to put in it.

I went to the midwife clinic this morning and Blob seems comfortable in there. He/she is also fully engaged and apparently in position to arrive any day. It doesn't feel like it to me though... I am totally comfortable still and there are no signs that anything is changing. I'm curious to see how this ends...

Next week I'm booked for a doctor's appointment to assess and plan in case they want to induce me. Bah! I refuse to be induced! (Unless they can prove to me that Blob's suffering). Here in Australia they only let you go until week 41 + 3 days before they induce. Please little Blob, come out before they force medical procedures on us...

Hug-a-bub

I bought myself one of these today:

It's a lovely baby wrap to carry Blob in. You can carry the baby upright or cradled sideways, or outward facing once it's older, and it looks so much nicer than the harness style ones. I hope Blob likes it!

39 weeks!

Today's mission 1

Washing about a hundred pieces of baby clothes in various sizes.

Life of a housewife, day 2

So, yesterday was my first day of maternity leave. I have to ask - what do people DO with their time? My life has clearly revolved around work for way too long.

Yesterday I went a bit crazy with it. I got up at 5am, cleaned the house, did two loads of laundry, prepared the baby cot, went for a 7k walk, watched some daytime TV and had a  minor housewife breakdown by dinner time. And that was just day 1.

Today is day 2 and it's a grey, rainy and boring looking day. It's 10.30am and so far I have moved from the bed to the sofa. I have watched Ellen, Come dine with me, and Real Housewives whilst drinking tea and devouring an entire pack of milk chocolate Hob-Nobs.

I need a project. I might cook up a rabbit stew.

One thing I learnt...

... is to ignore books and advice as needed.

Don't eat salty food, the books say. It'll make your feet swell. Well, the photo in my previous post was taken after two weeks of no potato chips. I have now reverted to eating as much deep fried potato as I wish, and combined with long walks my feet are back to pretty much normal.

Not eating potato chips is only going to cause mental damage, I say.

Week 38

Still not suffering from any tiresome pregnancy symptoms really, except for the ever growing bump. But as of last week, I suddenly have terribly swollen legs and feet. What happened, where are the bones, sinew and sticky-outy bits that normally characterise my feet? I look down and find myself standing on someone else's legs.

My GOODNESS.

House moving day!

Moving house today! We get a second bedroom and beautiful wooden floors in the new place, but I will still miss our old apartment. It's so spacious and lovely, and I thought it would be Blob's first home.

Anyway, can't wait to have the new place all set up and homey!

By the way, that's a really cute baby bump if I may say so myself.

Blob at 32 weeks...

... and a few days.

Making a break for it

I think Blob is trying to escape - sideways. Feisty little body parts are constantly poking through my side, or pushing, or punching, or kicking. Sometimes I find myself asking the Blob out loud to please pick a different spot to batter before I'm totally bruised.

Sometimes it steps off my hip bone and pushes my entire belly over to one side, and then leaves it there for a while. Then it changes strategy and lodges it toes under my ribs to call upon my attention.

When worn out, Blob gets the hiccups for a couple of minutes before seemingly falling asleep. And before I know it - Blob's up again: Boing. Boing. Boing. Boingboingboing BOING!

Blob, aka the Squigglebug

Blob is big. Blob no longer bounces and flutters - it stretches and squirms and pushes various body parts through the side of my belly and lodges its toes under my ribs. Hence the new nickname Squigglebug.

One year

Hey little Blob - mamma and pappa have been married for one whole year today. It's all going rahter well I think!

Blobbo

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, thinks Blob is a boy. Even relative strangers tell me they're sure it's a boy. So now it has gotten to a point when a boy would be no surprise at all, whilst a girl would be most unexpected. We even call it Blobbo, Aussie style.

Can't wait to get the undoubtable answer in June.

Blob at nearly 29 weeks...

... on a windy day on top of The Nut, Stanley, Tasmania.

Birth place of a surfer

Here's a little video that Dwayne made of Mona Vale hospital where the Blob will be born in June. Can you think of a better place to be born for a little individual who is destined to beat its father at surfing by the age of five?

Little body parts

These days when Blob is up to something, as Blob often is, I can feel specific body parts poking through my belly. If I get a kick and I press my hand to it, I get very distinct little feet kicking back in response. Or like the other day, I got something that must have been either the top of a little head or a bony little bottom (if Blob is anything like me, it will have a bony bottom).

Exercise? Really? But...

How do people have the time and the energy to exercise, pregnant or not? I haven't run a step since the 9k Bridge Run in September. I made a couple of feeble attempts to start taking long walks, but it really didn't lead anywhere. I am paying for a gym membership, but I can barely remember where the gym is anymore as I haven't set foot there for many moons.

Between working long hours and being rather uninspired in the evenings, I don't know how to do it.

But I am going to start going to prenatal aqua classes at the hospital (I am, I really am!), because they are really cheap and I can go there straight from work. Just need to buy myself a swimsuit that I can actually get into.

Then maybe I can get a routine going and start those walks again. Dee Why is not a bad place for long walks, you can choose between looking at the ocean, the bush, or the pretty mansions where the OTHER people live. That is if I can get Dwayne to stop taking me too seriously when I tell him I'm tired. As soon as he says "you don't have to do it, you're pregnant!" I instantly feel very weak and tired and in need of couch-lounging. Suddenly it's not laziness, it's pregnancy.

And perhaps if I can get my work-life balance to balance itself a bit more reasonably, that might help.

Any day now.

Pregnancy glow, my way

All the books tell me to expect bad skin during pregnancy. Outbreaks and grease and stuff. But I (apparently) decided to go a different way. My skin hasn't been this clear since... well, forever, and there is no grease to be found anywhere. My hair, which usually has to be washed every other day at least or else it turns into dangling bits of grease, doesn't produce grease at all any more. I find myself trying to remember when I last washed it - was it three days ago, four perhaps? Makes no difference, because it doesn't get dirty. Lack of grease is my version of that famous pregnancy glow, I suppose.

Blob in lounge attire

Week 27 and a half.

Blob in work attire

26 weeks.

Blob in Tokyo

Blob likes Tokyo. It bounces and boxes and kicks and is generally doing its best to distract me at all hours of the day. It never sleeps, it seems. It even infiltrates my dreams at night with vigorous exercises.

Perhaps it's the local food that's inspiring the Blob. I have eaten nearly everything expecting mothers aren't supposed to eat, including pâté and sashimi.

And speaking of eating, they don't seem to do butter in this country. At breakfast, I am presented with "whipped butter" which is a bright white semi-fluffy substace which I suspect is compacted whipped cream. So I start my day with surprisingly good bread rolls smeared with whipped cream and orange marmelade. Blob doesn't mind.

Tokyo

Blob and I are on the train which will take us to the airport where we're getting on a plane to Tokyo. I'm terribly ill prepared and possibly in for more of an adventure than I bargained for, but I'm sure somehow I'll get to where I'm going. (Wherever that was, I keep forgetting...)

First adventure will be to see how sleeping on a plane when six months pregnant goes. I'm flying overnight and going straight from the airport to the office in the morning. Next will be to see if my coat, on which I can only button the first two buttons, will handle the early Japanese spring chill.

I'm going to TOKYO!

24 weeks!

23 weeks

Prime name

I really, really like the name Julia. In the event that Blob is a girl, Julia is definitely top of my name list.

Unfortunately, Australia's prime minister is also called Julia and for some reason that's a total deal breaker for Dwayne.

This subject might of course be entirely obsolete if Blob turns out to be a boy, and the majority of people who venture a guess seem to think that it is. But, little Blob, if you're a girl your name will not be Julia thanks to Ms. Gillard.

Civilised people

I was just for the first time offered one of the priority seats on a very crowded bus from the city.

I was quite comfortable standing so I kindly declined, but don't you just love when people are civilised and considerate?

Just over 21 weeks...

...+ a large portion of fish & chips.

A big moment

Dwayne arrived home yesterday after a week in India with work. He instantly saw that the bump had grown bigger whilst he was away.

As we sat and watched TV the Blob went into one of its bouncy modes, so I took Dwayne's hand and put it on my belly. And he felt the Blob kick! Twice!

His comments on each kick was "Woha!" and "That must feel so weird..."

Both valid points.

Back problems

This entry is not about having back problems, as you might think, but about NOT having back problems.

I get terrible muscle spasms in the lower back that all but totally incapacitates me from time to time. But ever since I've been pregnant my back has been right as rain!

Today I've moved numerous reasonably heavy boxes around at work and my back just feels completely happy, strong and relaxed.

Pregnancy clearly agrees with me.

Smells

People need to lay off the perfume. For some reason some perfumes really get to me these days. I can't smell the pleasant scents, just the strong horrid suffocating smells.

I smell lots of body odours also. People are suddenly really smelly in general.

Yuck.

Leg cramps

Leg cramps. Who invented them and what are they good for?

I find myself bouncing out of bed at 3 or 4am because my calf has seized up in such a way that I cannot move my foot, not even using my hands to pull, and the only way to fix it is to get up and stand on it.

Very painful. My calf is sore all day after one of these.

I also get cramps in my feet, which aren't quite so painful, and in my hip. The hip only happens if I lie on my back. All the books say you shouldn't lie on your back anyway after week 16, but I have no control over how I end up whilst asleep. And once the pain in my hip wakes me up it's too late. The hip is a tricky one, hard to find a position that'll pull the muscle out of spasm. Very unpleasant too, I can feel my whole leg down to the foot twist involuntarily.

And the Blob is happily bouncing around, unaware of my troubles...

Bored Blob

I went and saw Les Miserables in the cinema last night. Blob was going bananas at the start! At one point I could even feel the kicks from the outside, which is a first. However, the movie was so incredibly boring even the Blob fell asleep halfway through...

20 weeks!

New outfit (with emphasis on fit).

Maternity jeans

As someone with jeans shopping anxiety, I am thrilled to tell you maternity jeans that fit are super easy to find!

Happy pregnant girl.

So tiny, but...

My goodness! Just now, as Dwayne and I were sat on the couch watching a movie, the Blob managed its most impressive set of kicks so far. I could actually see the movement on my belly, and Dwayne saw it too! Incredible...

Bounce little Blob!

I love the kicking and flipping and bouncing around that Blob seems so fond of these days. It's super cool! I don't want it to stop once it starts, and when it stops I spend all my time waiting for it to start again. I suppose I'd better enjoy it whilst Blob is small enough for it not to be uncomfortable...

What are you, little Blob?

Yesterday we went for our anomaly scan at just over 19 weeks. There were no anomalies - blob has all its fingers and toes, it has eyes, the heart has all its chambers in place, all the bits and pieces are growing at the correct rate. (Oh, it also has functioning kidneys, grandma Turner will be pleased to know!).

The scan took most of the morning, because I had to go back twice for attempts at getting the right view of the heart. Blob was happily resting on one side, making it impossible for the technician to get a good angle on the heart. I came back an hour later, and Blob was comfortably resting on the other side in an equally impossible position. On the third attempt another hour later I told the technician I bet it works this time, because I could feel Blob kicking about more vigorously than earlier in the morning so I thought it must have changed position. And it had - we finally got all the pictures needed.

So, It. The blob. The technician asked if we wanted to know the sex of the Blob, but Dwayne and I have agreed from the start not to find out in advance. I wouldn't know what to do with the information anyway - what difference does it make? Dwayne thinks it's a girl and I keep referring to it as "he", but it will remain a secret until we meet the Blob in June.

Little Blob, what are you?

Snug as a bug in a rug

Leave me alone, I'm sleeping!

Capabilities

The Blob is testing its capabilities. At 5am as I was in bed refusing to get up, I got a proper kick. Really bizarre feeling! There is someone IN there! It gave me the giggles and I wanted to wake Dwayne up to share the experience, but I realised it would be a bit more abstract for him so I let him sleep. It will be great when Dwayne can feel it too! I wonder what week that can be expected... Excuse me, have to go google it.

First load of baby laundry

I'm washing some blankets and muslins Blob and I have been given by a friend. Odd feeling, to be washing stuff for someone who barely exists, but is still here all the time...

18 weeks and counting

Here's why I decided to go get some maternity clothes. I can still fit into my trousers, but just, and not comfortably.

Also, I can definitely feel the Blob moving in there! Very faintly, but still. On Saturday morning I got up at 2am to use the bathroom, and that apparently very much excited the Blob. It was bouncing off the walls for a couple of minutes once I got back to bed. It was the first time I could be 100% certain that it was not MY body doing that, but someone else's...

Shopping spree

On Saturday Dwayne, our lovely friend Andrea and I went to "look" at baby stuff. It went the same way as last time when we went to "look" and came home with a pram. This time we got:

- Cot and tallboy (on layby)
- Cot linen (present from Andrea)
- Matching cot bumper and mobile
- Diaper bag
- Soft toy horse with bell (for me...)
- Newborn bibs
- Knitted blanket with matching toy
- Was there anything else? I don't remember.

I also went to Target and got some maternity tops. Trousers are going to be a challange, because they don't seem to come in long sizes.

We had a good day shopping! I don't think I'll be one of those mums that plan to buy all the stuff in the final couple of weeks, and end up going into labour totally unprepared. I'll more likely be so prepared and well organised that I'm bored of it all well before time...

Relapses and skilled doctors

I have relapsed. I am worrying again, for no real reason. I have another scan next Friday and I am equally excited to see the Blob and worried that there will be something horrifyingly wrong. It does not bear thinking of.

I also had a bit of a scare on Sunday. I woke up at 1am with a terrible pain in my left leg. It felt like a trapped nerve with pain in the centre of my leg all the way from the hip to the foot, sometimes concentrated to the hip and sometimes to the back of the knee. I tried everything but handstands to get rid of it, but nothing helped. At around 3am I took a paracetamol to try and sleep a little, but it didn't make any difference at all.

And then the pain decided to concentrate itself to my lower calf, to a point where it was even sore to the touch. It felt like someone had kicked me in the leg, really hard. Dwayne woke up at 6am so at least I got some company and sympathy.

I got up and made breakfast, but the pain just got worse through the day. I was in tears on the bed, because when you haven't slept things like this are just hard to deal with. Eventually Dwayne said I should go see the doctor, so I did.

I had to wait for over an hour before I got an appointment. The doctor asked for my symptoms and instantly said: "This sounds like a blood clot in your leg, this is not good, you must go to the emergency room!". He wrote me a letter of referral and sent me on my way. Great.

But by the time I had walked home from the clinic at around 2pm the pain had eased off quite a bit. By the evening my calf just felt strangely bruised, but I didn't suffer enough to feel that it was necessary to go to the emergency room. So I didn't go.

Now, three days later, I have a tiny bit of discomfort in that calf. Like bruising or a slighly strained muscle. I doubt a blood clot would just go away so suddenly so I don't intend to think any more of it.

I should probably give the doctors more credit than I do. I have been to see them twice with mysterious bad pains that won't go away and they can't find a reason for - and as soon as I leave the clinic the pain goes away. They are clearly very skilled.

Long hangover

Being pregnant feels like being slightly hung over. Constantly. It entails nausea, tiredness and leg cramps. Just like any morning after.

The focus is less on nausea now, and unmistakedly moving towards more leg cramps.

At least there's variation.

The Blob announcing itself

As of this morning the Blob has decided hiding away is not its thing. Hence, I could barely button up my trousers when getting ready for work. I do look less pregnant than this at most angles so people at work probably just assume I had my share of Christmas pudding this year. Let's see how long I can get away with it...

The Year of the Blob

Happy new year to all!