40+2

Here we are again!  It seems our bubbas like to be fashionably late and arrive at dramatic times!  Joseph amongst earthquakes and this wee boy is looking likely to be born during the biggest snow storm we've had in 20 years!  I have been dancing around the lounge with Joseph, bouncing on my swiss ball, leaning forwards and walking to try to get him to come but just seems our boys are stubborn and like to be well-cooked. 

I've been having a tonne of Braxton Hicks contractions and have had some sore lower belly tightenings too as well as some menstrual type cramping.  All good signs that my body is trying to get ready on its own I guess, it's loads more than I got with Joseph anyway and that was WITH induction drugs lol.

We saw an obstetrician last week to discuss a plan of action.  She was skeptical that an induction would work after our previous experience with Joseph. With likely needing a fairly full-on induction to get things rolling and the increased risk of scar rupture from doing so, we decided to opt for an elective caesarian if he doesn't decide to come on his own before our chosen date (which I will leave as a surprise).  So yes, we are booked in and time is a ticking baby!

Still not sleeping that great due to needing to reposition a lot during the night and the difficulty in doing so, or just general insomnia but the last couple of nights I've managed to not have to get up to empty my bladder which has been nice.

Mum is here now and eagerly awaiting the new arrival hehe.  She has thoroughly spoilt us with a big goodie box of all sorts of treats for baby and another cute wee miniature diorama which is so special!

Hoping the next post will be introducing the wee man!

39 Weeks

The countdown is on!!

Definitely feeling over it now.  Sore, tired, uncomfortable, emotional, nauseous and short-tempered, that's me!  Have been trying my hardest to get this wee boy into a good position.   Have been walking a lot, leaning/sitting forwards, sitting on swiss ball, swimming and dancing and he just doesn't seem to want to budge.  He was still floating around when I had the midwife check last week though had switched to my left side.  Hoping this week he's dropped a bit. as certainly feeling more bladder pressure and loads of braxton hicks contractions.  Have had a few period pain type cramps too which I think is more than I experienced with Joseph, so hopefully it means something is working properly!
I have been taking evening primrose oil to help aid the softening of the cervix so hopefully that is doing something too.

I went to the osteopath last week for what I thought would be my last visit.  She found loads to treat so worked on everything, released my ribs and loosened my pelvis to make more room for baby to move on down.  I have made an appointment for this week too should we need it.
So very excited to meet this wee fella and really hoping he will come on his own.  We have an obstetrician appointment on Friday to discuss a plan of action if he's not here by then.
Movements have slowed down a lot.  I can go most of the day without feeling anything, but he wakes up for a bit in the arvo and has gone back to having his wee parties and hiccups in the middle of the night, usually around 2 or 3am which doesn't help the insomnia!
Send me lots of labour vibes people!

37 Weeks

Full term tomorrow, wow! 

I have been feeling pretty good the past couple of weeks.  The pelvic pain is still there but I haven't had any major flare-ups recently which has been good.  Super hard to roll over in bed now between the pelvis and the massive bump!  I've been getting a LOT of braxton hicks contractions, sometimes five or six in an hour of an evening and have been reasonably achy across the top of my bump and around the middle of my back while sitting.  The most comfortable position for me to be in for any length of time is lying on my side but really need to help this wee one down into my pelvis!

Baby is doing great.  He's been a bit quiet this past week, running out of space in there!  He did go mental last night in the middle of the night, he woke me up with the hiccups and in between those it felt like he was rearranging the furniture in there lol, could feel him everywhere and was non-stop for a good half hour!  I'll be surprised if he comes out and he's not tied in knots!

At the moment he's head down and favouring my right side, just like Joseph was and guessing from all the movements I'm feeling at the front (hands by his face), his head is in posterior position ie. facing outwards. 
We have an appointment with the obstetric team at CWH next week to talk about VBAC and our plan of action.  Our midwife is more than happy to support us through a VBAC though I get the feeling she's thinking we might end up with another c-section after she read through Joseph's 'labour' notes yesterday and she realised I only got to 4cm dilated before we had no more progression and Joseph got distressed. Could well be an anatomical reason ie. pelvis too small/odd shape We will see though, I'm hoping this wee man is more co-operative and my body figures out what to do on its own, but it's not the end of the world if we do end up with another c-section, just hopefully it will be a calmer one!

Feeling completely ready for baby to come now as everything is becoming more difficult and I just want to meet the wee guy!

34 Weeks, 6 To Go!

It's been an up and down few weeks with the pubic symphysis pain, but the Osteopath seems to be really helping.  After my last visit I was feeling good, then sat on my swiss ball for 15 mins in the afternoon and did some bouncing, I could barely move or walk when i got up so haven't done that again!  That was Tuesday this week and although I felt horrendous that day I've been about 90% better the rest of the week so it's been really good!

This wee boy is still so very active!  He still flips around so I'm hoping he will be head down when he finally discovers he's too big to do acrobatics anymore!  Our midwife came to do a check on Thursday and we think he was head down then but posterior (oh how the memories of trying to get Joseph to turn come flooding back).  That evening I'm certain he was back to breech again as felt an orange-sized ball between my ribs that was far too hard to be a wee bum lol  Right now I have no idea.  I'm still feeling movements everywhere and he's particularly busy at night time.
I think he might have also dropped a wee bit as I've been feeling my bump is smaller these past couple of weeks...could just be him being posterior too, I guess.

Have been feeling pretty good.  Definitely can't eat as much now, I get full SO quickly and if I over eat I get a nasty ache along the top of my bump and in my back.  Loving apples and mandarins at the moment :)

Joseph has been a bit better with the introduction of his rewards chart.  Still not great on the following instructions/listening side of things but nappy changes and getting dressed have been a lot better.  Working towards some new rewards at the moment, train rides and Chipmunks (bouncy castles/indoor playground).

Only 4-6 wees to go!  My bag is semi-packed and baby's is ready too.  Capsule has been in the car but we had an extra passenger yesterday and had to take it out lol.  We are ready whenever, eek!

Ouch, The Fun Part Begins!

This week has been pretty uncomfortable!  Starting on Tuesday morning, who knew that rolling over in bed could cause a very painful muscle injury in your tummy!?  Well, now I do lol  Not sure which muscle is the culprit but something is not happy.  Had a scan on Friday to make sure baby, placenta, c-section scar etc. are all ok and they are which is great news.  Baby is VERY cute, weighs 4lbs and has hair!  The wee monkey has also turned breech since Tuesday.  This adds to our birthing option dilemma but he still has 4 weeks to flip back and be a good boy!

Then, just as I woke up this morning feeling considerably better in the tummy department I discover my pelvis feels like it's going to snap apart! So today has consisted of a very slow grocery shop, sitting/lying on the couch, a hot bath and lots of heat packs to my nether region!

It's my last day at work tomorrow and it couldn't have come at a better time.  Hoping I'm able to actually get out of bed in the morning!

Joseph has been very trying lately and I'm not coping well with him at the moment.  I physically can't chase or fight him and everything seems to be a fight!  Sticker chart is working well for some things but seems he hasn't grown his listening ears yet!  Time out works eventually but usually takes at least a couple of sessions for him to give in!

The bright part of my week, seeing this wee cherub....

30 Weeks, 5 Days

Wow I am slack with the blog this time around!  It is interesting though comparing Joseph's pregnancy to this one and seeing the similarities and differences.

I'm not sure if my belly is bigger or if it's just a different shape to the first time around.  This past week or two people have been noticing I am pregnant (and not just porky lol) I've been opening doors on it and walking into door frames so I guess it's popping out!
Baby has been pushing out a lot around my belly button, this has been quite painful on occasion like if you were to push on a bruise.  I don't remember Joseph's movements hurting like that, though at this stage with him most of his movements were felt under my ribs which was quite uncomfortable.  No rib bashing from this wee boy though...yet!

Everything seems to be going well.  My blood pressure is still good, right on borderline low so plenty of room for movement.  I have been on iron supplements for a couple of weeks now.  I initially thought they had made a difference but am still having weird symptoms and my midwife doesn't think it's iron related due to my haemoglobin being well within the normal range.  I'm still getting a fuzzy head with a pressure feeling across the front/top of my head and sometimes my heart feels like it's beating out of my chest and my breath catches in my throat.  The only way I could describe it is like a mild panic attack.  Midwife says heart palpitations can be normal due to the increased blood supply in the body but if I'm worried to go back to my GP so will see how I go.  It has been happening less often this week but still has me on edge as it feels like something (whether it be blood or oxygen) isn't getting to my brain properly.  One of those situations where you want to mention it in case it's a problem but you don't want to be at the docs all the time with every weird little symptom to be told it's normal lol

We are down to fortnightly appointments with our midwife now so that will make time fly by even quicker!  We are pretty much set up and have everything we need.

28 Weeks - Third Trimester!

Well, baby is certainly growing nicely in there and is very active.  I think his movements are different to Joseph's at this stage, Joseph was a bit more violent in the womb lol

I haven't been feeling that great this week.  I had several episodes of nearly fainting at work on Monday and since then have just been very light headed, tired and breathless.  I had my routine 28 week polycose and subsequent antenatal blood tests done on Thursday and went to my GP for a check up yesterday (Friday).  Turns out my iron stores are again very low at 5 (normal 20-200), though I'm not anaemic yet and my blood pressure is bordering very low too.  So both of those combined equal one very tired and space-out feeling Mumma!  Thankfully everything else seems to check out well.  My GP has started me on iron supplements and I just need to keep up my fluids to help the blood pressure which usually drops at this stage apparently before rising again.  So, hopefully I will be feeling much better soon.

I'm certainly getting more round now.  Everybody at work has noticed that I have a baby bump and I've run out of free room in my scrub top. Only five weeks until I finish!

I have sorted through Joseph's newborn-3 month size clothing, didn't realise how much we had and so much of it is barely used!  I have washed the first lot and have a couple more loads and a woollens load to do as well, then all the new baby stuff that I couldn't help myself buying hehe.  As you can see, I've been busy pottering away in the nursery and the cot is made up too.  Very excited for our new wee man to arrive!