Where I am At!

It is now two weeks since the birth of Harris and I am feeling surprisingly grand!

Sure there are stretch marks galore but in the whole scheme of things I think I have come out of the whole experience pretty good.

On the night I went into labour I weighed 95 kgs. This morning I weighed 83.7kg and falling - it seems to fall by 200 - 300 gms each day. I am sure that it will even out shortly but it all honesty it is exactly where I anticipated I would be.

My body shape looks pretty much exactly like it did before - except with an extra 13kg on it - so a bit more flabby than I am used to. But I can see how when it comes off I should look just like I did before.

My biggest frustration is that it seems as though the majority of the weight gain is in my hips, thighs and waist hence pants are an issue as they are all tight. Even the maternity clothes are a little tight.

Walking is my training of choice right now and I am aiming for 30 mins each day of walking the hilly streets around my suburb. I need to get my head around the concept that walking does actually count as training for me in this instance. I'm going to talk to the physio today but hopefully in two weeks time I can add in some body weighted strength work 3 times per week. Thant gives me two weeks to devise a program for myself. Oh and of course I will have core strengthening exercises to do that the physio will go through with me today.

Harris has a fairly predictable nature at the moment - although I find the only time I can sit down to check internet things or plan things is when he is asleep in his cot. Right now he only sleeps in his cot for 2 hours a day but I am trying to ease him into a little more.

He is there right now!

Time to get going!

Birth Story

It's time to get the story of Harris's Birth down on paper/not paper before it takes on a not so clear image in my mind - not that I think that is actually possible - but you never know!

I would say that as far as Birth stories go - mine is a pretty good one - it all pretty much went by the book!

Earlier in the week I had been to the Ob/Gyn for my scheduled weekly check up. My blood pressure was up at this appointment and he sent me off for blood tests in a big hurry. He also arranged for me to have a CTG scan the next morning - and to bring my bags for the hospital just in case. It was all a little scary!

I pretty much stayed on the couch for the rest of that day - my blodd pressure was still up compared to normal and I thought it was better to be safe than sorry. On Wednesday I stayed on the couch again because I was feeling pretty ordinary, my bloood pressure was still going up so I called the birth suite at around 3:30 to let them know and they had me come in for another CTG. The scan showed that I was having very mild contractions every 5 or so minutes. The doctor came in and said that he was concerned about the rising blood pressure and that he wanted to do another scan on Friday morning but regardless of what that showed - he was going to have me come in and be induced on Sunday the 15th feb anyway.

That night Mark and I went out to dinner at the local Thai - I was still having what I thought were mild contractions but they were totally bearable. That night the intensity of these increased alot. By 10pm I was having what I thought were strongish contractions every 5 - 7 minutes. I called the birth suite at 2:00am thinking I was in Labour. I was coping quite well at this point so I took a couple of panadeine to take the edge off - and within half an hour it had all stopped. I felt relaxed and a little bewildered - I had been going through that for the last 5 hours for nothing! It probably did do something but I was just grateful to be able to sleep!

I spent the whole of Thursday on the couch dozing and resting - I was still getting mild contractions but they were every 15 - 20 minutes now. Not getting any faster. At around 8 that night Mark, the cat and I were on the couch and I asked Mark to squeeze my toes during a contraction to see if the distraction helped the pain at all. During the next contraction he did this and made me laugh, then the cat dug her claws into my leg and I laughed hard - but it hurt because of the contraction - next thing I felt a pop and my waters broke. After that I felt a bit excited and nervous at the same time because I knew that it was time and my baby would be here sometime in the next day. The contractions sped up to around 6 - 9 minutes apart but they were much stronger. I couldn't sit or lie down during them - I had to kneel or stand - so I was a little nervous about getting in the car to go to the hospital. I went to get in the shower for some relief but we had run out of hot water. I decided to call the hospital at this point because I felt like I needed the support of people who knew what to expect.

We arrived and were shown into a room with a very lovely midwife called Tammy. I kept going in there where I was in and out of the shower for pain relief. The worst thing was the shower head was broken and I couldn't direct it without holding it in my hand - this was ok for a while but once the contractions were more intense it pretty much made the shower useless. the midwife did and internal at 3am and I was 5 -6 cm dilated - I thought great - we are doing well and i am coping! We went on like this until 6am when the doctor came in to see how i was going. He did another internal and I was still only 5 - 6cm - this news at this time left me feeling devastated. I was starving, my lower back and feet were killing me and I was almost out of energy. The doctor suggested that I have some pethedine to give me a rest and also to put a syntocynin drip and some saline with glucose infusion up to speed things along and give me some energy. This was the best thing I could have done at that point. The pethedine slowed the contractions enough to give me a small nap in between them - even though the syntocynin has made the contractions much stronger.

Another midwife (Liz) took over from Tammy at 7am and suggested that I try the gas to take the edge off - this was great once I got the hang of breathing it in properly. To be honest - after this point I don't really remember very much - except that the intensity of the contractions was extreme ! It felt like it took forever to get to the pushing part - I remember I kept asking the nurse if it was time to push yet. When it was time to push it was so different to the contractions. I felt much more able to cope with the pushing part. It was very hard work though - Mark was awesome - he was surviving on no sleep for 30 hours and yet he was still encouraging me and doing everything he could. The pushing stage lasted for 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Towards the end the doctor came in to do an internal (I do recall that being extremely uncomfortable!) and he said to me that he didn't think the baby was turning properly and wasn't likely to come out on his own - and that we would need to prep for going to theatre, that I would need a spinal block and he would have to do a forceps delivery - possibly a c-section. He walked out to get that organised and then on the next ontraction I felt the baby move down further and the midwife said She thought this baby had other ideas. By the time the doctor had come back, the baby was well on it's way - and the doctors was very surprised -
i was very relieved! About half an hour later I had my healthy little man on my tummy and I was in awe and in love with the tiny being Mark and i had created.

I'm not in a hurry to race back and do it all again in a hurry - but Harris was worth every ounce of pain - we love him!

Mark has become a pillow for the whole family it seems!

I am taking this opportunity to quickly post because Harris is asleep in his own bed, in his room and it is very rare. He likes to sleep nearly to us most of the time but today he is obviously content in his cot. I don't mind!

Today I had a physio appointment to do some postnatal work - I have a 2ish cm diastasis in my abs and I want it to get better ASAP! So off to the physio for me. To be honest it is my abs where I feel the weakest! Anyway - the physio cancelled on me - but I only found this out AFTER I had gotten dressed, straightened my hair and put makeup on - I was feeling ready to take on the world and looking forward to our little outing - only to be a little dissapointed that the appointment had been cancelled. It doesn't matter because at least I have felt great all day because I look nice!

I have been walking every day - I can manage about 25 mins now and I am going to stick to this for now. At least until I am feeling a little stronger.

I look SO much better than I did last week - fluid is still coming off at an alarming rate. I almost look like 'Normal" just a little fatter! Once my clothes start fitting a little better I think I will feel awesome!

I really want to post about the birth but maybe tomorrow!

time to breath

Harris is the biggest sleepy head! I know that is what new babies do but I seriously can't wait until he is a little more interactive!

Our first few days at home haven't really been to eventful. We are just trying to learn about him and his needs. We are figuring it out slowly. I am actually getting some pretty good sleep as well so far which I am surprised at.

He is such a great feeder and I am having no troubles at all (touch wood!) breastfeeding him at this stage.

We had our first trip out of the house yesterday - to the shops to get him some more clothes- and we managed it without a hitch. I know it will be different when I have to do it on my own but it is good to build up confidence at this stage.

I am feeling better now and can walk a little further each day. We are going to go for a short walk today out in the pram - so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

I am surprised at how my thinking has changed when it comes to what I am eating. I am conscious of everything I put in my mouth and how it will affect him. It is really good for me to think like this. In saying that though - finding the time to actually eat is a bit of a challenge! Mark has been making me porridge for breakfast everyday and I am hoping that he will keep doing this for me even after he goes back to work on Monday.

On the body front - I am actually surprised at how I have ended up looking. It was 1 week post birth yesterday and I still have a bit a fluid there. I have put on a lot of weight but I am hoping that the breasfeeding theory works for me. I am not worried about losing it but I am worried about finding the motivation - especially when it comes to food preparation!

One day at a time I say!

I am still working my way around the blogs to say thanks to everyone individually.

This motherhood thing is amazing - like nothing I ever expected - I didn't know it was possible to love someone so much!

Home!

We have just arrived home from hospital and it is such an exciting time. It feels like we are embarking on a whole new part of our lives. This is quite possibly the best thing we have ever done. We are overwhelmed with love for this tiny baby who has come into our lives.
Thankyou to all for your well wishes and comments. I will respond individually when I get the chance.

Harris is sleeping right now - so I get a window of opportunity to catch up a little on my internet addiction!

I'll tell the full story of the past few days over the coming week but lets just say at them moment the furtherest I can walk is around 200 mts. I don't recommend that anyone has stitches in that part of their body unless they absolutely have to!!

Here are some pics

My Littlle Man

Hi All,

Just a quick update - I only have a few minutes internet access.

My little man - Harris Pedro was born 0n Friday 13th February at 11.36am at Calvary Private Hospital in Canberra.

He is perfect in every way.

It was a good labour - just done with a small amount of pethidine and some gas.

I have a 2nd degree tear which hurts!

More and pics when I get back from hospital - possibly tomorroow.

Andjxx

Still on the couch

I haven't moved much from the couch in the past few days.

My blood pressure is still higher than the doctors would like it to be and I had more blood tests today and have another scan tomorrow.

Had a very bad night last night and was up most of the night - a little taste of what I have to look forward to.

Not much mroe to tell right now apart from all that.

I have decided that I'm not looking forward to the Labour part.