Sunday, December 28, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
It's a...
Introducing Olivia Faith...
Born on Friday 22nd August 2008 at 3:40pm after a short but intense 3 hour labour. No drugs for Mum or Dad!!
She is beautiful and I love her despite the fact that she tried to kill me (who says you forget the pain of labour?).
Thank you Brad and Bon. You have both been part of a miracle.
Born on Friday 22nd August 2008 at 3:40pm after a short but intense 3 hour labour. No drugs for Mum or Dad!!
She is beautiful and I love her despite the fact that she tried to kill me (who says you forget the pain of labour?).
Thank you Brad and Bon. You have both been part of a miracle.
Monday, August 18, 2008
One Week To Go!
I cannot believe that it’s been over one month since I last wrote. So much has happened in that space of time.
The most exciting thing that happened was at then end of June when Scribe Publications made an offer on my novel Measuring Up. I have been pursuing publishers for several years and was finally rewarded. I have wanted to be an author for my entire life and now I can say I really am. I have a contract signed and have an advance cheque just waiting to be banked! I know that having a child changes your life and is a most amazing experience, but I can honestly say that I am so proud of myself and this achievement with my writing. Writing is incredibly important to me and to be paid for doing something you love and to have people say they enjoy what you write... well. I’m not sure I can describe that. With our first child on the way and a publishing deal on the table, it feels as though new and different doors of future possibilities are opening for me.
Mum had her operation on her arm and is recovering well, all this time after the initial fall in Bali. She has plates and bars and wire and bolts holding all the bits together and the surgery was quite major and extensive. She is staying with us now as she recuperates, which is nice for me to keep me company in my last weeks.
Unfortunately, we’ve also had some of the worst news of our lives. On Wednesday 13th August, Matt’s Mum, Irene, was rushed to Canberra hospital with a burst aneurism in her brain. As I write, she is in a stable condition in Woden Hospital ICU. She has had major brain surgery to drain the aneurism that burst and also to clamp the second aneurism they found that had not burst. For the next 21 days, it is touch and go as they watch and hope for signs of progress and improvement. Matthew has been there since Thursday morning, came home yesterday (Sunday) and will return tomorrow. I have stayed here feeling helpless. I have needed to be with Mum and also close to the hospital. Plus, I think people would start to worry about me if I was away with Matthew the whole time. I know Irene would want me here, relaxing and resting as much as I can.
I’m really feeling for Matty. This is potentially the best and worst time in his life and trying to experience both simultaneously makes the good thing bittersweet and the bad thing almost unbearable. He has been a real hero throughout this time for his family and it seems he has taken the lead and initiative where organisation and decision making has been required. I am so proud of him, the man he has become and the father he will be.
And as for my pregnancy health, I’m 20kgs heavier than I was; now at 84kgs. And I must say, a little disappointed. I didn’t want to go past 80kgs. On the 2nd of August at 37weeks, I had a little rise in blood pressure and felt very out of sorts. I spent the day in hospital being monitored. They did a scan of the baby’s heart and even graphed some Braxton Hicks contractions I was apparently having (couldn’t feel them myself!). In the end I was able to go home, although they were concerned about the “starry vision” and the general puffiness of my face, feet and hands. I have felt ok since then and am more ware of when I need to rest.
People say I look great and I’m “all baby”, but my feet look like they’re pregnant as well! I have little to no feeling in my big toes and a general feeling of poor circulation throughout my legs. Matthew is reluctant and stingy when asked to massage them and I’m noting that here so I can be mean when he next has an injury!!
I wanted to write a little bit about how it feels to have the baby moving inside me. It used to feel like definite kicks and punches. And early on I could feel rolling around. The first roll I ever felt, I thought it was going to come out of my belly button. But after about 26 weeks or so, it dropped into the head down position, although at my last visit to Dr. Simonson, he said I still wasn’t “fully engaged” and that was at 39 weeks. Now, I feel lots of rubbing, mostly what I suspect is a little foot on my left hand side. Sometimes I feel like a little click where a joint or something must move. Every day for the past ten weeks or so, baby has the hiccups – usually just after I’ve eaten. The hiccups feel funny, mostly low down, but definitely easy for other people to feel if they put their hand on me. Some nights my entire stomach looks like soup on the boil as little body parts grind, push, wriggle and shift inside me. And I must admit, I find it so comforting. I love feeling it move and watching it move. I know I will miss this when it comes out.
The nursery is all finished and it looks beautiful. It is filled already with gifts from people, mostly families of students at school. I still can’t really imagine a baby being in there though. My baby!
Leaving school was difficult but not too sad. It was good because the Term Two holidays had arrived and everyone was looking forward to the break. The teachers spoilt me with a fun “good luck” assembly. The kids cheered as I raced another teacher to feed a doll a bottle and change a nappy. I also had to assemble a port-a-cot and a pram! I had the sweetest “baby shower” (or as one student called it “baby bath”) with the parents and students from my class. Then, a few weeks into my leave, we met with the staff for a dinner out and our other “baby shower”. The staff paid for a gorgeous baby rocker (which we had chosen). They are beautiful people and I miss working there and having their company and the company of kids each day.
I have packed a labour bag and a hospital bag. It really feels like everything is ready. Of everyone in the antenatal class that we have become friends with, I am the last “egg” remaining to “crack”. I am a little terrified, especially since Matty is preoccupied with his Mum (and rightly so, but I just get more of a feeling that I’m on my own for this one). But I’m also really excited. I can’t wait to love this child and do my best as a Mum and turn our little world as a family-couple into a family-with-children.
I am thoroughly convinced that it’s a boy. I’m almost certain that at that 20 week scan I saw a penis under that enormous umbilical cord. I refer to the baby as “Joshie” short for Joshua which is what we’ll name him if it’s a boy. We haven’t told everyone our preferred names yet, but the top two are Joshua and Olivia.
Well – that’s enough of an update. I’ve felt quite different today, my tummy is hard as a rock and I’ve had a few twingey pains. I don’t think it’s arriving immediately, but I think we’re getting close.
I pray for blessings on my family. Especially good health for Irene and a healthy baby for Matthew and me.
The most exciting thing that happened was at then end of June when Scribe Publications made an offer on my novel Measuring Up. I have been pursuing publishers for several years and was finally rewarded. I have wanted to be an author for my entire life and now I can say I really am. I have a contract signed and have an advance cheque just waiting to be banked! I know that having a child changes your life and is a most amazing experience, but I can honestly say that I am so proud of myself and this achievement with my writing. Writing is incredibly important to me and to be paid for doing something you love and to have people say they enjoy what you write... well. I’m not sure I can describe that. With our first child on the way and a publishing deal on the table, it feels as though new and different doors of future possibilities are opening for me.
Mum had her operation on her arm and is recovering well, all this time after the initial fall in Bali. She has plates and bars and wire and bolts holding all the bits together and the surgery was quite major and extensive. She is staying with us now as she recuperates, which is nice for me to keep me company in my last weeks.
Unfortunately, we’ve also had some of the worst news of our lives. On Wednesday 13th August, Matt’s Mum, Irene, was rushed to Canberra hospital with a burst aneurism in her brain. As I write, she is in a stable condition in Woden Hospital ICU. She has had major brain surgery to drain the aneurism that burst and also to clamp the second aneurism they found that had not burst. For the next 21 days, it is touch and go as they watch and hope for signs of progress and improvement. Matthew has been there since Thursday morning, came home yesterday (Sunday) and will return tomorrow. I have stayed here feeling helpless. I have needed to be with Mum and also close to the hospital. Plus, I think people would start to worry about me if I was away with Matthew the whole time. I know Irene would want me here, relaxing and resting as much as I can.
I’m really feeling for Matty. This is potentially the best and worst time in his life and trying to experience both simultaneously makes the good thing bittersweet and the bad thing almost unbearable. He has been a real hero throughout this time for his family and it seems he has taken the lead and initiative where organisation and decision making has been required. I am so proud of him, the man he has become and the father he will be.
And as for my pregnancy health, I’m 20kgs heavier than I was; now at 84kgs. And I must say, a little disappointed. I didn’t want to go past 80kgs. On the 2nd of August at 37weeks, I had a little rise in blood pressure and felt very out of sorts. I spent the day in hospital being monitored. They did a scan of the baby’s heart and even graphed some Braxton Hicks contractions I was apparently having (couldn’t feel them myself!). In the end I was able to go home, although they were concerned about the “starry vision” and the general puffiness of my face, feet and hands. I have felt ok since then and am more ware of when I need to rest.
People say I look great and I’m “all baby”, but my feet look like they’re pregnant as well! I have little to no feeling in my big toes and a general feeling of poor circulation throughout my legs. Matthew is reluctant and stingy when asked to massage them and I’m noting that here so I can be mean when he next has an injury!!
I wanted to write a little bit about how it feels to have the baby moving inside me. It used to feel like definite kicks and punches. And early on I could feel rolling around. The first roll I ever felt, I thought it was going to come out of my belly button. But after about 26 weeks or so, it dropped into the head down position, although at my last visit to Dr. Simonson, he said I still wasn’t “fully engaged” and that was at 39 weeks. Now, I feel lots of rubbing, mostly what I suspect is a little foot on my left hand side. Sometimes I feel like a little click where a joint or something must move. Every day for the past ten weeks or so, baby has the hiccups – usually just after I’ve eaten. The hiccups feel funny, mostly low down, but definitely easy for other people to feel if they put their hand on me. Some nights my entire stomach looks like soup on the boil as little body parts grind, push, wriggle and shift inside me. And I must admit, I find it so comforting. I love feeling it move and watching it move. I know I will miss this when it comes out.
The nursery is all finished and it looks beautiful. It is filled already with gifts from people, mostly families of students at school. I still can’t really imagine a baby being in there though. My baby!
Leaving school was difficult but not too sad. It was good because the Term Two holidays had arrived and everyone was looking forward to the break. The teachers spoilt me with a fun “good luck” assembly. The kids cheered as I raced another teacher to feed a doll a bottle and change a nappy. I also had to assemble a port-a-cot and a pram! I had the sweetest “baby shower” (or as one student called it “baby bath”) with the parents and students from my class. Then, a few weeks into my leave, we met with the staff for a dinner out and our other “baby shower”. The staff paid for a gorgeous baby rocker (which we had chosen). They are beautiful people and I miss working there and having their company and the company of kids each day.
I have packed a labour bag and a hospital bag. It really feels like everything is ready. Of everyone in the antenatal class that we have become friends with, I am the last “egg” remaining to “crack”. I am a little terrified, especially since Matty is preoccupied with his Mum (and rightly so, but I just get more of a feeling that I’m on my own for this one). But I’m also really excited. I can’t wait to love this child and do my best as a Mum and turn our little world as a family-couple into a family-with-children.
I am thoroughly convinced that it’s a boy. I’m almost certain that at that 20 week scan I saw a penis under that enormous umbilical cord. I refer to the baby as “Joshie” short for Joshua which is what we’ll name him if it’s a boy. We haven’t told everyone our preferred names yet, but the top two are Joshua and Olivia.
Well – that’s enough of an update. I’ve felt quite different today, my tummy is hard as a rock and I’ve had a few twingey pains. I don’t think it’s arriving immediately, but I think we’re getting close.
I pray for blessings on my family. Especially good health for Irene and a healthy baby for Matthew and me.
Monday, June 9, 2008
29 weeks, 11 to go!
Yes - just eleven weeks until d-day. I can't believe it.
Alright... it's probably time for an epic update.
The ultrasound I had a few weeks ago did not reveal any reason for the pain under my ribs. The lady doing the test had a hard time finding all my vital organs and said that they were quite displaced and squashed. At one stage I had to stand up with an arm over my head and at other times she scanned my back! We looked at the baby and saw it kick me. At that point I suddenly thought "It's a boy!" as I could see a penis. Then I thought that penis is ENORMOUS and I realised I was looking at the umbilical cord!
Anyway I then had a week off work with a bad flu and tiredness like I've never really experienced before! The pain was still bad after a week off and some naturopathic trigger point therapy. When I went back to work I still had the pain and a friend suggested I look into some essential oils, but she warned me to be careful as you shouldn't use certain oils during pregnancy. I didn't realise this and thought suddenly of the Body Shop oil I had been rubbing regularly onto my tummy each night as a little massage. I checked my books and a few websites but that particular oil Tahitian monoi oil was not listed as being harmful. BUT the websites did say that some oils can put strain on your liver and that's where the doctor said my pain was coming from. So... I've since stopped using the oil and although the pain is still there, it hasn't been as bad as it was.
The ante-natal classes have been great fun. There's a great group of couples there and we always have a lot of laughs, even though the presenters aren't very dynamic or entertaining. It's particularly good for the blokes I rekon and Matthew and I have had some good discussions about LAB (Life After Baby) stemming from things brought up at the classes. So far we have covered breastfeeding, bringing the baby home and caring for yourself during pregnancy.
I'm also enjoying the prenatal exercise class I've joined at the local gym. I esepcially like the coffee and cake we have afterwards and of course, gossiping with the other expectant mothers. It's a very social time in my life and I'm enjoying meeting these new people.
This is the June Long Weekend and on Saturday we spent some time preparing the nursery. We took out the queen size guest bed and put in the change table. It was a lot of fun going through all the things we've been given. Last week we got a pram (Matt's folks bought it for us) and we're still learning how to fold it up and attach all the bits.
Overall I'm feeling pretty good. There's four weeks of school left and I've done the Portfolios and the reports. I'm trying hard not to eat the house down. I'm about 74kgs now. 10 more than I was before I fell pregnant. We see the doctor again on Friday.
Alright... it's probably time for an epic update.
The ultrasound I had a few weeks ago did not reveal any reason for the pain under my ribs. The lady doing the test had a hard time finding all my vital organs and said that they were quite displaced and squashed. At one stage I had to stand up with an arm over my head and at other times she scanned my back! We looked at the baby and saw it kick me. At that point I suddenly thought "It's a boy!" as I could see a penis. Then I thought that penis is ENORMOUS and I realised I was looking at the umbilical cord!
Anyway I then had a week off work with a bad flu and tiredness like I've never really experienced before! The pain was still bad after a week off and some naturopathic trigger point therapy. When I went back to work I still had the pain and a friend suggested I look into some essential oils, but she warned me to be careful as you shouldn't use certain oils during pregnancy. I didn't realise this and thought suddenly of the Body Shop oil I had been rubbing regularly onto my tummy each night as a little massage. I checked my books and a few websites but that particular oil Tahitian monoi oil was not listed as being harmful. BUT the websites did say that some oils can put strain on your liver and that's where the doctor said my pain was coming from. So... I've since stopped using the oil and although the pain is still there, it hasn't been as bad as it was.
The ante-natal classes have been great fun. There's a great group of couples there and we always have a lot of laughs, even though the presenters aren't very dynamic or entertaining. It's particularly good for the blokes I rekon and Matthew and I have had some good discussions about LAB (Life After Baby) stemming from things brought up at the classes. So far we have covered breastfeeding, bringing the baby home and caring for yourself during pregnancy.
I'm also enjoying the prenatal exercise class I've joined at the local gym. I esepcially like the coffee and cake we have afterwards and of course, gossiping with the other expectant mothers. It's a very social time in my life and I'm enjoying meeting these new people.
This is the June Long Weekend and on Saturday we spent some time preparing the nursery. We took out the queen size guest bed and put in the change table. It was a lot of fun going through all the things we've been given. Last week we got a pram (Matt's folks bought it for us) and we're still learning how to fold it up and attach all the bits.
Overall I'm feeling pretty good. There's four weeks of school left and I've done the Portfolios and the reports. I'm trying hard not to eat the house down. I'm about 74kgs now. 10 more than I was before I fell pregnant. We see the doctor again on Friday.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Pregnancy - A Poem
Pregnancy
You are my little whale
Breaching beneath my skin
A tiny tremor
Slowly shifting tectonic plates
Your sign language
Leaves fingerprints inside me.
22/4/08
You are my little whale
Breaching beneath my skin
A tiny tremor
Slowly shifting tectonic plates
Your sign language
Leaves fingerprints inside me.
22/4/08
27 Weeks, 13 to go!
This week I'm attaching a copy of my fortnightly column that goes in the local paper.
What Would I Know?
An Interview
Okay, it’s time to come clean. Each fortnight my column introduces me as a “child education correspondent”. Well, the truth is, that’s about all I know – education. I’m about to have my first child and despite a four year university degree and nearly ten years of teaching experience, I can safely say I know nothing!
Fortunately though, I do know Gaye; mother of eight, grandmother to 1 and another grandchild on the way! Gaye is also a Teacher-Librarian and no doubt an old sage when it comes to raising children.
This week, Gaye has asked me a few tricky questions, just to see how prepared I am for motherhood!
1. What are some of the most fantastic old wives’ tales you have heard regarding pregnancy and childbirth?
It’s not the old wives’ tales that I find fantastic, but all the “new” stuff. These days you can have an elective Caesar, there’s gender pre-selection and heaps of antenatal tests available. Much of that stuff actually scares me, I think I prefer the old wives’ tales about long drives on bumpy roads and heartburn causing hair growth!
2. The first time you hold your baby and it wraps its little hand around your finger, what emotions might be invoked in you?
I think I might feel terrified, but also consumed with love.
3. Most mums feel that it is important to tick off the milestones in their child’s life. What are the milestones you are looking forward to in your baby’s first year?
To be honest, I don’t really know what a baby does in it’s first year. I guess it might grow teeth, crawl, eat food, walk and talk. I think they still need nappies by the time they’re one.
4. There is an old expression “to sleep like a baby”. What are your expectations about a baby’s sleeping patterns?
Okay – I know this is a trick question because what I expect and what I’ll get are two different things. I’d like my baby to sleep fairly regularly so that both of us (and hubby) can remain sane and healthy. Everyone says babies are noisy sleepers, I can’t understand this. What do they do that’s so noisy?
5. What would you consider is more important for a child – spontaneity or organisation?
Well Gaye, you’ve met my husband Matthew so you know that organisation comes first! But together, he and I are a good balance of spontaneity and organised routine so hopefully our child will get a good dose of both.
6. How can you make immunisation time as painless as possible for both mother and child?
Send the Dad.
7. What is the most amazing item you have seen which can be purchased for babies?
Well, first of all let me tell you about the electric breast pumps that are out there! They remind me of some of the machinery I’ve seen on local dairy farms! The most amazing baby product I’ve seen is a bouncer called a “swing”. It moves in five different ways, has a canopy, twinkling light shows, an MP3 jack and baby songs programmed in. I would actually like one for myself.
8. I am now going to mention three childbirth terms and I want you to tell me what they mean to you: Branxton-Hicks contractions; Pelvic floor exercises; and an epidural.
Branxton Hicks contractions are like Mother Nature’s version of a fire drill. They are pretend contractions designed to scare you half to death and remind you that the little sucker inside you has got to come out some time soon. I hope they are painless.
Pelvic Floor Exercises are the things I should be doing regularly throughout my pregnancy. Otherwise all the things in my pelvis could end up on the floor.
Epidural sounds bad, like the brand name for a power drill. Is an epidural when they suck the baby out? I don’t really know and I don’t think I want to know.
9. Finally, if I were a fairy godmother and could grant you three wishes for your child what would you wish for?
I thought you were a fairy godmother Gaye! You have to be close to something mystic to survive eight pregnancies and labours! Okay, three wishes...
1. Good health
2. A loving father
3. A loving mother
What more could they need?
What Would I Know?
An Interview
Okay, it’s time to come clean. Each fortnight my column introduces me as a “child education correspondent”. Well, the truth is, that’s about all I know – education. I’m about to have my first child and despite a four year university degree and nearly ten years of teaching experience, I can safely say I know nothing!
Fortunately though, I do know Gaye; mother of eight, grandmother to 1 and another grandchild on the way! Gaye is also a Teacher-Librarian and no doubt an old sage when it comes to raising children.
This week, Gaye has asked me a few tricky questions, just to see how prepared I am for motherhood!
1. What are some of the most fantastic old wives’ tales you have heard regarding pregnancy and childbirth?
It’s not the old wives’ tales that I find fantastic, but all the “new” stuff. These days you can have an elective Caesar, there’s gender pre-selection and heaps of antenatal tests available. Much of that stuff actually scares me, I think I prefer the old wives’ tales about long drives on bumpy roads and heartburn causing hair growth!
2. The first time you hold your baby and it wraps its little hand around your finger, what emotions might be invoked in you?
I think I might feel terrified, but also consumed with love.
3. Most mums feel that it is important to tick off the milestones in their child’s life. What are the milestones you are looking forward to in your baby’s first year?
To be honest, I don’t really know what a baby does in it’s first year. I guess it might grow teeth, crawl, eat food, walk and talk. I think they still need nappies by the time they’re one.
4. There is an old expression “to sleep like a baby”. What are your expectations about a baby’s sleeping patterns?
Okay – I know this is a trick question because what I expect and what I’ll get are two different things. I’d like my baby to sleep fairly regularly so that both of us (and hubby) can remain sane and healthy. Everyone says babies are noisy sleepers, I can’t understand this. What do they do that’s so noisy?
5. What would you consider is more important for a child – spontaneity or organisation?
Well Gaye, you’ve met my husband Matthew so you know that organisation comes first! But together, he and I are a good balance of spontaneity and organised routine so hopefully our child will get a good dose of both.
6. How can you make immunisation time as painless as possible for both mother and child?
Send the Dad.
7. What is the most amazing item you have seen which can be purchased for babies?
Well, first of all let me tell you about the electric breast pumps that are out there! They remind me of some of the machinery I’ve seen on local dairy farms! The most amazing baby product I’ve seen is a bouncer called a “swing”. It moves in five different ways, has a canopy, twinkling light shows, an MP3 jack and baby songs programmed in. I would actually like one for myself.
8. I am now going to mention three childbirth terms and I want you to tell me what they mean to you: Branxton-Hicks contractions; Pelvic floor exercises; and an epidural.
Branxton Hicks contractions are like Mother Nature’s version of a fire drill. They are pretend contractions designed to scare you half to death and remind you that the little sucker inside you has got to come out some time soon. I hope they are painless.
Pelvic Floor Exercises are the things I should be doing regularly throughout my pregnancy. Otherwise all the things in my pelvis could end up on the floor.
Epidural sounds bad, like the brand name for a power drill. Is an epidural when they suck the baby out? I don’t really know and I don’t think I want to know.
9. Finally, if I were a fairy godmother and could grant you three wishes for your child what would you wish for?
I thought you were a fairy godmother Gaye! You have to be close to something mystic to survive eight pregnancies and labours! Okay, three wishes...
1. Good health
2. A loving father
3. A loving mother
What more could they need?
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