Typed a huge entry on this impossible-to-use mini hospital keyboard for an HOUR and then the system timed out and I lost it all!
I HAVE to make this short.
I was right, waters did break and are now draining heartily.
Had my first round of IV antibiotics at 4.30pm followed by IV syntocinon to induce labour at 4.50! They want Nathan born tonight! I just hope my body complies so that there's no hassle later on, you know? Right now I have been on the synto for 3.5hrs - its nearly 8.30pm and am having 3 "moderate" contractions in every 10 mins. No pain relief yet and they're telling me im coping ever so well, but honestly i feel sure thats because theyre not "effective" ctx or something!
They want to check me every 4hrs from the start of the IV so thats only 20mins away now. My cervix was long and almost closed beforehand, but soft. i was not contracting at all before the drip either, so i reeeeally hope some progress is happening!
neil is at home the last 2hrs putting the boys to bed. he just phoned to say they went to sleep beautifully within 20mins - no trauma. im so relieved but now just hoping the night will go ok. bennie is sleeping with arthur where neil would normally be.
the midwife just set up my 2nd 4hrly dose of antibiotics, turning off the synto for the 20mins it will take to run. after that they are turning the synto drip up because my ctx are spacing apart a little.
better post this before i lose it! please pray for
a good night for the boys and bennie
nice fast progress from me in response to the iv
nathan to tolerate labour and birth
strength and peace for me
my poor parentss who flew home from the states the day before yesterday, took the overnight ferry home to france (exhausted) just last night, and got home minutes before i called with my news! they are back on a night ferry here tonight, bless them.
its my brothers birthday tomorrow - i dont want hisday to be too hectic
okay have to go - about time to be checked. will update if i can.
xxx
Friday, January 11, 2008
PLEASE PRAY!
It's not quite 7am on January 11th (it was a month yesterday till my due date!).
About an hour ago I woke up kind of suddenly in a wet bed. A wet bed. I had on a top and a pair of knickers. I reached down and felt my knickers and they were wet through, but only in a big patch in the crotch and up the front a bit (I was lying on my back/side). "Hmmm...." I thought! The bed felt wet to the touch so I figured it could only be one of two things:
a) I peed the bed (not out of the realms of possibility - I have read of this exact experience happening to mothers on my due date board already, and they go to hospital only to return home feeling slightly embarrassed about their bladder control!).
b) My waters broke.
Everyone was still sound asleep, so I got up straight away and went to the loo (in the dark). I peed without difficulty so wondered if I really could have peed the bed and still have pee left to do on the toilet?
I peeled off the wet underwear and went into the bedroom (where Neil and Arthur were sleeping) to fumble in the dark for a clean dry pair in the chest of drawers. Neil woke as I was putting them on and sleepily asked what was up. I told him I either peed the bed or my waters just broke, because I had woken up in a wet bed. He went, "Oh!" in a very disconcerted tone! That exchange took all of about 20 seconds, and that's how long I'd had my dry knickers on before I thought I'd just reach down and feel the crotch area to check - they were already wet, but not as wet as the pair I'd just taken off.
Uh-oh. Right? That isn't a great sign, am I right?
I did a lot of shaking like a leaf and being all adrenaliney and wondering what to do, but not OUTRIGHT panicking or anything. The biggest anxiety on my mind was my little boys - Nathan too, but the fact that it meant I have to go into hospital today, and I sooooooooo wasn't expecting to! And will my little loves be okay? I don't know.
Nathan was moving so I knew he was okay. Neil got up, and I heard Matthew wake, so I put him to the breast as usual for his morning breastfeed. It was just after 6am - slightly on the early side for Matthew, but not toooo unusual for him. I know he was sleepy though! He nursed for maybe 10 minutes and I shook with adrenaline soooo much the whole time. I tried to calm down but it was so hard! I felt sick and everything.
Neil took Matthew downstairs and I went to the loo to empty my bowels and check the "fluid". After my BM I think I am losing my mucus plug. It's clear and not bloody like with Arthur (I never even lost it with Matthew!), but it's THICK mucus, I can't break it when I wipe no matter how I try - it just hangs (sorry for the TMI!) and there is a lot of it.
I took the second lot of wet underwear off - again WET but just in a circular patch about 4 inches across, in the crotch area. With the light on this time, I can see it's clear. I did another fair-sized pee when I went to the toilet so I'm peeing fine and doesn't that mean it's not likely to be urine? I also did the smell test on the underwear I took off the second time - it does NOT smell like urine. It actually smells exactly like fabric softener, which I am loathed to admit because that's kind of classic amniotic fluid smell. :S For a moment I tried kidding myself that it was because the underwear was freshly laundered and new on, but hmmm, I don't think that's why the wet patch smells like that.
I have had quite a few normal Braxton Hicks, but otherwise no noticable uterine activity.
Arthur woke as I was finishing in the toilet, calling for me anxiously. Neil went to him but he wanted me. He wanted a cuddle and told me he was calling for me because he wanted me. He doesn't normally. Neil said Arthur had woken JUST before I woke up and asked for me then, too. He told Arthur that Mummy was sleeping and settled him back to sleep. Now he wonders if Arthur is aware of something going on that even we're not?
But HELP! I'm 35 weeks and 5 days pregnant. It's too early! I'm also GBS positive, as far as I know - my midwife appt for my re-test was supposed to be this morning between 10am and noon sometime when the midwife comes round.
I phoned the labour ward (exciting!) and told them my story. Of course, they said I have to go in to check whether it's amniotic fluid or not. I have a new pair of knickers on with a sanitary pad, and it's wet. I don't know HOW wet because it's absorbent, you know, but the surface feels wet and I can smell the fabric softener smell when I take my underwear down.
It does look like my waters have broken, doesn't it? But I can't fathom WHY?! I'm not even term! My other two babies came LATE! My amniotic sac never breaks till well into labour! And all that Ester Vitamin C! *sigh*
I'm scared for Nathan. He's a good size and his lungs should be mature. I don't want him to have a hospital stay though, but at this early stage he might have to, even a short one. I'm anxious about the GBS - a big increase in risk for him occurs (antibiotics or not really) if he's born before 37 weeks, and AGAIN if my waters break before labour.
I'm anxious for my little boys - how long will I need to be in hospital? Will it upset them? Arthur is already saying that he doesn't want us to go to hospital to see the doctors :( I've phoned Bennie and he's going to come over. I am about to take a shower.
We are NOT READY in our home for Nathan to be here! I haven't packed a hospital bag, all the stuff for Nathan (including his cot) is in the loft - the moses basket linen isn't washed, I have no clothes or nappies to hand for him, even to pack!!!! Help! I feel so unprepared!
I have just had a doozy of a Braxton Hicks contraction which hurt, but didn't last long. I haven't had hurty ones in the daytime before. And when I leaned to one side to shift my bum a bit, I felt fluid leak out. Nathan is painfully wriggly at the moment, shoving and pushing around.
I feel SO much calmer than I did an hour ago now that the adrenaline has worn off, but I'm scared, for everyone.
My parents got home from the States yesterday and came to visit us, and then just LAST NIGHT boarded a ferry to France! They're not even off the boat yet (but should be disembarking any time now) so their mobile is still switched off!
Please please pray for me - for all of us really. I'm just as anxious about all three of my boys as for me, more so actually.
I don't know when I'll be able to update again, if it IS my amniotic fluid and I end up having a baby - or NOT going into labour but having to stay to be monitored. I guess if it IS my waters breaking, I want prayer for labour to start naturally asap, antibiotics to take effect, and NO intervention necessary with the birth. I feel so unprepared to give birth! Please pray for my state of mind, for peace, for protection more than ever from this vomiting bug for all of my family, etc. And for my sweet baby boys at home without us. I just want it all to be quick if it has to happen. I don't want it drawn out over days where the boys are without me.
Okay I have to go and have my shower. I promise to update asap, but I have no idea when that will be - later today hopefully if I get sent home again, otherwise I'm not sure.
[ETA: Went downstairs, fair-sized gush of fluid as I walked in the living room talking to Neil. Went to the loo - it's clear, but mega loads of thick goo hanging from me (sorry again!), so I'm feeling fairly sure it's my waters having broken. Oh my gosh. I do need prayer! I want labour to start SOON, please, no interventions or long drawn-outness]
About an hour ago I woke up kind of suddenly in a wet bed. A wet bed. I had on a top and a pair of knickers. I reached down and felt my knickers and they were wet through, but only in a big patch in the crotch and up the front a bit (I was lying on my back/side). "Hmmm...." I thought! The bed felt wet to the touch so I figured it could only be one of two things:
a) I peed the bed (not out of the realms of possibility - I have read of this exact experience happening to mothers on my due date board already, and they go to hospital only to return home feeling slightly embarrassed about their bladder control!).
b) My waters broke.
Everyone was still sound asleep, so I got up straight away and went to the loo (in the dark). I peed without difficulty so wondered if I really could have peed the bed and still have pee left to do on the toilet?
I peeled off the wet underwear and went into the bedroom (where Neil and Arthur were sleeping) to fumble in the dark for a clean dry pair in the chest of drawers. Neil woke as I was putting them on and sleepily asked what was up. I told him I either peed the bed or my waters just broke, because I had woken up in a wet bed. He went, "Oh!" in a very disconcerted tone! That exchange took all of about 20 seconds, and that's how long I'd had my dry knickers on before I thought I'd just reach down and feel the crotch area to check - they were already wet, but not as wet as the pair I'd just taken off.
Uh-oh. Right? That isn't a great sign, am I right?
I did a lot of shaking like a leaf and being all adrenaliney and wondering what to do, but not OUTRIGHT panicking or anything. The biggest anxiety on my mind was my little boys - Nathan too, but the fact that it meant I have to go into hospital today, and I sooooooooo wasn't expecting to! And will my little loves be okay? I don't know.
Nathan was moving so I knew he was okay. Neil got up, and I heard Matthew wake, so I put him to the breast as usual for his morning breastfeed. It was just after 6am - slightly on the early side for Matthew, but not toooo unusual for him. I know he was sleepy though! He nursed for maybe 10 minutes and I shook with adrenaline soooo much the whole time. I tried to calm down but it was so hard! I felt sick and everything.
Neil took Matthew downstairs and I went to the loo to empty my bowels and check the "fluid". After my BM I think I am losing my mucus plug. It's clear and not bloody like with Arthur (I never even lost it with Matthew!), but it's THICK mucus, I can't break it when I wipe no matter how I try - it just hangs (sorry for the TMI!) and there is a lot of it.
I took the second lot of wet underwear off - again WET but just in a circular patch about 4 inches across, in the crotch area. With the light on this time, I can see it's clear. I did another fair-sized pee when I went to the toilet so I'm peeing fine and doesn't that mean it's not likely to be urine? I also did the smell test on the underwear I took off the second time - it does NOT smell like urine. It actually smells exactly like fabric softener, which I am loathed to admit because that's kind of classic amniotic fluid smell. :S For a moment I tried kidding myself that it was because the underwear was freshly laundered and new on, but hmmm, I don't think that's why the wet patch smells like that.
I have had quite a few normal Braxton Hicks, but otherwise no noticable uterine activity.
Arthur woke as I was finishing in the toilet, calling for me anxiously. Neil went to him but he wanted me. He wanted a cuddle and told me he was calling for me because he wanted me. He doesn't normally. Neil said Arthur had woken JUST before I woke up and asked for me then, too. He told Arthur that Mummy was sleeping and settled him back to sleep. Now he wonders if Arthur is aware of something going on that even we're not?
But HELP! I'm 35 weeks and 5 days pregnant. It's too early! I'm also GBS positive, as far as I know - my midwife appt for my re-test was supposed to be this morning between 10am and noon sometime when the midwife comes round.
I phoned the labour ward (exciting!) and told them my story. Of course, they said I have to go in to check whether it's amniotic fluid or not. I have a new pair of knickers on with a sanitary pad, and it's wet. I don't know HOW wet because it's absorbent, you know, but the surface feels wet and I can smell the fabric softener smell when I take my underwear down.
It does look like my waters have broken, doesn't it? But I can't fathom WHY?! I'm not even term! My other two babies came LATE! My amniotic sac never breaks till well into labour! And all that Ester Vitamin C! *sigh*
I'm scared for Nathan. He's a good size and his lungs should be mature. I don't want him to have a hospital stay though, but at this early stage he might have to, even a short one. I'm anxious about the GBS - a big increase in risk for him occurs (antibiotics or not really) if he's born before 37 weeks, and AGAIN if my waters break before labour.
I'm anxious for my little boys - how long will I need to be in hospital? Will it upset them? Arthur is already saying that he doesn't want us to go to hospital to see the doctors :( I've phoned Bennie and he's going to come over. I am about to take a shower.
We are NOT READY in our home for Nathan to be here! I haven't packed a hospital bag, all the stuff for Nathan (including his cot) is in the loft - the moses basket linen isn't washed, I have no clothes or nappies to hand for him, even to pack!!!! Help! I feel so unprepared!
I have just had a doozy of a Braxton Hicks contraction which hurt, but didn't last long. I haven't had hurty ones in the daytime before. And when I leaned to one side to shift my bum a bit, I felt fluid leak out. Nathan is painfully wriggly at the moment, shoving and pushing around.
I feel SO much calmer than I did an hour ago now that the adrenaline has worn off, but I'm scared, for everyone.
My parents got home from the States yesterday and came to visit us, and then just LAST NIGHT boarded a ferry to France! They're not even off the boat yet (but should be disembarking any time now) so their mobile is still switched off!
Please please pray for me - for all of us really. I'm just as anxious about all three of my boys as for me, more so actually.
I don't know when I'll be able to update again, if it IS my amniotic fluid and I end up having a baby - or NOT going into labour but having to stay to be monitored. I guess if it IS my waters breaking, I want prayer for labour to start naturally asap, antibiotics to take effect, and NO intervention necessary with the birth. I feel so unprepared to give birth! Please pray for my state of mind, for peace, for protection more than ever from this vomiting bug for all of my family, etc. And for my sweet baby boys at home without us. I just want it all to be quick if it has to happen. I don't want it drawn out over days where the boys are without me.
Okay I have to go and have my shower. I promise to update asap, but I have no idea when that will be - later today hopefully if I get sent home again, otherwise I'm not sure.
[ETA: Went downstairs, fair-sized gush of fluid as I walked in the living room talking to Neil. Went to the loo - it's clear, but mega loads of thick goo hanging from me (sorry again!), so I'm feeling fairly sure it's my waters having broken. Oh my gosh. I do need prayer! I want labour to start SOON, please, no interventions or long drawn-outness]
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
35 weeks, 2 days - update on yesterday and slight non-pregnancy-related rant (!!)
Thank you for the homebirth support! :)
I cancelled today's antenatal appointment as planned, and phoned the Community Midwives team today. I got to speak to the manager of the team which was good - her name is Pat and she's the midwife who was my named midwife through my pregnancy with Arthur! She also did a couple of my late pregnancy home visits (with her student who was supposed to be at Matthew's birth, remember?!) last time round. The first thing she said was congratulations and asked how old the little ones are now. When I said they were 3 and 18 months, she said I was certainly keeping myself busy, haha! ;)
Anyway. This midwife has always been described as very pro-homebirth, but she wasn't too supportive about my plans to have my first baby at home, so that surprised me. She was fine with #2 though. And she's the midwife who my booking appt midwife went to for advice on my behalf, when I told her I wanted a homebirth but I was Group B Strep positive. So I knew she'd said that they have to say I should go in, but that it's up to me to weigh up the risks.
Today she was very nice, etc, but kind of left me feeling a bit weird about the homebirth idea, in terms of the GBS thing. She kept saying their guidelines say they MUST recommend going in for IV antibiotics during labour, and she also kept emphasising that I could go in, get a dose of it, and go home RIGHT after giving birth (implying that it wouldn't be all that bad), but for me that's the whole point! I mean, I would be labouring and birthing in hospital, and finally allowed to come home "instantly" at the very time I know my body won't be capable of doing so. I really don't want to be in hospital. And also, I am really not sure I want to have antibiotics at all, for myself or Nathan.
She kept saying about the risk to the baby, and reminding me that it was all about the risks to him, etc, nothing else. Which makes me feel like either I should cave and go into hospital and get the antibiotics, OR stick to my well-researched guns and stay at home, all the while being unable to shift this new feeling of selfish guilt for putting my baby at risk for the sake of wanting to give birth at home. But I think I AM thinking of him too - I really don't think it's about me so much. It's what *I* want, obviously, but I was going to ditch that when I thought it was absolutely not the best thing for Nathan. Now I'm not so sure. A lot of the research I'm reading seems to indicate that (in this country) antibiotics thrown at every pregnant woman who is GBS positive is NOT necessarily a good thing, for her, the baby, OR the general trend of antibiotic resistant bacteria - did you know that penicillin is now the only antibiotic worth using against GBS, as amoxycillin and amphicillin (might have got that last one wrong!) are now all but useless against it, having been so "overused" (not my word!) that GBS has become resistant to it. Scary stuff. Another article said about the fact that 1 in 10,000 women will have an anaphylactic shock reaction and DIE from the IV antibiotic for GBS, and likely risk her baby's life too. They compared that risk to the baby with the actual risk of the baby DYING from GBS-related complications, and it basically evened out completely, as in, no greater risk to the baby from NOT getting the antibiotics compared with the mother GETTING them during labour. It isn't the case in the States though, as the number of cases are higher per 1000 than here.
Anyway. From what I am reading, it seems to be perfectly safe for the little one if I carefully watch for increased risk signs, like fever during labour, waters breaking early, or labour earlier than 37 weeks, etc. So I told Pat this, saying that I wanted to be at home but keep a check on my temperature to detect fever, and if there was one at any point, to go straight in. And to be open-minded about what to do depending on when my waters break, etc. I told her that my waters did not break with my last baby till his head was crowning, so I sort of hoped for the same this time! ;) She just didn't seem too thrilled or encouraging about the idea, which I guess I felt disappointed about, given who she was. I now feel like I'm doing something wrong by sticking to going for a homebirth, and being selfish and neglectful of Nathan's needs, which feels HORRIBLE!
Urgh.
She also fairly insisted (well, not insisted but pressed the issue saying it would be a good idea, etc) that I make an appt to go and see the consultant at the hospital either this week or next week to discuss it. Ugggghhhh. I said yes, because I'm a wuss, and chose next Friday (not this one), so she'll get in touch with me to tell me the exact time of the appt she's made for me. I sooooooooooo don't want to go to that. I'm annoyed that I said yes! I don't see the point. She said it would be good to discuss the risks and what the procedures would be, and so on. But I can pretty much guarantee that a consultant will be 100% anti-homebirth in this situation, and basically try to talk me out of it and over-emphasise the risks, etc. So what is the point of going to an appt where the aim is to bully/scare/intimidate me out of my decision to give birth at home? I already know the risks because I have researched really carefully. I told Pat I had done so too, but hey ho.
Anyway. For now, I am booked for a homebirth, and I get a home appt (yay!) this coming Friday morning! I'll be almost 36 weeks, so whoever does my appt (probably my usual midwife from my doctor's surgery) will do my repeat swab to check my GBS status. I have read some wacky ideas for treating it naturally in the run up to repeat swabs! Most involve sticking a clove of garlic up your hoo-hoo overnight for 1-2 weeks before the swab! And eating the stuff raw too. Yeurgh. I know garlic is wonderful stuff against bacteria, viruses and fungal infections, but I don't think I am going to do the garlic stuff! I read for a couple of hours about it online and still found plenty of women who had "heavy colonisation" of GBS after doing the garlic thing at both ends (!), even though some also tested negative. Neil and I are just praying and praying that I will test negative. The practical likelihood is that I will test positive - quite a strong likelihood actually. But we'll pray. If I test positive then I guess I continue to press for the homebirth and take all the precautions I can, OR change my mind again and go in. I don't know. I just sooooo hope I somehow test negative and it all doesn't matter any more and I get my uncomplicated homebirth again! Please can you pray for me, if you pray. I would so appreciate all the anti-bacterial prayers you can offer for me! :)
So that is the latest on that.
Also (re. Jemma's comment) I just wanted to clarify:
* We don't keep our boys isolated from illness! They go to church creche and to the mother-and-toddler church group (it's only once a fortnight, but still) and I'm perfectly open to them catching whatever crops up there. I DID remove them from a very large playgroup where we caught something every time we went. They have plenty of exposure to colds and viruses, and like I said, have had 3 in the past month or two.
* Simple bugs DON'T affect them badly! Like I said last entry, Arthur suffers from tummy things badly, but I'm totally convinced that it's his makeup, not how we've exposed him to stuff. It's the same with lots of kids, exposed plenty or not - some are just the types who get things badly, and others are not. Neil was always the child in his family (of four kids) who got every virus really badly, worse than his siblings. They were all well exposed to other kids and bugs, and none more or less than each other. I, on the other hand, always got mild versions of everything my poor brother suffered with horribly! In general, if we had a tummy bug, he's throw up aplenty and I'd feel sick with some diarrhoea and that would be it really. He got horrible colds and has only in adulthood started getting colds less frequently and more mildly.
Matthew has so far exhibited a really strong immune system! He gets just as "little" exposure to bugs as Arthur and they always share germs with each other. But two of the three colds we've had in the house this past month or so, Matthew hasn't even caught at ALL, and they share drinks and the breast all the time, so I know he was exposed. Arthur's colds this winter have been the mildest he's ever had them - 3 mild mild colds in a row that never ended up with horrible congestion, just sore throat and runny nose.
I'm sure if they went to playgroup they'd be ill ALL the time, as that's just normal. But the things they catch in general are not severe, and Matthew's little 18-month-old immune system actually fights them off so that he doesn't even suffer them, which amazes me! I used to put it down to the fact that I'm breastfeeding them still, but I don't think it's just that. Arthur is a more susceptible child, just by the way he's made up, and Matthew isn't. The last tummy bug we all had was brought to us through Matthew, and he threw up once and that was his only symptom. The adults who got it threw up once or twice and also had some "other end" issues! Arthur threw up violently seven times and was miserably ill for 2 days, poor love. He just IS with stomach things, it's not because of what we're doing with the boys.
Anyway. I just... sort of felt the need/desire to stand up for myself a little on that issue!
We know the season is long for Norovirus (again, like I said in my last entry). We would be looking at keeping a low profile till April, which, so long as it was a WARM April, really would be the end of the season. I know my stuff - Norovirus is around all year, but the season for the epidemic is the winter (cold) months. The last time I had a tummy bug (which was a pretty horrid one) was April as well, so I know it's still about then. Nathan would still only be about 6 weeks old at the beginning of April anyway so we were considering that to be on the early side for exposing ourselves as a family in any case.
We still might not go crazy paranoid! I'm just saying that for us, there seems enough reason to take extra precautions to avoid it. A proper epidemic isn't going to listen much to extra vitamins, and we'd rather avoid it than get it, weighing up the risks for our family.
One last thing, and then I promise I'll stop! ;) We don't stay inside all the time, even when we are doing something like this! My children will not make it to 11am (seriously) without going out of the house. They climb the walls! Every single day they go out, no matter the weather, before lunchtime. It has been many months since they've missed a day of doing that, but back when they occasionally DID miss a morning out, they were a nightmare to handle that afternoon! They are normal kids and we aren't keeping them from what is healthy for them. We are just tailoring our outings so that they are having less contact with germy places or a bunch of kids, and more splashing in puddles, running in the park, and long tiring walks, lol! They are perfectly happy.
To be honest, I'm LONGING for the boys to get chicken pox! I so want that one out of the way when they're little. If it wasn't for the other fever/cold bug at Jemma's house, I think I would have probably asked if we could visit (gasp - is that bad to knowingly expose my kids to illness?!) while Jove has chicken pox to expose them to it. Well, maybe if it wasn't QUITE so close to the end of my pregnancy and I knew for SURE from Neil's mum (must ask her!) that Neil has had chicken pox. Bad baaad news if he hasn't, and I don't think MIL has got a good memory for which of her kids had what, and didn't write it down (tsk!) - which is actually why I sent Neil to the nurse for his MMR a few years back when there was a local outbreak of mumps, hehe! MIL didn't know if he'd had it, and I KNOW that if he got it he would have ended up sterile, which *clutches throat* would NEVER do, hehehe! ;) So he had the MMR.
But anyway. I'm sorry if I seem overly defensive in what I have written this entry. I admit I FELT defensive, a little. I know lots of people won't agree with our kids getting comparatively little contact with other children and thus a bunch of other germs all the time, but we are not being bad parents or locking down on our children to avoid bugs. I actually don't agree that children need to be exposed to a billion viruses to make them strong and healthy. The BEST way to do that for the immune system is not exposure to viruses (though it will do the same job, if that's the way it goes), but exposure to endotoxins. Your best source for those would be poo. Yes, poo. Hence the mighty strong immune systems of children in large families brought up (fairly isolated, by the by) on farms (I read research) - they have the most exposure to trace amounts of faeces than any other selection of children. They don't get sick from their immune-strengthening. That seems so much more natural to me, than letting the poor mites get so sick with everything hammering their immune system all the time. Anyway, that is just my take on it. We don't live with animals or a bunch of children (yet!), so I guess my boys have little exposure to poo (!) other than each other's! I do wonder about Matthew's immune system being so strong though - he has licked floors and horrible bits of scum everywhere we have been since he was able to lift his head and lick! Since about 4 months old, maybe earlier. I have not been fussy about it, just let him do it really. It was actually really hard to stop him and I knew it was probably doing great stuff for his immune system! Some mothers at Fellowship Group one time were sat horrified, watching him lick the floor boards at the house we were meeting in, when he was about 6 months old! When they asked me about it, I said, "Oh yes, he does that..." and they said he must have a good immune system then! So I wonder if he's built up his own system? He never got sick from licking floors, so I'm happy for him if that's how he's done it! And VERY happy for them not to be suffering from horrible viruses every other week/month in the mean time. They are getting a good head start with the very extended breastfeeding as well.
Okay, that is all! I really should have written all that in my arthursmummy diary because it has no relevance to pregnancy at all! But it just spilled out in response to a comment here at this diary, so.... It's not that I have bad feelings (honestly Jemma! I appreciate your honesty and esp. the homebirth support!), I just felt I wanted to clarify some points that weren't actually true for us and stand up for myself a bit!
Oooh and I finally got my 34-week belly picture in the gallery! Nathan is sticking out more than 2 weeks ago. I think he's not quite so low as he was then, but the picture seems to show the same kind of height (very low!), bump-wise. Neil says I'm bigger than I was last week already, so we'll see how the 36 week picture compares this weekend! I can't believe I'll be 36 weeks pregnant this weekend! And full-term (as in, "any time you're ready, Nathan!" Yikes!) in 12 days!!!! It's the 8th today, so in 2 days I will have just ONE MONTH to go till my due date! Crazy soon. I'm excited! But there's still so much to doooo.
Little boy has had hiccups 5 times already today, and the evening is usually his busiest time for hiccups (and all other activity for that matter). I can't wait to meet him and see what he looks like! :)
[Edited to add, 5 minutes after posting the entry - tiny boy has hiccups again :) I just love him so much already! *sigh*]
I cancelled today's antenatal appointment as planned, and phoned the Community Midwives team today. I got to speak to the manager of the team which was good - her name is Pat and she's the midwife who was my named midwife through my pregnancy with Arthur! She also did a couple of my late pregnancy home visits (with her student who was supposed to be at Matthew's birth, remember?!) last time round. The first thing she said was congratulations and asked how old the little ones are now. When I said they were 3 and 18 months, she said I was certainly keeping myself busy, haha! ;)
Anyway. This midwife has always been described as very pro-homebirth, but she wasn't too supportive about my plans to have my first baby at home, so that surprised me. She was fine with #2 though. And she's the midwife who my booking appt midwife went to for advice on my behalf, when I told her I wanted a homebirth but I was Group B Strep positive. So I knew she'd said that they have to say I should go in, but that it's up to me to weigh up the risks.
Today she was very nice, etc, but kind of left me feeling a bit weird about the homebirth idea, in terms of the GBS thing. She kept saying their guidelines say they MUST recommend going in for IV antibiotics during labour, and she also kept emphasising that I could go in, get a dose of it, and go home RIGHT after giving birth (implying that it wouldn't be all that bad), but for me that's the whole point! I mean, I would be labouring and birthing in hospital, and finally allowed to come home "instantly" at the very time I know my body won't be capable of doing so. I really don't want to be in hospital. And also, I am really not sure I want to have antibiotics at all, for myself or Nathan.
She kept saying about the risk to the baby, and reminding me that it was all about the risks to him, etc, nothing else. Which makes me feel like either I should cave and go into hospital and get the antibiotics, OR stick to my well-researched guns and stay at home, all the while being unable to shift this new feeling of selfish guilt for putting my baby at risk for the sake of wanting to give birth at home. But I think I AM thinking of him too - I really don't think it's about me so much. It's what *I* want, obviously, but I was going to ditch that when I thought it was absolutely not the best thing for Nathan. Now I'm not so sure. A lot of the research I'm reading seems to indicate that (in this country) antibiotics thrown at every pregnant woman who is GBS positive is NOT necessarily a good thing, for her, the baby, OR the general trend of antibiotic resistant bacteria - did you know that penicillin is now the only antibiotic worth using against GBS, as amoxycillin and amphicillin (might have got that last one wrong!) are now all but useless against it, having been so "overused" (not my word!) that GBS has become resistant to it. Scary stuff. Another article said about the fact that 1 in 10,000 women will have an anaphylactic shock reaction and DIE from the IV antibiotic for GBS, and likely risk her baby's life too. They compared that risk to the baby with the actual risk of the baby DYING from GBS-related complications, and it basically evened out completely, as in, no greater risk to the baby from NOT getting the antibiotics compared with the mother GETTING them during labour. It isn't the case in the States though, as the number of cases are higher per 1000 than here.
Anyway. From what I am reading, it seems to be perfectly safe for the little one if I carefully watch for increased risk signs, like fever during labour, waters breaking early, or labour earlier than 37 weeks, etc. So I told Pat this, saying that I wanted to be at home but keep a check on my temperature to detect fever, and if there was one at any point, to go straight in. And to be open-minded about what to do depending on when my waters break, etc. I told her that my waters did not break with my last baby till his head was crowning, so I sort of hoped for the same this time! ;) She just didn't seem too thrilled or encouraging about the idea, which I guess I felt disappointed about, given who she was. I now feel like I'm doing something wrong by sticking to going for a homebirth, and being selfish and neglectful of Nathan's needs, which feels HORRIBLE!
Urgh.
She also fairly insisted (well, not insisted but pressed the issue saying it would be a good idea, etc) that I make an appt to go and see the consultant at the hospital either this week or next week to discuss it. Ugggghhhh. I said yes, because I'm a wuss, and chose next Friday (not this one), so she'll get in touch with me to tell me the exact time of the appt she's made for me. I sooooooooooo don't want to go to that. I'm annoyed that I said yes! I don't see the point. She said it would be good to discuss the risks and what the procedures would be, and so on. But I can pretty much guarantee that a consultant will be 100% anti-homebirth in this situation, and basically try to talk me out of it and over-emphasise the risks, etc. So what is the point of going to an appt where the aim is to bully/scare/intimidate me out of my decision to give birth at home? I already know the risks because I have researched really carefully. I told Pat I had done so too, but hey ho.
Anyway. For now, I am booked for a homebirth, and I get a home appt (yay!) this coming Friday morning! I'll be almost 36 weeks, so whoever does my appt (probably my usual midwife from my doctor's surgery) will do my repeat swab to check my GBS status. I have read some wacky ideas for treating it naturally in the run up to repeat swabs! Most involve sticking a clove of garlic up your hoo-hoo overnight for 1-2 weeks before the swab! And eating the stuff raw too. Yeurgh. I know garlic is wonderful stuff against bacteria, viruses and fungal infections, but I don't think I am going to do the garlic stuff! I read for a couple of hours about it online and still found plenty of women who had "heavy colonisation" of GBS after doing the garlic thing at both ends (!), even though some also tested negative. Neil and I are just praying and praying that I will test negative. The practical likelihood is that I will test positive - quite a strong likelihood actually. But we'll pray. If I test positive then I guess I continue to press for the homebirth and take all the precautions I can, OR change my mind again and go in. I don't know. I just sooooo hope I somehow test negative and it all doesn't matter any more and I get my uncomplicated homebirth again! Please can you pray for me, if you pray. I would so appreciate all the anti-bacterial prayers you can offer for me! :)
So that is the latest on that.
Also (re. Jemma's comment) I just wanted to clarify:
* We don't keep our boys isolated from illness! They go to church creche and to the mother-and-toddler church group (it's only once a fortnight, but still) and I'm perfectly open to them catching whatever crops up there. I DID remove them from a very large playgroup where we caught something every time we went. They have plenty of exposure to colds and viruses, and like I said, have had 3 in the past month or two.
* Simple bugs DON'T affect them badly! Like I said last entry, Arthur suffers from tummy things badly, but I'm totally convinced that it's his makeup, not how we've exposed him to stuff. It's the same with lots of kids, exposed plenty or not - some are just the types who get things badly, and others are not. Neil was always the child in his family (of four kids) who got every virus really badly, worse than his siblings. They were all well exposed to other kids and bugs, and none more or less than each other. I, on the other hand, always got mild versions of everything my poor brother suffered with horribly! In general, if we had a tummy bug, he's throw up aplenty and I'd feel sick with some diarrhoea and that would be it really. He got horrible colds and has only in adulthood started getting colds less frequently and more mildly.
Matthew has so far exhibited a really strong immune system! He gets just as "little" exposure to bugs as Arthur and they always share germs with each other. But two of the three colds we've had in the house this past month or so, Matthew hasn't even caught at ALL, and they share drinks and the breast all the time, so I know he was exposed. Arthur's colds this winter have been the mildest he's ever had them - 3 mild mild colds in a row that never ended up with horrible congestion, just sore throat and runny nose.
I'm sure if they went to playgroup they'd be ill ALL the time, as that's just normal. But the things they catch in general are not severe, and Matthew's little 18-month-old immune system actually fights them off so that he doesn't even suffer them, which amazes me! I used to put it down to the fact that I'm breastfeeding them still, but I don't think it's just that. Arthur is a more susceptible child, just by the way he's made up, and Matthew isn't. The last tummy bug we all had was brought to us through Matthew, and he threw up once and that was his only symptom. The adults who got it threw up once or twice and also had some "other end" issues! Arthur threw up violently seven times and was miserably ill for 2 days, poor love. He just IS with stomach things, it's not because of what we're doing with the boys.
Anyway. I just... sort of felt the need/desire to stand up for myself a little on that issue!
We know the season is long for Norovirus (again, like I said in my last entry). We would be looking at keeping a low profile till April, which, so long as it was a WARM April, really would be the end of the season. I know my stuff - Norovirus is around all year, but the season for the epidemic is the winter (cold) months. The last time I had a tummy bug (which was a pretty horrid one) was April as well, so I know it's still about then. Nathan would still only be about 6 weeks old at the beginning of April anyway so we were considering that to be on the early side for exposing ourselves as a family in any case.
We still might not go crazy paranoid! I'm just saying that for us, there seems enough reason to take extra precautions to avoid it. A proper epidemic isn't going to listen much to extra vitamins, and we'd rather avoid it than get it, weighing up the risks for our family.
One last thing, and then I promise I'll stop! ;) We don't stay inside all the time, even when we are doing something like this! My children will not make it to 11am (seriously) without going out of the house. They climb the walls! Every single day they go out, no matter the weather, before lunchtime. It has been many months since they've missed a day of doing that, but back when they occasionally DID miss a morning out, they were a nightmare to handle that afternoon! They are normal kids and we aren't keeping them from what is healthy for them. We are just tailoring our outings so that they are having less contact with germy places or a bunch of kids, and more splashing in puddles, running in the park, and long tiring walks, lol! They are perfectly happy.
To be honest, I'm LONGING for the boys to get chicken pox! I so want that one out of the way when they're little. If it wasn't for the other fever/cold bug at Jemma's house, I think I would have probably asked if we could visit (gasp - is that bad to knowingly expose my kids to illness?!) while Jove has chicken pox to expose them to it. Well, maybe if it wasn't QUITE so close to the end of my pregnancy and I knew for SURE from Neil's mum (must ask her!) that Neil has had chicken pox. Bad baaad news if he hasn't, and I don't think MIL has got a good memory for which of her kids had what, and didn't write it down (tsk!) - which is actually why I sent Neil to the nurse for his MMR a few years back when there was a local outbreak of mumps, hehe! MIL didn't know if he'd had it, and I KNOW that if he got it he would have ended up sterile, which *clutches throat* would NEVER do, hehehe! ;) So he had the MMR.
But anyway. I'm sorry if I seem overly defensive in what I have written this entry. I admit I FELT defensive, a little. I know lots of people won't agree with our kids getting comparatively little contact with other children and thus a bunch of other germs all the time, but we are not being bad parents or locking down on our children to avoid bugs. I actually don't agree that children need to be exposed to a billion viruses to make them strong and healthy. The BEST way to do that for the immune system is not exposure to viruses (though it will do the same job, if that's the way it goes), but exposure to endotoxins. Your best source for those would be poo. Yes, poo. Hence the mighty strong immune systems of children in large families brought up (fairly isolated, by the by) on farms (I read research) - they have the most exposure to trace amounts of faeces than any other selection of children. They don't get sick from their immune-strengthening. That seems so much more natural to me, than letting the poor mites get so sick with everything hammering their immune system all the time. Anyway, that is just my take on it. We don't live with animals or a bunch of children (yet!), so I guess my boys have little exposure to poo (!) other than each other's! I do wonder about Matthew's immune system being so strong though - he has licked floors and horrible bits of scum everywhere we have been since he was able to lift his head and lick! Since about 4 months old, maybe earlier. I have not been fussy about it, just let him do it really. It was actually really hard to stop him and I knew it was probably doing great stuff for his immune system! Some mothers at Fellowship Group one time were sat horrified, watching him lick the floor boards at the house we were meeting in, when he was about 6 months old! When they asked me about it, I said, "Oh yes, he does that..." and they said he must have a good immune system then! So I wonder if he's built up his own system? He never got sick from licking floors, so I'm happy for him if that's how he's done it! And VERY happy for them not to be suffering from horrible viruses every other week/month in the mean time. They are getting a good head start with the very extended breastfeeding as well.
Okay, that is all! I really should have written all that in my arthursmummy diary because it has no relevance to pregnancy at all! But it just spilled out in response to a comment here at this diary, so.... It's not that I have bad feelings (honestly Jemma! I appreciate your honesty and esp. the homebirth support!), I just felt I wanted to clarify some points that weren't actually true for us and stand up for myself a bit!
Oooh and I finally got my 34-week belly picture in the gallery! Nathan is sticking out more than 2 weeks ago. I think he's not quite so low as he was then, but the picture seems to show the same kind of height (very low!), bump-wise. Neil says I'm bigger than I was last week already, so we'll see how the 36 week picture compares this weekend! I can't believe I'll be 36 weeks pregnant this weekend! And full-term (as in, "any time you're ready, Nathan!" Yikes!) in 12 days!!!! It's the 8th today, so in 2 days I will have just ONE MONTH to go till my due date! Crazy soon. I'm excited! But there's still so much to doooo.
Little boy has had hiccups 5 times already today, and the evening is usually his busiest time for hiccups (and all other activity for that matter). I can't wait to meet him and see what he looks like! :)
[Edited to add, 5 minutes after posting the entry - tiny boy has hiccups again :) I just love him so much already! *sigh*]
Monday, October 29, 2007
25 weeks pregnant!
Too long AGAIN, but oh well. I will just try to write as much as I can whenever I get chance! My days seem really FULL at the moment. I am busy from the moment I get out of bed till about 2 hours before I fall back into it at night, and during those two hours, Neil and I chat and pray first and then relax in our own ways (him on a computer game usually, me online for a bit, BUT bedtime for me is now 11pm and I need about 20 minutes before then to do my FlyLady Before Bed Routine (sooooo proud of myself!!!). So the bit where I get to go online is now tiiiny compared to what it used to be, each day.
I'm having a Braxton Hicks contraction! I haven't felt any of those for quite a few days so it has caught my attention, plus it isn't very comfy and my bladder is full so it makes me reeeally need to wee while it's going on! They only last a very short time - this one was only about 10-20 seconds if that.
Okay, so I am now 25 weeks pregnant! Only 15 weeks to go - that's crazy! Also, you're supposed to do all the big transitions for your toddler (or toddlers in my case!) by 6-8 weeks BEFORE the baby arrives. So that means we only have like 7 weeks to go till the 8-weeks-left milestone! Which is less than 2 months. Which is the timeframe where we have to get all the big stuff done with the boys that we need to. If I want to potty train Arthur (who isn't remotely potty trained yet), I need to do it in the next 7 weeks. Otherwise we'll have THREE children full-time in cloth nappies for at least the first 6-8 weeks after Nathan is born! Yikes! I LOVE my cloth nappies but ohhhh the laundry. And the pooooo. And three feels just a little bit overwhelming, though if I had triplets I would NOT hesitate to put them all in cloth nappies (honestly) from the word go.
Arthur and Matthew share a lot of nappies now because they are both in toddler-sized ones most of the time (Matthew still wears some mediums/larges and Arthur is in XL in those particular ones). But the ones they share are basically falling apart now! It's been so long since I sewed any nappies - it might even have been as far back as when I was waiting for MATTHEW to arrive. I simply haven't had time since having two little ones! I must make time though, because I have fabric cut out and waiting for me to sew it into Cuddlebuns or Very Baby diapers to fit my big boys! I know that potty training Arthur will relieve the strain on the poor old nappies, but right now he does NOT want to potty train, and I don't really want to push him, so. Anyway, we are going to need toddler sized nappies for a good while to come, so I might as well make some more! I hope I find time once Neil is out of work (as of tomorrow!!!!).
Anyway, pregnancy stuff!
Nathan's stats amaze me! I haven't checked those in a while and I can't believe he now weighs 1.5lbs and measures just over 13.5 inches from head to heel! He's getting so much bigger! His fastest weight gain will come in the 3rd trimester, and the fastest of that will be in the final month or so. So far I think he will be a lot like Arthur in weight, because he seemed to have Arthur's build at the scan, and his measurements confirmed that. Also it's interesting in the note Jemma left me (thanks Jemma!) that she compared my weight gain at 23 weeks with my 3 pregnancies and I had gained 18lbs with Arthur, 14lbs with Matthew, and 17lbs this time. As far as the start of colostrum production goes, I was just over 20 weeks with Arthur, and around 22 weeks this time, but I didn't have any till 28 weeks with Matthew. I wonder if there's a correlation there with the weight gain, for me? Arthur and Nathan's pregnancies seem to have things in common that Matthew's did not have, although let's face it, they were all pretty similar in general!
I am wondering about Nathan's birth weight.... Arthur was 8lbs 1.5oz, which amazed us at the time because he was the heaviest baby in our family on either my side OR Neil's! But it all makes sense now we know him better :) His build and weight gain in his first year are consistent with his heavier-than-expected weight at birth. Matthew, being a "subsequent baby" and especially a subsequent baby BOY, was expected to weigh the same as or more than Arthur, statistically. But he weighed less! He was 7lbs 11oz, and his build and weight gain pattern was well in line with that lighter-than-expected birth weight.
But Nathan.... I think Nathan is more like Arthur. So will HE be the "subsequent baby" with Arthur's build, who will be at least as heavy as Arthur was at birth? Statistically, yes, he is likely to be. Which makes me feel slightly nervous! I don't know why it should, since I know I can birth babies in general (!) and also 8lbs was fine. I am not expecting a 9lb-er by any means! So it shouldn't matter. I guess if I was doing a poll, I would probably say he might be 8lbs 2oz or 8lbs 3oz. I can't believe I would have a baby that heavy though, so maybe not! I am so petite, it doesn't feel natural, haha! All the babies in our families have been under the 7lb mark, pretty much. Except my daddy (note - the only one with Arthur's build!), who was 7lbs 15oz, past his due date (but not sure how much past). If Nathan is as late as Matthew (well, a week past my due date, not "late" as such), then maybe he'll have gained even more weight by then?! I think if he comes at 41 weeks, I would put my guess at 8lbs 4oz. Otherwise 8lbs 2oz. I think. Yes, that's my bet! Anyone else care to hazard a guess?! It's early for this kind of thing, but I'm curious! ;)
Nathan is in the middle of a quiet patch at the moment. It's been 2 days that he's been really quiet in there. It would probably freak me out if it wasn't for the fact that he does this a lot, when he's having a growth spurt. I'm sure this pattern is especially noticable this pregnancy over the other two. I wonder if it's because Nathan is a quieter baby than the other boys, and so if he's extra quiet then I barely feel a THING, whereas "quieter" for Arthur (or Matthew, I suppose) was sometimes equivalent to Nathan's BUSY patches, hehe! It's so easy to tell Nathan's busy-ness from his quietness - he moves; he doesn't move. With Arthur, he moved ridiculously much; he moved somewhat less ridiculously much! Although, Nathan DOES move when he's having a quiet patch, but I only get the odd gentle bump or tap, just the once or twice, every few hours. That's reeeeeally quiet for one of my babies!
Granny asked me if I'm SURE he's not a girl, when I said about how his activity levels compare with the other boys' pregnancies. And I had my 24 week antenatal appt last week. My bump measured behind!!! Which doesn't happen to me at ALL! The boys measured 2 weeks ahead throughout most of the pregnancies, so this is just weird for me! ;) At first when she was measuring, the doctor looked concerned, and measured again and again, and then seemed satisfied enough with the last measurement and told me it was a week or two behind but nothing to worry about. How different is that?! I know it's consistently like that this time around, because all along so far, I have noticed the top of my uterus isn't as high as it "should" be. Like it's meant to be at the belly button level at 20 weeks. Well it was 2 finger-widths below at 20 weeks, and it finally reached belly button height at 22 weeks. So, I know. And I'm not remotely worried about Nathan - I know he's growing fine in there and measuring normally at the 21 week scan. It could just be the way I'm carrying him or his position (not that his position seems much different to the boys really). But it IS different, for how my pregnancies usually are. Someone said (can't remember who), "Are you SURE it's not a girl?!" when I told them about that. And to both this person and Granny, I had to say, "Well, no. I'm not!" because I never did SEE Nathan's boy bits. I saw what was pointed out to me as a scrotum squashed between closed thighs! And the sonographer sounded confident from the start that he is a boy, so I'm sure he must be. But I didn't personally see the evidence, so it's a bit frustrating! We are all REALLY bonding with Nathan and I can't fathom how it would feel to have a baby girl pop out in February after all! I think Arthur would not take well to the unexpected change! And I think *I* would grieve a sort of "loss" of Nathan. So I really hope the sonographer didn't make a mistake. I really want my baby boy now!
Nathan seems to be head down most of the time. He gets hiccups quite a bit, maybe once or twice a day. I love feeling those! They are getting so strong and clear that Neil can just gently lay his hand on my bump and have my whole bump blip against his hand clearly! Which is lovely. I think Nathan's back must be up against my tummy for him to feel the hiccups so clearly. His back is often up on my right hand side, rather than the left. Matthew's was too. Arthur was always on the left. I wonder if that has to do with the position of their placentas? I read that babies like to face their placentas.
My energy is good at the moment, but I get tired easily. Sometimes I get sugar or protein "crashes" while we're out, which is not too fun with two sloowwww-moving toddlers walking with me! I just need to get home INSTANTLY if that happens, and eat! I used to try sugary stuff straight away, thinking it was low blood sugar, but it didn't seem to help that much. Today we were out for a short walk and I came over weak and shaky and lightheaded, and all that fun stuff, and ate protein instead (a ton of cheese while I made the boys' lunch) and that helped a LOT, really quickly. I think I am just building another human being, and so I need protein kinda desperately sometimes, hehe! ;)
Oh, the rest of my antenatal appt went fine. My blood pressure was fine (it's in my notes but I'm running out of time (and laptop battery) right now so suffice to say it's fine!), and Nathan's heartbeat was healthy and strong. My urine had a trace of blood, white blood cells, and protein in it, so they sent it away to culture. I haven't heard back from them so I presume nothing grew in it and I'm fine, but I was symptom FREE at the time of my appt (when I did the urine sample), and by the evening I didn't feel great, and it hurt to wee. I also needed to go more often, and that continued for a couple of days. Today it seems a lot better. So I felt sure I had a UTI, but I didn't hear from the doctor so I'm guessing the sample didn't show that. Weird.
The appt actually went well with the boys there!! I used new tactics. I put them in the tandem pushchair, and when we got there and the doctor was running late, I told the receptionist we'd be outside watching the traffic (the boys LOVE watching cars and any other vehicles for that matter!), and we'd keep checking in every few minutes. So there was no trauma in the waiting room! And they stayed in the pushchair! Yay! So I just wheeled them on in when the doctor called us, and parked them, still in the pushchair, for my appt! Now, this would NOT have gone down well, but then part two of my new tactics swung into action, and I whipped out the Organix gingerbread men (favourites at the mo, especially for Matthew), and a couple of cream crackers, and voila! Two quiet, uncomplaining boys, sitting still for the duration of my appointment!! It was BLISS. Bliiiss. It was so nice to focus on Nathan a bit and have quietness while I talk to the doctor, without fishing Matthew out of the clinical waste bin, stopping Arthur standing on the examination table, prising urine sample bottles (from the doctor's drawer) out of Matthew's hand, stopping Matthew jumping on the scales and pulling the blinds, etc, etc. I DREAD taking them to the doctor lately! But the pushchair/cars/snack thing worked wonders. I will be using that again! :)
Okay, what else before I really MUST go to bed. I am really over-warm these days. I seem to sweat a TON every day, just being around the house. It's not too warm in the house, but I just sweat! It might actually be more to do with the FlyLady stuff I'm doing - yes, I'm actually doing HOUSEWORK! And trying to get it done as fast as I can. There is a lot of WARM laundry involved, so maybe it's just that. But anyway.
I can't think of anything else, although I know there must be a ton of other stuff, just bits and pieces. We never did get around to taking a 24 week belly pic :( But hopefully a 25 week one, since the last one was pretty much 23 weeks instead of 22. I hate that I'm getting behind on things with this pregnancy. I want to keep track of everything as carefully as I did with the other two! But I'm that much more busy each time I have another baby!
We need a new car. Our current one won't hold 3 car seats. I have nooooo idea how we're supposed to do that before February with no income! Hmmm! We'll sell the one we've got, but it might not get us enough to buy a bigger car, even a well-used one. Hmmm. We're planning to move Matthew into Arthur's car seat and Nathan into Matthew's (they have identical ones, but we kind of want Nathan to go into the newest of the two), and get Arthur a booster seat. Their car seats are birth to age 4, but Arthur is nearly 3 and big for his age on these things, so he may as well go into the next stage car seat. He's excited about being the one to get a new car seat and especially wants a lellow one, for some reason!
Okay, it's 11pm so I have to call it a night. I'm so tired in the mornings! Matthew wakes a lot at night STILL, and that has to change! Some nights he only wakes once, around 4 or 5am and that's just blissful for me, but I need better sleep basically. And he needs to be WELL into a sleeping-through-the-night routine before Nathan arrives! We'll be transitioning the boys to a shared bedroom in the next 7 weeks! We're converting Matthew's cotbed into the toddler bed version. We couldn't decide whether to do that or have Nathan sleep in it when he arrives, but then we figured we'd have to buy Matthew a bed or toddler bed otherwise, and it's really HIS now. And he's chewed a lot of the wood so it doesn't look very pretty any more! So I bid on a cot (NOT cotbed this time) at eBay and won! It's a John Lewis "Anna" cot in natural beech, and very simple and sweet. I won it for £60, hardly used as the baby ended up co-sleeping. They are £100 new, so I'm happy! And bedding is thrown in free! I declined the mattress though, nearly-new or not. I want a NEW mattress. It's what you're supposed to do anyways. We'll have the cot in our room with us (need to shift ALL the furniture around). I think we can all fit in this tiny 2-bedroom house yet! :)
Okay, battery pretty much gone, and I'm tired out. I'll try to update again soon, and post a belly pic asap too. Thanks for all the notes and messages - meant to respond to some in more detail but run out of time tonight. Back soon!
I'm having a Braxton Hicks contraction! I haven't felt any of those for quite a few days so it has caught my attention, plus it isn't very comfy and my bladder is full so it makes me reeeally need to wee while it's going on! They only last a very short time - this one was only about 10-20 seconds if that.
Okay, so I am now 25 weeks pregnant! Only 15 weeks to go - that's crazy! Also, you're supposed to do all the big transitions for your toddler (or toddlers in my case!) by 6-8 weeks BEFORE the baby arrives. So that means we only have like 7 weeks to go till the 8-weeks-left milestone! Which is less than 2 months. Which is the timeframe where we have to get all the big stuff done with the boys that we need to. If I want to potty train Arthur (who isn't remotely potty trained yet), I need to do it in the next 7 weeks. Otherwise we'll have THREE children full-time in cloth nappies for at least the first 6-8 weeks after Nathan is born! Yikes! I LOVE my cloth nappies but ohhhh the laundry. And the pooooo. And three feels just a little bit overwhelming, though if I had triplets I would NOT hesitate to put them all in cloth nappies (honestly) from the word go.
Arthur and Matthew share a lot of nappies now because they are both in toddler-sized ones most of the time (Matthew still wears some mediums/larges and Arthur is in XL in those particular ones). But the ones they share are basically falling apart now! It's been so long since I sewed any nappies - it might even have been as far back as when I was waiting for MATTHEW to arrive. I simply haven't had time since having two little ones! I must make time though, because I have fabric cut out and waiting for me to sew it into Cuddlebuns or Very Baby diapers to fit my big boys! I know that potty training Arthur will relieve the strain on the poor old nappies, but right now he does NOT want to potty train, and I don't really want to push him, so. Anyway, we are going to need toddler sized nappies for a good while to come, so I might as well make some more! I hope I find time once Neil is out of work (as of tomorrow!!!!).
Anyway, pregnancy stuff!
Nathan's stats amaze me! I haven't checked those in a while and I can't believe he now weighs 1.5lbs and measures just over 13.5 inches from head to heel! He's getting so much bigger! His fastest weight gain will come in the 3rd trimester, and the fastest of that will be in the final month or so. So far I think he will be a lot like Arthur in weight, because he seemed to have Arthur's build at the scan, and his measurements confirmed that. Also it's interesting in the note Jemma left me (thanks Jemma!) that she compared my weight gain at 23 weeks with my 3 pregnancies and I had gained 18lbs with Arthur, 14lbs with Matthew, and 17lbs this time. As far as the start of colostrum production goes, I was just over 20 weeks with Arthur, and around 22 weeks this time, but I didn't have any till 28 weeks with Matthew. I wonder if there's a correlation there with the weight gain, for me? Arthur and Nathan's pregnancies seem to have things in common that Matthew's did not have, although let's face it, they were all pretty similar in general!
I am wondering about Nathan's birth weight.... Arthur was 8lbs 1.5oz, which amazed us at the time because he was the heaviest baby in our family on either my side OR Neil's! But it all makes sense now we know him better :) His build and weight gain in his first year are consistent with his heavier-than-expected weight at birth. Matthew, being a "subsequent baby" and especially a subsequent baby BOY, was expected to weigh the same as or more than Arthur, statistically. But he weighed less! He was 7lbs 11oz, and his build and weight gain pattern was well in line with that lighter-than-expected birth weight.
But Nathan.... I think Nathan is more like Arthur. So will HE be the "subsequent baby" with Arthur's build, who will be at least as heavy as Arthur was at birth? Statistically, yes, he is likely to be. Which makes me feel slightly nervous! I don't know why it should, since I know I can birth babies in general (!) and also 8lbs was fine. I am not expecting a 9lb-er by any means! So it shouldn't matter. I guess if I was doing a poll, I would probably say he might be 8lbs 2oz or 8lbs 3oz. I can't believe I would have a baby that heavy though, so maybe not! I am so petite, it doesn't feel natural, haha! All the babies in our families have been under the 7lb mark, pretty much. Except my daddy (note - the only one with Arthur's build!), who was 7lbs 15oz, past his due date (but not sure how much past). If Nathan is as late as Matthew (well, a week past my due date, not "late" as such), then maybe he'll have gained even more weight by then?! I think if he comes at 41 weeks, I would put my guess at 8lbs 4oz. Otherwise 8lbs 2oz. I think. Yes, that's my bet! Anyone else care to hazard a guess?! It's early for this kind of thing, but I'm curious! ;)
Nathan is in the middle of a quiet patch at the moment. It's been 2 days that he's been really quiet in there. It would probably freak me out if it wasn't for the fact that he does this a lot, when he's having a growth spurt. I'm sure this pattern is especially noticable this pregnancy over the other two. I wonder if it's because Nathan is a quieter baby than the other boys, and so if he's extra quiet then I barely feel a THING, whereas "quieter" for Arthur (or Matthew, I suppose) was sometimes equivalent to Nathan's BUSY patches, hehe! It's so easy to tell Nathan's busy-ness from his quietness - he moves; he doesn't move. With Arthur, he moved ridiculously much; he moved somewhat less ridiculously much! Although, Nathan DOES move when he's having a quiet patch, but I only get the odd gentle bump or tap, just the once or twice, every few hours. That's reeeeeally quiet for one of my babies!
Granny asked me if I'm SURE he's not a girl, when I said about how his activity levels compare with the other boys' pregnancies. And I had my 24 week antenatal appt last week. My bump measured behind!!! Which doesn't happen to me at ALL! The boys measured 2 weeks ahead throughout most of the pregnancies, so this is just weird for me! ;) At first when she was measuring, the doctor looked concerned, and measured again and again, and then seemed satisfied enough with the last measurement and told me it was a week or two behind but nothing to worry about. How different is that?! I know it's consistently like that this time around, because all along so far, I have noticed the top of my uterus isn't as high as it "should" be. Like it's meant to be at the belly button level at 20 weeks. Well it was 2 finger-widths below at 20 weeks, and it finally reached belly button height at 22 weeks. So, I know. And I'm not remotely worried about Nathan - I know he's growing fine in there and measuring normally at the 21 week scan. It could just be the way I'm carrying him or his position (not that his position seems much different to the boys really). But it IS different, for how my pregnancies usually are. Someone said (can't remember who), "Are you SURE it's not a girl?!" when I told them about that. And to both this person and Granny, I had to say, "Well, no. I'm not!" because I never did SEE Nathan's boy bits. I saw what was pointed out to me as a scrotum squashed between closed thighs! And the sonographer sounded confident from the start that he is a boy, so I'm sure he must be. But I didn't personally see the evidence, so it's a bit frustrating! We are all REALLY bonding with Nathan and I can't fathom how it would feel to have a baby girl pop out in February after all! I think Arthur would not take well to the unexpected change! And I think *I* would grieve a sort of "loss" of Nathan. So I really hope the sonographer didn't make a mistake. I really want my baby boy now!
Nathan seems to be head down most of the time. He gets hiccups quite a bit, maybe once or twice a day. I love feeling those! They are getting so strong and clear that Neil can just gently lay his hand on my bump and have my whole bump blip against his hand clearly! Which is lovely. I think Nathan's back must be up against my tummy for him to feel the hiccups so clearly. His back is often up on my right hand side, rather than the left. Matthew's was too. Arthur was always on the left. I wonder if that has to do with the position of their placentas? I read that babies like to face their placentas.
My energy is good at the moment, but I get tired easily. Sometimes I get sugar or protein "crashes" while we're out, which is not too fun with two sloowwww-moving toddlers walking with me! I just need to get home INSTANTLY if that happens, and eat! I used to try sugary stuff straight away, thinking it was low blood sugar, but it didn't seem to help that much. Today we were out for a short walk and I came over weak and shaky and lightheaded, and all that fun stuff, and ate protein instead (a ton of cheese while I made the boys' lunch) and that helped a LOT, really quickly. I think I am just building another human being, and so I need protein kinda desperately sometimes, hehe! ;)
Oh, the rest of my antenatal appt went fine. My blood pressure was fine (it's in my notes but I'm running out of time (and laptop battery) right now so suffice to say it's fine!), and Nathan's heartbeat was healthy and strong. My urine had a trace of blood, white blood cells, and protein in it, so they sent it away to culture. I haven't heard back from them so I presume nothing grew in it and I'm fine, but I was symptom FREE at the time of my appt (when I did the urine sample), and by the evening I didn't feel great, and it hurt to wee. I also needed to go more often, and that continued for a couple of days. Today it seems a lot better. So I felt sure I had a UTI, but I didn't hear from the doctor so I'm guessing the sample didn't show that. Weird.
The appt actually went well with the boys there!! I used new tactics. I put them in the tandem pushchair, and when we got there and the doctor was running late, I told the receptionist we'd be outside watching the traffic (the boys LOVE watching cars and any other vehicles for that matter!), and we'd keep checking in every few minutes. So there was no trauma in the waiting room! And they stayed in the pushchair! Yay! So I just wheeled them on in when the doctor called us, and parked them, still in the pushchair, for my appt! Now, this would NOT have gone down well, but then part two of my new tactics swung into action, and I whipped out the Organix gingerbread men (favourites at the mo, especially for Matthew), and a couple of cream crackers, and voila! Two quiet, uncomplaining boys, sitting still for the duration of my appointment!! It was BLISS. Bliiiss. It was so nice to focus on Nathan a bit and have quietness while I talk to the doctor, without fishing Matthew out of the clinical waste bin, stopping Arthur standing on the examination table, prising urine sample bottles (from the doctor's drawer) out of Matthew's hand, stopping Matthew jumping on the scales and pulling the blinds, etc, etc. I DREAD taking them to the doctor lately! But the pushchair/cars/snack thing worked wonders. I will be using that again! :)
Okay, what else before I really MUST go to bed. I am really over-warm these days. I seem to sweat a TON every day, just being around the house. It's not too warm in the house, but I just sweat! It might actually be more to do with the FlyLady stuff I'm doing - yes, I'm actually doing HOUSEWORK! And trying to get it done as fast as I can. There is a lot of WARM laundry involved, so maybe it's just that. But anyway.
I can't think of anything else, although I know there must be a ton of other stuff, just bits and pieces. We never did get around to taking a 24 week belly pic :( But hopefully a 25 week one, since the last one was pretty much 23 weeks instead of 22. I hate that I'm getting behind on things with this pregnancy. I want to keep track of everything as carefully as I did with the other two! But I'm that much more busy each time I have another baby!
We need a new car. Our current one won't hold 3 car seats. I have nooooo idea how we're supposed to do that before February with no income! Hmmm! We'll sell the one we've got, but it might not get us enough to buy a bigger car, even a well-used one. Hmmm. We're planning to move Matthew into Arthur's car seat and Nathan into Matthew's (they have identical ones, but we kind of want Nathan to go into the newest of the two), and get Arthur a booster seat. Their car seats are birth to age 4, but Arthur is nearly 3 and big for his age on these things, so he may as well go into the next stage car seat. He's excited about being the one to get a new car seat and especially wants a lellow one, for some reason!
Okay, it's 11pm so I have to call it a night. I'm so tired in the mornings! Matthew wakes a lot at night STILL, and that has to change! Some nights he only wakes once, around 4 or 5am and that's just blissful for me, but I need better sleep basically. And he needs to be WELL into a sleeping-through-the-night routine before Nathan arrives! We'll be transitioning the boys to a shared bedroom in the next 7 weeks! We're converting Matthew's cotbed into the toddler bed version. We couldn't decide whether to do that or have Nathan sleep in it when he arrives, but then we figured we'd have to buy Matthew a bed or toddler bed otherwise, and it's really HIS now. And he's chewed a lot of the wood so it doesn't look very pretty any more! So I bid on a cot (NOT cotbed this time) at eBay and won! It's a John Lewis "Anna" cot in natural beech, and very simple and sweet. I won it for £60, hardly used as the baby ended up co-sleeping. They are £100 new, so I'm happy! And bedding is thrown in free! I declined the mattress though, nearly-new or not. I want a NEW mattress. It's what you're supposed to do anyways. We'll have the cot in our room with us (need to shift ALL the furniture around). I think we can all fit in this tiny 2-bedroom house yet! :)
Okay, battery pretty much gone, and I'm tired out. I'll try to update again soon, and post a belly pic asap too. Thanks for all the notes and messages - meant to respond to some in more detail but run out of time tonight. Back soon!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
24 weeks - viability!!! And catching up a bit...
Ohhh it's been way too long since I updated! Almost 3 weeks! I definitely do not want to repeat that again - I like to keep up with every little thing that happens in my pregnancies!
And it's 11pm now (bedtime for me) so I can't stay and update about anything. I just had to touch base. I just uploaded a belly pic (just the belly) for 22 weeks, although it wasn't actually taken till 22 weeks and 5 days, but oh well. I missed the 22 week belly pic last pregnancy too, how odd!
Today I'm 24 weeks pregnant! Can you believe it?! So it's belly pic day again today, but we haven't got around to it yet. Hopefully tomorrow though.
Thanks for all the lovely messages after my scan! I'm SO IN LOVE with Nathan already, to the point where I am already thanking God that he's a boy and not a girl :) I knew that would happen. Although, I did not have any "blues" after this scan, which was unexpected! Nice though :) It took me a couple of days to call him by name and say "he" when referring to him, but that's all. I just love him to bits! We all call him Nathan now, and Arthur talks about him a lot. Arthur has felt him kick several times now, and seems in silent awe about it every time!
Nathan is officially "viable" from today! Wheeeee! I can't believe I'm getting this far into my pregnancy! I have my 24-week antenatal appt with my GP on Wednesday. Totally dreading it as I have to take the boys and the last few times I've had to cart them to the doctor's surgery, it has NOT been any fun. At all. So I'm not looking forward to it! Nobody can help me out so they have to come with me. I will update about my appt midweek if I get chance, and hopefully post my 24-week belly pic then (and a more detailed update!).
I've been having headaches a lot lately (bad ones that won't go with painkillers) but I have taken my blood pressure during them and it's always something around 120/65 so it's not a blood pressure thing. My head feels TOO full of blood sometimes, like I can't ease the congestion because it's just vascular. Also I am getting ultra tense in my neck and shoulders these days. Can't figure out why, but I'm sure it's contributing. Anyway, so that's no fun but it's manageable I guess.
Nathan is making MUCH bigger and stronger movements these days. He has had a couple of big growth spurts lately (characterised by me eating a TON while he's super quiet for a couple of days, then me feeling like a slug for the next two days while he kicks bigger than ever before with tons of energy!). I will have to look up his stats and measurements for 24 weeks - haven't checked that kind of thing in a while. It's all whizzing by so fast! Last week he made his first big stretching/shoving movements with his whole body that actually HURT me! I think he's much later than my other boys though, with that :)
I'm making colostrum! I noticed it about 2 weeks ago - I think it was a few days after I last wrote an entry here, so maybe somewhere nearing 22 weeks? Anyway. I noticed increased pain when nursing the boys, and that they seemed to be less just comfort sucking and more TRYING to get something out of there, hehe! So one evening I tried hand expressing a bit to see if there was anything there, and there WAS! I was so excited!! It still seems white-ish to me, but it was thicker and like syrup in consistency, so I know it's colostrum (or the beginnings of it). Ever since then, I've been asking Arthur if there's any milky in there when he nurses (I occasionally asked him that before and he said, "No, none at all!" in a very forlorn tone!), and he says yes every time! So I'm glad the boys are getting something again, especially good immune-boosting stuff like colostrum :) I hand expressed a little again tonight and found the same white-ish colostrum at first, then a little more that was clear as water, but syrupy in consistency - that's much more what I remember of colostrum from my previous pregnancies, so I'm definitely producing it now, hooray! Now that will stay until my milk comes in after Nathan is born. I love lactating! I always feel kind of.... at a loose-end, sort of, unsatisfied (or something!) when I dry up during pregnancy for a month or two.
Arthur's nursing sessions are now very short, by my choice, but he seems happy enough about it. He only nurses a couple of times a day, and only for a couple of minutes at a time now, which is a HUGE change for Arthur. He has his normal breastfeed in bed at bedtime though, and without his afternoon nap he is so sleepy that he pretty much nurses to sleep at bedtime every night. When he doesn't, he CAN go to sleep by himself without us in the room though, so that's okay. He nurses to sleep within 10 minutes, so that's the longest he ever breastfeeds for now. I can't see him weaning for a while yet, myself, unless I choose to lead him in that direction. Which I have no intention of doing :)
Okay, I could write soooooo much more, but I must go to bed. Just wanted to check in, and have ended up writing more than I thought I would, so that's good! Oh, I weighed myself at 23w3d (I think?) and was 9st 8lbs. I think that's a total gain of 17lbs. Will have to compare it with my previous pregnancies. It doesn't really matter though. I'm pretty sure to end up gaining approximately 54lbs anyways! ;)
And it's 11pm now (bedtime for me) so I can't stay and update about anything. I just had to touch base. I just uploaded a belly pic (just the belly) for 22 weeks, although it wasn't actually taken till 22 weeks and 5 days, but oh well. I missed the 22 week belly pic last pregnancy too, how odd!
Today I'm 24 weeks pregnant! Can you believe it?! So it's belly pic day again today, but we haven't got around to it yet. Hopefully tomorrow though.
Thanks for all the lovely messages after my scan! I'm SO IN LOVE with Nathan already, to the point where I am already thanking God that he's a boy and not a girl :) I knew that would happen. Although, I did not have any "blues" after this scan, which was unexpected! Nice though :) It took me a couple of days to call him by name and say "he" when referring to him, but that's all. I just love him to bits! We all call him Nathan now, and Arthur talks about him a lot. Arthur has felt him kick several times now, and seems in silent awe about it every time!
Nathan is officially "viable" from today! Wheeeee! I can't believe I'm getting this far into my pregnancy! I have my 24-week antenatal appt with my GP on Wednesday. Totally dreading it as I have to take the boys and the last few times I've had to cart them to the doctor's surgery, it has NOT been any fun. At all. So I'm not looking forward to it! Nobody can help me out so they have to come with me. I will update about my appt midweek if I get chance, and hopefully post my 24-week belly pic then (and a more detailed update!).
I've been having headaches a lot lately (bad ones that won't go with painkillers) but I have taken my blood pressure during them and it's always something around 120/65 so it's not a blood pressure thing. My head feels TOO full of blood sometimes, like I can't ease the congestion because it's just vascular. Also I am getting ultra tense in my neck and shoulders these days. Can't figure out why, but I'm sure it's contributing. Anyway, so that's no fun but it's manageable I guess.
Nathan is making MUCH bigger and stronger movements these days. He has had a couple of big growth spurts lately (characterised by me eating a TON while he's super quiet for a couple of days, then me feeling like a slug for the next two days while he kicks bigger than ever before with tons of energy!). I will have to look up his stats and measurements for 24 weeks - haven't checked that kind of thing in a while. It's all whizzing by so fast! Last week he made his first big stretching/shoving movements with his whole body that actually HURT me! I think he's much later than my other boys though, with that :)
I'm making colostrum! I noticed it about 2 weeks ago - I think it was a few days after I last wrote an entry here, so maybe somewhere nearing 22 weeks? Anyway. I noticed increased pain when nursing the boys, and that they seemed to be less just comfort sucking and more TRYING to get something out of there, hehe! So one evening I tried hand expressing a bit to see if there was anything there, and there WAS! I was so excited!! It still seems white-ish to me, but it was thicker and like syrup in consistency, so I know it's colostrum (or the beginnings of it). Ever since then, I've been asking Arthur if there's any milky in there when he nurses (I occasionally asked him that before and he said, "No, none at all!" in a very forlorn tone!), and he says yes every time! So I'm glad the boys are getting something again, especially good immune-boosting stuff like colostrum :) I hand expressed a little again tonight and found the same white-ish colostrum at first, then a little more that was clear as water, but syrupy in consistency - that's much more what I remember of colostrum from my previous pregnancies, so I'm definitely producing it now, hooray! Now that will stay until my milk comes in after Nathan is born. I love lactating! I always feel kind of.... at a loose-end, sort of, unsatisfied (or something!) when I dry up during pregnancy for a month or two.
Arthur's nursing sessions are now very short, by my choice, but he seems happy enough about it. He only nurses a couple of times a day, and only for a couple of minutes at a time now, which is a HUGE change for Arthur. He has his normal breastfeed in bed at bedtime though, and without his afternoon nap he is so sleepy that he pretty much nurses to sleep at bedtime every night. When he doesn't, he CAN go to sleep by himself without us in the room though, so that's okay. He nurses to sleep within 10 minutes, so that's the longest he ever breastfeeds for now. I can't see him weaning for a while yet, myself, unless I choose to lead him in that direction. Which I have no intention of doing :)
Okay, I could write soooooo much more, but I must go to bed. Just wanted to check in, and have ended up writing more than I thought I would, so that's good! Oh, I weighed myself at 23w3d (I think?) and was 9st 8lbs. I think that's a total gain of 17lbs. Will have to compare it with my previous pregnancies. It doesn't really matter though. I'm pretty sure to end up gaining approximately 54lbs anyways! ;)
Monday, August 6, 2007
Nathan's Ultrasound Gallery!
My ultrasound scan pictures from my third pregnancy, with Nathan.Here is Beanlet's first photo! It was an ultrasound at 8 weeks exactly (Beanlet measured 8 weeks and 1 day), due to spotting. I turned the picture on its side and then added rather badly written labels! Which is the second picture that you see :) Then you can make out Beanlet's head and limb buds and fun things like that!
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At 10 weeks and 5 days I had a really heavy bleed, and I got another ultrasound scan two days later as a result. This picture is from the scan at exactly 11 weeks - Beanlet measured 11 weeks and 1 day:
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Here are three very similar pictures of Beanlet from the nuchal scan, at exactly 13 weeks. Beanlet measured 13 weeks and 1 day - a day ahead for the third time running, so my due date was changed by one day. You can see Beanlet's little hand up by his/her face in a couple of these! He/she is lying on the placenta (the nice thick grey cushion underneath Beanlet!):
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Here are the two ultrasound pictures from the "Big Scan" at 21 weeks, where we found out that Beanlet is a BOY, and thus a Nathan! :) We didn't get as many pictures this time as with Matthew, and the two we got were basically the same, but Nathan was rubbing his nose with his hand during the photos, which was really sweet! Here he is!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Nathan's Belly Gallery!
5 weeks pregnant
10 weeks pregnant
14 weeks pregnant
16 weeks pregnant
18 weeks pregnant
20 weeks pregnant
22 weeks (and 5 days!) pregnant
26 weeks pregnant
28 weeks pregnant
32 weeks pregnant
34 weeks pregnant
36 weeks and 2 days! Surprise! Nathan is 3 days old here.
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