These are my photos, but taken by Paul, and I think they are copyrighted to him, so please don't copy these photos without my permission (Nicola, permission granted! ;) ). Thanks!
Here's my sweet little manny! I love him sooooo!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Elijah's newborn photos!
Paul came round with Elijah's newborn photos this evening, yay! I am so tired out and haven't got time to write anything but I wanted to post them here straight away, and I'll try to write an update soon. For more about the photo session, go to the previous entry which I posted last night. :)
These are my photos, but taken by Paul, and I think they are copyrighted to him, so please don't copy these photos without my permission (Nicola, permission granted! ;) ). Thanks!
Here's my sweet little manny! I love him sooooo!
These are my photos, but taken by Paul, and I think they are copyrighted to him, so please don't copy these photos without my permission (Nicola, permission granted! ;) ). Thanks!
Here's my sweet little manny! I love him sooooo!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Photo session (8 days old) and poo!
Whoops. Somehow a week has passed since I last updated! :S That's a LONG time in Newborn Land! Elijah is sleeping next to me but he is likely to wake at any moment for a feed, so I may only have seconds to try and cram a whole week of news in before he wakes!
Elijah had his photos taken at 8 days old, on Monday this past week. It went really well! Our friend Paul from church is a keen photographer - he doesn't earn a living from it but he does "professional" shoots. He has never done newborn photography before and wanted to bless us with some photos, and have some fun - he led me to believe he needed to build up a portfolio, but it turns out he pretty much just thought it would be a fun new experience and that we would like to have special photos of our tiny manny! How lovely! :)
He picked Elijah and I up at 9ish in the morning and we knew it would take all morning to do, going at Elijah's pace and seeing how we got on. Elijah HATED his first experience in a car seat, poor baby! He screamed frantically until we got to a road with speed bumps and then he suddenly fell fast asleep practically mid-scream! ;) He stayed asleep for the first half hour we were there, and woke as I was taking his clothes off ready for the first photo. So I fed him and he went to sleep, and since he was already a nakey baby, we put him straight into position for a photo right from the breast. The very first thing he did when positioned on the towels was a wee, hehe! Thankfully he was on his tummy so it wasn't a big deal. He did great. Pretty much every time we tried a new pose or brought a prop into the shot, he started squirming and fussing until he was awake and displeased! ;) So I did a lot of breastfeeding over the morning and consequently Elijah did a lot weeing on whatever he was laid on, lol! I was so nervous after a couple of hours that he would poo, because he pretty much doesn't go longer than a few hours between poos - well, he's going a bit longer than that at the moment but at the beginning of the week he was pooing about every 2-3 hours, if not more frequently. Oh how funny, as I typed that he squirmed in his sleep and emitted a squirty sound from his bottom, hehehe! Guess I'll be changing that in a mo! ;)
Anyway, thankfully (amazingly!) he didn't poo at all while we were there, but the momemt I got him out of his car seat when we arrived home, he did a mega blow-out (out of the sides and back of the nappy - his first!). I was so glad he didn't do that during the photo shoot!
Some of the poses were soooo sweet to put him into, because awwww he's so buttery soft and foldable, and being fast asleep at the same time was just adorable to watch. Paul's 16-year-old daughter was helping us, and she would keep saying, "Awwwww!!!" when Elijah was put into a new pose! Ohhh, more squirty sounds from the sleeping boy... :S Hope it won't be a blow-out. Those are no fun to change!
I think we got various photos taken of only 4 or 5 different poses, but it took until about 1.30pm! I was soooo tired suddenly when I sat down to feed him at that point, I felt a bit unwell with it really, all of a sudden. There were more ideas that Paul had for photos, but they had a Jubilee gathering to attend in the afternoon in any case, and we were happy with what we'd got already. Paul has to edit the photos but he works full time. He thought maybe he might be able to get a disc of photos to me this weekend but I know this weekend has a ton of social events that he's running/part of at church, so I am not sure if he'll actually have time.
MORE squirty sounds! Yikes. He's still sleeping but he'll wake when he's finished, I should think. Then I won't have chance to type any more tonight, for sure, so perhaps I'll post this? Mind you I haven't written much yet, so maybe I'll save it and finish it tomorrow or something? Hmmm...
There's a photo that I really hope comes out okay - Paul happened to have a basket with a Union Jack flag pattern all over it, and he wondered about using it to put Elijah in, since it was the Queen's Jubilee weekend (I'm one who LOVES all things royal and the Jubilee, by the way!), and I loved the idea!! So we got a photo of him in there. I hope it comes out well! Can't wait to see what he's captured, and post them online!
Yet more squirty sounds. This is shaping up to be a blow-out nappy for sure.
So Paul drove us home, and Elijah didn't fall asleep this time, he was just mightily cross with the journey and the indignity of being squished into a car seat! ;) When I lifted his car seat out of Paul's car and he drove off, one of the neighbours was coming out to her car. She looked kind of shocked, and said, "Another one?! How many's that now?!" I don't think she knew I was even pregnant so I can understand her reaction! ;) I said, "Six..." and she said, "Aw my gawd!" and came over to look at him in his car seat (crying angrily!). She asked if we were just trying to get a girl, and I said no, just a baby, and that I loved having babies (this is now my default answer, as I'm getting used to saying it a lot now!).
Okay, he's awake, so I'll have to finish this another time!
Well, the poo stayed contained, but he made up for it by weeing in his own face while I changed his nappy, lol! Poor baby!
After we got home, I was so tired and hungry, and it was after 2pm! I grabbed a few things to eat from the kitchen and took them upstairs with Elijah. I ate while I breastfed my Very Fed-Up Baby (he did not enjoy the travelling aspect!) and then he was exhausted, so we went to bed. I think I was asleep with him by 2.30pm, and the boys and Neil were out at Box Hill all day with Uncle Ian, so it was a quiet house. I kept waking up to feed Elijah when he stirred, and sometimes checked the time, but I still felt soooo tired! I ended up waking up properly when the phone rang next to me, and it was Neil saying he knew it was a bit late, but they were about to set off for home, so it would be near 8pm when they got back. I thought, "What?!?!" and was amazed to see that it was after 7pm already when I looked at the clock! I guess the morning had been more than I was quite ready for, and it really tired me out. I had some pain in my left breast that day too, and the day before, and I ended up with a fever and much worse pain when I woke the next morning, so maybe that's partly why I'd needed to sleep like that when we got home?
Anyway I will have to write about the "almost mastitis" episode another time, because it's late, Elijah is fussing and I need to go to bed! I'll post this for now and try again tomorrow - Elijah is two weeks old tomorrow!!! I cannot believe how fast it's going!
Elijah had his photos taken at 8 days old, on Monday this past week. It went really well! Our friend Paul from church is a keen photographer - he doesn't earn a living from it but he does "professional" shoots. He has never done newborn photography before and wanted to bless us with some photos, and have some fun - he led me to believe he needed to build up a portfolio, but it turns out he pretty much just thought it would be a fun new experience and that we would like to have special photos of our tiny manny! How lovely! :)
He picked Elijah and I up at 9ish in the morning and we knew it would take all morning to do, going at Elijah's pace and seeing how we got on. Elijah HATED his first experience in a car seat, poor baby! He screamed frantically until we got to a road with speed bumps and then he suddenly fell fast asleep practically mid-scream! ;) He stayed asleep for the first half hour we were there, and woke as I was taking his clothes off ready for the first photo. So I fed him and he went to sleep, and since he was already a nakey baby, we put him straight into position for a photo right from the breast. The very first thing he did when positioned on the towels was a wee, hehe! Thankfully he was on his tummy so it wasn't a big deal. He did great. Pretty much every time we tried a new pose or brought a prop into the shot, he started squirming and fussing until he was awake and displeased! ;) So I did a lot of breastfeeding over the morning and consequently Elijah did a lot weeing on whatever he was laid on, lol! I was so nervous after a couple of hours that he would poo, because he pretty much doesn't go longer than a few hours between poos - well, he's going a bit longer than that at the moment but at the beginning of the week he was pooing about every 2-3 hours, if not more frequently. Oh how funny, as I typed that he squirmed in his sleep and emitted a squirty sound from his bottom, hehehe! Guess I'll be changing that in a mo! ;)
Anyway, thankfully (amazingly!) he didn't poo at all while we were there, but the momemt I got him out of his car seat when we arrived home, he did a mega blow-out (out of the sides and back of the nappy - his first!). I was so glad he didn't do that during the photo shoot!
Some of the poses were soooo sweet to put him into, because awwww he's so buttery soft and foldable, and being fast asleep at the same time was just adorable to watch. Paul's 16-year-old daughter was helping us, and she would keep saying, "Awwwww!!!" when Elijah was put into a new pose! Ohhh, more squirty sounds from the sleeping boy... :S Hope it won't be a blow-out. Those are no fun to change!
I think we got various photos taken of only 4 or 5 different poses, but it took until about 1.30pm! I was soooo tired suddenly when I sat down to feed him at that point, I felt a bit unwell with it really, all of a sudden. There were more ideas that Paul had for photos, but they had a Jubilee gathering to attend in the afternoon in any case, and we were happy with what we'd got already. Paul has to edit the photos but he works full time. He thought maybe he might be able to get a disc of photos to me this weekend but I know this weekend has a ton of social events that he's running/part of at church, so I am not sure if he'll actually have time.
MORE squirty sounds! Yikes. He's still sleeping but he'll wake when he's finished, I should think. Then I won't have chance to type any more tonight, for sure, so perhaps I'll post this? Mind you I haven't written much yet, so maybe I'll save it and finish it tomorrow or something? Hmmm...
There's a photo that I really hope comes out okay - Paul happened to have a basket with a Union Jack flag pattern all over it, and he wondered about using it to put Elijah in, since it was the Queen's Jubilee weekend (I'm one who LOVES all things royal and the Jubilee, by the way!), and I loved the idea!! So we got a photo of him in there. I hope it comes out well! Can't wait to see what he's captured, and post them online!
Yet more squirty sounds. This is shaping up to be a blow-out nappy for sure.
So Paul drove us home, and Elijah didn't fall asleep this time, he was just mightily cross with the journey and the indignity of being squished into a car seat! ;) When I lifted his car seat out of Paul's car and he drove off, one of the neighbours was coming out to her car. She looked kind of shocked, and said, "Another one?! How many's that now?!" I don't think she knew I was even pregnant so I can understand her reaction! ;) I said, "Six..." and she said, "Aw my gawd!" and came over to look at him in his car seat (crying angrily!). She asked if we were just trying to get a girl, and I said no, just a baby, and that I loved having babies (this is now my default answer, as I'm getting used to saying it a lot now!).
Okay, he's awake, so I'll have to finish this another time!
Well, the poo stayed contained, but he made up for it by weeing in his own face while I changed his nappy, lol! Poor baby!
After we got home, I was so tired and hungry, and it was after 2pm! I grabbed a few things to eat from the kitchen and took them upstairs with Elijah. I ate while I breastfed my Very Fed-Up Baby (he did not enjoy the travelling aspect!) and then he was exhausted, so we went to bed. I think I was asleep with him by 2.30pm, and the boys and Neil were out at Box Hill all day with Uncle Ian, so it was a quiet house. I kept waking up to feed Elijah when he stirred, and sometimes checked the time, but I still felt soooo tired! I ended up waking up properly when the phone rang next to me, and it was Neil saying he knew it was a bit late, but they were about to set off for home, so it would be near 8pm when they got back. I thought, "What?!?!" and was amazed to see that it was after 7pm already when I looked at the clock! I guess the morning had been more than I was quite ready for, and it really tired me out. I had some pain in my left breast that day too, and the day before, and I ended up with a fever and much worse pain when I woke the next morning, so maybe that's partly why I'd needed to sleep like that when we got home?
Anyway I will have to write about the "almost mastitis" episode another time, because it's late, Elijah is fussing and I need to go to bed! I'll post this for now and try again tomorrow - Elijah is two weeks old tomorrow!!! I cannot believe how fast it's going!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Six days old :)
Elijah is 6 days old today. Yesterday he had his heel prick test and did great. I was glad to hold and feed him while they did it, rather than hand him over for the whole thing like with some of my other babies. He was a brave boy! :) They also weighed him again, even though it was only 48 hours after they'd come to weigh him when he was 3 days old. She said that she might as well, while she was here! He weighed 6lbs 7oz!!! That's pretty good considering he was 6lbs 1oz 48 hours earlier!
My milk is well in, leaking and hurting like crazy when it lets down, so he is getting per-lenty when he feeds. And he feeds pretty much all the time, and has cat-naps in between, so I'm not toooo surprised that he's gaining weight well now! :) See now, I'm writing about my milk and even though he's fast asleep, I'm leaking milk all over my top, lol! I am so happy to have milk flowing again! I love lactating! :)
Benjamin nursed at bedtime last night! He had said he didn't like the taste, and it was for The Lijah (this is how he pronounces Elijah's name, soooo sweet!) and not him anymore, bless his heart! He seemed a bit sad but was happy with a cuddle instead. The next night I asked if he wanted milky but he said he didn't like it and it was for The Lijah now. Last night I asked him again, since he was watching me breastfeed Samuel at bedtime, and he just nodded yes, as though he'd never decided not to the previous two nights! He didn't nurse for long, but he seemed happy enough. He said he liked my special new milky, so who knows! Arthur did pretty much the same thing when he was 3 (Benjamin is 4 months younger with his 2nd younger sibling than Arthur was, due to slightly smaller age gaps the last few babies) - didn't like the new milky (very upset though!), and then went back to it as though nothing had happened after a few days, and continued until I weaned him at age 4! So perhaps Benjamin will now carry on as normal? I'm happy if he does, but I don't mind if he weans. He has breastfed for 2 years and 10 months, which is wonderful for him, and my goal for all my children is at least 2 years for the very best I can give them, so I am happy with what we've achieved! :)
Okay Elijah is now snuffling and squeaking and wriggling about, so I am going to feed him! I'll try to add more later.
I took some photos of Elijah at 4 days old, like I said last entry, and didn't get chance to post them before, so here they are now :) He was having some calm alert time and I put him across my lap for a few minutes so I could take some photos. You can't see it in the first picture but I took this one as a personal happy memory shot - my long-awaited view of my 'parkly toad (love that Benjamin-ism!) beyond my sweet new baby, here at last! :D
He saw me, and then the camera :)
So weeny on my lap!
Thank you afresh to Meg for sending this sweet teeny little outfit when Nathan was born! It's one of my favourites but all the babies since Nathan have been too big to wear it, until now :)
Elijah is so funny when he's calm and alert. He has such a look of... I don't know, a cross between amazed, perplexed and aghast, lol! ;) His little mouth sort of sits open - it has the same semi-circle shape (straight bottom lip) as newborn Nathey. When it's closed, his top gum often sits over his bottom lip, again just like Nathan - none of the others have this. Heather says that if you draw an imaginary line across his face just below the bridge of his nose, everything above it is Benjamin, and everything below it is Nathan, and I think that's a pretty accurate observation. He most definitely has Benji's brows! He currently has dark murky eyes, and so far only the two boys with some brown to their eyes have started off like that, so I'm excited to see what they settle as! Arthur's are brown, and Benjamin's are grey but now have a ring of true brown around the pupil, about half the thickness of his iris.
Here are a couple more pics of Elijah at 4 days old, with the look I referred to earlier! ;)
He's sooooo still and calm and quiet when he's like this. He just blinks occasionally and moves his eyes, and occasionally his tongue, hehe! Sweet little fast baby-breathing, and no other sounds. Love him!! He has the usual dark hair that they've all had as newborns, but less than some of his brothers. The unique thing about Elijah's newborn hair is that he has a sort of slightly nappy fuzz on top - definitely the least amount of hair there that any of them have had - but the usual inch-or-so long hair on the back and sides, lol! Sweet little pea! He reminds me of a little old man with his hair and his lack of chub!
I love to take photos of him sleeping. He is starting to sleep longer stretches between feeds, even 2-3 hours now on occasion. He almost always sleeps on my front or attached to me in some way, which I have the luxury of doing with him while I'm on my "babymoon", resting up mostly in bed. If I put him down, I tend to put him on his side (he startles awake quickly on his back, although less so if I put something at his feet with his legs bent up at the knee - he really likes the comfort of the fetal position still. Anyway I lay him curled up on his side and put a little rolled up baby blanket behind his back. If I lay him down, he wakes within 5 minutes or so, but I am trying to do so at least a couple of times a day and using that time to do stretches and stuff (GENTLE stretches!) because I am getting some tight sore muscles, especially in my shoulders and back, and it helps to stand up and walk and stretch them out as often as possible. I have had the most horrible sinus (maybe?) headache for 2 days that has hurt like crazy in every bone of my face, and the base of my skull at the back. Even my teeth hurt, which makes me wonder if I'm grinding my teeth in my sleep or something? Anyway, paracetamol hasn't touched it (I don't find it a very effective drug for me anyway) and it has been so sore that I have not known what to DO with myself. Last night I decided that I would just try to stay asleep as long as it lasted, to escape it. Every hour or two I woke with Elijah to feed him and it was still there, so when morning came I just carried on "night feed" style, just breastfeeding him lying side-by-side and going back to sleep - he was very accommodating, thankfully! He's not old enough yet to want or need to be "up for the day" at any point! :) When I woke with him at 10.45am, I was relieved to find my headache much better! Still there, but totally manageable, yay! So I got up, andd thankfully it hasn't worsened all day. I've had allergies since Elijah was born, so my sinuses are annoyed.
I'm sure there are some random things that I've been meaning to say but forgot... Oh! The GP came round to do Elijah's newborn check the day after he was born, and she did his head circumference which was 34cm :) That's 13.4 inches, and the weeniest little head I've delivered yet! My last two babies had 38cm (15 inch!!) heads!!!
I gave Elijah his first bath 2 days ago, this time by getting in the bath myself and taking him with me! :) Ahhh it was a lovely blissful bonding experience until he started to fuss a bit. I put him straight to the breast and was just smiling in pure contentment while he nursed in the warm water, when the inevitable happened. Yeah, he pooed. And when I say he pooed, I mean he POOED. Yellow squirty seedy breastmilk poo, one whole nappyful. Then it stopped and I sat frozen, looking at it all swirling around me in the water. I was still sat frozen when he did round two. Oh yes.
So we got out and I washed out the bath and ran a second one! ;) It was okay in the end! Funny story though, one I'll remember fondly for sure! :)
Today I took a few photos of my little treasure sleeping, so I will post them here and then I must go to bed, as it's now really late!
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He is sleeping on my chest as I type this, and now I am going to put him down and brush my teeth, and go to bed with him snuggled against my tummy. These days are such bliss and such a fleeting privilege! I am cherishing every second, praising God continually for His goodness, and praying (already, lol!) for more precious little ones to hold and love and cherish. :)
My milk is well in, leaking and hurting like crazy when it lets down, so he is getting per-lenty when he feeds. And he feeds pretty much all the time, and has cat-naps in between, so I'm not toooo surprised that he's gaining weight well now! :) See now, I'm writing about my milk and even though he's fast asleep, I'm leaking milk all over my top, lol! I am so happy to have milk flowing again! I love lactating! :)
Benjamin nursed at bedtime last night! He had said he didn't like the taste, and it was for The Lijah (this is how he pronounces Elijah's name, soooo sweet!) and not him anymore, bless his heart! He seemed a bit sad but was happy with a cuddle instead. The next night I asked if he wanted milky but he said he didn't like it and it was for The Lijah now. Last night I asked him again, since he was watching me breastfeed Samuel at bedtime, and he just nodded yes, as though he'd never decided not to the previous two nights! He didn't nurse for long, but he seemed happy enough. He said he liked my special new milky, so who knows! Arthur did pretty much the same thing when he was 3 (Benjamin is 4 months younger with his 2nd younger sibling than Arthur was, due to slightly smaller age gaps the last few babies) - didn't like the new milky (very upset though!), and then went back to it as though nothing had happened after a few days, and continued until I weaned him at age 4! So perhaps Benjamin will now carry on as normal? I'm happy if he does, but I don't mind if he weans. He has breastfed for 2 years and 10 months, which is wonderful for him, and my goal for all my children is at least 2 years for the very best I can give them, so I am happy with what we've achieved! :)
Okay Elijah is now snuffling and squeaking and wriggling about, so I am going to feed him! I'll try to add more later.
I took some photos of Elijah at 4 days old, like I said last entry, and didn't get chance to post them before, so here they are now :) He was having some calm alert time and I put him across my lap for a few minutes so I could take some photos. You can't see it in the first picture but I took this one as a personal happy memory shot - my long-awaited view of my 'parkly toad (love that Benjamin-ism!) beyond my sweet new baby, here at last! :D
He saw me, and then the camera :)
So weeny on my lap!
Elijah is so funny when he's calm and alert. He has such a look of... I don't know, a cross between amazed, perplexed and aghast, lol! ;) His little mouth sort of sits open - it has the same semi-circle shape (straight bottom lip) as newborn Nathey. When it's closed, his top gum often sits over his bottom lip, again just like Nathan - none of the others have this. Heather says that if you draw an imaginary line across his face just below the bridge of his nose, everything above it is Benjamin, and everything below it is Nathan, and I think that's a pretty accurate observation. He most definitely has Benji's brows! He currently has dark murky eyes, and so far only the two boys with some brown to their eyes have started off like that, so I'm excited to see what they settle as! Arthur's are brown, and Benjamin's are grey but now have a ring of true brown around the pupil, about half the thickness of his iris.
Here are a couple more pics of Elijah at 4 days old, with the look I referred to earlier! ;)
He's sooooo still and calm and quiet when he's like this. He just blinks occasionally and moves his eyes, and occasionally his tongue, hehe! Sweet little fast baby-breathing, and no other sounds. Love him!! He has the usual dark hair that they've all had as newborns, but less than some of his brothers. The unique thing about Elijah's newborn hair is that he has a sort of slightly nappy fuzz on top - definitely the least amount of hair there that any of them have had - but the usual inch-or-so long hair on the back and sides, lol! Sweet little pea! He reminds me of a little old man with his hair and his lack of chub!
I love to take photos of him sleeping. He is starting to sleep longer stretches between feeds, even 2-3 hours now on occasion. He almost always sleeps on my front or attached to me in some way, which I have the luxury of doing with him while I'm on my "babymoon", resting up mostly in bed. If I put him down, I tend to put him on his side (he startles awake quickly on his back, although less so if I put something at his feet with his legs bent up at the knee - he really likes the comfort of the fetal position still. Anyway I lay him curled up on his side and put a little rolled up baby blanket behind his back. If I lay him down, he wakes within 5 minutes or so, but I am trying to do so at least a couple of times a day and using that time to do stretches and stuff (GENTLE stretches!) because I am getting some tight sore muscles, especially in my shoulders and back, and it helps to stand up and walk and stretch them out as often as possible. I have had the most horrible sinus (maybe?) headache for 2 days that has hurt like crazy in every bone of my face, and the base of my skull at the back. Even my teeth hurt, which makes me wonder if I'm grinding my teeth in my sleep or something? Anyway, paracetamol hasn't touched it (I don't find it a very effective drug for me anyway) and it has been so sore that I have not known what to DO with myself. Last night I decided that I would just try to stay asleep as long as it lasted, to escape it. Every hour or two I woke with Elijah to feed him and it was still there, so when morning came I just carried on "night feed" style, just breastfeeding him lying side-by-side and going back to sleep - he was very accommodating, thankfully! He's not old enough yet to want or need to be "up for the day" at any point! :) When I woke with him at 10.45am, I was relieved to find my headache much better! Still there, but totally manageable, yay! So I got up, andd thankfully it hasn't worsened all day. I've had allergies since Elijah was born, so my sinuses are annoyed.
I'm sure there are some random things that I've been meaning to say but forgot... Oh! The GP came round to do Elijah's newborn check the day after he was born, and she did his head circumference which was 34cm :) That's 13.4 inches, and the weeniest little head I've delivered yet! My last two babies had 38cm (15 inch!!) heads!!!
I gave Elijah his first bath 2 days ago, this time by getting in the bath myself and taking him with me! :) Ahhh it was a lovely blissful bonding experience until he started to fuss a bit. I put him straight to the breast and was just smiling in pure contentment while he nursed in the warm water, when the inevitable happened. Yeah, he pooed. And when I say he pooed, I mean he POOED. Yellow squirty seedy breastmilk poo, one whole nappyful. Then it stopped and I sat frozen, looking at it all swirling around me in the water. I was still sat frozen when he did round two. Oh yes.
So we got out and I washed out the bath and ran a second one! ;) It was okay in the end! Funny story though, one I'll remember fondly for sure! :)
Today I took a few photos of my little treasure sleeping, so I will post them here and then I must go to bed, as it's now really late!
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
Elijah is 4 days old!
[WARNING: For those interested in seeing the true knot in Elijah's umbilical cord, I am posting a photo at the end of this blog entry. I am uploading that one through blogger so that it's a pretty small image, but you can click on it to see it larger/more clearly. It's a tight knot. I am having a bit of trouble processing it at the moment, which I didn't expect. Just knowing he had a greater chance of being stillborn than not. I'm flipping between inexpressably grateful and relieved, and this sort of clutchy horror feeling that I can't deal with at ALL, even though it didn't happen and he's okay. I mainly do not want to think or talk about it right now. I think it's okay to shove that under the carpet for now... Anyway, there's the photographic evidence if you are interested!]
Thank you for all the lovely congrats! :) I can't believe my tiny boy is actually HERE, and 4 days old already! I would have updated much sooner but my arms are always full of baby, and trying to do a blog post with one hand would drive me crazy! ;) He is sleeping on my front right now and I'm kind of slumped down somewhat in my bed - I was sitting up originally but I think that was about 2 hours ago! So I still only have one hand free to type with, but I figured I could make a start and add to the saved post bit by bit. I have photos to post so I can get those sorted out too, and then maybe if I put Elijah next to me on the bed and he stays asleep I can type more quickly to post some newsy stuff. Having said that, a) I never put him down, and b) on the rare occasions that I've had to for a minute, he wakes up pretty quickly and then starts a whole new feed cycle! Sometimes I lay him between my knees and sort of "cocoon" him with my legs so that he feels snug and secure, and he has slept like that for a couple of hours, once or twice. I still have to twist around to type with both hands on my laptop though, so it's not ideal for blog updates right now! :) More important and lovely though!
Okay, I have put him between my knees but he's stirring a bit. I think he will be hungry soon. My milk came in yesterday morning - well, it was on its way by the evening before (2 days old) because my breasts definitely felt like they were getting heavier, but what I hand-expressed still looked like colostrum. By 5am I could definitely tell my milk was in though! I pretty much had watermelons on my front by daytime, lol! And did any of my other nurslings want to help me out?! Nope! Elijah is so tiny that I was uncomfortable most of yesterday - even though he was feeding almost constantly, he could only take a tiny tummy-full at a time, so it didn't feel like it was making much difference to the not-quite-engorgement discomfort. I'm a little bit uncomfy today but much much better.
By yesterday evening, Elijah had already completely finished with meconium, at 3 days old!! :) He did a tan/orange meconium poo in the day time and then in the evening he did his first proper yellow seedy breastmilk poo. Yay! He has pooed sooooo many times today, all yellow and seedy and nice and normal.
Yesterday a maternity support worker came to weigh him - they seem to do visits now instead of the midwife, probably because there is such a crazy staff shortage of midwives these days. Anyway, she weighed Elijah and he was a teensy 6lbs 1oz (7.2% loss of birth weight, which is normal) - I still can't believe how tiny he is! I seem to comment on it to Neil constantly! I'm so unused to teeny babies, and it's so lovely! It is VERY much like having newborn Nathey all over again, except that of course he was tiny because he was early, but apart from that they are very similar sizes. Elijah is wearing all of the sweet little clothes that Nathan wore, and which none of my other babies have fitted into. All of Elijah's clothes are labelled "up to 7.5lbs" and most of them are really really baggy and big on him! I don't know his length because apparently they don't measure length any more at birth (?!) but he seems pretty normal in the length department. He fills out the length of everything easily, and is a bit long for some of the tiny clothes, but he is SO skinny and slender. His shoulders are narrow enough that the vests slide off one of them, and his limbs and torso are just so thin! I am pretty sure he'll plump up and get some yummy rolls on him over the next few weeks with some mummy milk, but I don't think I've ever had a baby so skinny and thin before! Even Nathey wasn't - he was just little and tiny all over. Neil thinks it's just because his own legs are thin and "scrawny" as he says (hehe!) and Elijah has his genes in that department.
Elijah has Neil's limbs for sure, arms and legs. I don't think any of the others have the same combination. He also has Neil's fingers AND Neil's feet, which is a first for any of our children! Arthur and Samuel have Neil's feet but my fingers. Nathan is the only other boy with Neil's long fingers, but he has my feet. Matthew and Benjamin have my hands AND my feet. So funny how the combinations continue being new, even after six babies! ;) Thankfully Elijah's feet are completely straight, unlike Arthur and Samuel's. I'll be keeping an eye on his toes though, as those were the main trouble for Neil and his siblings as they got older.
Well, I've managed a bit of an update so far but lil beep is waking up and squeaking in a slightly distressed way (he has such a tiny hoarse cry, and squeaks a great deal, bless him!), so I am going to scoop up his next-to-nothingness and put him to the breast. I love picking him up!! He's SO TINY and seems to just weigh nothing in my arms, and he's just such a small scrap of a human being in my hands as I lift him! It melts my heart every. single. time. So I'm going to do that again right now, and I'll continue with this later when I get chance :)
Okay, back 90 mins later having helped a little with bedtime for the boys, but Elijah is breastfeeding (well, he's barely conscious!) so I'm one-handed still. I will post some photos! :)
Little manny hates being dressed or undressed, and especially nappy changes! Here he is the day after he was born, right after I dressed him in the teeny sleepsuit that Nathan wore in the hospital, and which the boys have used for their baby doll since then. They are excited that he can fit "dolls' clothes"! He is actually too long for it, but the whole time he wore it, the legs/feet were flopping empty because he likes to pull his legs up out of the legs of clothing and keep them next to his tummy in the fetal position! :) He was pretty cross with me when I put him in it! He looks (from that wiiide open mouth) like he must be making a lot of noise, but he really does only have such a raspy little bleat!
He was sleeping later on at the end of a breastfeed and I put him down on his side since he'd been on his tummy/side against me, so I could go to the loo. He stayed sleeping for a little while and it was evening, after the boys were in bed, so Neil and I stayed watching him and just chatting about him, and how the boys were doing, it was nice :) The light was going outside as it was getting late, so the photos I took were pretty dim and grainy, but worth the capture all the same, to me. Elijah spends a LOT of time with his little hands by his face, and sleeps with either a hand on each cheek, or with two hands together, tucked under the cheek he's lying against. You can even see this in ALL of the photos I posted last entry, just a few hours old! He did both while we watched him sleep so I couldn't resist photos! He looked soooo sweet! Still one day old here:
Well it's now 10.20pm and Elijah has been either feeding, crying, or pooing for the last couple of hours continuously, and Samuel ended up not going to sleep until something crazy like 9.30pm!! Neil went out to get milk and bread after that, and finally Elijah is a tiny exhausted heap against my chest as I recline in bed, and I daren't move him! Maybe when he's been asleep a while longer. I'm eating fish and chips over him, a bit awkwardly, but I would rather him sleep against my chest than separated but nearby. There aren't many feelings more wonderful... :)
I am going to just post a couple more photos and leave the ones I took today for another entry another time. These photos are at 2 days old. I put him between my knees like I was describing earlier, when he had fallen asleep, and took a photo to remind myself of how tiny he is, and my happy view! And then another of his sleeping sweetness up close. I think he started to have a touch of jaundice that day, but it hasn't particularly worsened. He looks more jaundiced in the photo than he is, because of yellow reflection in the room. Anyway, here's my treasure at 2 days old, the day before yesterday :)
I completely love him. I have so much more to write but I will have to do that another time.
If you are interested in seeing the photo of Elijah's knotted umbilical cord and placenta, I am posting it here below, otherwise scroll back up, fast, lol! ;)
Thank you for all the lovely congrats! :) I can't believe my tiny boy is actually HERE, and 4 days old already! I would have updated much sooner but my arms are always full of baby, and trying to do a blog post with one hand would drive me crazy! ;) He is sleeping on my front right now and I'm kind of slumped down somewhat in my bed - I was sitting up originally but I think that was about 2 hours ago! So I still only have one hand free to type with, but I figured I could make a start and add to the saved post bit by bit. I have photos to post so I can get those sorted out too, and then maybe if I put Elijah next to me on the bed and he stays asleep I can type more quickly to post some newsy stuff. Having said that, a) I never put him down, and b) on the rare occasions that I've had to for a minute, he wakes up pretty quickly and then starts a whole new feed cycle! Sometimes I lay him between my knees and sort of "cocoon" him with my legs so that he feels snug and secure, and he has slept like that for a couple of hours, once or twice. I still have to twist around to type with both hands on my laptop though, so it's not ideal for blog updates right now! :) More important and lovely though!
Okay, I have put him between my knees but he's stirring a bit. I think he will be hungry soon. My milk came in yesterday morning - well, it was on its way by the evening before (2 days old) because my breasts definitely felt like they were getting heavier, but what I hand-expressed still looked like colostrum. By 5am I could definitely tell my milk was in though! I pretty much had watermelons on my front by daytime, lol! And did any of my other nurslings want to help me out?! Nope! Elijah is so tiny that I was uncomfortable most of yesterday - even though he was feeding almost constantly, he could only take a tiny tummy-full at a time, so it didn't feel like it was making much difference to the not-quite-engorgement discomfort. I'm a little bit uncomfy today but much much better.
By yesterday evening, Elijah had already completely finished with meconium, at 3 days old!! :) He did a tan/orange meconium poo in the day time and then in the evening he did his first proper yellow seedy breastmilk poo. Yay! He has pooed sooooo many times today, all yellow and seedy and nice and normal.
Yesterday a maternity support worker came to weigh him - they seem to do visits now instead of the midwife, probably because there is such a crazy staff shortage of midwives these days. Anyway, she weighed Elijah and he was a teensy 6lbs 1oz (7.2% loss of birth weight, which is normal) - I still can't believe how tiny he is! I seem to comment on it to Neil constantly! I'm so unused to teeny babies, and it's so lovely! It is VERY much like having newborn Nathey all over again, except that of course he was tiny because he was early, but apart from that they are very similar sizes. Elijah is wearing all of the sweet little clothes that Nathan wore, and which none of my other babies have fitted into. All of Elijah's clothes are labelled "up to 7.5lbs" and most of them are really really baggy and big on him! I don't know his length because apparently they don't measure length any more at birth (?!) but he seems pretty normal in the length department. He fills out the length of everything easily, and is a bit long for some of the tiny clothes, but he is SO skinny and slender. His shoulders are narrow enough that the vests slide off one of them, and his limbs and torso are just so thin! I am pretty sure he'll plump up and get some yummy rolls on him over the next few weeks with some mummy milk, but I don't think I've ever had a baby so skinny and thin before! Even Nathey wasn't - he was just little and tiny all over. Neil thinks it's just because his own legs are thin and "scrawny" as he says (hehe!) and Elijah has his genes in that department.
Elijah has Neil's limbs for sure, arms and legs. I don't think any of the others have the same combination. He also has Neil's fingers AND Neil's feet, which is a first for any of our children! Arthur and Samuel have Neil's feet but my fingers. Nathan is the only other boy with Neil's long fingers, but he has my feet. Matthew and Benjamin have my hands AND my feet. So funny how the combinations continue being new, even after six babies! ;) Thankfully Elijah's feet are completely straight, unlike Arthur and Samuel's. I'll be keeping an eye on his toes though, as those were the main trouble for Neil and his siblings as they got older.
Well, I've managed a bit of an update so far but lil beep is waking up and squeaking in a slightly distressed way (he has such a tiny hoarse cry, and squeaks a great deal, bless him!), so I am going to scoop up his next-to-nothingness and put him to the breast. I love picking him up!! He's SO TINY and seems to just weigh nothing in my arms, and he's just such a small scrap of a human being in my hands as I lift him! It melts my heart every. single. time. So I'm going to do that again right now, and I'll continue with this later when I get chance :)
Okay, back 90 mins later having helped a little with bedtime for the boys, but Elijah is breastfeeding (well, he's barely conscious!) so I'm one-handed still. I will post some photos! :)
Little manny hates being dressed or undressed, and especially nappy changes! Here he is the day after he was born, right after I dressed him in the teeny sleepsuit that Nathan wore in the hospital, and which the boys have used for their baby doll since then. They are excited that he can fit "dolls' clothes"! He is actually too long for it, but the whole time he wore it, the legs/feet were flopping empty because he likes to pull his legs up out of the legs of clothing and keep them next to his tummy in the fetal position! :) He was pretty cross with me when I put him in it! He looks (from that wiiide open mouth) like he must be making a lot of noise, but he really does only have such a raspy little bleat!
He was sleeping later on at the end of a breastfeed and I put him down on his side since he'd been on his tummy/side against me, so I could go to the loo. He stayed sleeping for a little while and it was evening, after the boys were in bed, so Neil and I stayed watching him and just chatting about him, and how the boys were doing, it was nice :) The light was going outside as it was getting late, so the photos I took were pretty dim and grainy, but worth the capture all the same, to me. Elijah spends a LOT of time with his little hands by his face, and sleeps with either a hand on each cheek, or with two hands together, tucked under the cheek he's lying against. You can even see this in ALL of the photos I posted last entry, just a few hours old! He did both while we watched him sleep so I couldn't resist photos! He looked soooo sweet! Still one day old here:
Well it's now 10.20pm and Elijah has been either feeding, crying, or pooing for the last couple of hours continuously, and Samuel ended up not going to sleep until something crazy like 9.30pm!! Neil went out to get milk and bread after that, and finally Elijah is a tiny exhausted heap against my chest as I recline in bed, and I daren't move him! Maybe when he's been asleep a while longer. I'm eating fish and chips over him, a bit awkwardly, but I would rather him sleep against my chest than separated but nearby. There aren't many feelings more wonderful... :)
I am going to just post a couple more photos and leave the ones I took today for another entry another time. These photos are at 2 days old. I put him between my knees like I was describing earlier, when he had fallen asleep, and took a photo to remind myself of how tiny he is, and my happy view! And then another of his sleeping sweetness up close. I think he started to have a touch of jaundice that day, but it hasn't particularly worsened. He looks more jaundiced in the photo than he is, because of yellow reflection in the room. Anyway, here's my treasure at 2 days old, the day before yesterday :)
I completely love him. I have so much more to write but I will have to do that another time.
If you are interested in seeing the photo of Elijah's knotted umbilical cord and placenta, I am posting it here below, otherwise scroll back up, fast, lol! ;)
Sunday, May 27, 2012
He's here!
Elijah Douglas has arrived! :)
Little pickle continued his pattern of unpredictability, and contractions started regularly and painfully literally minutes before we left for the hospital! We waited an hour to see if they'd pick up, so that when we went into hospital we would not need the IV induction (always better natural, as the midwives have kept telling me). After an hour things were definitely hotting up, and I decided to stay and have my baby at home, since I usually labour fairly quickly now.
I was in established labour probably from 11.30am, which the midwives took from Heather's observations - she felt that the contractions became more serious "active labour" from that point (first contraction was 9.30am ish while breastfeeding Samuel to sleep for his nap, right before "going"). At first the contractions were just low soreness and very short (30 seconds maybe) but I was having about 2 or 3 of them in each 10 minute period, so they were pretty regular. I didn't have to breathe through them and I was a bit worried it would all go away! But they got stronger quickly, though not much longer. The crampy pain stayed between contractions within the first hour and it was hard to move or walk about without loads of pain, so I tried to stay still. Heather did have me sit on the birth ball for a while to really do everything I could to get things established. When it looked like things WERE, we called Jackie, and she CAME OVER!!! :) The head of community midwives! She was my main midwife and delivered Elijah, and was WONDERFUL. I couldn't have had a more experienced, knowledgeable, fantastic midwife, and I'm so thrilled and grateful. The second midwive, Karen, was someone I hadn't met before but she was lovely too.
Elijah was born after about 3 hours of established labour, at 2.20pm. Oh my WORD transition and pushing him out was hooooorrrrrrible, hehe! I always say that, because it always is! But so worth it! I had a better time of it this time, mentally, because I felt really familiar with my pattern of labour and could really see the same pattern progressing, which helped me feel more grounded when the pain became unbearable. I used no pain relief, just breathing, and holding Heather's hand.
I really did PUSH him out! I don't often do that with my babies, hehe! I had an urge to push and went with it, and if I got the feeling that I was going to lose it mid-push and start making a ton of noise, I stopped pushing and blew blew blew through the rest of the contraction for all I was worth. I gave birth lying on my right side facing the edge of the bed (facing Heather), and that's where I mostly laboured too. When I could feel his head moving down a bit during transitional contractions, I told them so, and Jackie looked but couldn't see anything. She asked if I could lift my top leg but I said I couldn't, and so Heather lifted it just as a contraction was starting, I had no choice but to push with the feeling, and his head was born very quickly from nowhere! I did make some noise when the head was crowning but not the loud wailing I've made in the past - more just a lower "aaaaaarrrrghhhh", lol! And I rolled my face forwards into the pillow to a) cope with the sensation, and b) stifle the noise for the boys downstairs. I had a clear ring of fire sensation this time, and his head really POPPED out right afterwards. I knew what that meant and I was so relieved! The contraction was already finishing, but the sensation of his body in there was so uncomfortable, so I kept blowing through that feeling until the next contraction came, which was pretty fast. I knew that would be probably the most uncomfortable part (shoulders rotating and birthing always are for me, and that is also when I tear each time), so when the contraction came I pushed but blew once I reached the point of wanting to shout about it, and just tried to let him come at his own speed (which was very fast but felt like a long and dreadful sensation all the same!). In my mind I was frantically saying to myself, "He's here, he's here, this part means he's here, let him come, let him come!" to try and ride out the moment until it was over. I knew it wouldn't take long, but I just needed something to cope with the awfulness of it!
And then it WAS over! :) Oh the relief and the absolute joy, looking down and reaching for him as they passed this TEENY little person up between my legs and onto my tummy. He was fairly quiet at first but soon became very agitated and cried quite a lot for a long time, even with snuggles and lots of love on my tummy/chest! He pinked up almost immediately.
Elijah had a true knot in his cord!!! How incredibly scary, if I had known that while still pregnant, and how thankful I am to God for sparing his life. Jackie said she rarely sees a true knot, and she's surprised his heartrate was so good all the way through labour right to the very point of birth! I asked if it could account for his slower growth, but she didn't think so particularly. He's very healthy and his cord was pulsating well still. At the scans, they had done dopplers on his umbilical cord several times to check the resistance of the flow, and it was normal and fine. I took a photo of the cord and placenta, which I could post but it's pretty gory! ;) I will if you want me to though! :)
His placenta took AGES to come out! Aaaages. I had a natural third stage as I had wanted, though they were ready to the syntometrine injection because it really wasn't coming out. I kept having contractions and it still didn't appear, and Elijah had a nice long feed but still nothing! Eventually they had me get out of bed and sit on a potty on the chair to see if gravity helped, but it didn't, and I became very tired being upright and didn't feel nice after a while, so they put me back to bed.
Eventually I wondered about the whole pregnancy/pre-labour thing being SO very contrary! No matter what decision I made, at that point something would change and I would have to do the opposite thing, and then when I thought that was going ahead, something would change again, hehe! So I said this to the midwives, and then said, "I'm saying out loud (looking sternly at my baggy tummy and directing my words in its general direction!), "I'm going to have the syntometrine injection now"!!" and then I literally immediately had a contraction and pushed, and out came my placenta in one go, all intact, lol! It was so funny because of how no matter what I've said over the past 4 days, the opposite has then occurred, and it happened just the same for the placenta in such a funny way! ;) I think it was over an hour or 90 minutes waiting for it, up to that point! They let me go longer than they usually would, just to try and keep it all as natural as possible.
They couldn't 100% confirm that all the membranes were out, because there were some ragged parts, but they told me that my body will work any little bits out, and I need to call them if I have large clots or heavy bleeding, so they can check me out.
I felt kind of feverish the last hour or two of my labour, and I took my temperature (as I had been doing 4-hourly) a couple of hours before the end, but it was normal. I figured I just felt hot because it was a REALLY hot day in a south-facing bedroom, and I was labouring. When Elijah was born and they took his temperature, it was up a little, and my heart sank. It was 37.6, so they uncovered him (he was skin-to-skin at the time, but covered with a towel for warmth) and his temp came down to normal really quick. All his other obs were fine. I wanted to take my own temperature because I did feel a bit too hot, not-right hot, you know? Eventually after the placenta palava, they did my obs and my temperature was almost the same as Elijah's had been - 37.5. I was worried it was a sign of infection, after how long my waters were broken, but they said to take some paracetamol and they would take it again before they left. It came down to almost normal, and has been back up to 37.2 (barely a raised temp at all) once the paracetamol wore off, but I've taken some more now. They said they aren't concerned about my temp, and that once the day's heat cools off and I get some rest, if it's spiking up then I need to call them and they will check me and provide me with antibiotics in case of infection, if that's the case. Otherwise they'd expect it to stay low or non-existant. An infection would make it spike higher, or produce other symptoms along with a fever eventually, so I am just keeping an eye on myself really.
I have felt remarkably well since giving birth! Probably the most well I've ever felt after birth, which is lovely! I didn't feel weak and wobbly at all after the first hour or two, and usually that doesn't happen for the first 24 hours or so. I have been able to get up and go to the loo without shuffling along feeling weak and dreadful, verrrry slowly! ;) Also, I did not need any stitches this time!!!!! :D My very first time ever not having stitches! Jackie found that I did have a tear, but it was so small. She said that she could put a couple of stitches in for me, but it wasn't bleeding at all so she felt it would be fine to just leave it to heal, if I wanted. And I DID want! ;) Stitches are no fun!
I am not feeling any soreness at all from my perineum, and weeing stings a little bit but it's perfectly bearable. My blood loss is normal at the moment and I am not having a horrible time at all with after pains - maybe the paracetamol is helping there though?
Elijah is breastfeeding well, and sleeping sooooo cutely in between. He did a huuuuuge meconium poo all over my tummy within minutes of birth, and the little waters that were left to go pop as his head was born had some meconium in them, but not much. He has done a huge meconium poo in his first nappy so far, but I am not sure if he's weed yet. I am doing his observations 2-hourly around the clock - temperature, respirations, heart rate, etc. I use my stethoscope for his heart rate. Everything is normal so far, except that last time I took his temp it was a bit too low, so I've put him in a sleepsuit instead of a vest (it's so hot, and he's on my body most of the time so I'd thought a vest was enough). Hopefully his temp has come up now. It's time to do his next set of obs so I must go.
Here are a few photos of the big boys meeting their new baby brother for the first time, about 2 hours after he was born, and then one of him finally dressed in something at about 4 hours old. He's so delightfully gorgeous and tiny (oh I almost forgot! He weighed in at 6lbs 8oz, sweet little manny!) and I think he looks most like newborn Nathan, but he's very much his own little person with his own look. ALL the boys are ecstatic about him, and Samuel is very relaxed and smiley around him too.
Thank you for praying and commenting! I really appreciate it! :)
Little pickle continued his pattern of unpredictability, and contractions started regularly and painfully literally minutes before we left for the hospital! We waited an hour to see if they'd pick up, so that when we went into hospital we would not need the IV induction (always better natural, as the midwives have kept telling me). After an hour things were definitely hotting up, and I decided to stay and have my baby at home, since I usually labour fairly quickly now.
I was in established labour probably from 11.30am, which the midwives took from Heather's observations - she felt that the contractions became more serious "active labour" from that point (first contraction was 9.30am ish while breastfeeding Samuel to sleep for his nap, right before "going"). At first the contractions were just low soreness and very short (30 seconds maybe) but I was having about 2 or 3 of them in each 10 minute period, so they were pretty regular. I didn't have to breathe through them and I was a bit worried it would all go away! But they got stronger quickly, though not much longer. The crampy pain stayed between contractions within the first hour and it was hard to move or walk about without loads of pain, so I tried to stay still. Heather did have me sit on the birth ball for a while to really do everything I could to get things established. When it looked like things WERE, we called Jackie, and she CAME OVER!!! :) The head of community midwives! She was my main midwife and delivered Elijah, and was WONDERFUL. I couldn't have had a more experienced, knowledgeable, fantastic midwife, and I'm so thrilled and grateful. The second midwive, Karen, was someone I hadn't met before but she was lovely too.
Elijah was born after about 3 hours of established labour, at 2.20pm. Oh my WORD transition and pushing him out was hooooorrrrrrible, hehe! I always say that, because it always is! But so worth it! I had a better time of it this time, mentally, because I felt really familiar with my pattern of labour and could really see the same pattern progressing, which helped me feel more grounded when the pain became unbearable. I used no pain relief, just breathing, and holding Heather's hand.
I really did PUSH him out! I don't often do that with my babies, hehe! I had an urge to push and went with it, and if I got the feeling that I was going to lose it mid-push and start making a ton of noise, I stopped pushing and blew blew blew through the rest of the contraction for all I was worth. I gave birth lying on my right side facing the edge of the bed (facing Heather), and that's where I mostly laboured too. When I could feel his head moving down a bit during transitional contractions, I told them so, and Jackie looked but couldn't see anything. She asked if I could lift my top leg but I said I couldn't, and so Heather lifted it just as a contraction was starting, I had no choice but to push with the feeling, and his head was born very quickly from nowhere! I did make some noise when the head was crowning but not the loud wailing I've made in the past - more just a lower "aaaaaarrrrghhhh", lol! And I rolled my face forwards into the pillow to a) cope with the sensation, and b) stifle the noise for the boys downstairs. I had a clear ring of fire sensation this time, and his head really POPPED out right afterwards. I knew what that meant and I was so relieved! The contraction was already finishing, but the sensation of his body in there was so uncomfortable, so I kept blowing through that feeling until the next contraction came, which was pretty fast. I knew that would be probably the most uncomfortable part (shoulders rotating and birthing always are for me, and that is also when I tear each time), so when the contraction came I pushed but blew once I reached the point of wanting to shout about it, and just tried to let him come at his own speed (which was very fast but felt like a long and dreadful sensation all the same!). In my mind I was frantically saying to myself, "He's here, he's here, this part means he's here, let him come, let him come!" to try and ride out the moment until it was over. I knew it wouldn't take long, but I just needed something to cope with the awfulness of it!
And then it WAS over! :) Oh the relief and the absolute joy, looking down and reaching for him as they passed this TEENY little person up between my legs and onto my tummy. He was fairly quiet at first but soon became very agitated and cried quite a lot for a long time, even with snuggles and lots of love on my tummy/chest! He pinked up almost immediately.
Elijah had a true knot in his cord!!! How incredibly scary, if I had known that while still pregnant, and how thankful I am to God for sparing his life. Jackie said she rarely sees a true knot, and she's surprised his heartrate was so good all the way through labour right to the very point of birth! I asked if it could account for his slower growth, but she didn't think so particularly. He's very healthy and his cord was pulsating well still. At the scans, they had done dopplers on his umbilical cord several times to check the resistance of the flow, and it was normal and fine. I took a photo of the cord and placenta, which I could post but it's pretty gory! ;) I will if you want me to though! :)
His placenta took AGES to come out! Aaaages. I had a natural third stage as I had wanted, though they were ready to the syntometrine injection because it really wasn't coming out. I kept having contractions and it still didn't appear, and Elijah had a nice long feed but still nothing! Eventually they had me get out of bed and sit on a potty on the chair to see if gravity helped, but it didn't, and I became very tired being upright and didn't feel nice after a while, so they put me back to bed.
Eventually I wondered about the whole pregnancy/pre-labour thing being SO very contrary! No matter what decision I made, at that point something would change and I would have to do the opposite thing, and then when I thought that was going ahead, something would change again, hehe! So I said this to the midwives, and then said, "I'm saying out loud (looking sternly at my baggy tummy and directing my words in its general direction!), "I'm going to have the syntometrine injection now"!!" and then I literally immediately had a contraction and pushed, and out came my placenta in one go, all intact, lol! It was so funny because of how no matter what I've said over the past 4 days, the opposite has then occurred, and it happened just the same for the placenta in such a funny way! ;) I think it was over an hour or 90 minutes waiting for it, up to that point! They let me go longer than they usually would, just to try and keep it all as natural as possible.
They couldn't 100% confirm that all the membranes were out, because there were some ragged parts, but they told me that my body will work any little bits out, and I need to call them if I have large clots or heavy bleeding, so they can check me out.
I felt kind of feverish the last hour or two of my labour, and I took my temperature (as I had been doing 4-hourly) a couple of hours before the end, but it was normal. I figured I just felt hot because it was a REALLY hot day in a south-facing bedroom, and I was labouring. When Elijah was born and they took his temperature, it was up a little, and my heart sank. It was 37.6, so they uncovered him (he was skin-to-skin at the time, but covered with a towel for warmth) and his temp came down to normal really quick. All his other obs were fine. I wanted to take my own temperature because I did feel a bit too hot, not-right hot, you know? Eventually after the placenta palava, they did my obs and my temperature was almost the same as Elijah's had been - 37.5. I was worried it was a sign of infection, after how long my waters were broken, but they said to take some paracetamol and they would take it again before they left. It came down to almost normal, and has been back up to 37.2 (barely a raised temp at all) once the paracetamol wore off, but I've taken some more now. They said they aren't concerned about my temp, and that once the day's heat cools off and I get some rest, if it's spiking up then I need to call them and they will check me and provide me with antibiotics in case of infection, if that's the case. Otherwise they'd expect it to stay low or non-existant. An infection would make it spike higher, or produce other symptoms along with a fever eventually, so I am just keeping an eye on myself really.
I have felt remarkably well since giving birth! Probably the most well I've ever felt after birth, which is lovely! I didn't feel weak and wobbly at all after the first hour or two, and usually that doesn't happen for the first 24 hours or so. I have been able to get up and go to the loo without shuffling along feeling weak and dreadful, verrrry slowly! ;) Also, I did not need any stitches this time!!!!! :D My very first time ever not having stitches! Jackie found that I did have a tear, but it was so small. She said that she could put a couple of stitches in for me, but it wasn't bleeding at all so she felt it would be fine to just leave it to heal, if I wanted. And I DID want! ;) Stitches are no fun!
I am not feeling any soreness at all from my perineum, and weeing stings a little bit but it's perfectly bearable. My blood loss is normal at the moment and I am not having a horrible time at all with after pains - maybe the paracetamol is helping there though?
Elijah is breastfeeding well, and sleeping sooooo cutely in between. He did a huuuuuge meconium poo all over my tummy within minutes of birth, and the little waters that were left to go pop as his head was born had some meconium in them, but not much. He has done a huge meconium poo in his first nappy so far, but I am not sure if he's weed yet. I am doing his observations 2-hourly around the clock - temperature, respirations, heart rate, etc. I use my stethoscope for his heart rate. Everything is normal so far, except that last time I took his temp it was a bit too low, so I've put him in a sleepsuit instead of a vest (it's so hot, and he's on my body most of the time so I'd thought a vest was enough). Hopefully his temp has come up now. It's time to do his next set of obs so I must go.
Here are a few photos of the big boys meeting their new baby brother for the first time, about 2 hours after he was born, and then one of him finally dressed in something at about 4 hours old. He's so delightfully gorgeous and tiny (oh I almost forgot! He weighed in at 6lbs 8oz, sweet little manny!) and I think he looks most like newborn Nathan, but he's very much his own little person with his own look. ALL the boys are ecstatic about him, and Samuel is very relaxed and smiley around him too.
Thank you for praying and commenting! I really appreciate it! :)
40 weeks, 4 days - STILLLLLL pregnant!
There's really no time for an update but I must just dash one off quickly!
Midwife came round and found Elijah too high (totally un-engaged) to safely perform a sweep, in case of cord prolapse, so I had to go into hospital (with Heather) for induction.
When we got there, they checked my tummy first and thought he was actually WELL engaged, but couldn't be sure if it was a bottom or a head! :S So I had to decide what to do. I decided to go with the option they gave of having an internal examination to determine his position, and if his head was down AND low enough, to have a sweep. If they found bulging waters, then NOT to break them as a method of inducing labour, because they said if I had just the sweep then they would let me go home and wait for labour to start a bit longer, and sweeps have always worked for me in the past, so I went with that.
They found his head nice and low, hooray! I was 2-3cm dilated, cervix at the front (ready for labour, good sign), thick but soft. So they did the sweep, which was amazingly NOT painful, just a bit uncomfy - I was so surprised! :) She found no membranes to break, but felt that he had them tightly plastered over his head, thus nothing bulging to pop. She said if that's how I normally "do it" then no wonder they always break right as the babies are crowning, and that's good. The leak of amniotic fluid that I have is like Nathan's one, from higher up (the hindwaters), and it's continuous but not very plentiful.
So I came home (so relieved!) and waited. EVERYONE was so confident that I would go into labour, but somehow I just didn't share their confidence. My mum said on the phone that I was being negative about it, but honestly I did not feel confident that I would actually start contracting. I know there was every reason that I WOULD, and my cervix was obviously ready, but still...
So I was exhausted and still had a horrid headache last night, and went to bed at 10.30ish, having had a few random "tightenings" since the sweep, some sore in my groin, lower back and under my bump at the front, which was vaguely encouraging. It did seem to me that it coincided with Elijah moving around vigorously though, which I thought was more likely to be my womb just being irritable and reacting solely because of that, but anyway...
It took me a little while to go to sleep, and I woke at 2am and then for the day pretty much at 5.15am when Samuel woke Neil up and they went downstairs. I took my temperature pretty much 3-hourly (it's fine) overnight because they want me to take it 4-hourly to keep an eye for signs of infection since my waters broke so long ago. It's still fine this morning, but I have a totally calm womb - no contractions - and I am not in the least bit surprised for some reason. I can't explain it, it's weird!
I went back to bed at 6.15 - all the boys were up by then, and I had a chance to calmly talk to them about what to expect for the day ahead, that Mummy was going to go into hospital since I had no contractions (Arthur asked the instant he woke up if I was having any, and was so disappointed and anxious when I said not, poor love!), and I would get a special medicine to help the baby come quicker, and I would need to stay there to have the baby. Yesterday they were prepped for this because Neil told them the same stuff while they were out at the park (I had to go while they were out and I called them on the mobile to let them know), but although they accepted it, some of them were a bit upset. Matthew in particular felt very sad about me not being home for a couple of days, and was quite tearful on the way home :( It's just SO much better for us ALL when I have homebirths. *sigh*
So, they are duly prepped by a cheerful mummy in advance, which is better, I hope. I have phoned Heather and she's on her way round. I phoned labour ward and they know I'm coming and are ready for me. I had breakfast (cereal) at 5.30ish because I don't want to eat any more once things are getting going, and I pretty much knew I'd be going in at that point. Since then I went back to bed and dozed/slept until 7ish, and when I woke I was having waves of crampy sensations, front and back. They felt like contractions, but my tummy wasn't going hard and they were VERY short (like 10-20 seconds) and came every few minutes. If I lay on my side they were there, but if I lay on my back to see if they carried on, they didn't. I decided I still felt really tired so I had a bit more sleep until 8ish, and there was no change with the crampy sensations, so I am getting up and getting going.
I am dreading a canula in my arm! I get really panicky about having an IV! But I do feel at peace about it, like it's for the best - I will be relieved to get antibiotics going in for my little one now. I am getting worried about him even though he is probably absolutely going to be fine. It will be extra peace of mind to know I've had the antibiotics to cover him for infection (and me too, I suppose). He is active this morning so that's reassuring too. He was SO active (I mean, like he wasn't that thrilled, lol!) after the sweep, for an hour or so! ;)
I do love him SO much. I am excited like I can't describe about getting to meet him today. I just can't wait to have my arms filled with him, but I'm feeling kind of scared about the process necessary to get to that point. I'm anxious about labour and birth suddenly, no matter whether it's at home or not! I know Heather will help me stay calm and I will try to keep focused on God. Oh I must try to remember to tell you (after it all, obviously) about the midwife, Anne, who came round to do a sweep yesterday and ended up sending me in. Don't let me forget! ;)
I am not sure if I'll be able to update in hospital. They do have pay-as-you-go internet but I am thinking Heather will have me staying quiet and trying to keep as "inside myself" as possible during labour, which will not involve trying to type on an annoying keyboard! ;) I don't have a mobile phone (gasp, lol!) so can't text an update to Facebook even. I don't have any idea what lies ahead in terms of staying in hospital afterwards. I know their policy is to monitor the baby for like 48 hours or something after birth with a GBS+ mother, but I don't intend to follow that anywhere other than my own home (I am perfectly able to monitor him if he seems healthy at birth, like I have for my others). I do have the issue of probably not feeling up to getting out of bed to COME home for a while... I'm not sure how that will work. I know I will be longing to get home to my little ones, but not sure if I can physically manage it for a while. I have told the boys I will likely be staying overnight tonight at the hospital, if everything goes fine and he's born today.
I'm so nervous about complications! I hope the baby copes well with labour, and that the induction works well and quickly. I know C-section isn't the end of the world or anything, but I can't tell you how desperately I wish to avoid one! Obviously if it's necessary for the baby to be born alive, then ABSOLUTELY. But I'm scared of ending up needing one. Please pray!
I'll update asap! It's a beautiful day to be born here - it's going to be hot and sunny and gorgeous all day. Probably too hot for a homebirth, for me personally, so at least I'll get to have him on a lovely day whilst enjoying the "cool" of the hospital! ;)
Midwife came round and found Elijah too high (totally un-engaged) to safely perform a sweep, in case of cord prolapse, so I had to go into hospital (with Heather) for induction.
When we got there, they checked my tummy first and thought he was actually WELL engaged, but couldn't be sure if it was a bottom or a head! :S So I had to decide what to do. I decided to go with the option they gave of having an internal examination to determine his position, and if his head was down AND low enough, to have a sweep. If they found bulging waters, then NOT to break them as a method of inducing labour, because they said if I had just the sweep then they would let me go home and wait for labour to start a bit longer, and sweeps have always worked for me in the past, so I went with that.
They found his head nice and low, hooray! I was 2-3cm dilated, cervix at the front (ready for labour, good sign), thick but soft. So they did the sweep, which was amazingly NOT painful, just a bit uncomfy - I was so surprised! :) She found no membranes to break, but felt that he had them tightly plastered over his head, thus nothing bulging to pop. She said if that's how I normally "do it" then no wonder they always break right as the babies are crowning, and that's good. The leak of amniotic fluid that I have is like Nathan's one, from higher up (the hindwaters), and it's continuous but not very plentiful.
So I came home (so relieved!) and waited. EVERYONE was so confident that I would go into labour, but somehow I just didn't share their confidence. My mum said on the phone that I was being negative about it, but honestly I did not feel confident that I would actually start contracting. I know there was every reason that I WOULD, and my cervix was obviously ready, but still...
So I was exhausted and still had a horrid headache last night, and went to bed at 10.30ish, having had a few random "tightenings" since the sweep, some sore in my groin, lower back and under my bump at the front, which was vaguely encouraging. It did seem to me that it coincided with Elijah moving around vigorously though, which I thought was more likely to be my womb just being irritable and reacting solely because of that, but anyway...
It took me a little while to go to sleep, and I woke at 2am and then for the day pretty much at 5.15am when Samuel woke Neil up and they went downstairs. I took my temperature pretty much 3-hourly (it's fine) overnight because they want me to take it 4-hourly to keep an eye for signs of infection since my waters broke so long ago. It's still fine this morning, but I have a totally calm womb - no contractions - and I am not in the least bit surprised for some reason. I can't explain it, it's weird!
I went back to bed at 6.15 - all the boys were up by then, and I had a chance to calmly talk to them about what to expect for the day ahead, that Mummy was going to go into hospital since I had no contractions (Arthur asked the instant he woke up if I was having any, and was so disappointed and anxious when I said not, poor love!), and I would get a special medicine to help the baby come quicker, and I would need to stay there to have the baby. Yesterday they were prepped for this because Neil told them the same stuff while they were out at the park (I had to go while they were out and I called them on the mobile to let them know), but although they accepted it, some of them were a bit upset. Matthew in particular felt very sad about me not being home for a couple of days, and was quite tearful on the way home :( It's just SO much better for us ALL when I have homebirths. *sigh*
So, they are duly prepped by a cheerful mummy in advance, which is better, I hope. I have phoned Heather and she's on her way round. I phoned labour ward and they know I'm coming and are ready for me. I had breakfast (cereal) at 5.30ish because I don't want to eat any more once things are getting going, and I pretty much knew I'd be going in at that point. Since then I went back to bed and dozed/slept until 7ish, and when I woke I was having waves of crampy sensations, front and back. They felt like contractions, but my tummy wasn't going hard and they were VERY short (like 10-20 seconds) and came every few minutes. If I lay on my side they were there, but if I lay on my back to see if they carried on, they didn't. I decided I still felt really tired so I had a bit more sleep until 8ish, and there was no change with the crampy sensations, so I am getting up and getting going.
I am dreading a canula in my arm! I get really panicky about having an IV! But I do feel at peace about it, like it's for the best - I will be relieved to get antibiotics going in for my little one now. I am getting worried about him even though he is probably absolutely going to be fine. It will be extra peace of mind to know I've had the antibiotics to cover him for infection (and me too, I suppose). He is active this morning so that's reassuring too. He was SO active (I mean, like he wasn't that thrilled, lol!) after the sweep, for an hour or so! ;)
I do love him SO much. I am excited like I can't describe about getting to meet him today. I just can't wait to have my arms filled with him, but I'm feeling kind of scared about the process necessary to get to that point. I'm anxious about labour and birth suddenly, no matter whether it's at home or not! I know Heather will help me stay calm and I will try to keep focused on God. Oh I must try to remember to tell you (after it all, obviously) about the midwife, Anne, who came round to do a sweep yesterday and ended up sending me in. Don't let me forget! ;)
I am not sure if I'll be able to update in hospital. They do have pay-as-you-go internet but I am thinking Heather will have me staying quiet and trying to keep as "inside myself" as possible during labour, which will not involve trying to type on an annoying keyboard! ;) I don't have a mobile phone (gasp, lol!) so can't text an update to Facebook even. I don't have any idea what lies ahead in terms of staying in hospital afterwards. I know their policy is to monitor the baby for like 48 hours or something after birth with a GBS+ mother, but I don't intend to follow that anywhere other than my own home (I am perfectly able to monitor him if he seems healthy at birth, like I have for my others). I do have the issue of probably not feeling up to getting out of bed to COME home for a while... I'm not sure how that will work. I know I will be longing to get home to my little ones, but not sure if I can physically manage it for a while. I have told the boys I will likely be staying overnight tonight at the hospital, if everything goes fine and he's born today.
I'm so nervous about complications! I hope the baby copes well with labour, and that the induction works well and quickly. I know C-section isn't the end of the world or anything, but I can't tell you how desperately I wish to avoid one! Obviously if it's necessary for the baby to be born alive, then ABSOLUTELY. But I'm scared of ending up needing one. Please pray!
I'll update asap! It's a beautiful day to be born here - it's going to be hot and sunny and gorgeous all day. Probably too hot for a homebirth, for me personally, so at least I'll get to have him on a lovely day whilst enjoying the "cool" of the hospital! ;)
Saturday, May 26, 2012
40 weeks, 3 days - still here!
Quick update!
It's now 12.55pm the next day after my waters broke, and I'm still at home. Having the most fabulous care from the head of community midwives, Jackie, who is calling me from home regularly to check on me, and telling me she plans to come out to attend my labour and birth when it starts! HOW WONDERFUL!
The only thing is, I am still not in labour. I have had NO contractions whatsoever, so far. This morning I have been having light pink staining on my pad along with the continuing waters draining, and that's really encouraging because Heather says that is a bloody show - labour should not be far off. Last time I had a bloody show without any other signs of labour was with Benjamin, and contractions started probably 4 or 5 hours later. So far there's still nothing, and I am not sure what to expect.
A midwife is on her way over right this minute to give me "a really good sweep", which is a slightly nerve-wracking thought! :S The idea is that it should put me into labour pretty quickly (today) and then I can hurry up and have my little manny. If it doesn't, then I will need to go into hospital - there's no exact time-frame, but probably this evening? Or tomorrow morning? Because the risk of infection to the baby is gradually increasing (it's tiny, but still there), and will become more so once somebody has done an internal examination and a sweep. The Group B Strep is the only reason for any pressure of any sort, but even so the risks are still low to Elijah. I have to keep remembering that, because there is so much HYPE about GBS, but the risks are actually really really (really) low. Jackie and Heather keep reminding me which is very reassuring and helpful! Jackie says she would probably be erring on the side of caution later today if nothing was happening, and suggesting (though she said I absolutely don't HAVE to) that I go into hospital and get labour started so that it isn't going on too long. I am open to that, I just wish I would start contracting already so that I can have this baby at home! I will be anxious about him when he's born even so, hoping that he's okay. But I just want to HAVE him already! Please please body, pleeeease start contracting.
Heather brought round some clary sage oil last night and put it in her oil burner, because apparently it can get contractions going. But it did nothing at all for me - I had the quietest evening for BH contractions for ages, even! Ah the irony! ;) Today I have refreshed the clary sage and have been on my birth ball bouncing a bit. There's not that much in the way of waters leaking. They are draining continually but in very small amounts - it's a tiny leak more than a gusher, and I should think he is still surrounded by pretty much all of his amniotic fluid still. I don't think I've lost all that much in total. I've soaked through three maternity pads since last night, so that's not that much considering the pints and pints that are in there! ;) The fluid is still nice and clear, and Elijah is moving around a lot today.
I didn't sleep too well - well it took me a while to get to sleep with RLS again, but eventually I got up and stretched my legs and directed the fan at my feet, and went to sleep pretty quickly after that. I don't know what time it was, maybe 2am? Then I slept solidly until about 5.15, and dozed until 6.30 when I got up (the boys were up already). I had a horrible headache, which I had last night and it didn't go away with painkillers. It was fine while I was sleeping, but within about 60 seconds of being awake it came back. It's in my eyes and sinuses and forehead, ugh. It's definitely the most bothersome thing I'm dealing with today. I have had another round of painkillers this morning but it has persisted all the same.
Heather is running a stall at a craft fair this morning and for the next hour probably, but it's in our local area, and she has her phone with her. She took her hubby and daughter with her so that they can take over the instant she needs to dash off to be with me. I would sort of like her to be with me now, especially for the sweep, but there's nothing actually happening so she might as well finish her craft fair. I've phoned her several times though, for advice and to update her, so we can be in touch just fine.
I have had a bath (having cleaned it first) - Heather said it was fine to have a bath in my own bath tub! Now I have laid a maternity bed pad on the bed and I await the midwife! Please pray that this sweep will work almost immediately (the last one got me very crampy from about 10 mins after being done, but Matthew's did not work until the next morning) and I will have my baby today - at home would be so so so wonderful. But I want what's best and safest for him. At this stage, hospital is not yet the safest place for him to be born. Home is safer until there's enough of a risk to him, and there isn't just yet. I am taking my temperature every 4 hours as they've instructed me to, so if that goes up then I will go in straight away.
I will try to keep my blog posted, but if I can't, I will update when I can afterwards. If you know me on Facebook, please please don't mention Elijah's name by mistake when commenting on my statuses! If you happen to see someone who's done so, would you please mind sending them a quick message so they can delete it asap. His name is the only thing I haven't announced to my real life friends and some family members and the entire of my church, all of whom follow me on Facebook, and there have been a couple of slip-ups already from online friends who know Elijah's name - thankfully I saw them quickly and deleted the comments, hopefully before anyone who didn't know saw them! I can't wait to announce his name and birth details - that part is SO much fun! :)
Okay, better get off the laptop ready for the midwife. I think I will lie down and rest until she's here because my head is sore and I feel quite tired now. I did sleep again from about 7.45 to just before 9am when the phone woke me (Heather was checking on me). It felt like good sleep, but the headache started again right after I woke. I'm eating and drinking, and otherwise feeling fine, but it's juuuust starting to become a little bit too hot for comfort in terms of the weather, even with the windows open and a good strong breeze blowing. Hopefully I'll keep cool enough. The weather could easily cause me headaches like this, but I did have a hormonal cry yesterday morning and it seems like every time I cry I end up with horrible sinusy headaches the next day, for ages! Hopefully it'll go away soon though. Will be back when I can! :)
It's now 12.55pm the next day after my waters broke, and I'm still at home. Having the most fabulous care from the head of community midwives, Jackie, who is calling me from home regularly to check on me, and telling me she plans to come out to attend my labour and birth when it starts! HOW WONDERFUL!
The only thing is, I am still not in labour. I have had NO contractions whatsoever, so far. This morning I have been having light pink staining on my pad along with the continuing waters draining, and that's really encouraging because Heather says that is a bloody show - labour should not be far off. Last time I had a bloody show without any other signs of labour was with Benjamin, and contractions started probably 4 or 5 hours later. So far there's still nothing, and I am not sure what to expect.
A midwife is on her way over right this minute to give me "a really good sweep", which is a slightly nerve-wracking thought! :S The idea is that it should put me into labour pretty quickly (today) and then I can hurry up and have my little manny. If it doesn't, then I will need to go into hospital - there's no exact time-frame, but probably this evening? Or tomorrow morning? Because the risk of infection to the baby is gradually increasing (it's tiny, but still there), and will become more so once somebody has done an internal examination and a sweep. The Group B Strep is the only reason for any pressure of any sort, but even so the risks are still low to Elijah. I have to keep remembering that, because there is so much HYPE about GBS, but the risks are actually really really (really) low. Jackie and Heather keep reminding me which is very reassuring and helpful! Jackie says she would probably be erring on the side of caution later today if nothing was happening, and suggesting (though she said I absolutely don't HAVE to) that I go into hospital and get labour started so that it isn't going on too long. I am open to that, I just wish I would start contracting already so that I can have this baby at home! I will be anxious about him when he's born even so, hoping that he's okay. But I just want to HAVE him already! Please please body, pleeeease start contracting.
Heather brought round some clary sage oil last night and put it in her oil burner, because apparently it can get contractions going. But it did nothing at all for me - I had the quietest evening for BH contractions for ages, even! Ah the irony! ;) Today I have refreshed the clary sage and have been on my birth ball bouncing a bit. There's not that much in the way of waters leaking. They are draining continually but in very small amounts - it's a tiny leak more than a gusher, and I should think he is still surrounded by pretty much all of his amniotic fluid still. I don't think I've lost all that much in total. I've soaked through three maternity pads since last night, so that's not that much considering the pints and pints that are in there! ;) The fluid is still nice and clear, and Elijah is moving around a lot today.
I didn't sleep too well - well it took me a while to get to sleep with RLS again, but eventually I got up and stretched my legs and directed the fan at my feet, and went to sleep pretty quickly after that. I don't know what time it was, maybe 2am? Then I slept solidly until about 5.15, and dozed until 6.30 when I got up (the boys were up already). I had a horrible headache, which I had last night and it didn't go away with painkillers. It was fine while I was sleeping, but within about 60 seconds of being awake it came back. It's in my eyes and sinuses and forehead, ugh. It's definitely the most bothersome thing I'm dealing with today. I have had another round of painkillers this morning but it has persisted all the same.
Heather is running a stall at a craft fair this morning and for the next hour probably, but it's in our local area, and she has her phone with her. She took her hubby and daughter with her so that they can take over the instant she needs to dash off to be with me. I would sort of like her to be with me now, especially for the sweep, but there's nothing actually happening so she might as well finish her craft fair. I've phoned her several times though, for advice and to update her, so we can be in touch just fine.
I have had a bath (having cleaned it first) - Heather said it was fine to have a bath in my own bath tub! Now I have laid a maternity bed pad on the bed and I await the midwife! Please pray that this sweep will work almost immediately (the last one got me very crampy from about 10 mins after being done, but Matthew's did not work until the next morning) and I will have my baby today - at home would be so so so wonderful. But I want what's best and safest for him. At this stage, hospital is not yet the safest place for him to be born. Home is safer until there's enough of a risk to him, and there isn't just yet. I am taking my temperature every 4 hours as they've instructed me to, so if that goes up then I will go in straight away.
I will try to keep my blog posted, but if I can't, I will update when I can afterwards. If you know me on Facebook, please please don't mention Elijah's name by mistake when commenting on my statuses! If you happen to see someone who's done so, would you please mind sending them a quick message so they can delete it asap. His name is the only thing I haven't announced to my real life friends and some family members and the entire of my church, all of whom follow me on Facebook, and there have been a couple of slip-ups already from online friends who know Elijah's name - thankfully I saw them quickly and deleted the comments, hopefully before anyone who didn't know saw them! I can't wait to announce his name and birth details - that part is SO much fun! :)
Okay, better get off the laptop ready for the midwife. I think I will lie down and rest until she's here because my head is sore and I feel quite tired now. I did sleep again from about 7.45 to just before 9am when the phone woke me (Heather was checking on me). It felt like good sleep, but the headache started again right after I woke. I'm eating and drinking, and otherwise feeling fine, but it's juuuust starting to become a little bit too hot for comfort in terms of the weather, even with the windows open and a good strong breeze blowing. Hopefully I'll keep cool enough. The weather could easily cause me headaches like this, but I did have a hormonal cry yesterday morning and it seems like every time I cry I end up with horrible sinusy headaches the next day, for ages! Hopefully it'll go away soon though. Will be back when I can! :)
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