Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Libby goes on her first holiday!

Libby at 6-8 weeks

Libby’s first holiday!! At last our first weekend away to Centre Parcs Longleat had arrived. We were celebrating Tim’s mum’s 60th birthday with all the family. It was great and was nice to spend time with Tim’s folks, brother, sister and nieces. The accommodation was brilliant and we cooked all our own meals that was easier with the children. Tim’s mum, myself and my two sister-in-laws had a much needed 3 hour spa session which was so relaxing. The men played badminton and pool and it was just so nice to chill out. Libby also slept in a cot for the first time as to save on luggage we decided not to take the moses basket. She takes after her dad and can sleep pretty much anywhere so we knew it would probably be ok. She looked so small in the cot and I wondered how long it would be before she was in her own cot at home (I secretly hoped a long time as she will move into her own room when she no longer fits in the moses basket and I am not ready for that yet!)

Libby went swimming for the first time at Centre Parcs but I was disappointed with the toddler pool. It was not that warm and it was quite shallow so I didn’t let Libby stay in for long. I decided to take her to the local baths the next week instead. I had checked it would be ok with my doctor to take her before her first set of jabs and she said that as long as the pool was warm enough it would be fine. We have signed up for Waterbabies classes with some of our friends so I want to take Libby swimming a few times beforehand to get her used to it.

After Centre Parcs we decided to start putting Libby down earlier at night between 7pm and 8pm. Then I would either dream feed her or wake her when I went to bed and give her another feed around 10:30pm. I found that gently waking her would make her take more feed and sleep a bit longer. It was working well as meant that Tim and myself had a few much needed hours together in the evening before we went to bed. She even managed to sleep through until 6am a couple times!!!

The breastfeeding is still going well and Libby seems to be thriving. At 8 weeks she weighs 11.5 pounds, 4 pounds heavier than birth so she is putting on half a pound a week. No wonder I feel so tired!! She has moved from the 50th percentile to nearer the 75th for her weight now but this is more in proportion with her length. I have been getting her weighed weekly to make sure that she was getting enough milk as breastfeeding you have no idea how much they are drinking. Although I obviously don’t have anything to worry about, I think I will just get her weighed fortnightly now unless she is not very well.

Libby is developing well she is smiling all the time and cooing lots. You can even have a cooing conversation with her which is fab. She is a real cutie and we are so proud. She has such big blue eyes and I think they will probably stay blue as they are a real blue and not dark. Her eyelashes have grown really long just like her dad’s. I just spend ages looking at her every day and never get bored of looking at her. She is gorgeous!

Monday, May 19, 2008 Rosee is doing head stands...

Week 36

Well, it’s been quite a week.

I saw my consultant on Monday, a follow up appointment from early in my pregnancy, when I was diagnosed with a bicornuate uterus. A bicornuate uterus is basically heart shaped, with a dip in the top, and can cause problems with progress of labour, and also increases the chance of a baby being breech.

But I’ve really had a very straightforward pregnancy and, after double checking our baby was head down, my consultant was happy for me to go ahead with my home birth as planned.

So on Thursday my community midwife came to my house and we talked through my birth plan and discussed the implications of home birth. She was absolutely lovely and very positive about us having the baby at home.

Again, she checked the baby’s position and again all was well. I’d had some sharp pains and buzzy sensations recently and she confirmed the baby was starting to engage in my pelvis, making delivery likely to be two to four weeks away.

The good news made me very excited, and I went to bed feeling positive and happy.

Perhaps you can see where this is going…

On Friday, having had two or three days with my baby being a bit quieter than normal, I decided to go in for a double check on her well being at the hospital’s day assessment unit.

Thankfully, all was good. Her heart and lungs are working nicely and she was wriggling around.

But… she was also the wrong way up!

It turns out she has been sitting cross legged for many many weeks, a fact which has been missed by three midwives, two consultants and one student doctor!

I am, honestly, devastated, as if she stays breech my chances of delivering at home are zero. Our local hospitals will only deliver breech babies by elective caesarean, which is just about the last thing I wanted.

I am now booked for an ECV (external cephalic version) next Friday, when my consultant will try to turn my baby manually. I’ll go into the delivery suite and will be given a drug to relax the ligaments in my womb. Then my consultant will manipulate my baby using pressure on my abdomen to encourage her to somersault into position.
After that the baby’s heartbeat will be monitored to make sure she isn’t in distress, as there’s a 1 per cent chance the movement will pinch the cord, or damage the placenta, in which case I’ll need an emergency caesarean there and then.

The chances of an ECV working for a first baby are about 30 per cent, so I am trying to be positive, but it’s not easy.

In the meantime, I’m booked into to see an acupuncturist, who is going to carry out a process called moxibustion which has a higher rate of success. This involves the burning of herbs over pressure points to encourage the baby to turn.

I’ve also got to spend 15 minutes out of every two hours inverted for the next five days as this has also worked for some women.

But because my uterus is bicornuate there may simply not be enough room for my baby to move through 180 degrees.

Honestly, I am utterly crushed by this discovery so late in the day and can’t quite believe that within 24 hours I went from planning where to put our birthing pool in the kitchen to all this.

Who said having children was predictable?!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Ria's getting active...

Week 36

This week began with the excitement of Active Birth Yoga and practising for labour! The classes are absolutely brilliant and well worth the money to go to them. Each class focuses on a different aspect of the labour process, and what you can do actively to keep you and your baby comfortable and make labouring as easy and stress free as possible!

Last week we looked at the latent phase…and practiced massage techniques, chill out yoga positions and smelled different aromatherapy oils that are safe for pregnancy. This week we did the first stage of labour, and went through how to set up your birthing area so it’s not dominated by a bed, but instead how to incorporate the walls, tables, our fit balls, yoga mats and birthing stools (and birthing buddies!) into helping the process. Really good fun, she also had a pool there which we practiced some of the moves in too, and I feel a lot more confident about the whole thing, Jon has a really active role too, so I’ve been giving him lessons after the class, as I’m sure I’ll forget it when it counts, and it’s been good to get the giggling fits over early!

My mum came down for a few days this week with her dog, so we’ve been walking pooches every day and chatting about babies and life and things which has been really lovely, she has also bullied me into packing a bag ready for hospital, even though I was convinced there’ll be no rush…but still best listen to mummy!

We also took Jon’s mum out along with his sister and fiancé to a lovely farm shop near by where they do amazing fish and chips - very nice. When we got back we thought it might be a good time to try out our car seat and buggy in my car… lucky we did as it turns out that no matter how you orientate puppy, car seat, buzz and KA there is no sensible way to transport all at once, so this week is operation swap cars! Nothing like forward planning, oops!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Tamzin starts thinking about labour...

32 weeks

I had an appointment with the consultant this week regarding the safety of having a vaginal delivery after having had a caesarean. It was actually rather a waste of time as she didn’t tell me anything different to what my midwife had already told me. She basically said, “yes, that’s fine any questions?” And I didn’t really. There is a risk of rupturing but there’s risks with the whole thing so nothing’s worse than anything else! The only thing that worries me a bit is the fact that I’ll have to be monitored and I also have Strep B which means I may have to take antibiotics through a drip during my labour, I have visions of being attached to two things and unable to move around as I want. But my midwife said that I’ll only have to take antibiotics if the Strep B is in my urine and that I won’t have to be monitored constantly, so I should still be able to move about. My friend had to spend her entire labour on her back in a bed due to various reasons and I can’t think of anything worse! I spent most of mine on my knees with my head buried in Pete’s lap – it was very comforting!!! My yoga teacher talks a lot about having your forehead pressed against something during labour and I know a lot of people who have found it helps, sounds odd I suppose but it is oddly reassuring.

Isla is so adorable at the moment, how can it be possible that she just gets more and more amazing? I know all Mothers (and Fathers) find this, you don’t think parenthood can get any better and it just gets more and more!! She is getting really cuddly and she gets jealous when my Mum hugs me or I hug her, she immediately grabs my arm and hugs it, it’s so funny. She’s still not saying any words really, everything’s still ‘Da da’, she sort of manages ‘fish’ – ‘ish’ and if she’s in the mood ‘duck’ – ‘guck’ and ‘mamamamamamamama’ if she wants something, which I guess is the first stages of the demanding ‘mummy!!!’ I’m just really glad I gave up work when I did because these few months have been wonderful. I’ve not been out too much, I’ve just spent lots of time at home relaxing and playing and laughing with and at her, it’s been brilliant!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 Rosee is getting her washing done...

Week 35

It seems like a lifetime ago now, but last Friday was moving day. Al and I had been given early access to our new home, as we're renting it from a good friend. We'd used the headstart to take over most of the contents of our kitchen, books, clothes, and basically anything else we could fit in our smallish car. But there was no getting around it - we had to move the sofas, bed and wardrobe. That meant hiring a van and lugging the stuff out of our first floor flat and down the road to our new abode.

As by that point I was already almost eight months pregnant we enlisted the help of another good friend and Al's brother in law and spent half a day trawling back and forth with our worldly goods. Unable to lift anything much I was charged with driving the van and, my favourite job - directing. This all went well until we tried to get our giant sofa into our new (small) living room. Despite trying different angles, and taking off most of the paint from the hallway walls, the sheer mathematical impossibility of it won in the end, and we now have our nicest sofa in the kitchen!

However, hiccups aside, the move went well and we now have a garden and a bath - just in time for the baby's arrival next month. I've been making the most of the outdoor space to finally wash and dry all our baby clothes, towels, bedding, muslins and so on.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of stuff we've accumulated, despite my best efforts to keep everything streamlined. I'm using Ecoballs instead of washing powder, and have been impressed how well they clean considering there's no powder involved.

It's pleasant work. There's something rather charming about hanging out the tiny cotton dresses, frilly bloomers, tiny t-shirts and seemingly endless supply of babygros. I love to think that our little lady will be wearing them in just a few weeks, and when she gives me a shove in the tum just as I'm pegging up yet another sleepsuit it really makes me grin.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 Ria has a Cornish break...

Week 35

Baby girl is growing! Good news as the midwives were all getting worried about my small bump and had sent Jon into a blind panic about the little one. They’ve been keeping a closer eye on me and my tummy, but have now decided that I don’t need to go in for a growth scan, and that my bump is small because baby’s head has been engaged fully for such a long time.

Although my bump measures a lot smaller than the average, it is growing at the correct rate, so all is well! It still feels massive to me though, and I can’t imagine how frustrated I’d be if it was as big as some peoples! My clothes are pretty much all OK still, I just have to wear long tops that can be stretched down over bump.

My worst thing at the moment is pain in my back and side muscles, going to bed is now a fully structured mission involving careful placement of several pillows, cushions, husband and cat! And then I still wake in the morning unable to move! Jon has bought me a Tens machine to start using now, and it does really help, and is good to get used to before the onslaught of labour pains!

We have had a lovely week together, Jon was playing Rugby in London at the weekend so I drove up to meet old Uni friends and stay with my sister, we all went for a long walk in Richmond Park with the puppies which was fun. And then Jon and I escaped to Cornwall for three days, taking Noodle to stay in a little cottage and play on the beach and generally chill out together, which was great.



We often spend time in Polzeath, which is where we got engaged and is quite a special family place, and it was crazy to think the next time we are there there will probably be another little one in tow other than Noodle pup. Scary but good!

Little Libby is starting to smile!

4-6 weeks

Libby is now regularly smiling and we can actually make her smile by tickling her chubby cheeks and humming the tune that she loves from her V-tech radio. Sometimes she laughs so much she screws her eyes up and I love it. She has also started to coo and make noises I think she is going to take after me and be a little chatterbox when she is older.




Libby continues to show her strength by holding her head well and I have started to put her on her front partly to help her strengthen up and partly because some of her clothes are awkward to do up unless she is on her front. I only put her there for a few seconds and sometimes she can managed a minute or two before she tires and wants to get back on her back to have a kick. I have also started to regularly put her on her play gym and as the weeks go by she is showing more interest in it and wanting to stay on it for bit longer. The first couple times she could only cope with a couple of minutes. It’s amazing how much everything stimulates them and tires them out.

My six week check was pretty informal and I was not examined at all which I thought was strange but everything seems to be ok. I was just asked some routine questions and I enquired about returning to exercise. I have been doing lots of walking as I love to get out and about and get some fresh air. Libby loves it too and normally doses off in her buggy. Libby had her six week baby check and it was all fine so now we can participate in the baby massage class at our local baby group.

Libby has been sleeping better and we have even had 7 full hours of sleep! Hooray. She always sleeps at least 5.5 hours and then usually has a smaller stint of about 3 hours. We put her down about 10 or 11pm when I go to bed and then I only have to get up once in the night. I want to try and get her into a routine of going down to sleep between 7pm and 8pm but I think it may be a little early to introduce at the moment. I may try in a couple of weeks as it works for both me and her at the moment



Next week we have our first weekend away at Centre Parks, Wiltshire to celebrate Tim’s mum’s 60th birthday. It should be good and it will be interesting to see how much luggage we will have to take now we are three!!