Friday, October 24, 2008 Ria is nearly there.....

Week 39

Nearly there! Have been having quite a few twinges (?) if that’s the right word for them this week, and keep wondering…hmmm is this how it starts?! I can only really describe it as similar to period pains, but they don’t come and go as contractions will, just a dull ache. Have had some funny feelings in my groin (!) and back as well, and I can’t even begin to describe my ridiculous need to go to the toilet at the most inconvenient times, and about every 15 minutes! Usually whilst out dog walking…which is not so bad as at least I’m wearing wellies!

We are really intrigued now to know when she’s going to make an appearance, and I’m really excited about it, my active birth classes have made me feel so much more confident about the birth, that I’m not really dreading it any more, just want to get it out the way so I can cuddle this little wriggler that keeps making herself known with little bum, feet and elbows poking out all over the place.

Jon and I are going into hospital this week with the girl that runs active birth so she can take images of us for her book about Active Birth, she is going to set up a labour room for us and we’ll have a trial run at all the techniques we’ve been practicing in her classes, it should be really good for us as will make it all the more familiar when the time really comes, lets hope we can hold on until then.

I had a stroke of genius with baby girls hammock this week, and have made it into a little fairy grotto with pretty flower lights wrapped around, it looks so cosy and snug and really beautiful, hopefully it will entice her into some peaceful sleeps, and the lights give just enough light to see and feed to without hopefully waking Jon up too much on school nights! Buttons (the cat) is quite intrigued but still hasn’t tried to leap in.

Jon is away with rugby this weekend, playing in Nottingham, luckily he is allowed to drive up behind the players coach so if I need him can summon him home, it’s still about 4 hours away though so hopefully I wont need to. Next weekend he has a home game, which makes things a bit easier, not sure I fancy giving birth by the side of the rugby pitch but I’ll probably still go and watch. I know he can’t wait until I’m at rugby with babe, he always runs over to us at the end of the game, and I know he’ll just love to run over to see little one and give her a big muddy cuddle!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Tamzin has a weekend away...

Week 36

We finally left Isla for a whole weekend – well, Saturday morning to Sunday evening! Pete and I decided we should get a ‘romantic’ weekend in before the baby comes so we went to London. It was great and I didn’t cry once, I was more than ready to hand Isla over and have a break with my husband, it was lovely; I found myself giving him hugs and kisses like I used to before they all went to Isla – who, to be fair, does smell nicer and has softer skin!!

We got the train up which was really relaxing other than the loo situation and when we arrived at Waterloo we got a cab and checked into the hotel and then went straight out again. Had lunch, bit of shopping, which was a bit frustrating for me, but it made a change me sitting around outside changing rooms rather than Pete!

Then we did some people watching over a cup of tea in Covent Garden, then went for dinner, then went to the theatre, then went for ice-creams and wandered around Soho, then finally got a rickshaw back to the hotel at about midnight! Impressed by my stamina at 36 weeks?!!! I was! The rickshaw was most uncomfortable however and I did think there was a strong possibility I might be jolted into early labour so Pete asked the poor man to avoid the bumps and holes!

I think the best bit though was the lie in the next day followed by a leisurely breakfast and a read of the papers.....I can’t remember the last time I did that, well I guess it was 16 months ago. Then we wandered along the South Bank, went on the London Eye and got the train home, it was great and did us so much good, although Pete got an earful when we got home and I realised he hadn’t packed my wash bag which I’d asked him to do and it had my glasses in which I’m lost without – I’m allowed to be scatty, I’m pregnant – he’s got no excuse! I got it back minus my very expensive new bottle of foundation..... never mind!

Isla hadn’t missed me at all which was brilliant, but she was absolutely delighted to see me and wouldn’t let go of me – even to hug her Daddy – oops, poor Pete. She finally relented about an hour later and gave him a kiss. But every time I left the room she wailed, she was fine the next day though. It was worth being away just to have that welcome home.

Rosee comes back down to earth...

After the high of giving birth, I came back to earth with a real bang the first week of Storm’s new life.

Despite having had a caesarean section I spent just 36 hours in hospital – I think the staff were desperate to have my bed as it was a real baby boom month in Bristol.

But, even though I felt very frail, I was glad to go home early. The nurses and midwives had been lovely, but there’s nothing like your own bed.

The food in the hospital was absolutely disgusting as well, with no real healthy options and certainly nothing organic in sight!

Storm mostly slept through her time in hospital, although we did manage to get her to breastfeed successfully after a few false starts.

When I got home, it was a different matter. My milk came in the day after we got home and I felt extremely hormonal and teary. I couldn’t look at Storm without getting upset, because I felt so protective of her and so overwhelmed by the love I felt.

I also began having some struggles with breastfeeding as I was producing so much milk Storm couldn’t gulp it down fast enough. She was getting terrible wind, which was really upsetting her, and no amount of burping seemed to help.

Then we had a really hot day and she kept falling asleep while she was feeding, and not taking in enough milk. This left her dehydrated and hungry and fractious. By the end of the day I was desperate and, having read the suggestion on the internet, starting using a cold flannel to keep her awake by dabbing her with it.

The technique worked and she fed for TWO HOURS, before finally falling asleep at midnight.

Staying in the house all the time left me feeling cooped up, so Al and I went for a walk. But, six days after the birth, it was too much to even walk around the block, and I had to stop half way around, thinking I was going to throw up or faint.

By the end of the week I was at my wit’s end. I spent half my time weeping with love for Storm and the other half terrified something might happen to her or that I would have a bad feeding session with her.

I wished I’d understood how hard those first few days could be. I’d read about the baby blues, but nothing really prepared me for it, and at times it felt like too much to bear.

Happily, by the time Storm finished her first week in the world my hormones began to settle down and I started to feel slightly more normal. I realised that, although parenthood was the biggest challenge I would ever face, that, if so many millions of women could meet that challenge in far tougher circumstances, then I could do it too.