Flashing my boobs on Australia Day.....

I am so glad to be able to write that things are well and truely on the improve and we have a much happier and settled little baby!!! We have had a lovely week with trips out, mothers group and lots of cuddles! The most exciting thing is that Charlie has started to smile and even though it is not all the time it is worth the world! One day last week she was having a huge sleep but it was in the afternoon and it got to 5pm and she had slept way past a feed and I decided to wake her up so that she would still sleep later that night. So instead of her usually waking up crying because she wants some food....I got to unwrap her and let her wake naturally. She slowly woke up, stretching out her lovely long arms and legs and then look straight at me and gave me a big gummy grin! I could have cried but instead cheered and encouraged her for more....hahaha the grin was replaced with a look of " what is wrong with this woman???". And we have had a few smiles here and there....but I am not quick enough to get it on the camera! She has started to work out her hand are hers and not just random things at the ends of her arms....so she now quite likes to suck on her hand. She follows you around when you walk and has started to play and react to things like the play mat. She is making cute little cooing noises and lets you know if she wants something! You can tell I am so excited.....it is such a huge change from a week and a bit ago!

This morning we headed to the Australia Day run that the Canterbury council put on. I decided on this run as my " post baby race" for a few reasons......
1. It was free....yes I am of the fregan belief
2. It was put on by our local council and was only 15 mins from home
3. Last year was the first year and it is important to support new runs
4. It was meant to start at 10:30am.....perfect for me to get a 7 week old up and breast fed- it was then changed to 9:15am, still much more decent than the 7am start for the other runs.

It all went really well. My wonderful sister had agreed to come down to look after Charlie so I could run with Ray....read my sister agreed to have Charlie all on her own for lots of cuddles!! Ray and I are so grateful that she can do this for us....it means for some runs we can both race and Aunty Bec gets some quality time with Charlie :-) So she arrived at 8am and we were up, fed and dressed and ready to go. I had timed it so that we would arrive in time for me to feed Charlie again and then line up to run. There is nothing like having to breast feed to take your mind of a race and put it all into perspective :-) We found a bench near the start finish line and I politely asked a family if I could use some of the seat to feed on....they cleared off quickly~ they must not have seen a boob popped out at the start of a race before :-) so I was finished and had put on my super duper, my boobs are not going to move in this crop top on and was on the start line by 9:10....all good!

The gun went off and we started to run. I had told Ray I wanted to just do under 6mins pace and I would be happy. So we took off and then I spied a lady I have seen at other runs....I I changed my race goal to " I just want to finish in front of her"! We set off and it was a little fast but I felt ok and we decided to just keep running and if it all fell apart who cares I had a perfect little girl waiting at the end of the run. The run went along the Cooks river cycle way and back....it was actually a really lovely run. There are yucky parts of the cooks river, but this part was clean and there were lots of parks and trees along the way. So we slowly reeled this woman in and we passed her at the 3km mark....she had started too fast and was struggling so we made our move. Haha nice to see the competitiveness stays! Ray was great and just chatted the whole way, checking if I was doing ok and encouraged me to just keep going.

I loved it and was so excited to be running again. I was even more excited that I was feeling ok and not coughing up a lung and I was running faster than planned :-) I did get cranky at one point when some guy was yelling at me to sprint and I yelled " I just gave birth 7 weeks ago I am kind of happy to be just running"....Ray reminded me he was jut trying to be friendly....ooops! The finish line suddenly appeared and I picked up the pace and finished with a really good hard run at the line. Woo Hoo! first run back completed and I was still in one piece and Charlie had slept like a log the whole time! I wanted to do anything under 36mins and I finished in 30:21. I think the course was about 200m short so it was probably more like 31:30 mins. BUT my average pace was 5:18/km......quicker than I thought I could do :-) It also felt comfortable and I certainly did not feel like I was pushing it too hard at any time :-) I had a great time and loved every minute of it! I felt fantastic when I finished and it gave me spurt of excitement for my next goal which is the 10km in Canberra.

6km: 5:17, 5:25, 5:11, 5:16, 5:26, 3:43 (800m) (average 5:18)

Breath in.....

I went out for a run on Friday and again on sunday afternoon....both in the rain! I love running in the rain and really missed that while I was not running. I used to often sit at work looking at the rain outside and day dream of going for a run. I decided to go a different way to the usual 5km loop....boring! So I headed out and then relaised it was a bit longer than expected. So I cut out a few streets but it still ended up being 6kms. I felt fine and covered the distance in 5:40/km. So on sunday I decided to do the same loop....I felt tired initially but just enjoyed being out and about. The sun came out half way through the run and there were two huge double rainbows!!! That has to be good luck! I managed to do the run in the exact time as Friday and averaged 5:40/km. I was very excited to do one of my kms in 5:22....ha ha I am a long way off where I used to be but still I was excited!!! I am not sure if I will run again tonight or go to the gym and give my legs a rest.

Charlie continues to improve which is sooooo good! We have had a really lovely weekend, with lots of sleeps, smiles and some play time! She is so much more alert now that she is not all consumd by a painful tummy! She has discovered her mobile above the cot which we had to take down so she would go to sleep...instead if being mesmerised by it! She is growing heaps and today we put on a 3 zero jumpsuit as the 4 zeros were looking like they were painted on :-) haha when you are asking her to breath in to do them up, it is time for the next size :-) We see the doctor again tommorow and I am so glad to be able to give him a good report! I have taken some more photos but I have not had time yet to laod them on the computer.....soon I promise!!

Happy Days.....

I have had a really good couple of days. I really feel like the medication has kicked in and Charlie seems so much more peaceful! She does not seem to have anywhere near as much discomfort or pain. Her face seems so much more relaxed and we have had a lots of 20min periods where she has been really alert and happy to sit with me and pull faces, sing and just be together. This is such a relief! To see her looking relaxed and not in pain is priceless! She is still getting the acid coming up into her throat/mouth after a feed but she is now not screaming in pain....woo hoo! I can cope with the waking through the night etc...just not the constant pain.

I had some friends come over on Wednesday and Thursday for lunch....they have babies too and it was so nice to chat to people who have been there and done that :-) Today we had our visit with the baby nurse and she got two thumbs up! She has put on weight and is now a nice plump 4.8kg. She is so cute and has multiple chins and rolls on her legs....all good!!! i put Charlie in the baby bjorn carrier and she loved it. She snoozed away while I did some shopping. It was so nice to be out and about and I found having her in the carrier so much easier than the pram. I had her baby bag on my back and apart from looking like a turtle it worked really well and I had my hands free to do things. We came home and had a feed and play and then she has had a really good sleep. Tonight we are out for dinner.....yeah!

Wednesday I got out for a run and it was so much cooler!!! I will have to think of a new way to run because I did the same 5km loop again....this will get boring sooner rather than later!! I averaged 5:44/km and did my last km in 5:38 :-) I am now wanting to focus on getting rid of the pesky 3kgs hanging around....time to stop saying " I can eat that I just had a baby" :-) I hope the cool weather hangs around for my Friday run!!!

Half a dozen.....

Well Miss Chalrie was 6 weeks today!!! It feels like she has always been apart of our life and it is hard to now imagine her not being here!! This past week has has some good days and not so good days. Tuesday was particularly stressful with a 3am wake up and lots of screaming. I called Dr Dunlop and he said to increase the dose of the losec and moved my appointment forward to Tuesday next week. I started to feel like I could not manage and I how could I cope with this for the next few days let alone weeks! She then settled and had a great sleep in the afternoon and I managed to get a good two and half hours sleep....it is amazing how much better everything seems when you get some sleep!!! I can see why sleep deprivation is a form of torture....everything seems too hard and too much when you are pooped! But once I had a sleep and a shower I gave myself a kick in the bum for being miserable and I felt much brighter! Charlie is such an amazing part of our life and worth every bit of lack of sleep and stress and I would not have it any other way! So after my kick in the pants I felt confident enough to go out for dinner with two of my favourite friends! She was great while we were out and I joked to Ray that you would not think there was anything wrong. The vommitting has definately decreased and today I can see that she is less agitated, more alert and I am pretty sure I got a few small smiles this morning :-). She still battles sleep but you can blame her stubborn streak on me :-)

Monday I headed out for another 5km run. I felt quite tired and drained when I started but perked up pretty quickly. I averaged 5:45 for the 5km. Yesterday I did nothing and I will head out for a run when Ray gets home tonight. I am looking forward to the Australia day run....I am going to do the 6km Canterbury run- mainly because it starts at 10:30am so it is much easier for me to get us all organised. I have no goals for this run, just to do it, finish it and have fun! I am excited to be able to do a "race" and be part of it all again :-) Then I will aim for the Striders run in March.....depending on how I feel, 1okm seems like a very long way at the moment!!!! Small steps.......

So I am feeling much more positive that Charlie is improving and hopefully in another week we will see a big difference!!!

All quiet on the western front....

Well yesterday was bliss......except for the ridiculous heat!!! Charlie had a much better day, which meant mum and dad had a much better day! I even managed to get the grocery shopping done :-) We closed all the blinds and put all the fans on to keep cool and relaxed yesterday. I think the three of us were all pooped from the day before so we were happy to spend the day relaxiung and watching seinfeld episodes. I was going to go for a run in the evening but even at 7:30pm it felt too hot and to be honest I really did not have it in me yesterday. Ray managed to get his 32km run done really early and missed the brunt of the heat but he still looked a melted blob when he got home. He ran from Brett Park, over to Centenial Park, through the city, over the bridge and back again. I must say I miss the long runs, especially ones like that one. I can not imagine running that far....seems sureal. My days feel like a blur at the moment....each day I have a list of things I want to get done....hahaha I usually just keep adding, rather than get much done. But I am not worrying about it too much....as long as I get the toilet cleaned ;-)

Chalrie is asleep at the moment so I am going to have a snooze :-)

Cross your fingers!

Friday was a pretty good day....Charlie seemed a little more settled with the Mylanta pre feeds and I managed to get the Zoton into her with out too much drama. She only battled a few times and had some good sleep! I went out for a run in the evening and managed 5kms at 5:45/km pace. I am now going to hover at 5kms for a while until it feels really easy. It has been really hot in the afternoons/eveings and I arrive home as red as a beetroot!

Yesterday was a day from HELL!!!! Charlie awoke screaming at 5am and did not stop until we managed to get her to sleep at 8:30pm last night!! She then thankfully crashed for 8.5 hours straight and awoke at 4am, but after a feed she went back for another 3hours. She is asleep again now and thank god it seems like it will be a better day! I have no idea how Ray and I susrvived yesterday and upsetting and stressful is an understatement of the year! I am amazed at how on such little sleep I have mabaged to cope with such a stressful day.....makes other things that I have worried about seem ridiculous! I just kept telling myself that she would have to exhaust herself soon or later and fall asleep....Hmmm I wonder what the world record for an awake baby is??? It also helps to have an extremely supportive sister and mum who reassure me and tell me exactly what I need to hear!

Nothing we did worked yesterday and all we could do is take turns in trying to comfort her and keep her as calm as possible. Watching your bub sob her heart out and not be able to do anything has to be up there with one of the worst experiences!! Without soundy corny it broke my heart! There were a few tears shed again yesterday.....all we could do was try and pep each other up and take turns at feeling like a wreck. Thankfully Ray and I work well as a team. So this is day three of the medication....Dr Dunlop said it would probably take 7 days....finger crossed we do not have more days like yesterday!

Every one cross your fingers......

Trust your instincts.....

The past two and half weeks have been quite tough going for both Charlie and myself. She is now 5 weeks old and we have had lots of "unsettled" periods and lots of trouble sleeping. At first I was unsure about what was nornal for a 3 week old and what to expect. The nurses had told me it was just normal new born stuff and to ride it out. So I kept telling myself to just tough it out, that she would settle eventually. I kept saying to Ray that I thought something was not quite right, that it seemed more than just being unsttled. Everytime I would feed Charlie, she would spend the next few hours arching her back, grizzling, crying, coughing, sneezing, reguguating milk and looking generally unhappy. These signs were what the nurse had said was being overtired. The past week we have had days where I could not get her to sleep at all. Every time I would put her in the cot she would throw up and get hiccoughs and cry. I started to feel really frustrated with myself....how come I can not do this??? I was also getting very teary ans stressed because I thought Chralie looked in pain....and I was worried something was wrong. Charlie had her paediatrician appointment next week and I was hanging out for it so I could ask him if something was wrong. We had another bad day yesterday and my sister suggested call the doctor and see if there was an earlier appointment. Woo Hoo he had a cancellation for this morning. My sister and mum who are both nurses suggested she might have reflux.

We saw Dr Dunlop today and I had written down all the things I had noticed she has been doing and what my worries were. Well it turns out I am not imagining things, she has quite bad reflux. Dr Dunlop was suprised she has been putting on as much weight given the situation but I explained that that is because I have spent most days almost constantly feeding her. I explained that most days it would be about every 90mins she would cry her hungry cry and my theory was a 4 week old baby was not being piggy she was obviously hungry and even though the nurses told me to make her wait 3 hours, I felt if she was hungry she should eat.

Any way he said that it should be resolved with some medication, some mylanta pre feed and trying to keep her upright as much as possible. So we have raised the mattress at one end in the cot and she will start the medication tonight. fingers crossed that it helps her to feel better. It is the wost feeling in the world watching this precious little person cry and become incredibly distressed and in pain and not be able to help! There have been many tears shed by mum thats for sure. I am so releived that there is something we can do- hopefully it makes a difference quickly! At the moment she is happiest when I let her sleep on her tummy on my chest at an inclined position....this usually means I am stuck at a funny angle on the lounge! Hahaha not really a tennable situation! So my lesson learnt is trust your insticts!!!

I did manage to hand over to Papa Bear yesterday evening and get out for a run. Running has taken on a whole new enjoyment! It feels fantastic to get out and run when you have been up since 3am with a distressed baby who just wants to be on you. I felt like I had not been out of the unit in days...which was true :-) She had been so upset I had not managed to even get out for a walk on Monday or Tuesday. I ran 4 km and averaged about 5:45 pace. I felt great. Then I arrived home and showered and felt like I was ready to start again....batteries recharged!

So I am crossing my fingers that our little munchkin will feel better soon!

All is quiet....

I am excited to report that I have managed another two runs over the past week....both were 4km and I felt great! It is feeling easier and easier every time I run. Yesterday I managed to get organised and out the door at 5pm and it was as hot as the sun! Previously I would have said it was too hot to run, but time is precious and I just lapped up the chance to get out for a run. Needless to say I got home as red a s a beetroot and sweating buckets!!! My new shoes feel so fantastic! I can not believe how dead my old ones were. I averaged 5:45/km for the run. I am going to aim for a run on Australia Day.....if I can get the logistics of feeding Charlie right.

She continues to grow and I am just smitten! I love the smell of her and can not help but stare at her when she sleeps! This last week we have had a few hard days where she would not sleep at all during the day and was very restless. She got so overtired and beside herself and it was really hard not knowing what to do to help her to sleep! Thankfully she is sleeping well at night, so it is managable during the day. Mind you you still question your ability as a mum when you can not seem to do something simple like get her to sleep. We tried everything....rocking, patting, singing, walking in the pram, bathing etc. After about 7hrs she finally just crashed! Last night she slept heaps and today she is back to her usual peaceful self. Apparantly it is normal for them to have a really unsettled day once a week. Ray was great, we just tag teamed to give each other a break. This is hard work!! All worth it though :-)

I have invested in a baby sling thing, as quite a few people have said on days like that they sometimes just want to be close to someone and at least that way you can still do some things....otherwise your stuck to the lounge with bub in arms! Hopefully she likes it!

Feeding time.......

4 weeks

I can not believe that 4 weeks ago today little Charlie arrived! It is a bizzare feeling....on one hand I feel like it was just yesterday, but it also seems like forever ago that I was pregnant and waiting for the big arrival! Charlie is so beautiful and is growing at a rate of knots! I put her on the scale a few days ago and she was about 4.5kg so she has put on about 1.3kg since leaving hospital 3 weeks ago. She is a lot more alert now when she is awake and seems to definately know Ray and I by our smell and voice. She is holding her head up really well and is quite strong! She is very active and wriggles almost all the time....hahaha and grunts alot, she is like her mum not very lady like!

She is feeding about evry 3 hrs, give or take- sometimes she wants to eat every 2 hrs and sometimes it stretches out to 4hrs. She wakes evry 3hrs at night but thankfully goes back to sleep without too much hassel. I am feeling a lot more confident with the breast feeding so I can now keep the lights off and I am avoiding changing her nappy at night unless it is unavoidable. I figure that if I can keep her as unstimualted as possible it is easier to get her back to sleep. She then wakes at about 5-6am and is pretty wide eyed for a while. This seems to be the time that she is unsettled so I have been taking her for walks in the pram or putting her in the baby carrier, which seems to work. Haha then there are the times that you try everything and she is still unhappy and obviously tired but will not go to sleep. It is all a huge learning curve, but we feel like we are finally starting to get to know her a bit better.

Ray goes back to work tommorow and I am going to miss him heaps. I have gotten used to having him around this past month and loved evry minute of it. He is also not wanting to go back to work....but unless we win lotto there is not too much choice.

I went for a 3km run on Monday and this morning. I am so excited to be running again. It feels fantastic to doing something and is brilliant for my mental health! As much as I am loving being a mum, it is incredibly draining and demanding. I think if I was bottle feeding and could "hand over" to Dad or other family members it may not feel so overwhelming....but feeling like you are tied to this little person completely can feel very intense. BUT getting out for a run feels fantastic and then I am itching to get back home to Charlie. I have been doing a walk to warm up and cool down and making sure I stretch. I have been averaging between 6min/km- 6:45min/km and making sure I am feeling comfrtable and relaxed while I run. Today I felt great and wanted to keep going, but the sensible voice reminded me that it is only 4 weeks since giving birth and not to push my luck! I am also getting stuck into trying to stregnthen my abs....I can not believe how weak they feel and that is even with me exercising almost daily throughout my pregnancy! It is amazing how much strain it must have all been under. My abs have almost completely re joined again....it is about a half finger width gap now which I am happy about.

A few more photos..... I think she is spectacualr but I am slightly biased!!!!

Out and about....

Yesterday afernoon at about 4pm I restrained my huge boobs and managed to get out the door after finishing feeding charlie. She has been a little unsettled this past few days so Dad put her in the pram and walked with me and then watched me do my 2km run around the soccor fields. It felt easier today and I managed to run a little quicker without realising. I stopped at the 2km mark....still feels like enough at the moment. I might start running around Old park near home....it is a 1.2km loop and has a few little hills to make it interesting and a lot more people around.

Chalrlie just cruised along with Dad in the pram and enjoyed the outdoors. I think Clairie mentioned that exercse causes extra breast milk.....which I discovered for my self when I got home :-) It was really quite warm outside, but there is nothing like having to fit things in around feeds to get you dressed and out the door without so much as a complaint of the warmth!

Charlie was quite unsettled yesterday and I battled to get her to have sleep during the day....she then crashed and slept for a long time which was lovely.....except she then got up every 2 hours to feed through the night! Groan....I was a bit of a zombie this morning! Again after her 5am feed she was not wanting to go back to sleep, so instead of trying to get her off and failing I just put her in the pram and went for a walk....we were up any way and no one was going back to bed! Dad went for his run and us two girls cruised the neighbourhood. It was much nicer than listening to her cry as we tried unsuccessfully to settle her down like yesterday!!
If this is going to be the pattern I will just get up and go for a walk at this time and make use of morning....at least it was cooler! I found the crying stressful yesterday....not the noise, rather not knowing what was wrong or what to do to make her feel better. My wonderful sister reassured me that she was ok and that this was just what they do! I also spoke to a baby nurse who reassured me that from about 3 weeks they get quite unsettled as they are trying to get used to being out in the world. She said to just comfort her and that she will be less and less unsettled as time progresses. As a mum you feel like you should automatically know what to do and how to make your baby feel better....but they are there own little person and can not explain what is happening- she might have been just having a bad hair day!

The days are ticking by and she will be 4 weeks soon! I will upload some more pictures and post some more soon. She is growing each day and starting to get some little fat rolls around her arms and legs....so cute!!!!

3 weeks old....

Well I am pleased to report that Ray and I have survived the first three weeks!! We are getting used to being new parents but still feel like the worked has been tipped upside down!! Charlie has been such a good baby this first few weeks and has just eaten and slept the whole time. She is starting to wake up this past few days and is much more interactive and making a lot more noise. Ray goes back to work in one more week and I am going to miss him so much! I have loved spending so much tome together in these early days getting to know bub and finding our feet. He has been a brilliant support! We are up most nights every 3 hrs but touch wood she seems to go back to sleep without too much drama. We have had a few mornings where she has been awake since 4am and will not settle again, but I am assuming this is all part of the fun :-) I am amazed at how you just keep going despite any consistant sleep.

I can not wait for Charlie to start smiling and recognising us a bit more. You can tell she knows our voices but it will be so exciting to watch her little personality emerge.

We had a lovely Christmas with the family...they have all been so supportive and wonderful! I also love that they are so smitten with her....she will be well loved and looked after as she grows.

I am looking forward to 2008....I love a new year. It always feels like a new start. We had such a wonderful 2007 and I am hoping for more of the same!

I have been doing a fair bit of walking with Charlie and letting my body rest. BUT I will admit to going for my first two runs this week. My body was feeling really good and I was needing to feel a little normal so I decided to go for a 1km walk 2km run and a 1km walk to cool down. It felt fantastic! It was very slow and I made sure I ran on grass and kept it very slow. I then had a few days rest and did it again yesterday. It will be a long slow road back to pre pregnancy fitness, but I am in no hurry and am happy to be just out and about doing somthing. I need to take it very slowly as my abs are much weaker than they were previously and I do no want to hurt myself! I am pleased to report that the pelvic floor held up perfectly :-) Phew!! So hopefully inbetween feeds and changing nappies I can fit a few more in. My plan is to keep it at 2km until it feels easy and comfortable.

The big bang......

Well after seeing Dr Opperman on the Monday and being told to expect the baby to be late and aim at the 17th December we went into labour the next day and gave birth to a perfect little girl Charlie Ann Rowell. She was born on the 5th of December at 1:53pm and weighed 7pounds and 12 ounces or about 3.5kg and was 50 cms long.

On the Tuesday I woke up feeling not quite right and a bit uncomfortable. We decided to go to the movies to see Elizabeth and make the most of the time we had together alone. The movie was great but I was feeling more and more achy and uncomfortable. I spoke with my sister and she said it sounded like I was in early labour. I laughed and said No way, the doctor said bub would be late. We went to Trivia with Bernie and by 8pm I was starting to not just feel uncomfortable but I was getting painful cramps. I was now starting to think that this may have been early contractions, but my waters had not broken and I was still thinking that baby was going to be late. The baby was not even engaged yet!!! When we got home I noted the time between each "cramp" and they were about 12 mins apart. I decided to go to bed and just see what happens. I woke at 1am and was in a lot more pain and they were about 5mins apart. I called the hospital and I must have sounded very confused...I said " I am not sure if I am in labour, my waters have not broken yet but I have some pain about 5 mins apart". She told me to take a panadol and see how I go. I was convinced I was imagining the whole thing and how embarrassing would it be to turn up to hospital if it was nothing! So I went back to bed and managed to fall asleep and awoke at 3:30 am with a lot more pain and they were about 3 mins apart. I was still dithering about what to do....I did not want to panic Ray if this was not labout but it was starting to really hurt. Ray then appeared from the bed room and asked why I was out of bed....."I think I am in labour!". So he called the hospital and they said to come in. I was still not convinced and asked Ray not to call any one until the nurse confirmed that it was labour. When we arrived they told me I was 3 cm dialated and that it was not uncommon for my waters to have not broken.....I wish I had known that!

Well I will not go into gory details, lets just say we were there from 6am and bub was born at 1:53pm. The contractions were the most intense pain I have ever experienced!!! I wanted to have a natural birth.....mainly I did not like the idea of needles in my spine and other medications make me sick. So I thought I would try and manage on my own. I had read a great book about using different skills to manage the pain- which was brilliant. I used the shower and stomped around the room when the pain was bad. But in the end it was using a mantra that got me through. I just picked a light fitting to stare at and repeated over and over " cerivx open" and " I am ok" when I had a contraction. Now I was prepared for the pain, but not the nausea and prjectile vommiting! The nores said that as the pain gets really intense at 8-10cms it is not uncommon to vommit. Well lets just say it was a scene from the exocist! Poor Ray....I am not sure he knew what to do! He was fantastic and just kept telling me I was doing really well and I was ok....I had asked him not to say too much to me as I needed to concentrate to block the pain. My mum and sister also were brilliant...taking turns in supporting Ray and rubbing my back.

The actual pushing part was only about 45mins and I felt so relieved that I was finally oushing and doing something practical. I then decided that I had been up all night and day and felt too tired.... "find another way" I announced! My ob was brilliant and being a fellow runner and having done 6ft he was great! He told me that I had crossed the cox's river and now just had to get up Pluvi. hahaha I told him that this shitted all over 6ft track, but it gave me a boost and two more contractions little Charlies head was out and the doctore got Ray to catch her as she popped out and hander her too me!

I can not describe how amazing the whole experience was! It was exhausting and the most painful thing I have been through BUT also the most spectacular thing I have ever done! I know it sounds corny but wow I felt so strong and euphoric! As soon as she popped out I had a rush of adrenelin or something and I felt on top of the world. Ray and I were both blubbering and staring at this little person we had created!!!

So this is day 10 and I am still spinning! The last 10 days has been such a rollercoaster! I am in awe of this little person and can not believe you can waste so much time staring at her. Ray and I are slowlu getting more confident with things. It is also incredibly overwhelming how dependent this little person is on you and the responsibilty is scary!

We have been out for a few walks and headed to the shops. It now takes twice as long to get things done and we are on a new time schedule. I have found the complete lack of structure and little daunting but I am amazed at how relaxed I feel. I just remind myself that this is how it will be for the next little while and we will eventually feel more confident and in a routine. Thankfully she is a really realaxed baby and is not crying all the time so we are not pulling our hair out yet!

The body has recovered really well. I am back into a lot of my pre baby clothes and am only a kg heavier than my pre pregnant weight. but I still feel tired and a 40min walk is more than enough for me at this stage! I can not imagine running yet, but I am not in a hurry..... I have waited this long, a few more weeks will not kill me! Hahaha I also am not sure how I will manage to get out of the door! I am sure it will be a few more weeks before I get game and try a run. So that will be my new year goal :-) At the moment I am just doing my ab exercises and pelvic floor stuff, short walks. I will slowly add in other exercises that I was doing before bub was born.

So I will aim to update the blog when I can, but I am still getting used to the logistics and juggling act!

Here are some photos of our little munchkin!!!!

Are we there yet??

With 6 days to go until our due date I am starting to feel a little impatient. It is amazing how patient you can be for 39 weeks and then as the big day gets really close I feel like I can't wait any longer!! I have a feeling that I am about to get a lesson in patience. We saw Dr Opperman this morning and he is of the view that our little one will not be making an entrance this weekend and is more likely to be the following weekend. The baby has not made any moves to engaging fully and there is no indication that he/she is in any hurry. It obviously take after Raymond is very relaxed and laid back....which is a good thing :-) I am feeling really good, just big and round and uncomfortable.....but not really anything unexpected at almost 9 months pregnant. I am still going for walks most days and getting to the gym 4 or 5 times a week. The exercise is helping to keep me sane....I think I would feel like such a lump otherwise. So I am very thankful and lucky that my body is holding up and not giving me any grief. Ray is on holidays now for a month so the plan for the next week and a bit is to enjoy some time together before baby arrives and turns things upside down! I think we might head to the movies tommorow.
So watch this space :-)

Humpty Dumpty.....

tummy at 38 weeks....oh and 12 weeks to compare!!!




38 down and two to go! I finally got around to updating my tummy shots and OMG! I know it feels big, but it also looks like a weird big egg! I have started to notice little balls on my clothing where I am obviously unconsciously rubbing my tummy! It feels different this last few days....I am hoping when I see the doctor tommorow he tells me bub has engaged.

It was my neice's 2nd birthday yesterday and I can not believe that time has gone so quickly!!! It only seems like yesterday that we got off the plane from Japan to get the phone call that Bec was in labour! So much seems to have happened in two years. We had a great time with the family and of course my favourite stalker :-) So as promised an updae!!!

We met Kerry, Bernie and Wayne this morning at Lady Carrington Drive and they went for a run and me a walk. It was so lovely in the national park....it smelt so good after a bit of rain. I find it so relaxing to walk along in the bush thinking and day dreaming! This morning I was day dreaming about the baby, but there were so many fit runners out and about I could not help but daydream about going for a run. I kept wondering if they actually appreciate how good it feels to go for a run- probably not, I will have a whole new level of enjoyment when I get back into things and can effortlessly move about with out feeling like someone misplaced their bowling ball in my pelvis :-)

So fingers crossed for some movement at the station over the next two weeks!!!

Getting closer.....

With two and a half weeks to go until our due date, things are getting very exciting!!! I finsihed work a week and a half ago and I am loving the time off. I have not done a lot except potter around the house, clean and organise and snooze on the lounge. I have had lots of advice from lots of people on almost evry topic you could think of....one thing almost evryone said was to make use of the time off before bub arrives to relax and unwind. It is such a nice feeling to not do a lot and not feel guilty about it!

We had a great morning with friends and family that my lovely sister organised...we had lots of yummy food and lots of catching up. We are both so grateful for the support from all our family and friends. It took me a few days to comprehend that I had actually finshed work for hopefully 12 months and that this was all actually happening. But I seem to have taken to not working like a duck to water! I am feeeling so big and huge I am glad I am not having to drag myself to work and I can bum around in whaterver feels comfortable. I see the doctor on Monday and he will tell me if bub has engaged yet or if it is still comfortably nestled in for a longer stay.

Apart from not sleeping well, I feel really good. I can not really complain about much. I feel full most of the time and get indegestion if I eat too much, but I think that is what happens to every one! I am hating that time between 1am and 4am when the baby seems to go nuts and I lie there unable to get back to sleep....but an added bonus of not working the next day is having a sleep in or nap to make up for it! I am trying to walk most days and am getting to the gym through the week. It seems to give me more energy and the air conditioning is so nice!!! I will just keep my activity up until I feel too tired. At the moment I feel good.

I am finding that playing the violin is getting awkward as my tummy gets in the way of my bow arm. My teacher commented I was bowing in an odd way, which she soon understood when I pointed out my tummy makes it near impossible to bow straight! Pretty funny1

I will post some photos in the next few days....I have been too lazy to get Ray to do it for me. But I need it down so that when this all feels like a blur I will have proof of how big and round my tummy is!

So fingers crossed, all going well, Ray and I will be parents in about 18 days....give or take! Bring it on!!!!

5 to go......

Well it is hard to believe that I have only 4 days of work to go!!! It can not come quickly enough for me!!! The last 8 weeks have been such a struggle and a few times I had no idea how I would last without haveing to resort to taking some leave! I know that once bub arrives I will be so glad I saved all my leave to give me as much time at home as possible, but I have really found it a hard slog! Thankfully my lovely husband, family and frinedns have managed somehow to keep me sane! Ray has been so wonderful throughout the whole thing. He has always been right there cheering me on when I need it and has kept his sense of humor!

We did our birth classes over the last two weeks and I loved it! I can say that I was PETRIFIED of the idea of labour and had started to feel anxious about the whole thing. I have been doing some reading but the mid wife we had was fantastic and really realistic and down to earth. She explained the whole process and what our bodies will do in a way that was easy to understand and not too scary! She also laid it on the line that it would hurt and there was no way around that but is was a healthy pain and this is what we were born to do. She explained how our bodies are designed and made to do this and that it will be one of the most intense experiences of our life but we would all be fine. Then we watched the videos of a few births and I have to say that they did not freak me out, rather the complete opposite! I was amazed and awe struck by the whole thing! I finished the two weeks feeling really excited and instead of feeling scared I am feeling confident and ready to do this! Don't get me wrong I am still feeling nervous about the pain and how I will react but just like a marathon I have done the training and am ready....bring it on!!

We also got to wash a little buba and learnt heaps of practical stuff, so it is not feeling too scary! Ray and I are also lucky to have watched my sister and Alex and to have had some good friends have babies over the last 18months.....they are all great mums and wonderful to watch!

I am feeling HUGE!!!! My tummy has really grown heaps in the past 3 weeks. It is getting harder to move about....and there is certainly no grace or style! I have resorted to grunting when I put my shoes on....such a lady! I can feel which side buba is lying and where its back and legs/feet are. Ray plays with it....giving a little poke and tickes and it moves around! I am still walking to and from work most days....but accept a lift on the days I feel really pooped! I have kept the gym up and am now focusing on my pelvic floor stuff and my upper body and legs. I am slowing down now when I walk which is understandable given the size of my tummy. I really feel so much better when I walk or go to the gym so I am going to try and keepit going while I feel comfortable! Hahaha now that I will be a lady of leisure once I finsish work I will be able to fit in some feet up time and a few nana naps!!

I am finding I am not eating a huge amount as I feel full all the time and get heart burn if I eat too much. It is quite weird feeling like you have pigged out knowing you only manged to squeeze in half a sandwitch! I guess this is why a lot of woman say you do not put too much weight on in the final weeks. So far I have gained 9kgs....so I am really happy, as most of that is baby. I have not had any weird cravings, although the girls at work told me it is not normal to want to eat really mushy brussel spouts on a roll for lunch :-)

So apart from some heart burn, leg cramps there is not much else to whinge about! I feel very luck to have felt so good throughout and touch wood it continues for the next little bit!

I will update the photos next week and the final countdown begins :-)

" Hay Hay"

As promised Haley Ellen.....an update! I had a fantastic weekend....watching Ray run his first marathon! He has only been running just over 12 months and he has taken to it like a duck to water. Yesterday he ran his first mararthon at Fitzroy Falls. It was on off road marathon, so not the easiest choice for your first, but a great one! I think I was more nervous than he was!! Once the gun went off I just felt in a constant state of butterflies hoping all would go well! I did the 5km walk along a part of the trail and got some pram practice in...pushing Jasper who is 6 months old in the pram. It was pretty tough going, especially up the hills but such a beautiful day and scenary. I could not help getting competitive and starting picking poeple up in front to reel in and pass. I was pretty happy that we did not come last and did the 5km in just over 5omins. Then we settled in at the 41.5km mark to wait for Ray, Deanne and Bernie to finish. I will let Ray blog about his race but he finished in fine style.....zooming past us not looking like he had struggled with the cramp bear not less than 10 mins earlier! I was so proud of him and his effort! If he can achieve this in 12 months I can't wait to watch and cheer the next 12 months.

I was so envious of the runners in the marathon yesterday!!! I have such an urge to run....I can not wait to just get our there again! Today we are 32 weeks, so not too long to go now! I am really excited and have started to buy little bits and peices for the baby. I feel like my belly might explode any moment....yes I know that it will only get bigger form here! Buba is super active and wriggles constantly. Lst week my stomach morphed into this weird pointy shape as it was stretching some part of its little body.....Ray could not believe his eyes!!! I am starting to dya dream about what buba will look like and wether it is a boy or a girl! It is like the ultimate present!! Apart from some calf cramps at night and feeling constantly full I feel really great!! I am walking to and from work still, but it is taking a little longer this past week. I only have 4 weeks of work to go and I hope to be able to walk until I finish. I am sooooooo looking forward to not working and having a few weeks of quiet and relaxation before the big arrival.

We have our birth classes in a few weeks....scary! That should make it all very real!! Any natural remedies for constipation will also be welcomed....sorry I know that is a little too much information!!!!

So 8 weeks to go! Bring it on :-)

Update....

Yesterday we reached the 30 week mark. So we now have less than 10 weeks to go until blast off! To be into the 30's is a little scary, but also very exciting. 10 weeks seems like an eternity but also feels like it will be hear in a blink of an eye! We had another check up with the doctor last week and we got the all clear with my blood tests and diabetes screen. He said that it was all prgressing "beautifully" and that he was not expecting any dramas in the last little bit! He did mention again that baby was a few cm's ahead in growth.....meaning it may come a week early or we are growing a monster baby! Now with all the stuff in the news about the 7.5kg baby in Russia I am hoping for a week early! I have only 6 weeks left of work and I am hanging out to finish!!! I am trying to set little time goals in between to look forward to so I stop focusing on the 6 weeks. So the next little goal is Ray's first marathon at Fitzroy Fall in two weeks. I will be so excited to see him complete his first marathon....who would have thought!!! It is great being able to share it together and I am looking forward to being able to get back into running post baby. I am just starting to really get the urge to run again. This last few weeks when I have been walking I have really had the urge to run....not just waddle like I have attempted but to feel fit and move easiy and enjoy the sensation of running jut for the sake of it. I really think my perspective will be different post baby! Well at least for a short while ;-) I am going to just enjoy getting out for a 5km run!! We will have to just wait and see....it is all a bit unknown and I have no idea how I will manage it all- but I have some good role models.

The last two weeks have been pretty usual... I am still walking to and from work and getting to the gym 3or 4 times a week. I have noticed that I am finding some things a little harder like tying up my shoes and I keep trying to just sit up in bed which is near impossible with my tummy in the way. My tummy is getting bigger almost every day. I love the look and feel of it and I can feel bub doing acrobatics almost all day and night. There are few times in the day it is quiet but it mostly wriggles and kicks away. So far I have put on 7.8kg at the 30 weeks mark and other mum's have commented I look "compact" which I take as a compliment, but I am starting to feel like the side of a house!! I am a littl scared at how big my stomach will potentially grow! There are still 10 weeks of expanding to go....gulp! Haha I may end up looking like the gorl out of Charlie and the Chocolate factory who blows up lik a big blue ball! :-)

On Saturday my sister and mum gave us our pram and car seat which they have so generously purchased for us!! I was so excited and it all seemed very real! You know your ready to have a baby when your admiring your pram and thinking it is the greatest thing you have. It is red and looks very snazzy! We will get the car seat put in soon.....then we are all systems go! Ray and I are very lucky to have such supportive family and friends.

I woke up with a bit of a cold today and so I have laid around snoozing and watch DVD's and reading....very lazy but what else is a long weekend for????

28 weeks....welcome to the 3rd trimester.

Well this week I have been back on planet earth and feeling like my usual self! We are 28 weeks now and have reached the third trimester! It is starting to feel very real and a little scary. With only 12 weeks to go I can not help but start to think about what is in store. It is so exciting and like waiting for Christmas. I have been starting to wonder what bub will look like, if it will be a boy or a girl and just hoping that everything goes well. I have also been starting to think about the big day....labour! It is such an unkown and so different for everyone. It is also really hard to imagine what it will be like. All I know is that the outcome is going to be truely amazing and Ray and I can not wait to meet our little one. It is so nice for Ray at the moment, as he can see my tummy growing all the time and he loves to talk to the baby and feel it kicking.

This last week I have slept really well (except one awful night) so I am hoping that the sleepless nights are over! I have been feeling really fit and healthy and am loving my walks to work. I had a great weekend with my family and spectacular little neice.....who puts all the petty worries and stresses into perspective! I met up with Helen on sunday and we walked about 14km around Centenial Par, down to Bondi, along the foreshore and back up through Bronte. I am loving my new Belly bra that supports your growing tummy so you feel really comfortable and snug. It takes some of the weight off oyur pelvvis which is a relief. I will even admit to having a little 2km run/plod at the end of my walk....I am getting itchy feet and am looking forward to being able to run again. I was actually suprised at how comfortable I felt and kept it really SLOW about 7min/km pace.


So at the moment things are really great! Apart from a few "oh my god, how am I getting this baby out of me" moments I am feeling really happy. I have had a bit of stress over money and worry about managing while off work and on half pay....but I feel a much more relaxed this week. I have decided you can only spend what you have and we will make do. There are people far worse off. So 12 weeks to go and I think it is fair to say we arw big kev excited!!!!

Duck and Cover.....

This week seems to be the week of out of control hormones!!! I have been in tears at the drop of a hat and it would be fair to say "slightly paranoid" all week. You know that feeling where you wonder about all comments people make and wonder what they really meant by that. Needless to say it has ben a bit of a rollercoaster week and my poor hubbie has had to duck for cover on many occaisions! Thankfully he is very understanding and even though it makes no sense to him at all, he is being very tolerant of the joys of pregnancy hormones. This morning was no exception as I became teary and distressed after gettign on the scales. Even though I have been worried as my weight had stayed the same for 5 weeks I decided this morning that the increase in kg's meant I was a blob. Ray tried to point out that I was being irrational....which I thought was a particularly bold statement to make to a pregnant woman at 4:45am on a Sunday morning and I got into the car to head off to the striders star not quite convinced. I will also admit to feeling a little jealous this morning, as I love the Berrowra run and felt a little green at Ray being able to run off into the bush. So I headed out on my own with the 15km option map to go for a walk. It was just what I needed!!! The bush was spectacular...it was all misty and cold form the rain and the birds were all going crazy. It took about 5 mins for my mood to lift and all the stupid worries to disapear. I felt full of energy and on top of the world as I walked through the bush on my own listening to Opera on the i-pod. I was going to do the short cut and walk about 10km but I felt so good I ended up walking 15.5km in 2:45mins. I loved every minute of the walk and put all my worries completely out of my mind. I felt great today and managed all the monster hills with out too much drama.....and let me tell you there are HEAPS of huge hills in this course!!! I finished about 15 mins before Ray got back from running 30km....also with a huge grin on his face :-)

The rest of the week was pretty usual....walked to and from work monday to thursday and headed to the gym. On Friday I took mum to the bay and we walked a lap of the bay and then on Saturday I met the girls and did the 9km lap of the bay and then had a yummy breaky at Bowen Island.....mmmmm fruit toast. Ray ran and then met us half way and walked the rest of the way. So it has been a great long weekend with a few hormonal moments thrown in just to keep us all guessing!!

So I am hoping to keep the hormones in check this week. Hahaha I am not sure how I will go but no harm trying ;-)