It's a boy!!! Introducing Tyler Joel :) (PIC)

Sorry for the lack of update after my last post.. I've been a little busy ;-)

Introducing TYLER JOEL (TJ to his mates):

He was born at 8.45am yesterday (6/11) after about 27hrs of labour (birth story coming in a later post).

Birth weight 3240gms, length 51cm.

He's just perfect.. very placid (a little too much so at feeding time).

I can't believe I'm finally a Mum! It's surreal.. but awesome :)

Will post more when I'm home & have more than an iPhone to type on.

39+3wks - Early Labour??

So I've had Braxton Hicks for the last couple of months but they became really frequent in the last week or two. Then the other day I had a couple of semi-painful contractions. But only a couple. They stopped. This morning I woke up as my partner was leaving for work at 5am with more painful contractions. They haven't gone away! I've been timing them (it's now 12.30pm) and they're really irregular. The frequency varies between about 10-30mins. They feel like really painful period cramps low in my belly. I'm also feeling fairly constant back pain & tightening in the belly. I tried going back to bed around 8am but woke up with every contraction. Still, it was good to get a little rest. I also used a heated wheatbag to ease the backpain which worked ok.

Now I'm just watching TV, playing Bejewelled on the computer & trying to play it cool. But could this be the start of labour? I'm not sure seeing as they're so irregular, but they are coming frequently if that makes sense. I don't want to get DP excited as he's at work trying to concentrate, so I only have this forum to vent to! My mum wanted to know the minute I started getting signs but again, I don't want to get her hyped up if it's not the real thing.

The weird thing about today is that it's the ultrasound due date! We decided with our Dr that we'd stick with the IVF ICSI due date way back in the early days as he said it was more accurate (knowing the actual date of conception & all). Plus we liked the date - 10.11.12 (November 10 2012)! But hey - at the end of the day, baby chooses its own birthday right?!

Anyway, I still haven't noticed a lost plug or had the bloody show or anything. And my waters haven't broken. I know all these symptoms don't necessarily happen straight away but I'm just hoping for a "real" sign! Until then I guess I'll just get on with things. I've got the ingredients for some lactation biscuits so I might go & bake.. that'll help pass the time a little. And at least I'll have something yummy to nibble on between the niggles.

I'll keep you posted.. fingers crossed!!

38+4 weeks - ENGAGED!

UPDATE:

Had OB check-up today. We're engaged! Well, the baby's head is.. in my pelvis. Dr said it's moved down nicely & doesn't think I'll have any problems (read: "you have child-bearing hips"). He said bub is still average size & going along nicely.

He didn't check my cervix or anything, just felt my belly (and commented that I had a nice big belly happening - thanks very much!). He checked the heartbeat & my blood pressure & said everything's spot on. He didn't want to intervene or poke or prod me too much. He said he was just going to let nature take its course at this point because I seemed to be going so well. He didn't think I'd go overdue at all but said, as this is an IVF ICSI pregnancy, he'd want to start talking induction if I went a few days over. I guess this is because we know the exact date of conception & there can be no margin for error like there is with a naturally conceived pregnancy. But again, he said he would expect things to start happening "soon".

It's so exciting & yet so frustrating not knowing at what moment this ball could get rolling. Or how. Will my water break? Will I start getting contractions? Will I lose my plug or have a bloody show? Cos apart from the fleeting stabbing pain in the vajayjay (lightning crotch), I've had no signs. I'm nesting like crazy, but I think that's just because I know I'm running out of time to get things organised at home. We did our tax returns today, returned an item to a store for a refund, took some old clothes to the charity bin, & I sorted out one of my wardrobes. I've also been listing a bunch of stuff for sale on ebay, but panicking that it'll sell while I'm in labour or at the hospital & will forget to post it out. Ha, there's another job for DP. Lucky him!

Speaking of my Darling Partner, I was adding a few items to my hospital bag & discovered a surprise box of chocolates that he'd stashed in there. So cute! But not sure if they're really there for him to stuff in my mouth to stifle the screams?? Either way, I love chocolate. So whatever works ;-)

OK, well until anything else happens.. or doesn't.. goodnight.

**crossing fingers labour doesn't happen tomorrow because it's Halloween & the anniversary of DP's mother's passing**

38 weeks - some pics

The finish line is in sight! I can't believe we've only got (give or take) two weeks to go!! I stumbled across a few IVF forums tonight whilst googling (my guilty pleasure) pregnancy & labour stuff. Anyway, they really took me back. I just can't believe I was one of those ladies who was so consumed by the whole process but was too scared to dare imagine they'd be successful. And yet, here I am.

What a ride it's been.

I'm not sure if I'm really ready to let go of this pregnancy. I mean, I'm really starting to struggle carrying this heavy load; I ache all over & can't keep up with the same things I used to power through, like housework, or shopping! But I've just wanted to be pregnant for SO LONG! And it seems to have gone so quickly. I now understand what some women (and I do realise it's only some women) mean when they say they'll miss their bub being inside of them. I know he/she will be on the outside soon & I'll get to enjoy them still, but I'll miss feeling the movement inside my belly. I won't miss the hiccups though!!! ;-) Sheeesh!!

Anyway, I have a few pics I'd thought I'd share. Prepare yourselves, they're not all pretty LOL!

I think this one was taken around 32 weeks. Just some of the weird shapes Malibu creates!

This one was around 35 weeks I think. This kid has sharp heels, or elbows, or something?? Ouch!

My sexy cankles a few weeks ago! :-o 

And this was taken at 37 weeks.. notice the stretch marks sneaking up from the bottom...

There's much darker ones in the middle just above my panty line.

Just when I thought I'd escaped! :-(

Still no sign of labour. I've had a few twinges like "lightning crotch" here & there but nothing significant. No sign of the lovely mucous plug yet either. I'm starting to get anxious for things to progress so I don't go overdue & risk induction but at the same time I've still got things left on my "to do" list before the big day. Just household stuff, do my tax etc. Oh, and I really should schedule some REST. I haven't done much of that at all & I'm told over & over & over (& over) by other mums to make the most of this time as I won't get any later blah blah. I know they're right, but I get bored easily. 

And yes, I know I'm going to regret saying that very soon ;-)

37+4 update

Dr wrote on my antenatal card that I'm 3/5 engaged. Woo, we have progress! I hadn't felt much change since last week, in fact I was feeling less pressure & pains down there, so I thought we may have gone backwards if that's possible! He didn't do a cervix check, just felt my belly & listened to the heartbeat. Poor DP - it took the Dr  a few seconds to find which freaked him out! I wasn't too worried cos I'd just felt bub wriggling like crazy.

My blood pressure has gone down a tad, too, which is good. I think I'm settling into maternity leave better this week so it may be due to that. I've been nesting like crazy!! Today I was cleaning window sills, which led to whole windows, which led to light switches etc etc! You'd think Malibu was going to come home & immediately start crawling around licking the walls the way I'm carrying on!

My mum sent me a picture of the portacot she bought for us. We're flying interstate for Xmas to spend time with our families & she is going slightly overboard buying baby things for us to use while there. She started getting really emotional on the texts tonight talking about the special bond between a mother & daughter, and how different it is to when my brothers had their first kids. It was sweet.

Anyway, doc doesn't think I'll be going into labour anytime in the next week so I'm sure I'll have another routine appt post thus time next week. In the meantime I've got a pregnancy photo shoot booked for Friday which should be... interesting. I hope I don't look ridiculous!!

Group B Strep test @ 36+4 weeks

Just wanted to post about my obstetrician's appointment today to alleviate anyone else's fears about the Group B Strep test.. he did it with a long cotton tip & it was such a breeze! It didn't go in very far, just mostly around the outside.. Then he did a quick internal examination to see where bub was. He could feel the head but said it wasn't engaged yet, was still "floating". And that exam wasn't that bad either. Really, I've had worse! In fact I was surprised he could feel the baby's head when it didn't seem as though his fingers were in very far. The dildo cam at the IVF clinic was MUCH more invasive LOL!

36 weeks & counting!

Soooo... I had a bit of a stress out yesterday thinking the baby might not be growing enough. But, as you can see, I don't think there's any problems there! This comparison has quelled my fears LOL! I had my baby shower yesterday & all the girls were commenting on me not looking very big, just having a compact belly etc. which was a surprise to me because I thought I was huge! But I do think I'm very lucky in that I don't think I've gained much weight anywhere else (maybe just a bit in the butt area but that's not unusual for me). My obstetrician said at my last appointment that the baby was just average size. I wasn't expecting that as my family tends to have VERY large babies so I just assumed I would too. But I've still got 4 weeks to go so I'm not counting my chickens yet!

I finished work & started my maternity leave on Friday. Wow, I didn't quite take it the way I expected! I had been hanging out to finish as my job is very taxing & stressful. I was counting down the days. But as soon as I finished I was left feeling so flat & depressed! In fact until my baby shower yesterday, I was a wreck! I guess it was just so overwhelming & such a shock to suddenly realise I won't be going there for a long time, and won't be seeing those people for a while either. I'm a very independent person normally so the fact that I won't be earning a wage anymore added to all that. And I've also discovered that after years of being manically busy, I don't cope well without structure. I just saw the days stretching ahead with no purpose. I'm not the kind of person that enjoys lazing on the couch for long periods of time. Don't get me wrong, when I had to go to work it was all I would crave! But in reality, I get bored. I know I have to get some rest, but I need other things to keep me occupied. So I've written myself a "to do" list before bub arrives & I'll try to schedule little jobs each day. I'm also scheduling a little bit of exercise to pep me up each day. Today I went for a relatively slow walk to the park for about 20 minutes. I felt so much better after it. Definitely something to remember. Of course in between all these "duties" I'm also going to rest & watch some trashy TV, just not all day :)

I'm finally getting over a cold I had since about 32 weeks. The first cold I've had in about a year and of course I got it in the third trimester. What a struggle! I'm also struggling to sleep - between numb hands, sore hips, leg cramps & a full bladder I wake regularly through the night. I also seem to be getting some morning sickness back again! I didn't get much in the first trimester so maybe this is karma! When I wake early I start feeling dodgy and I have to get up to eat some breakfast. Of course an hour or so later I can barely keep my eyes open so I have to go down for a nap. I guess this is all just the practice they talk about for when we have a bub at home. My ankles swell fairly regularly still but after wearing some stockings for a day or putting them up for a while they do start returning to normal. I'm leaking milky discharge constantly (sorry, TMI) and always on the lookout for the mucous plug. Nothing so far. "Malibu" is still moving around a lot, that doesn't seem to have slowed down much. I get the occasional sharp kick but mostly just limbs sticking out & making my belly all sorts of weird shapes. It's just fascinating.

Anyway, my moods are up & down these days (more so than before I think) but I feel much better today & starting to get a handle on calming down to enjoy these last few weeks. I'm enjoying a bit of nesting - it makes me feel like I'm getting prepared & less overwhelmed. I'm just starting to enjoy this pregnancy again & look forward to Malibu's arrival, rather than feel daunted by it. I don't know if this is common in women who have struggled with infertility in the past - it made me feel terribly guilty & confused.

I realise I'm incredibly lucky & blessed to be in this position. I don't want to waste a minute of this amazing journey feeling anything but positivity. As scary as it is, I already love this baby more than anything & I know I'll do the best that I can in childbirth & parenthood. Bring it on!

x