Nesting...

{38weeks + 2 days}

All is in readiness.

J is on school holidays so we have been enjoying some great family time. Going swimming, picnics at the beach & plenty of drawing, playdoh & bubbles.

Birth pool arrived. Had a practise pool pump up party. 

Timed it: 12mins. 

We all jumped in and mucked around.

Especially enjoyed H-bombs static hair.

Did a lot of errands over the weekend, getting everything that we need, think may come in handy & things we probably won’t need but I wanted anyway.

Chocolate covered frogs, microwave popcorn, retro tablecloth, the board game Cranium, a new skirt and 5 ice cube trays probably all fall into this category.

I don’t think I had the nesting bug quite so much when I was preggers with H-bomb. I start breaky every morning with the question “what would I like to get achieved today before this baby comes?”

I have ‘to do’ lists upon ‘to do’ lists & if by chance I do something not on the list it gets added on and crossed off. Yep, a typical overachiever!

Here’s some things I have achieved over the last week:

I should add the disclaimer that all things achieved were probably a joint effort. 

J has been very helpful in helping me get things off the list.

* Listed, sold & posted 12 things on Ebay, making myself an easy $80.

* Fully spring-cleaned the house including all those tasks you tend to put off. Mirrors cleaned, bed moved & vacuumed under, windowsills washed…that type of thing.

*Capsule fitted in the car.

But by far the most exciting thing I achieved this week are two jobs that I have been working on for many months. Not consistently though, just whenever I had 5 mins.

Finally finished the dining chairs & photo wall in the hallway.

J & I found these discarded cane chairs by the side of the road about a year ago. They looked sturdy enough they just didn’t have seats. They have waited patiently for me in the garage for too long. I have had the inspiration and knew exactly what I was going to do with them but just never got round to it.

Before

Before

But I work best on a deadline…and work I have been!

Painting every time H-bomb naps and staple gunning when he goes to bed.

They are complete and I’m really happy with them.

After

After

The photo wall was also completed this week. This was done with just a bunch of old wooden frames that I got for 20c/50c at the Salvos. I gave them a quick paint using all the sample pots of my favourite different blues. Ta-Da! It is similar to the one I have done in our lounge room.

Aaah, think I’ll go rest now…only a few things left on the list.

Homebirth huh? That’s…different

Fair question I guess. Thought I would write a post on why we are considering homebirth for baby #2 for all you curious people out there.

First off, we believe it stems from our thinking that birth is a natural part of life. It is something my body has been designed to do. It is not an illness, disease or sickness, therefore we don’t believe it needs to be managed in a hospital setting.

Please be assured, I’m not discounting that there are medical emergencies with pregnancy & childbirth that DO need to be managed at hospital.

Those who know the story of H-bombs birth know that I had a wonderful experience birthing at the hospital, however there were a few elements that left me wanting more…

I am under the care of the Midwifery Group Practice (look it up if you’re thinking of getting preggers-can’t say enough for it!), which means that I have my own midwife (Christina) and back-up Midwife (Ceri) for my entire pregnancy.

I was blessed to have Christina & Ceri for H-bomb and they continue to be my midwives for this pregnancy too. These two women feel like part of my family. They know me. They know J. They know what we value as a family, what’s important to us. They continue to have a special bond with H-bomb and most importantly; I completely trust them as they care for this baby and me.

In short (I will do a post on H-bombs birth at some point), I did most of my labouring at home for H-bomb, went into hospital, jumped in their bath and popped him out. I was in the birthing suite with J and H-bomb for maybe 2hours after he was born then transferred to a ward at 6am where J was told to go home (til he could come back at 10 for visiting hours) and I was told to rest.

Rest, yeah right…I was on a complete high and wanted to relive every moment, preferably with my husband. I was also sharing a room with a lady who snored like a freight train so sleep was out of the question. The next 2 days were a blur; visiting hours filled with people then hours by myself, trying to work out what to do with this baby that was now all mine. Not to mention the terrible hospital food, each midwife on shift telling you different things and the lack of sleep…

This was probably my biggest motivator to have this bub at home. The thought of having a shower in my shower, putting on my pyjamas and getting into my bed to snuggle a few hours away with J and our baby was just too good to be true!

Here are some other reasons that we have factored into our decision-making:

-We want H-bomb to be involved in the whole process, as he is just as much a part of this family too. No, he won’t be watching the actual birth but we want him there as soon as this one’s born. I like the idea that life just continues to carry on as normal. Here’s hoping it happens through the night so he can just stay in bed and wake up to a new brother or sister!

-We are 5mins max from the hospital should any situation arise that warrants a trip there.

-I can birth exactly how I want, in comfortable familiar surroundings. I can have a cuppa on the balcony or pace around the dining table. I can actually light candles (obviously banned in the hospital due to OH&S reasons) and I can have a physiological third stage (birth the placenta naturally rather than be given drugs which is hospital policy)

-The birth pool that the midwives supply is much larger that the bath at the hospital which will be way more comfortable.

-There is reportedly less mess than a hospital birth, especially if using a birth pool. The midwives sort it all out post birth, all I have to do is cuddle my baby (sounds like a sweet deal to me).

-My midwives will continue coming to our house every couple of days for a few weeks after birth so I’m not worried about getting adequate post-natal care

Ultimately, this birth, like the rest of our lives is completely out of our control.

Who knows whether I’ll get to have a homebirth or not…

At this stage, I won't have the birth pool til Monday morning so we're hoping it doesn't choose this weekend to make an appearance.

All I can do is pray and by Faith know that God is over and above all things, including how this baby arrives. When you know that, it really doesn’t matter at all about the where, how and why.

First family photo with Christina

Christina & Ceri doing their thing with H-bomb.

Christina with 8 month old H-bomb

36 weeks + 5 days

I’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting…

In order to have a homebirth under the care of the midwifery Group Practice (MGP) midwives, there are two tests that you need to get the all clear from.

I officially passed both and got the call from my midwife today to say I’m good to go to have this bubba at home. Woohoo!

So very excited. Got a new burst of energy…might go and finish painting those dining chairs.

Thought I’d share some lovely bump photos that I took a few days ago. Gotta love the tripod and self-timer function!

Little one, we can't wait to meet you. Dreaming about the moment I get to hold you in my arms for the first time. Love you already. Mumma xx

Sleeping Beauty...

The ability to sleep continues to evade me. 

Very very frustrating.

Could it be to do with the fact I’m almost 37weeks preggers and going to the bathroom every 5 mins? Maybe. 

Could also be the disgusting cold I have at the moment that is impairing my ability to breathe or my clicky misaligned hips. Or just maybe the 18month old with croup…

I also have a mad case of the nesting bug so am finding myself awake and going through the mental list of all that I would like to get done before this bubba comes.

Possible strategies for combatting this and my words of warning…I may or may not have used every one of these strategies last night (with differing levels of success)

-Tossing and turning in bed. Difficult to do without my hips popping out of their socket (or least it feels that way) and also very annoying for J due to my excessive sighing.

-Getting out of bed and doing something else. Something appropriate might be reading a book.  Note to self: internet time is NOT helpful in winding down. Painting dining chairs at 2am is also not a good choice.

-Listening to calm music on the ipod. I have a playlist of calm songs that I used for H-bombs birth. Make sure it’s set to repeat correct playlist and won’t continue on to Pitbull just as you are falling asleep.

My calming blue bedroom...should be easy to fall asleep you'd think

In the end, I woke J, crying. He put his arm around me, rubbed my back and prayed for me. I was asleep in minutes. Sometimes it’s just the simple things.

{ Me }

It’s about time I got my blog on! This has been something that has interested me for a while now. Sometimes I over-analyse things…think too much about them, plan them to perfection but then I never get round to doing them.

Blogging has been a bit like that for me. I have played around with the design template, the back ground image, done online tutorials of how to create great headers, read lots of blogs and been kept awake for hours at night thinking about what I could blog about….yet no new blog posts. Enough is enough. Time to get in a do something and not worry that it might not be perfect.

Here's a bit about me:

I married the love of my life, J, when I was in my last year of Uni.  We’ll have been married for 9 years this January. J continues to encourage, protect and nurture me in ways I can’t describe. He likes to coax me out of my comfort zone and often helps me to ‘lose control’ a bit. He says it’s good for me.

Aaah such babyfaces back in 2004!

He’s not only a great husband but also an awesome Father.  We have an amazing 18month old whom we affectionately nickname the H-Bomb! The love I feel for this little man is uncomprehendable. He has taught me a lot about myself over the past year and a half. I completely love being a mumma. What an honour  (and massive responsibility) to speak into his life and the generations to come.

I am also currently 36weeks preggers with baby number two. An interesting time to start a blog I know! I love all things pregnancy related and can’t wait to blog about H-bomb’s birth story.  Pregnancy and birth is such a miracle and one I never ever take for granted.

I am a complete homebody; I think I would quite happily become a hermit if it were socially acceptable!

I am a thinker. A listener. I often internalise how I’m feeling which can often frustrate those closest to me.

I am turning 30 in a matter of weeks.

When I’m not making babies I am a paediatric Speech Pathologist.

I enjoy running and exercising.  Actually, who am I kidding... I usually hate it to start with but am always glad I’ve done it.

I love coffee and cake.

Traipsing around op-shops makes me happy. Finding cool old retro stuff or stuff I can re-purpose increases the happiness factor.

My life and everything in it is such a gift from God for which I am forever grateful.  Everyday is a journey to becoming more like Jesus and to leaving a legacy for my little munchkins and those around me.

I'm not sure yet what this blog will contain, who will read it or whether it is going to be something I stick with. Only time will tell I guess. Bring it on...

I felt like I needed a sentence to finish off this blog post…not sure what.  J’s suggestion (from our extensive blog looking) – “So grab a cuppa and stay awhile”.  Such a cliché blog line but oh well, seems to work.