Keira Charlotte

Well another week over – this is like waiting for Christmas morning when you were a child and lying awake in bed! The morning sickness is almost gone, and today marks the third day in a row without throwing up…yay!! Still feeling tired and just so I don’t get too confident the days seem to start and end with brain throbbing headaches which tend to stop me moving about from sheer fear of then being sick! I keep hearing that this is the ‘honeymoon’ period when you are supposed to glow and swan about in your halo of motherhood…hmm maybe next week….

A lot of the food aversions are gone even though I still associate some foods like chicken at the moment with being sick (except KFC Chicken Zinger Burgers!). I am starting to be more aware of what I am eating and was relieved that my next craving (after the pickled onions surge) was actually salad sandwiches. Absolutely has to be on white bread though with slabs of beetroot and I do miss the slice of ham.

Poor Dave, I must be like a broken record at the moment. Every evening I struggle to say positive things and the day’s events seem the same with the same weariness and frustration. Dave doesn’t seem to be able to win as if he says the same response as the day before I get teary and want more affection. I am aware that I am a bit emotional and fragile at times & thankfully this is not a daily event.

I am feeling ‘heavier’ and my tummy has popped out really low. Sleeping style seems to be a changing thing as sleeping on my tummy is just not so comfortable now. Not a big deal though as in-between toilet trips who has time for sleep anyway!

Work has been truly amazing; the guys are all excited as this is a totally new thing to happen in a male secure facility. Although I am conscious to not put too much of my workload onto the other staff they encourage me to sit when possible and keep an eye on me. One of the workers the other day even noticed my face apparently going pale and came over to ask if I was okay – the funny thing was it was at that moment that a wave of nausea hit me and off I went to the bathroom! He knew before I knew! I have to make a doctors appointment and get a list made of ‘limitations’ so that my manager can create a work plan and staff the facility accordingly.

I actually thought I felt the baby move the other day, it is hard to describe but what I felt I could almost imagine the movement to be with the baby rolling over. From what I have read it is a little early but we will never know for sure. Only four weeks until our next ultrasound! Can’t wait for that!

I have my list from the hospital with what to bring, I am confused! For the baby it says ‘grow suits’ – I know what they are but in every store I go in Newborn is either size 00000, 0000 or 000. This I will need to figure out at some point – I bought a ‘newborn hospital set’ at Target which is tagged a 000, yet a girlfriend said they would be too big and to get some of the other sizes. Since I need 6 of each item it sounds expensive and possibly silly to have 18 grow suits in each size! If anyone has any advice can they click on the ‘comment’ tab or email me.

I really need to do some clothes shopping as I am ‘hiding’ in only two tops for work. Although the current clients at work are aware of the pregnancy (and quite fascinated) I do not like to advertise or expose my tummy as we do get many kids with all sorts of intellectual disabilities and it simply isn’t worth the risk. I anticipate because of the nature of my work I will more than likely finish up much earlier than most people, I have been told that if you stand on your feet for four hours a day then you should stop work at 32 weeks, my shifts are 12 hours so who knows when that might mean.

Got to grab some ‘Formal’ clothes for Jez’s Graduation at the Victoria Police Academy in December. – That’s gonna be interesting !!!

Anyway this is a precious day to waste sitting typing as I have a little energy (after lying in bed all day yesterday) and need to do domestic stuff and might treat Dave to some Low Fat Banana muffins for when he gets home. Sounds all warm and fuzzy but just might turn out to be dinner if I crawl into bed again afterwards..haha


Ooo little tip - the ticker on the homepage will only change the ‘due date’ if you refresh the page. Otherwise it is going to be a long long time before iBlob arrives!

14 weeks tomorrow! Well it has been a long time since I have updated this blog. As much as I wish I had kept it up to date I ended up feeling generally so unwell for a while that the thought much less the possibility of sitting at the computer was impossible. I will try and recap to bring this up to date.

Morning sickness was happening when last I wrote yet geared up afterwards, lemonade turned out to be my saviour as food became non-existent in my world so I ‘coasted’ on the sugar in the lemonade for quite a while. I was concerned with my (lack of) nutrition and spoke to my obstetrician who reassured me to just get what I could into me but not to worry to much as it would hopefully end around the 12 week mark and that the baby’s nutritional needs around this early time were not too great anyway.

Well the decision was made to make the flight to the U.K to announce our fabulous news to Dave’s mum and dad. I tried to be brave for Dave’s sake but my anxiety level about the flight and feeling so unwell did result in some tears. I wanted to ‘be’ in the U.K just not sit on a plane for so long with the nausea, stuffiness, food smells, reclined seats crushing your knees and people looking at you when you had a face washer over your face. Turned out to be not as bad as I had worked myself up to think it would be. The blanket that the airline provided me with some privacy when the nausea hit me and I didn’t actually physically be sick – just felt it. Dave was attentive (when awake...Haha) and did what he could, but there really isn’t much anyone can do.

The trip was wonderful although short, announcing the news was great and especially a very proud moment for Dave who is looking forward to being a father. I can already see how things will be for us, I will manage the day to day stuff and try to have some rules and boundaries as a family and Dave will be the lovable Dad that will be a child and animal magnet the moment he sets foot in the door. We are looking forward to this whole new experience as a family so much! Okay, I am losing track as usual - back to the U.K.

If I had a crystal ball it would have been nice to have known that only a day after arriving I would regain a small amount of energy & appetite. This information would have saved some of the anxiety level before the flight for both of us. I still struggled with any meal other than breakfast and never really knew what I wanted or even if I wanted anything. Lemonade was the only exception.

Whilst we were there we shared our 1st wedding anniversary with Joan & Chas, who had organised an amazing luncheon at a fabulous hotel. The attention to detail was amazing and we felt really special. The board at the entrance to the hotel announced our anniversary, the music from the wedding was played throughout lunch, the table was scattered with silver anniversary wishes, a replica wedding cake tier was presented as well as a personalised platter of chocolate & fruits – all this which was arranged by Dave’s parents to our amazement and sheer delight. On top of all this special attention I ate my first ‘good’ amount of food for at least a month! A great day for all of us.

Before we left we discussed finding out the baby’s sex, Dave did not want to know and I did. I wanted to decorate the nursery and couldn’t bear the thought of having to do yellow or green! We saw a picture of a nursery in an Australian pregnancy magazine and we both fell it love with it. It was all neutral warm beige/caramel tones so we decided that would be how we did the nursery and solved our boy or girl issue. Strangely enough this furniture (although in an Aussie magazine) was not available in Australia, and was made in the U.K! Virtually where Dave’s parents live to boot! So to cut a long story short we bought the cot, mattress, cot top changer (these look like a great idea!) and flew them back to Australia. We also filled a new suitcase that Joan provided with all the bits and bobs we needed & wanted like sheet sets, bumper, baby sleeping bag, bouncer, soft toys & more. Most of it is already set up and the room freshly painted, but we still have to do the wallpaper.

Well as I know Dave has already written a short note about the ultrasound I will not prattle on. All I can say about that is after seeing it for me personally my whole perspective on life has changed. Dave has even said to people that I am much more relaxed these days and that I don’t let little things get to me as much. Seeing a teeny tiny fully formed ‘person’ lying inside you with arms & legs moving around makes you realize the precious gift that you have been given and your obligation to make its arrival into the world a safe & loving one. When the baby’s heartbeat was heard Dave choked and it was a beautiful & emotional moment for the both of us.

I am now back at work; my energy level is probably about 80% of what it was pre-pregnancy. I have been told by my obstetrician not to expect to get it all back and to take the transition slow with work, especially as the shifts are 12 hours long.

My work are arranging a work plan for the rest of my pregnancy up until maternity leave kicks in – its really nice to know all the guys at work are looking out for me.

We spent yesterday and today painting the nursery, putting up the blockout Mamas & Papas curtains up, moving one of the flyscreens from the dining room to the nursery window, erecting the cot, and cot top changer.



Take a look at more photos here.

I spent 2 hours with Customs and Quarantine on Thursday getting the cot and some other bits and pieces we sent over from the UK when we were there a couple of weeks ago. Yep they do make cots in Australia, but we fell in love with the whole Mamas & Papas range - and just had to have it! At least the cot is a cot/bed and should last 4 or 5 years hopefully.

So we've got a few months left before the big day, and some might say we're a little too organised, but I guess we can now sit back and relax and do the fun shopping for car seats, strollers etc!!

We had our first Ultrasound today...WOW....From the fathers perspective, this seems to be the first real 'evidence' that it's really real!!



The most moving part was the heartbeat - there really is a living little person living in there. You can find a couple of movies from the ultrasound here.