Keira Charlotte
.....and Sian, Dave, Arnie & Polly
Week 20 - Christmas Cheer
31/December/05 |
Pregnancy
According to Dave’s rules – Christmas Day cannot begin until at least 7am. Hmm okay I said but you can’t change the rules on the spot. To cut a long story short – Dave won and I restlessly tossed and turned, had a shower, played with the dogs while Dave went back to sleep until Christmas Day could begin on his terms (The rules must be different in England and in Australia the sun is high in the sky by early morning)
Christmas Day lunch was great with family in Melbourne and we got to meet my sister Serena’s new boyfriend Alex who is from Spain. Great guy, great family feast, very relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable. Oh – Thanks Dad for my morning sickness tablets, a blessing to have a Naturopath in the family ☺
I am always excited by Christmas and what Santa may have tucked under the tree ☺ I even tried to explain to Dave that on Christmas Eve as we went to bed at 11.40pm that if I simply waited 20 minutes it was then technically Christmas Day and I could charge down the stairs to open the gifts! Dave put his foot down on that idea and I reluctantly curled up to attempt some sleep. 6.00am I awoke and couldn’t help but whisper & poke and basically annoy Dave until he sleepily opened his eyes. “Oh are you awake?” I ever so innocently said!
According to many books week 20 is the halfway mark, that’s based on the 40 weeks though, so in my calculations (and I am definitely no mathematician) we are over the halfway mark!
My tummy is now pushing the boundaries of some of my clothes so I think a shopping trip is imminent. It is hard to believe sometimes that it is real and that we are 5 months along. I have been wondering about when the baby ‘kicks’ and I feel the baby moving around all the time but not ‘kicking’ as such. Well I got my wish while sitting at the computer this morning with a sudden jolt in my tummy – I immediately froze and ‘thump’ there it was again! Four times in total! I was so excited I had to ring Dave at work to tell him!
Okay some development information –
His (or Her of course) length is now about 27cm from head to toes. Weight is about 450gm
The baby is starting to grow scalp hair - though genetics play a large role in the amount of hair a baby has at birth!
Work – I have officially begun my roster of 8 hour shifts working on administration projects with minimal client contact. This has eased my stress level which was going sky high the last week and was becoming unmanageable & unhealthy. I took a few days off then began my new role which is brilliant! I am starting to enjoy the pregnancy again now that the stress has eased and love the new challenge of the administration projects I have been given the opportunity to do. As long as the guys can tolerate the fact that the office is always arctic (I am always so hot!) with the air conditioning on it will work out just fine!
A big thank you to Gordy & his stupendous wife Kaz for our new baby socks! I knew as soon as Dave saw the ones with the frogs on them they would become the favorites. Dave used to have a frog toy who was his best friend (sounds a bit sad really..haha) and frogs seem to be a real attraction for him especially as we live opposite a lake!
|
Week 19 - Privacy Please!!
21/December/05 |
Pregnancy
Well today was the day we were in such a hurry for!
The good news is that iBlob has all fingers, toes, arms, legs & everything we have – just smaller ☺ The only not so great news is that we didn’t get a good picture like last time. Sorry about that but this ultrasound was a lot more difficult to see what was what! Apparently as the baby grows it gets harder to see good clear images like profiles as the baby is so large and close to the ‘surface’.
Click here for the photos.
iBlob is so long now! The feet were right up high stretched out fully and the head was down near the waist line of my jeans. All fingers and toes were counted and we saw the baby swallow a big gulp of amniotic fluid. Then just when the Sonographer mentioned to us that she needed the baby to roll over – our baby obliged! Obedient already! Fantastic!
We got a great view of the heart beating away
at 135 beats a minute which is perfectly healthy even
though I was curious as to why the 12 week ultrasound
was somewhere around 150 beats a minute. It was
explained to me that the baby has the ability to
regulate its own heartbeat and it would be incredibly
rare to get the same result each ultrasound.
We were shown the bladder which was full and is a great sign that the kidneys are functioning – I can assure you that mine are functioning in double time, in fact I was joking to Dave saying that I might put a sign on the toilet door ‘Sian’s Office’!
The due date of 17th May 2006 remains the same with all tests cleared today and all growth in line with the 19 week stage.
Okay – THE BIG QUESTION! – BOY OR GIRL??
Not that easy to answer actually! Dave asked the sonographer when we arrived if she could write the sex of the baby on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. We then planned to either keep it or send it to Dave’s parents for safekeeping or opening.
Before the sex of the baby could be determined a ton of other tests that were more important were done. At this time the baby’s hands were beside the body and one curled in a fist under the chin.
Then the moment to check came – and lo and behold…..the baby’s hands were now beside each other over the groin! The sonographer laughed and said that perhaps the baby heard us talking about finding out the sex in our mysterious way!
So…No idea….Sorry no revelations to be had ☺
The good news is that iBlob has all fingers, toes, arms, legs & everything we have – just smaller ☺ The only not so great news is that we didn’t get a good picture like last time. Sorry about that but this ultrasound was a lot more difficult to see what was what! Apparently as the baby grows it gets harder to see good clear images like profiles as the baby is so large and close to the ‘surface’.
Click here for the photos.
iBlob is so long now! The feet were right up high stretched out fully and the head was down near the waist line of my jeans. All fingers and toes were counted and we saw the baby swallow a big gulp of amniotic fluid. Then just when the Sonographer mentioned to us that she needed the baby to roll over – our baby obliged! Obedient already! Fantastic!
We were shown the bladder which was full and is a great sign that the kidneys are functioning – I can assure you that mine are functioning in double time, in fact I was joking to Dave saying that I might put a sign on the toilet door ‘Sian’s Office’!
The due date of 17th May 2006 remains the same with all tests cleared today and all growth in line with the 19 week stage.
Okay – THE BIG QUESTION! – BOY OR GIRL??
Not that easy to answer actually! Dave asked the sonographer when we arrived if she could write the sex of the baby on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. We then planned to either keep it or send it to Dave’s parents for safekeeping or opening.
Before the sex of the baby could be determined a ton of other tests that were more important were done. At this time the baby’s hands were beside the body and one curled in a fist under the chin.
Then the moment to check came – and lo and behold…..the baby’s hands were now beside each other over the groin! The sonographer laughed and said that perhaps the baby heard us talking about finding out the sex in our mysterious way!
So…No idea….Sorry no revelations to be had ☺
Week 18 - Only a few days to go...
17/December/05 |
Pregnancy
...until we get the next peek at our baby!
We have the next ultrasound on the 21st December so it will be a fabulous Christmas present! I am still working on Dave about buying the ‘beetle on wheels’ for iBlob ☺
My tummy is certainly ‘up and out’ now right up to my belly button. I sometimes find that I have been pulling my pants up above this line if I am not wearing the maternity ones which are pretty cool – I call them ‘v-neck pants’ for a laugh!
Sleeping can be tricky sometimes and I sometimes think that by the time you get the hang of all the pregnancy adjustments it will all be over and iBlob will have arrived to bring about the real chaos!
Thanks for the comments Sarah & Joan about the baby clothes. It can be confusing sometimes about the baby sizing.
I have had a meeting at work with management and my work hours will be decreasing very soon. Due to the field that I work in it is not easy to simply change my duties so for the next 10 weeks or so I will flit between what duties I can find that are not direct care related.
Again due to the work I will be finishing sooner than ‘average’ and at this stage that date looks to be around early February. My colleagues & management have been really supportive and we have all been working towards working out a solution. No one seems to remember this ‘situation’ ever happening before in a male custodial facility. I have my ‘male midwife’ Gordy who sure does know more about pregnancy than I do to advise me and make sure I take it slow sometimes. Les laughs at anything gross & Mr.D who assures me that if I am thinking of relaxation cd’s playing during the birth – don’t bother!
What a team!
How about some news of iBlob....his (or her) length is now about 25cm from head to toes and weighs about 330gm. The baby continues to develop and fingerprints are set down. About 1-2 hours after I eat, the baby receives its’ nutrients. I have read that I might get hiccups, but at this stage but I haven’t noticed any.
I (Dave) thought we might get the ultrasound operator to write down their findings of the sex of iBlob and put them in an envelope - an idea I picked up from Dan and Kerry and their podcast.
I've often wondered how people with kids find time to do everything, since I can't find time to do all the things I want without kids yet!!! Well I guess we'll find out in a few short months.
We recently found this site which really made us smile.....and I guess one day soon we'll have to get one !!
Dave has also been putting together some links on the left hand side of the page.
We have the next ultrasound on the 21st December so it will be a fabulous Christmas present! I am still working on Dave about buying the ‘beetle on wheels’ for iBlob ☺
My tummy is certainly ‘up and out’ now right up to my belly button. I sometimes find that I have been pulling my pants up above this line if I am not wearing the maternity ones which are pretty cool – I call them ‘v-neck pants’ for a laugh!
Sleeping can be tricky sometimes and I sometimes think that by the time you get the hang of all the pregnancy adjustments it will all be over and iBlob will have arrived to bring about the real chaos!
Thanks for the comments Sarah & Joan about the baby clothes. It can be confusing sometimes about the baby sizing.
I have had a meeting at work with management and my work hours will be decreasing very soon. Due to the field that I work in it is not easy to simply change my duties so for the next 10 weeks or so I will flit between what duties I can find that are not direct care related.
Again due to the work I will be finishing sooner than ‘average’ and at this stage that date looks to be around early February. My colleagues & management have been really supportive and we have all been working towards working out a solution. No one seems to remember this ‘situation’ ever happening before in a male custodial facility. I have my ‘male midwife’ Gordy who sure does know more about pregnancy than I do to advise me and make sure I take it slow sometimes. Les laughs at anything gross & Mr.D who assures me that if I am thinking of relaxation cd’s playing during the birth – don’t bother!
What a team!
How about some news of iBlob....his (or her) length is now about 25cm from head to toes and weighs about 330gm. The baby continues to develop and fingerprints are set down. About 1-2 hours after I eat, the baby receives its’ nutrients. I have read that I might get hiccups, but at this stage but I haven’t noticed any.
I (Dave) thought we might get the ultrasound operator to write down their findings of the sex of iBlob and put them in an envelope - an idea I picked up from Dan and Kerry and their podcast.
I've often wondered how people with kids find time to do everything, since I can't find time to do all the things I want without kids yet!!! Well I guess we'll find out in a few short months.
We recently found this site which really made us smile.....and I guess one day soon we'll have to get one !!
Dave has also been putting together some links on the left hand side of the page.
Week 17 - Pumping Iron
10/December/05 |
Pregnancy
Well the title may make a few of you think I have hit
the gym, trust me I haven’t! I have been put on
a course of Iron to combat my fatigue and teary
moments. It is hard to sometimes comprehend that you
do not have the same element of control that you
normally do regarding your emotions &
concentration. It is like thinking ‘in a
fog’ and not being able to ‘snap out of
it’. This by the way is a very real problem
during pregnancy!
I have only had one bout of morning sickness and am feeling generally much better yet get out of breath & tire easily and feel much much heavier now, so I think this is the start of the ‘honeymoon stage’ Finally!!
Week 17 check up went well. I was a little nervous about the weigh in as I feel that I have been eating all the time, yet thankfully a ton of salads & icy poles (my latest craze).
After preparing myself to face a weight gain I was bamboozled to find out I have lost 1kg. I am now 3kg lighter than pre-pregnancy weight! Now I know things will change but right now I am thrilled with the result. This is nothing to be concerned about at this stage.
The heartbeat was heard, although a little tricky to find as iBlob was hiding ‘in a corner’.
I have felt iBlob move quite dramatically at times with a kind of ‘rolling’ lurch. If I try and lie on my tummy now in bed it feels like I am lying on top of a tennis ball. Quite a strange feeling, such a hard round ball! Sleeping seems to be an art form now as I have to find some comfy positions I have never tried before like on my left or right side for the entire night. It's recommended that pregnant women do not sleep on their backs. You don’t realise how many little things in life you take for granted and how set in your ways you become.
iBlob’s length is about 20cm from head to toes, weight is about 240gm.
Fat deposits are forming under the baby’s skin - this will help control their body temperature after birth - babies are very poor at controlling their body temperature.
The baby now weighs about the same as the placenta and has a covering of fine, downy hair called lanugo - this continues to develop until about the 26th week of gestation and then gradually disappears - though some body hair may still be evident at birth.
It is likely to be aware of loud sounds that it hears outside the body and may respond with sudden movements. This certainly seems the case when I sneeze. I do not know why but I seem to sneeze a lot more than I ever have before.
Dave & I cannot wait until May!! How can this baby not be amazing with Dave’s brains & Dave’s good looks!! (have a guess who wrote this bit!)
The shopping is fun and I really want to buy
iBlob a gift for Christmas but Dave thinks it is a
bit silly especially with the shopping list as it is!
I really think iBlob would love one of these for Christmas don’t you??
This is our LAST CHRISTMAS as a couple! I find that exciting!
Its seems like the caring switched last night, when I (Dave) came home feeling a little unwell. I reckon it was something I'd eaten at work the day before. However the good news was that I went to bed at 7pm and Sian looked after me all night and even used the new (expensive) electronic thermometer to determine I had a high temperature!! Just need to use it several thousand more times now, to justify the cost
I have only had one bout of morning sickness and am feeling generally much better yet get out of breath & tire easily and feel much much heavier now, so I think this is the start of the ‘honeymoon stage’ Finally!!
Week 17 check up went well. I was a little nervous about the weigh in as I feel that I have been eating all the time, yet thankfully a ton of salads & icy poles (my latest craze).
After preparing myself to face a weight gain I was bamboozled to find out I have lost 1kg. I am now 3kg lighter than pre-pregnancy weight! Now I know things will change but right now I am thrilled with the result. This is nothing to be concerned about at this stage.
The heartbeat was heard, although a little tricky to find as iBlob was hiding ‘in a corner’.
I have felt iBlob move quite dramatically at times with a kind of ‘rolling’ lurch. If I try and lie on my tummy now in bed it feels like I am lying on top of a tennis ball. Quite a strange feeling, such a hard round ball! Sleeping seems to be an art form now as I have to find some comfy positions I have never tried before like on my left or right side for the entire night. It's recommended that pregnant women do not sleep on their backs. You don’t realise how many little things in life you take for granted and how set in your ways you become.
iBlob’s length is about 20cm from head to toes, weight is about 240gm.
Fat deposits are forming under the baby’s skin - this will help control their body temperature after birth - babies are very poor at controlling their body temperature.
The baby now weighs about the same as the placenta and has a covering of fine, downy hair called lanugo - this continues to develop until about the 26th week of gestation and then gradually disappears - though some body hair may still be evident at birth.
It is likely to be aware of loud sounds that it hears outside the body and may respond with sudden movements. This certainly seems the case when I sneeze. I do not know why but I seem to sneeze a lot more than I ever have before.
Dave & I cannot wait until May!! How can this baby not be amazing with Dave’s brains & Dave’s good looks!! (have a guess who wrote this bit!)
I really think iBlob would love one of these for Christmas don’t you??
This is our LAST CHRISTMAS as a couple! I find that exciting!
Its seems like the caring switched last night, when I (Dave) came home feeling a little unwell. I reckon it was something I'd eaten at work the day before. However the good news was that I went to bed at 7pm and Sian looked after me all night and even used the new (expensive) electronic thermometer to determine I had a high temperature!! Just need to use it several thousand more times now, to justify the cost
Week 16 - iBlob Sends Flowers !!!
01/December/05 |
Pregnancy
4 months!! Well things are going well! Not quite
‘swanning’ yet but at the very least
upright with energy, eating & holding most of it
down! Yayy!
Whilst the nausea has predominantly moved on it got replaced with some pretty yucky headaches. These headaches were mind blowing as soon as I opened my eyes in the morning and so I started taking Panadol. Panadol by the way is the only thing a pregnant woman can take so thank goodness it exists! I went to the Doctor to check how many Panadol’s are okay to take whilst pregnant and I got a very non-committal “Just try not to take them and rest instead, but if you must then try not to exceed 4-5 a day” Not a very reassuring answer – but I suspect that no one wants the liability of stating something regarding pregnancy.
Anyway enough about me lets talk iBlob. If I get caught typing ‘he’ - it is not because we know anything (which we don’t yet and hope not to find out) but it makes it easier to write about, and ‘It’ seems a bit alien, doesn’t it? Just in case anyone is wondering now, we are both happy to have a boy or a girl Dave says the best way to determine the baby’s sex is to……..wait till it’s born!!
So, iBlob measures about 16cm and weighs about 200g now (about the size of an avocado). All organs and structures have been formed and a period of simple growth begins. iBlob even has fingerprints and can blink, suck his thumb & can hiccup, cough or even cry in the womb! Aaaahhhhh. The baby is even emptying his or her bladder every 40-45 minutes. What a luxury! – 45 minutes, Gee I want to swap as I am ‘emptying my bladder’ every 20 or so minutes. iBlob has a good deal there!
The first movements of the baby are called “The Quickening” and can be felt as early as 14 -16 weeks. So many websites or books are slightly different. I can honestly announce that I have felt iBlob move! It feels like bubbles in your tummy and it is rather strange yet exciting! I tried to share it with Dave but iBlob must have gone all shy! I doubt whether through your tummy it could be felt yet anyway but it was worth a shot!
Work planning is underway with some options being discussed. Possibly shorter shifts, roles change at some point and perhaps some work off-site. My doctor today recommended shorter shifts with more regular breaks and no physical restraining allowed. We are looking at options and entitlements now and the guys at work have been incredibly supportive to me (even in my current ditzy state).
Had a huge surprise yesterday - iBlob seems to
have access to the VISA card !! I received a
beautiful delivery of a dozen red roses, a bottle of
Champagne, some Pot Pourri, and some lovely
Chocloates! Unfortunately I can't enjoy the
Champagne, so iBlob had Dad in mind!!!
Dave is definately ‘swanning’ instead of me and loving the pregnancy experience and the future role of a ‘Dad’. Dave has said that he will/should write some of this blog so I am going to save the next bit for his perspective!
The executive decisions regarding the strollers were made this week. We went out on Sunday to check out the various baby stores around the area. We've found that Baby Bunting has an extensive range of products, whilst BabyCo is a little nearer. We ended up putting a Beema Q
jogger on layby, with additional Bassinette
(which kind of makes it into a pram).
The only 'big' things left are the Baby Car Seat and High Chair. We won the bidding on a chest of drawers on eBay which I'm heading off to pick up on Saturday morning That should just about finish off
the nursery - and we'll get the borders put up
soon - I promise Sian!!!
I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks, particularly the second Ultrasound. I have been told that it is possible for an untrained eye to tell if its a boy or a girl.....and I'm sure even though we don't want to know, we won't be able to stop ourselves looking!!
If anyone out there has Skype - we've just signed up to try it out - davemgraham is our Skype Name - give us a call.
Whilst the nausea has predominantly moved on it got replaced with some pretty yucky headaches. These headaches were mind blowing as soon as I opened my eyes in the morning and so I started taking Panadol. Panadol by the way is the only thing a pregnant woman can take so thank goodness it exists! I went to the Doctor to check how many Panadol’s are okay to take whilst pregnant and I got a very non-committal “Just try not to take them and rest instead, but if you must then try not to exceed 4-5 a day” Not a very reassuring answer – but I suspect that no one wants the liability of stating something regarding pregnancy.
Anyway enough about me lets talk iBlob. If I get caught typing ‘he’ - it is not because we know anything (which we don’t yet and hope not to find out) but it makes it easier to write about, and ‘It’ seems a bit alien, doesn’t it? Just in case anyone is wondering now, we are both happy to have a boy or a girl Dave says the best way to determine the baby’s sex is to……..wait till it’s born!!
So, iBlob measures about 16cm and weighs about 200g now (about the size of an avocado). All organs and structures have been formed and a period of simple growth begins. iBlob even has fingerprints and can blink, suck his thumb & can hiccup, cough or even cry in the womb! Aaaahhhhh. The baby is even emptying his or her bladder every 40-45 minutes. What a luxury! – 45 minutes, Gee I want to swap as I am ‘emptying my bladder’ every 20 or so minutes. iBlob has a good deal there!
The first movements of the baby are called “The Quickening” and can be felt as early as 14 -16 weeks. So many websites or books are slightly different. I can honestly announce that I have felt iBlob move! It feels like bubbles in your tummy and it is rather strange yet exciting! I tried to share it with Dave but iBlob must have gone all shy! I doubt whether through your tummy it could be felt yet anyway but it was worth a shot!
Work planning is underway with some options being discussed. Possibly shorter shifts, roles change at some point and perhaps some work off-site. My doctor today recommended shorter shifts with more regular breaks and no physical restraining allowed. We are looking at options and entitlements now and the guys at work have been incredibly supportive to me (even in my current ditzy state).
Dave is definately ‘swanning’ instead of me and loving the pregnancy experience and the future role of a ‘Dad’. Dave has said that he will/should write some of this blog so I am going to save the next bit for his perspective!
The executive decisions regarding the strollers were made this week. We went out on Sunday to check out the various baby stores around the area. We've found that Baby Bunting has an extensive range of products, whilst BabyCo is a little nearer. We ended up putting a Beema Q
The only 'big' things left are the Baby Car Seat and High Chair. We won the bidding on a chest of drawers on eBay which I'm heading off to pick up on Saturday morning
That should just about finish off
the nursery - and we'll get the borders put up
soon - I promise Sian!!!
I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks, particularly the second Ultrasound. I have been told that it is possible for an untrained eye to tell if its a boy or a girl.....and I'm sure even though we don't want to know, we won't be able to stop ourselves looking!!
If anyone out there has Skype - we've just signed up to try it out - davemgraham is our Skype Name - give us a call.