1 week on

I feel...
In love, with my daughter and my husband.
Slightly overwhelmed. This is so HUGE.
I miss my mum!! Sookie that I am. I know that Peter and I are capable of doing this on our own, but it was nice to have that support here when I needed it.
Grateful - for our support networks, for the lovely people at church who are giving us delicious meals, for my amazing husband who is doing such an awesome job, and for how good of a baby Mayana is.
Tired! Even though Mayana is sleeping well, I think I'm still catching up for the almost 2 nights of sleep that I completely missed the night she was born and her first night.

Peter really is such an amazing Papa. And husband. Considering he has little to no experience with babies at all, he is so calm and relaxed with our girl, and just takes it all into his stride. This whole thing has just made me fall in love with him all over again.

I am enjoying being a Mama. I love my little girl so much. She smells so wonderful and she is so beautiful. I love just looking at her.. I can't believe that we made her... That God has given her to us and that we get to look after her and guide her through life. She is amazing.

Last night was our first night alone with our girl. She was a bit unsettled to begin with, and we're thinking it's because I had some chocolate yesterday. She cat-napped between 10.30-1am, she wasn't screaming or majorly upset, just wouldn't settle. We finally got her off at 1am, and our little champion slept right through until 8am!!!! We were very impressed. Her cord stump also came off today. We were glad, because it was a little icky - I wasn't coping with it very well, it was a Papa job. We also have another checkup with our doctor tomorrow, so hoping she has gained a bit of weight and gets a good report.

Anyway, enough ramble from me, off to see if I can give our girl a feed, then going to have a nice relaxing bath.

Night

Mayana Blog

Just letting you know I am keeping a photo blog so that grandparents and relatives can watch our little Mayana grow.

It is at http://mayanajoy.blogspot.com

Enjoy :)

Midwife Visit and being home

Just a quick update!
We're really enjoying being home. All of us are much more relaxed here, and I love that I have my hubby with me all the time. Mayana is doing so well, I think because she senses that I am much happier here.

We had a pretty good night last night. Mayana slept a fair bit better than at hospital - she was more settled. We had a couple of feeds through the night, and Pete was able to let me sleep and snuggle with her when she was just fussing. I REALLY appreciated that.

My family went to Stanthorpe for Papa to do some business today - except for Bethanie who spent her last hours with us before going back home (has to work tomorrow). She left at about 12.30, after making us lunch etc. Lovely.

We had a couple of visits from a few friends who were all very impressed with our little daughter. She is enough to make anyone clucky!

The midwife also came for her visit today. She is very happy with how it's all going, and helped me to feel much more confident with what I'm doing because of how encouraging she was. She said Mayana is fantastic at feeding and I really have it down-pat so far. She really is good, as soon as she knows I'm ready to start she has her little mouth open ready to go in the right way, without any of my help. She latches on first go now and is making it easier for me too. Will be interesting to see how we go when my milk comes in! The midwife did her heel prick test for metabolic diseases which will be sent away to Brisbane for processing. She didn't bother with a second jaundice test because it has cleared up nicely. Mayana did her first wee of the day while the midwife was there, so she was happy to see that. She said that she doesn't think she needs to come tomorrow, but will ring to see how we're going. As long as I'm feeling good about it all, she won't come in because we're doing so great! But if I do want to talk to someone she will come out. It's a really great service.

Mayana did her first pooey nappy today! We were very excited, but I'm sure that is something that will not last long, lol. Mum helped me change her, and was stoked that I let her. I was quite happy for her to help ;)

In any case, things are going really great. Feeling very relaxed and just enjoying every minute. She's just so precious, and we feel so incredibly blessed.

Our tiny daughter.

Yesterday, on the 18th of January, 2009 (the date that I have had a 'feeling' about for the last few months, even though I liked to think it would have been earlier), at 10:19am, our precious daughter, Mayana Joy Shanae Friend was placed in my arms. She is so incredible I can't even begin to describe it!

Okay. My birth story [disclaimer: This story is for people who like details!]

On Saturday night, we had a late night because they showed 4 episodes of McLeods Daughters and we just couldn't miss them, lol. We then went to bed and did our Bible reading for the night, had a chat about how we couldn't wait for our baby to arrive and didn't get to sleep until after midnight. At 1.40am, I awoke with a 'pop'. I didn't hear or feel a pop exactly, it's just how I felt in that moment. I guess it was a pop of pain - the climax of my first proper contraction. Even though we hadn't been asleep that long, both of us said later that we somehow felt very well rested. Anyway, I rolled over to Pete and said, "I just had a contraction. I'm pretty sure it's a real one, it's different to anything I've ever felt (braxton hicks) and really intense and I think our baby is coming. I'm going to see how long till the next one, you go back to sleep." So I lay awake concentrating and feeling every twinge, wondering if I imagined it when I was hit with another one. It was half an hour since the first one. I told Pete, and said that they'd probably stay far apart for a while and we should try and get some more sleep. I don't think we did though.
I had two more at half an hour apart (with lots of little waves of pain in between), and then one 15 minutes after that. Two more 15 minutes apart then we were down to 10! I think it was about that stage that I decided to hop into the bath. Pete came with me and kept timing them and helping me to remember to breath deeply through them. By this time it was about 4:10am. By 5am, they were 3-5 minutes apart and very intense and I knew it was time to head to the hopsital.

Mama and Papa (who were staying with us) were awake by this time, and got dressed, and we grabbed all the things we needed to take - we had packed the hosptial bag, but not the labour bag. I had quite a few contractions in that time and on the way to hospital - they were definitely less that 5 minutes apart by then, and getting a bit harder to deal with. We got to emergency and told them I was in labour. They wanted me to get into a wheelchair, but I snapped "No way I need to walk!!" I was very stubborn and um, cross while in labour!

When they got up to birth suite, they took all my obs and tried to track Mayana's heartbeat. It was all over the place, I think she was in a funny position and they couldn't get the monitor to keep it up, so they had to hold it with their hands which meant that it wasn't a very good trace, and what they did have wasn't fantastic. They did an internal and found that I was 4cm dilated. My BP was fantastic, and remained that way for the entire labour. I also had my cannula inserted into my wrist at this point, and my first dose of antibiotics for my Group B Strep was administered.

They took me around to the room I was to give birth in, and I got straight in the shower. I would have loved to have been in the bath but there aren't any at our hospital :( I knelt on the floor over a fitball while Pete ran the shower directly onto my back. Because Mayana was prosterier at that point, most of the pain was in my back. I also had the gas in the shower with me. I didn't really find that it eased the pain at all, but it helped me to focus my breathing, and Pete said I was slightly kinder with gas in my system. All I remember is barking one word commands as to where he was to aim the shower head and opening my mouth when I wanted the gas in there. I got the most relief I think from biting the mouthpiece (and believe me my jaw is paying for it now!). I started to really feel the need to lie down, I was so tired and my knees were really hurting. I remember asking Pete if we could put the bed in the shower, but for some reason he wouldn't let me so I made myself go to the bed and demanded the hot wheat pillow for my back instead.

I lay that way for quite a while (I have no sense of time for any of this), and the midwife kept trying to get a good trace on Mayana's heartrate to figure out what was going on with her. At some point she told me she wanted to put a 'cap' on Mayana's head to trace her that way - it is much more reliable than outside monitors. She asked if I wanted her to talk me through it or explain it or something and I yelled at her that I didn't care! I just kept asking, "Is my baby okay???" I remember that on random contractions I would be really angry and say I hated it and didn't want to do it anymore, than on others I would be mushy and look at Pete and say, "we're having our baby!" and on others I would just yell. I got really annoyed at everyone telling me to breath, because I felt like I coped better when I moaned, but I didn't say anything about that I just ignored them (and hyperventilated)!

I was trying to doze between contractions and was feeling really woozy. I think I stopped the gas for a while around here because it was making me feel a bit ill. Next time the midwife came to check on us, I told her I wanted an epidural. She asked if it was part of the plan and I said, "I don't know, I just can't to it anymore. I'm sorry, please don't be disappointed in me... (blah blah)". She said I could have whatever I wanted and went to organise it for me. I remember I kept apologising to Pete and mum and asking them not to be disappointed in me. I think I was actually convincing myself not to be disspointed in myself! The midwife came back and said it would be about an hour before it would be all organised - which would make it 8am. That hour went really fast because I was pinning everything on it, but it was more than an hour and I started to get cranky and yelling (apparently whining says my mother) at the midwife, "Can they come now! Why aren't they here?" They had to keep telling me what the time was. When the anethetist finally arrived she fluffed around for ages before telling me to sit up on the edge of the bed and arch my back like a cat or some such. That is seriously not a comfortable way to sit during labour, but anyway.

The anethetist tried to get the cannula into my spine for over an hour. It was horrendous. My contractions were between 1.5-3 minutes apart, or rolling, very intense and I wasn't allowed to move. I am so sore because of that hour - the weird position and the intensity of it. Poor Pete was half squatting on a chair infront of me supporting half my weight. His feet were totally white, and he started majorly shaking, but pretended he was okay for ages.

I was so exhausted by then, I was just hoping with every contraction that this would be the last one that I feel. After an hour, the anethetist said she couldn't get it in and told me she was going to get her boss to try instead. Some time during that hour I felt my waters break and could feel it gushing with each contraction. When the anethetist left, I told Jane (our midwife) that I needed to go to the toilet for a poo. She asked if she could check me out, and I asked if I could lie down which I think I did without waiting for an answer. Jane did an internal and told me she could feel the baby's head and we were going to abort the epidural. I was 10cm dilated and Mayana was nearly ready to come out! I went from 4cm to 10cm in about 3.5 hours and in that time Mayana had also manouvered herself from prosterier to the more optimal anterier position!

Pete and I got really emotional at that point - he started to get a little teary, and I remember kind of wooping, "Pete our baby, we're going to have our baby" in some rather inarticulate manner. Jane got me to lie at the proper end of the bed (I had put my head at the feet end) and as I turned around a great big gush of my waters came out, and Jane realised that there was meconium in it- bubby was distressed and had done a poo. She called the Special Care Nursery, and arranged for one of their nurses to come in, and for a place to be made for the nursery just in case. It can be very bad for babies if they swallow any of the meconium - it can get into their lungs, and also cause things like deafness and many other problems. I felt a little nervous at that, and kept asking if my baby was okay, but the elated part of me that was excited that we were meeting our baby soon took over my fear.

I asked Jane if I could push because I was getting the urge - and had been for the last couple of contractions with the epidural experience - and she asked me to try and hold out for a few minutes. She gave me the gas tube and told me to use it to help with my breathing. I did a few half hearted pushes that mostly revolved around me yelling, and was told that wasn't real pushing and was fairly pointless. So I decided to do what I was told instead ;) Jane told me how to push if I really needed to, and I did a couple when I really couldn't help it. Jane then told me that she could see the head and asked if I'd like to look with the mirror. Months ago, Pete and I had talked about it and I thought that if I was offered I didn't want to look because I didn't want to know! When it came to it though, I couldn't imagine having said no! Jane held up the mirror, and seeing that tiny bit of my daughter's head was enough to make me WANT the next contraction to come. I think I did maybe two more pushes after that, and then Jane told me it was getting close. I asked her how many more pushes, and she said at least 2 or 3. With my next push, I watched in the mirror. I felt her crown, and pushed with all my might. Next thing I knew, our gorgeous girl was on my chest! I think without the mirror, that crowning feeling would have scared me out of that push, but because I could see what I was accomplishing I was spurred on to try harder. All in all, I only pushed for five minutes, and our daughter was born at 10.19am, 8 hours and 39 minutes after my first contraction.

Peter was able to cut the chord (which they weren't sure he was going to able to because of the meconium) and they whisked her off me to the special care nurse so she could be checked. I asked what it was, and mum told me it was a girl. I said, "I told you it was a girl... and I knew she'd be born today!" I watched while she was being cleaned and wiped, I was crying and telling her that I love her and that she's amazing and that she did such an awesome job. Mayana scored 9 and 9 on her APGAR tests, and the meconium proved to be no issue whatsoever. I birthed the placenta in one teensy little push, and like that, my labour was over!

Aside from my incredible little girl, I also scored a 2nd degree gutter tear (up inside me) and a stack of stitches. I asked how many, and was told just to think of it as one long stitch (eeek!). That was quite painful, but thankfully by then I had our little girl on my chest and my husband by my side and we were to busy being absolutely smitten to pay too much attention to it!

After stitching, my mum (who'd gone to tell my dad and ring my brother and sisters) and dad come back into the room to meet our little girl. She was just so tiny, and I asked Jane how much she guessed she weighed, and she said less than 6lbs. Later on, when she was weighed, we found that she was a tiny 5lbs, 20z (2330g), 49cm long and with a head circumference of 33cm. She is amazing, and I really can't get over how little she is (especially compared to how huge I was!). Everyone was firing off text messages and phones were beeping left right and centre. I was just lying there in the middle of it all trying to take it in, feeling so overwhelmed and in love with this tiny little creature that I had just birthed. Pete helped me shower while the new grandparents doted, and then I think I ate some lunch. I can't remember the exact timeline of what happened around there to be honest, and mum has stopped reading over my shoulder so she can't correct me.

Peter and I went up to the maternity ward to spend some time catching some zzzz's and falling in love with our daughter. Since then it's been a whirlwind. She's so amazing. Everyone is completely in love with her. She's a champion breastfeeder - latched on straight out of the womb, which all the midwives are very impressed with considering her tiny size. It's her Mama that needs to toughen up!!! Peter is a complete natural with her, and can settle her instantly. I think my favourite thing to do is watch the two of them gazing into each others eyes; makes me melt every time.

We had a slightly turmultuous time at the hospital last night - she wouldn't settle no matter what I did and would only sleep if I held her. I think the whole thing was just too overwhelming for her, and it was so bright and noisy in there. We ended up with her in bed with me, meaning that I only really half slept because I was scared of hurting her. By the time I had decided to do that, it was almost 2am, and I had been awake for almost 24 hours straight. We slept until 5.30 when we were woken up for monitoring (they monitored her temps and heartrate every 3-4 hours because of the whole meconium/tiny weight thing). Mayana went back to sleep after that, but I couldn't, and as soon as it hit 7am I was on the phone to Pete asking him to come as soon as he was allowed. I needed him so much, and it felt so wrong to there with our daughter, without him!

By that point I had well and truly decided to come home today. Being in stream 3, that is perfectly reasonable, as I have a midwife who will come and visit me at home every day for the first week! After Mayana and I were both checked by our doctors, and given the all clear, we were ready to go.

The three of us came home at about 3pm this afternoon, and it has been so much better here. I am more relaxed, which means Mayana is more relaxed - the feeding is easier, she's sleeping better and has hardly cried at all. Peter is so in love with her and just can't stop looking at her - neither of us can believe that she's finally here and that she's really ours. She is so tiny, all her little 0000 clothes that looked so unbelieveable small are massive on her. Here we were thinking that she wouldn't get a chance to wear all of them before she grew out of them! Mum got her some special 00000 outfits today, which will hopefully look a lil less baggy on her!

Anyway, that's long winded enough for one night, I'm sure you'll all be sick of Mayana posts from now on - and you though the bump posts were overkill :P

I leave you with my favourite (so far) pic of my daughter and I. I actually have only seen the photos that Pete and Papa have put on facebook (and aren't I oh-so-attractive post-labour!?), I have thousands to trawl through! She is the most photographed 2.5 day old baby in the history of the world.

Here we are, the new mummy and her gorgeous daughter, Mayana Joy Shanae Friend, taken this afternoon a few hours before we came home:

Now go buy yourself a chocolate or something, cos seriously if you made it through that saga you deserve one!

today

My BP was back down to 128/88. Perfect! We were very happy with that and are hoping it stays that way. My doc also did a stretch & sweep (an internal procedure that can help you to produce prostiglandins, a hormone which helps to bring on labour). Everything is looking good, bub has gotten quite a bit lower (the doc could feel the head which was cool!) and I am nearly 2cm dilated. I have had quite a few braxton hicks since then so hopefully things are really starting!

I am feeling good, had a couple of good night's sleep just for something different, but still feeling tired in the afternoons.

So here I am, at full term - hopefully my last belly shot...

baby drama...

Had a bit of a dramatic day today! Nothing too crazy but a little nerve wracking at points.

I did my blood pressure at home and got a reading of 145/98 and then 140/95. I wasn't 100% sure about my monitor at home so decided to go to my doctor to have it double checked, as my doc wanted to know if the Diastolic (bottom) reading was over 90 (making it more than 15 points over my baseline measurement). When they checked it at the doctors it was 150/100!! My doctor slipped me in between patients, did a urine test and checked bub, who is fine. After I'd lied down for a bit she tested it again and it was 145/95. She decided to ring the hospital and get me in for a CTG. My bloods and urine from yesterday completely ruled out pre eclampsia so it looks as if it's just pregnancy induced hypertension. My doctor said that she wishes I could be induced now, before the baby has a chance to get distressed, but the hospital probably won't play it that way.

Anyway, so I toddled off to the hospital for my CTG. They took my BP again and it was down to 140/80, but I was lying down so I think that's not really fair to compare to a seated reading. Bub is doing fine, the heartrate was steady and I don't think the CTG showed any contractions. They took even more bloods and urine to run more tests and then we had to wait for results. I started to feel a little freaked at the thought that they might make me stay there and I didn't have anything with me and wasn't prepared yet!! They sent us to the 'father's lounge' at birthing suite and gave us lunch because my urine showed that I was hungry and dehydrated (it was about 1pm by then and I hadn't eaten since about 7.30am). They eventually came back and said that my tests all came back fine, but wanted to check my BP again, and it was back up to 140/95. The obstetrician that I saw seemed to take it pretty seriously. In any case, they let me go, but I have another appointment with my GP tomorrow and if it's still high I wouldn't be surprised if they take further action from there. With any luck, bub will make a move tonight of its own accord!!!

I'm just so ready for this to happen, and have been feeling so calm about it but all this stuff that's happening now is making me feel fairly anxious. My GP told me that chances are with my BP playing up like this I may end up having to have an epidural to keep it lower. I just want it to happen!

40 week appointment

Well things went okay... not brilliant but okay.
Good things: No weight gain at all, baby is still head down and another fifth engaged, baby's heartrate is good.

Bad things: Blood pressure :(

My doctor thinks I may have developed Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. It's not as bad as pre-eclampsia and doesn't have has many associated risks. It's biggest risk is that it can age the placenta, and put the baby into distress. At the moment the baby is very happy in there so it's nothing to be frightened about at the moment. It also means that I may be more likely to need an epidural for BP reasons. In any case, I got bloods done just to rule out pre-eclampsia just in case.

My doctor rang the hospital's obstetrican to confer, and they've decided that I need to have another checkup on Wednesday, and if my BP is still elevated we will go from there. From what I can gather, if it is still playing up, my 41 week appointment (meant to be next Monday) will be moved forward, and they may start to talk about an induction date, OR I may need to go into the hopsital for monitoring of the baby. We'll see. I'm not too worried to be honest. I would ideally prefer not to be induced and just go naturally (of course), but it's not that much of a drama if I do have to be induced. At the end of the day, whatever it takes to get this baby out healthily is okay with me! My doctor doesn't seem to think bubs will be making an appearance in the next couple of days (poo) but we'll see...

So there's my drama for today ;)

Other than that, all is good - just totally exhausted from a crappy sleep last night. Blah.

quick update

Pete and I before our date night on Thursday. We went out for REALLY hot curry. Obviously it didn't work...

yes we're still here... in one piece but ready to be in two!!
My mum and sister and brother are now here and waiting...waiting.
I've had a few braxton hicks lately, some quite painful ones in the last few days, hopefully things will get moving soon. I am really hoping that I will meet my baby some time this week!!!
Off to my 40 week appointment in about 15 minutes ...(HOLY DOOLEY!!!! I'm 40 weeks pregnant!!!!)

Another update

I got into the dentist today... finally !
I now have a pink filling in my tooth. It was okay, they didn't end up having to give me a needle, so I didn't feel crapola for the rest of the day and the dentist I had was really great.

I also had a call from my GP this afternoon to let me know that my Group B Strep test came back positive. It is not such a big deal, won't do anything to hurt me (I am basically an a-symptomatic carrier), but there is a risk of bubby contracting it during birth. So it just means that I will probably have a cannula put in when my waters break or I go into labour, and administered antibiotics through an IV every 6 hours. At least that's what I can gather from reading and chatting to other people. I will ring our hospital tomorrow and find out for sure.

I had some fairly painful long braxton hicks this afternoon, and wondered if "it" was starting, but they stopped :( :( Maybe they'll start again later tonight!! Wishful thinking.

Did some more 'nesting' today - the office is now tidy and ready for my bother to bunk down on a mattress when he arrives on Sunday. We're so ready to go... ooh except Pete has to go and get our CD player tagged by our electrician friend so we can take it to hospital. Must remember to do this tomorrow!

39 week appointment

Sounds slightly scary right??

Even though the hospital's dates have me due on the 15th, making me 39 weeks on Thursday, my doctor is sticking to her date of the 13th, meaning that according to her computer I'm 39 weeks tomorrow!

My appointment went well.. my BP was a little elevated to begin with (123/92 - the bottom one is what my doc is concerned about), but when she took it again at the end of the appointment it had gone down (127/88). I have a BP machine to use every day at home, and if it's over a certain reading I have to ring my doctor. It's really not *that* high, but better safe than sorry I suppose.
Bubby's heartrate was a fair bit higher than normal, 158pbm, I guess bub was having a bit of a play in there today!

Bubby is still engaged at the same level... even though it feels lower! My doctor commented that I've dropped a lot. Bub's head is facing my right hip, which is why I can feel the hiccups there so strongly, which, by the way, occur every single night when I go to bed. Pete got to feel bub's head, which was really cool.

I have been prescribed 1/2 an hour of walking each day to get baby into the cervix. Bring it on I say!!!

I am starting to feel quite uncomfortable most of the time, although I'm sleeping better being back in my own bed. I also get really tired really quickly, so resting up as much as I can because pretty soon that's going to be a thing of the past (the resting, not the tiredness).

Sorry about all the baby-focussed postings lately, but what can I say, Get used to it!!! It's kind of taking over our whole lives at the moment, and it's about to get a whole lot more intense methinks.

In other news, Pete made me dinner tonight (spaghetti bolognaise) *AND* he's washing up!!! My husband rocks. A lot.

Happy New Year!

Can you even believe it's 2009 already!? Incredible! The year of baby Friend :) My baby is due *this* month! Actually in 14 days. Crazy.

So anyway... 2008, the year that was. A great year! I turned 21, we found out that we were expecting our first baby, and that has kind of encompassed the rest of our year. Uni has been good, we have both had fantastic pracs and loved our teaching experiences. We have made new friends, grown closer to each other, and left our comfort zone and started going to a new church!

2009. Bubby bubby bubby. Is all that is at the forefront of our minds right now. Can you blame us? Come on little darlin! Your Mama and Papa are ready for you to make an appearance any time now!

This year, I will:
* Become a mummy! And work very hard to be the best parent I can be.
* Make sure that I don't neglect my husband in this, and know that our baby will draw us even closer together.
* Attempt studying even with bub.
* Read the Bible in a year.
* Get involved at church. I need to be on a music team again!

Happy new years to all... here's to a fantastic year, abundantly blessed, growing in our relationships and in God. Cheers!

The nursery...

Everything is ready... the room is just waiting for its little occupant. I LOVE it. I love being in there imagining our baby in the cot, sitting on the chair feeding, changing that little bum (which currently keeps poking me in the ribs) on the change table... *sigh*

I'm so happy with how it looks. I did a whole stack of drawings which are lined up around the top of the wall... the alphabet and numbers from 1-10. It looks very cute, and was a nice little finishing touch for the room.

Anyway, enough babble... some pics!!

My number cards... featuring fruits!

Bassinette will be moving into our room to begin with. Here is cot and change table. And my alphabet cards around the top of the wall.

More alphabet cards, and my mummy corner. Pete has also installed a dimmer on the lamp.. it's great and will be perfect for middle of the night feeds and not waking bub up too much.

Baby update... 38 weeks

Just to let everyone know...
we are home safe, and I've only just gotten back online. Grr to dial up!
We had a good drive home, and managed to get everything in, after a slight panic attack when I saw the mounds of stuff that was meant for the baby's room! It's been so hot in Toowoomba, up to 36 pretty much every day since we've been home! Luckily not too humid though. Still uncomfortable.

Baby checkup went well on Monday, BP good, heartbeat strong, and I'm 1/5th engaged!! So things are on the move, which is really good. I'm getting a little antsy, itching to cuddle my baby.

Here are some pics I took today - 38 weeks.

What everyone else sees... (don't you reckon I've dropped more??)

And what I see! See how bub is sitting to the left?? Felt so weird today.