Master M has decided he'll only sleep in my arms today, so I apologise if my spelling and punctuation are not adequate :-) I dare not put him down incase he wakes up...... AGAIN!!!
I had many things on my to do list I was going to tackle today, but alas those things will have to wait until tomorrow. I have managed to extracate him from my arms and onto his lambs wool for 30 minutes so I have at least baked some biccies and vacuumed the kitchen. I think he might be getting a little sick, he sounds very snotty but I can't see any snot, figure that one out!!
We went out on the weekend with C so that was good. I need to gain more confidence with taking Malachi out by myself so the more we can go out with hubby the better. We went to the markets and got some tasty bread, fudge and nuts and also managed to go to Trade Secret and get another bra that's the right size. If only I didn't have such big boobs! I could only find one in my size but there were many a bargain to be had if you aren't so top heavy!
We are off tomorrow to a friend's place who had a baby boy 6 days after Malachi. It will be nice for them to 'meet' each other now they are outside in the big wide world.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Three Weeks Post Birth
Well I thought I'd beter do an update on how the little man and I are doing post birth.
Me
Well straight after the birth of Malachi I was really struggling with lower back and coccyx pain, due to the position of M's head in the birth canal. This took probably two weeks (and a fair bit of nurofen and panadol) to resolve. The midwife gave me some tubigrip to wear around my belly and lower back and this not only helped my back pain, but made me look skinnier too :-) It's like free shapewear!!!
My stitches were quite ouchy, but surprisingly not quite as sore as my back was. It took probably two weeks for them to dissolve and now I have no pain 'down there'. I really struggled in the first two weeks to realise that I had been through quite an ordeal and it was normal not to feel 100%. I thought since I had a relatively easy birth I should feel super, however as the midwife pointed out childbirth is draining!!
I now weigh 4kgs less than I did pre pregnancy which is a nice little bonus. In the end I only put on 5 kilos during the pregnancy. I would like to start walking with Malachi soon, it's so hard when it's so darn cold outside. Also, not really knowing the area very well makes me nervous to venture too far!! If only the local shops weren't so far away I could walk there.
Mentally, I'm struggling a little bit at the moment. I think it's probably a combination of sleep deprivation, and breastfeeding issues. I broke down to DH last night. I was trying to feed M and he was fussing and choking and screaming. I just told DH I can't do it anymore. I'm not sure whether I was talking about breastfeeding or being a mummy.
I had a blocked milk duct about a week ago and had to use a manual breastpump on the affected breast to try and clear it. It seems to have gone now but the little guy still seems to favour the other breast and doesn't quite seem to latch on to the affected side quite as well.
Malachi is normally quite placid and chilled and easy going. I'm having issues with fast letdown and too much milk. So when he attaches he gulps in air, and chokes (to the point of not breathing!!) and has milk oozing everywhere. Not only does he end up soaked in milk but I do too. So sick of smelling like a milky cow!!! I have started to just handexpress at the beginning of a feed into a cloth nappy and that seems to be helping a little bit.
I went and got refitted for maternity bras and I never knew breasts could get so large!! 12G!!! No wonder the poor little tyke is drowning and struggling with the flow of milk. I've decided to keep going with breastfeeding, despite our issues, until my 6 week checkup and will then reevaluate.
How's the little guy going?
Well he's nearly outgrown some of his 0000 suits. He's getting a little too long for them. Although the 000 a still a little big. We put him in a 000 suit last night and he looked like such a big boy :-) It's amazing how quickly they grow!! I'm going to go get him weighed on Wednesday for his 4 week 'birthday'.
He is a little pooing machine. Never have I seen so much poo in my life! He tends to poo after every feed, and we've had many a leaks through the jumpsuits. I have never washed so much before. I have already decided the next baby will not be wearing white. It's just way too hard to get poo stains out of white clothes.
His hair is starting to get lighter and his eyes are changing to a blue colour. He loves bath time with Daddy and happily lays there as daddy scrubs him clean. He has pooed in the bath the last two bathtimes. The look of disgust on hubby's face was priceless!!
Sleep is very hit and miss. I guess like everyone he has his good and bad days. Hubby went back to work Tuesday but is still getting up of a night and helping out. He tends to change him for me and bring him to bed for feeds.
I decided today I'd get out and do something. I wanted to go shopping but Malachi decided to be grumpy. But I put him in the car anyway and went and got a takeaway coffee from Maccas. Oh real coffee how I have missed you!! I then got home and put him in the pram went for a lap around our unit complex and now he's asleep in the pram in the lounge room. Thank goodness he's asleep, he's been catnapping all day.
Well Malachi must have sensed I was writing about him as he's decided to wake up. I heard him doing a little poo-nami. Gosh I hope he hasn't dirtied his pram bassinette!!
I will try and put some new photos of him up when I can.
Me
Well straight after the birth of Malachi I was really struggling with lower back and coccyx pain, due to the position of M's head in the birth canal. This took probably two weeks (and a fair bit of nurofen and panadol) to resolve. The midwife gave me some tubigrip to wear around my belly and lower back and this not only helped my back pain, but made me look skinnier too :-) It's like free shapewear!!!
My stitches were quite ouchy, but surprisingly not quite as sore as my back was. It took probably two weeks for them to dissolve and now I have no pain 'down there'. I really struggled in the first two weeks to realise that I had been through quite an ordeal and it was normal not to feel 100%. I thought since I had a relatively easy birth I should feel super, however as the midwife pointed out childbirth is draining!!
I now weigh 4kgs less than I did pre pregnancy which is a nice little bonus. In the end I only put on 5 kilos during the pregnancy. I would like to start walking with Malachi soon, it's so hard when it's so darn cold outside. Also, not really knowing the area very well makes me nervous to venture too far!! If only the local shops weren't so far away I could walk there.
Mentally, I'm struggling a little bit at the moment. I think it's probably a combination of sleep deprivation, and breastfeeding issues. I broke down to DH last night. I was trying to feed M and he was fussing and choking and screaming. I just told DH I can't do it anymore. I'm not sure whether I was talking about breastfeeding or being a mummy.
I had a blocked milk duct about a week ago and had to use a manual breastpump on the affected breast to try and clear it. It seems to have gone now but the little guy still seems to favour the other breast and doesn't quite seem to latch on to the affected side quite as well.
Malachi is normally quite placid and chilled and easy going. I'm having issues with fast letdown and too much milk. So when he attaches he gulps in air, and chokes (to the point of not breathing!!) and has milk oozing everywhere. Not only does he end up soaked in milk but I do too. So sick of smelling like a milky cow!!! I have started to just handexpress at the beginning of a feed into a cloth nappy and that seems to be helping a little bit.
I went and got refitted for maternity bras and I never knew breasts could get so large!! 12G!!! No wonder the poor little tyke is drowning and struggling with the flow of milk. I've decided to keep going with breastfeeding, despite our issues, until my 6 week checkup and will then reevaluate.
How's the little guy going?
Well he's nearly outgrown some of his 0000 suits. He's getting a little too long for them. Although the 000 a still a little big. We put him in a 000 suit last night and he looked like such a big boy :-) It's amazing how quickly they grow!! I'm going to go get him weighed on Wednesday for his 4 week 'birthday'.
He is a little pooing machine. Never have I seen so much poo in my life! He tends to poo after every feed, and we've had many a leaks through the jumpsuits. I have never washed so much before. I have already decided the next baby will not be wearing white. It's just way too hard to get poo stains out of white clothes.
His hair is starting to get lighter and his eyes are changing to a blue colour. He loves bath time with Daddy and happily lays there as daddy scrubs him clean. He has pooed in the bath the last two bathtimes. The look of disgust on hubby's face was priceless!!
Sleep is very hit and miss. I guess like everyone he has his good and bad days. Hubby went back to work Tuesday but is still getting up of a night and helping out. He tends to change him for me and bring him to bed for feeds.
I decided today I'd get out and do something. I wanted to go shopping but Malachi decided to be grumpy. But I put him in the car anyway and went and got a takeaway coffee from Maccas. Oh real coffee how I have missed you!! I then got home and put him in the pram went for a lap around our unit complex and now he's asleep in the pram in the lounge room. Thank goodness he's asleep, he's been catnapping all day.
Well Malachi must have sensed I was writing about him as he's decided to wake up. I heard him doing a little poo-nami. Gosh I hope he hasn't dirtied his pram bassinette!!
I will try and put some new photos of him up when I can.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Birth of Malachi
Malachi’s Birth Story
It all started on Tuesday the 29th June. The day started off like any other day. I slept in until mid morning and spent the morning relaxing and pottering around the house. Mid afternoon I noticed that I was getting period type pain and back pain but just assumed it was pre labour. I had mentioned these pains to a midwife Monday and she said it sounded promising and that my cervix was getting ready for labour. I joked and said ‘Oh so it might be sooner rather than later!’ I just didn’t realise how soon.
I sent Hubby a message at around 430pm and said that pre labour sucked. He offered to come home from work early but I told him I didn’t think it was labour and to just take his time. I kept myself busy and distracted by making some vegetarian lasagne for dinner. I took some Panadol at this stage as well. Hubby got home from work and helped finish off dinner. Once it was actually ready to eat I realised I wasn’t even hungry so just had an apple for dinner.
At around 7pm Hubby asked if I’d like to put on my tens machine. I agreed, even though in my mind I was thinking I wasn’t in labour. We stayed up watching some tv. I was bouncing on the fitball with my tens machine attached while watching top gear!! I rang the hospital at this stage and told them I was having irregular contractions, ranging from 12 to 7 minutes apart. They suggested taking some more Panadol and trying to get some sleep. So I took some Panadol and Hubby and I went off to bed. I knew I wouldn’t be getting any sleep but hoped that Hubby could at least get some rest. I was timing my contractions myself with the bedside clock. With every contraction I would squeeze my stress ball and breathe through the pain. At this stage the contractions were around 7 to 5 minutes apart but I was still quite comfortable. It was around 130am and I thought I should ring the hospital and tell them the contractions were 5 minutes apart. The midwife said since I was comfortable at home to stay there, have a shower and take more Panadol. So off to the shower I go. The shower was lovely (except when I had to get out it was bloody freezing trying to dry myself off while having contractions). After the shower I got back into bed for a few hours and noticed the contractions were getting more intense. At this stage I was groaning through the contractions. Hubby was doing his best to help out and was massaging my back and shoulders when he could hear me groaning.
At around 430am I decided I didn’t want to be in bed anymore so we went downstairs to our lounge room and turned on the heater and Hubby and I watched some soccer. I think I managed to doze for around an hour as I woke up and realised my Tens machine was still on boost and not rest mode! OOPS! After I woke up I decided to go back to bed and try laying in bed again. At aound 7am Hubby was really freaking out as he realised the contractions were around 3 or 4 minutes apart. He insisted I call the hospital and tell them we were coming in. I was still comfortable but agreed. I didn’t want Hubby to have to deliver the baby at home! So I rang the hospital and told them we were coming in. I had a shower first and took some Panadol. We left and started the drive to the hospital. Oh my gosh!! Contracting in the car was not very fun. We were driving in peak hour traffic through a zillion roundabouts. I just tried to close my eyes and groan through the contractions and hope that no one driving by noticed the pain I was in.
We made it to the hospital and of course we couldn’t find a park! Hubby ended up parking in a doctor’s personal car park while we checked into the hospital. We met our midwife Isobel and she was just lovely. I was weighed and had my blood pressure checked. She asked what my birth plan was. I told her I wasn’t that keen on gas, as I’m sure it would make me puke. I wasn’t keen on an epidural, as being a nurse, I’d seen the size of the needle and really didn’t want it near my spine. Which left pethidine and I wasn’t that keen on that either. I think, looking back, I was trying to tell her I wanted to do it drug free.
She bought us in a fit ball at my request and then she left us at this point and said she’d be back in half an hour. I rolled onto my left hand side and worked through the contractions with Hubby and the tens. Sometime later I felt like I was going to be sick so Hubby helped me off the bed and into the bathroom where I promptly spewed up the Panadol I’d taken at home. We buzzed for Isobel and she came back. We told her what had happened and she said it was a positive sign! She set up her trolley and gave me an internal. Holy crap was that not pleasant! She declared we were 5cm dilated. Thank God, I thought. I still wasn’t convinced I was in labour and thought she’d tell me I wasn’t in labour at all and to go home!
After the internal I decided to get in the shower. It was so lovely but oh so cold. Since I could only aim the shower head at either my belly or my back, one part of me was always cold. I remember looking down at my toes and them being purple! I got out of the shower and into a hospital gown and socks and back onto the bed onto my left side. Hubby sat next to me and talked me through each contraction. I was having contractions when all of a sudden something ‘down there’ just didn’t feel right. Hubby had a look and thought my waters had broken and buzzed for Isobel. She came back in and said I’d lost my mucous plug and that my waters had broken. She started getting everything organised for the birth. I think at this point I kept saying to Hubby ‘I can’t do this. I don’t know what I’m doing’. I also thought I was going to be sick again. Looking back I assume this was transition. It wasn’t much later and Isobel asked if I was pushing. I had no idea, but yes I was pushing. So she started hurrying with the trolleys of things.
Pushing was hard. It was so tiring. And I was also shaking really badly. I told Isobel I didn’t want to tear. I was so scared of tearing. She told me I had to listen to her when pushing to try and avoid a tear. With each contraction she tried to get me to push three times. Sometimes I managed to achieve this and other times I could only manage two. I was still lying on my side, with Hubby rubbing my temples (apparently, I have no recollection of the temple rubbing). The midwife suggested I try pushing with the head of the bed raised and me on my knees. I liked this position as it enabled me to put my head on the bed after each contraction and rest.
At this stage I was crying out in pain and squeezing Hubby's hand really tight. I could hear another lady labouring and thought oh well we can be loud together!! After what seemed like an eternity the midwife said she could see the baby’s head and see lots of hair. I must admit this made me push just that little bit harder. With another contraction she told me to push and then pant. I listened and panted and panted until she told me to stop. With the next contraction she said his head would be born, and told Hubby to have a look. I wasn’t too keen on this idea so tried to hold him back. Well that didn’t work, he stuck his head down there for a look.
With one more push his head was out and with one final push out his body slid. The relief was instantaneous. I asked if bub’s was a boy or girl and she told me to turn around and have a look. And there he was, our little prince covered in goo! They gave me the injection in my leg to help birth the placenta and then I turned over onto my back where Malachi was placed on my chest. They clamped the cord and Hubby cut it. We had some skin to skin time and tried some breastfeeding while they had a look down there to see if I needed any work done. I ended up with a left labial tear and a first degree tear, both of which needed stitches. I have no idea how many stitches. I didn’t think to ask and was too busy bonding with our little man. After he had his first feed he went and had hugs with Daddy while I had a shower and got cleaned up. After the shower we were taken down to the maternity ward to bond with our little man.
We stayed in hospital for three nights and were so glad to get home (we were in a four bedded room with a lady who snored!!) He was a little jaundice but his levels were not high enough to warrant putting him under the lights. We had some attachment issues and as a result I had grazed sore nipples for three days or so. But we’re beginning to master breastfeeding and things are going well now we are at home. He is such a calm little bub and barely cries! We are so so smitten with our gorgeous little man. It's true what they say, labour certainly does bring you closer as a couple.
So here are the stats:
Malachi born 30th June at 1213pm weighing 3.4kg. 51cm long and head circumference of 36cm.
It all started on Tuesday the 29th June. The day started off like any other day. I slept in until mid morning and spent the morning relaxing and pottering around the house. Mid afternoon I noticed that I was getting period type pain and back pain but just assumed it was pre labour. I had mentioned these pains to a midwife Monday and she said it sounded promising and that my cervix was getting ready for labour. I joked and said ‘Oh so it might be sooner rather than later!’ I just didn’t realise how soon.
I sent Hubby a message at around 430pm and said that pre labour sucked. He offered to come home from work early but I told him I didn’t think it was labour and to just take his time. I kept myself busy and distracted by making some vegetarian lasagne for dinner. I took some Panadol at this stage as well. Hubby got home from work and helped finish off dinner. Once it was actually ready to eat I realised I wasn’t even hungry so just had an apple for dinner.
At around 7pm Hubby asked if I’d like to put on my tens machine. I agreed, even though in my mind I was thinking I wasn’t in labour. We stayed up watching some tv. I was bouncing on the fitball with my tens machine attached while watching top gear!! I rang the hospital at this stage and told them I was having irregular contractions, ranging from 12 to 7 minutes apart. They suggested taking some more Panadol and trying to get some sleep. So I took some Panadol and Hubby and I went off to bed. I knew I wouldn’t be getting any sleep but hoped that Hubby could at least get some rest. I was timing my contractions myself with the bedside clock. With every contraction I would squeeze my stress ball and breathe through the pain. At this stage the contractions were around 7 to 5 minutes apart but I was still quite comfortable. It was around 130am and I thought I should ring the hospital and tell them the contractions were 5 minutes apart. The midwife said since I was comfortable at home to stay there, have a shower and take more Panadol. So off to the shower I go. The shower was lovely (except when I had to get out it was bloody freezing trying to dry myself off while having contractions). After the shower I got back into bed for a few hours and noticed the contractions were getting more intense. At this stage I was groaning through the contractions. Hubby was doing his best to help out and was massaging my back and shoulders when he could hear me groaning.
At around 430am I decided I didn’t want to be in bed anymore so we went downstairs to our lounge room and turned on the heater and Hubby and I watched some soccer. I think I managed to doze for around an hour as I woke up and realised my Tens machine was still on boost and not rest mode! OOPS! After I woke up I decided to go back to bed and try laying in bed again. At aound 7am Hubby was really freaking out as he realised the contractions were around 3 or 4 minutes apart. He insisted I call the hospital and tell them we were coming in. I was still comfortable but agreed. I didn’t want Hubby to have to deliver the baby at home! So I rang the hospital and told them we were coming in. I had a shower first and took some Panadol. We left and started the drive to the hospital. Oh my gosh!! Contracting in the car was not very fun. We were driving in peak hour traffic through a zillion roundabouts. I just tried to close my eyes and groan through the contractions and hope that no one driving by noticed the pain I was in.
We made it to the hospital and of course we couldn’t find a park! Hubby ended up parking in a doctor’s personal car park while we checked into the hospital. We met our midwife Isobel and she was just lovely. I was weighed and had my blood pressure checked. She asked what my birth plan was. I told her I wasn’t that keen on gas, as I’m sure it would make me puke. I wasn’t keen on an epidural, as being a nurse, I’d seen the size of the needle and really didn’t want it near my spine. Which left pethidine and I wasn’t that keen on that either. I think, looking back, I was trying to tell her I wanted to do it drug free.
She bought us in a fit ball at my request and then she left us at this point and said she’d be back in half an hour. I rolled onto my left hand side and worked through the contractions with Hubby and the tens. Sometime later I felt like I was going to be sick so Hubby helped me off the bed and into the bathroom where I promptly spewed up the Panadol I’d taken at home. We buzzed for Isobel and she came back. We told her what had happened and she said it was a positive sign! She set up her trolley and gave me an internal. Holy crap was that not pleasant! She declared we were 5cm dilated. Thank God, I thought. I still wasn’t convinced I was in labour and thought she’d tell me I wasn’t in labour at all and to go home!
After the internal I decided to get in the shower. It was so lovely but oh so cold. Since I could only aim the shower head at either my belly or my back, one part of me was always cold. I remember looking down at my toes and them being purple! I got out of the shower and into a hospital gown and socks and back onto the bed onto my left side. Hubby sat next to me and talked me through each contraction. I was having contractions when all of a sudden something ‘down there’ just didn’t feel right. Hubby had a look and thought my waters had broken and buzzed for Isobel. She came back in and said I’d lost my mucous plug and that my waters had broken. She started getting everything organised for the birth. I think at this point I kept saying to Hubby ‘I can’t do this. I don’t know what I’m doing’. I also thought I was going to be sick again. Looking back I assume this was transition. It wasn’t much later and Isobel asked if I was pushing. I had no idea, but yes I was pushing. So she started hurrying with the trolleys of things.
Pushing was hard. It was so tiring. And I was also shaking really badly. I told Isobel I didn’t want to tear. I was so scared of tearing. She told me I had to listen to her when pushing to try and avoid a tear. With each contraction she tried to get me to push three times. Sometimes I managed to achieve this and other times I could only manage two. I was still lying on my side, with Hubby rubbing my temples (apparently, I have no recollection of the temple rubbing). The midwife suggested I try pushing with the head of the bed raised and me on my knees. I liked this position as it enabled me to put my head on the bed after each contraction and rest.
At this stage I was crying out in pain and squeezing Hubby's hand really tight. I could hear another lady labouring and thought oh well we can be loud together!! After what seemed like an eternity the midwife said she could see the baby’s head and see lots of hair. I must admit this made me push just that little bit harder. With another contraction she told me to push and then pant. I listened and panted and panted until she told me to stop. With the next contraction she said his head would be born, and told Hubby to have a look. I wasn’t too keen on this idea so tried to hold him back. Well that didn’t work, he stuck his head down there for a look.
With one more push his head was out and with one final push out his body slid. The relief was instantaneous. I asked if bub’s was a boy or girl and she told me to turn around and have a look. And there he was, our little prince covered in goo! They gave me the injection in my leg to help birth the placenta and then I turned over onto my back where Malachi was placed on my chest. They clamped the cord and Hubby cut it. We had some skin to skin time and tried some breastfeeding while they had a look down there to see if I needed any work done. I ended up with a left labial tear and a first degree tear, both of which needed stitches. I have no idea how many stitches. I didn’t think to ask and was too busy bonding with our little man. After he had his first feed he went and had hugs with Daddy while I had a shower and got cleaned up. After the shower we were taken down to the maternity ward to bond with our little man.
We stayed in hospital for three nights and were so glad to get home (we were in a four bedded room with a lady who snored!!) He was a little jaundice but his levels were not high enough to warrant putting him under the lights. We had some attachment issues and as a result I had grazed sore nipples for three days or so. But we’re beginning to master breastfeeding and things are going well now we are at home. He is such a calm little bub and barely cries! We are so so smitten with our gorgeous little man. It's true what they say, labour certainly does bring you closer as a couple.
So here are the stats:
Malachi born 30th June at 1213pm weighing 3.4kg. 51cm long and head circumference of 36cm.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Our little miracle is born
Our gorgeous little prince is here!!
Baby Malachi Andrew entered the world on June 30th at 12.13pm weighing in at a healthy 3.4kg. The birth went well and I managed to achieve the drug free birth I was after. Things were crazy in the early days but we are settling in well at home. We are so so smitten with our gorgeous little man. It's true what they say, having a baby certainly brings you closer as husband and wife.
Baby Malachi Andrew entered the world on June 30th at 12.13pm weighing in at a healthy 3.4kg. The birth went well and I managed to achieve the drug free birth I was after. Things were crazy in the early days but we are settling in well at home. We are so so smitten with our gorgeous little man. It's true what they say, having a baby certainly brings you closer as husband and wife.
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