Hi! I'm 42, and feel a little old to be pregnant again. I already have 5 beautiful kids, but very excited about the new addition on the way.

March 7th: Dating scan at Mossman hospital: 10 weeks and 2 days

March 25th: Ultra-sound scan in Cairns: 13 weeks; 7.24cm, maybe 13 wk + 3 days

May 7th: second ultra-sound scan in Cairns. 19 weeks. The technician says Baby is a girl! and the scan showed that she's healthy and developing well. No problems they could see. It's such a relief! And although I was telling myself I didn't mind what gender Baby is, I'm SO HAPPY she's a little girl! So are the other children. :) Also relieved that all development appears to be normal, as they say the risks of problems are so high for a mother my age.

May 19th: Still going well. Some days I feel like September may never come; other times the days and weeks just disappear. We're thinking of naming our little angel "Penny".

August 4th: Midwife & Dr appointments at Cairns Base Hospital. They took 3 vials of blood to check for what might be causing the bruising on my legs and a urine sample to check for a couple of things Dr Guirguis hadn't done. Also gave me lots of info about VBACs and what to take to hospital, besides an ambulance! Both the midwife and doctor seem a lot more genuinely concerned about my risks that Dr G. which is actually reassuring. I do hope to give birth under their care, even tho it means being on my own for the birth and probably until discharge.

August 8th: Dr G and I discussed VBAC vs another c-section, and he says it's up to me, but his judgment (just barely) comes down on the side of c-section, because of the slightly increased risks with a VBAC and the decreased risks of a c-section after having had surgery before. The op would mean more medical control, and we'd have a date, so we'd know when to be in Cairns - Pat and the kids might even be able to come. Also we wouldn't be rushing to Cairns in labor, risking giving birth en route. Recovery would be a few days vs a few hours, but that's okay. Seems to depend mostly on whether Baby decides to come uninvited before we can get a c-section organized.

August 20th: Doctor G. says she's cephalic, everything seems good. :) Started taking iron as dizziness could be because of slightly low heamoglobin level.

September 3rd: (36 weeks) Dr G. says she's turned breech. Gonna look into that c-section Monday.

September 5th: Glucose Tolerance Test was okay; it seemed unnecessary but came back positive. Now what? I already eat like a health nut and exercise heaps.

September 8th: Cairns ObGyn said I should try for a vag. delivery, as Baby is cephalic *whew* and he thinks it would be quite safe. He also said her head is "well down" so she's very unlikely to turn breech again. If I'm still pregnant in 3 weeks, we will talk c-sec.

September 13th: Got my blood glucose monitor and strips all sorted, and can keep an eye on my blood sugar levels. So far, so good - no readings over 7.4 mmol/l. Other ladies on here seems to be having their little babies, one by one, but Penny seems quite content to stay where she is!

September 16th: Had abdominal pains and eventually went to the hospital. I thought it may be heartburn or gas pains, as it was sort of a burning sensation, but down near my bellybutton. The midwife wondered if it might be bleeding from the placenta, as that's where it was apparently positioned. They transferred me to Cairns for a scan and for observation, but I went into labor on the way. The ambulance driver, Miles, told me all about how he got dreadlocks in his blonde hair. Got to Cairns still only 2cm dilated and not effaced. Given a drip at dinner time, as my glucose level was very low by now, having had nothing to eat since toast and an orange at 10am. Not fish and chips, but got my BGL back up. I was still picking superglue off my fingers from fixing Tycho's toy shield, and watching "three and a half Men" when they came to tell me there was an opening in theatre, and took me in for c-sec at about 9:30pm. Penny born at 10:36pm. As she was born, they lifted her above the screen so I could see her, but I really only got to see her "girl bits" (that was in itself a relief) and they took her to check and clean her off. The spinal block was awful, affected my heart and had to get narcotic injection which made my mouth dry and head itchy, and was having trouble breathing by the time they stitched me up. I was shaking like I was freezing cold.

September 17th: Recovery took over an hour, but good now and feeding. Her blood glucose was low at first testing, so they gave her 20ml formula, but BGL came good and she has taken to breastfeeding well. She's lovely!!

September 18th: Transferred back to Mossman this afternoon, where Pat and the kids finally came and met little Penny. Doctor was busy dealing with patients from a minibus accident where the bus had hit a horse, but finally we saw the doctor, and she discharged us. Home by taxi (Colleen), with only panadol for pain. Very very happy to be home with Penny and pleased to have shared this wonderful journey with all the ladies here on this site.