More....

8th August 2007

Hello,

I am now 14 weeks and 5 days pregnant with my first child and have just found my way into this site.

Yesterday I received my CVS results from the doctor and I am carrying a healthy baby girl. I am very happy I decided to have this test. And now I feel i can relax back and enjoy the journey.

10th August 2007

Today I am 15 weeks! I have decided on which hospital to go to and have my first antenatal visit there in 2 weeks.

It is only 10 minutes away from here and refurbished only one year ago, so very new and beautiful. The last one I went to was a Family Birthing Center, nice and cosy but a little tired and much further to go. Also if there are any requirements above a natural birth you have to be moved to the big hospital. That decided it for me. I rather be in one place no matter what happens.

Still feeling very bloated and look much more pregnant than I am. I still hope that will settle.

17/8/07

Today I am officially 16 weeks. It is going so fast. I am starting to show but not too much.

I bought the first little dress for our little girl. All hand made from a lady in the markets, white cotton with lace bloomers to go with it. Soooo cute. I am delightd to know I am having a girl. We have decided to call her Freya Amelie.

The new thing that is giving me trouble is that I am very itchy all over my body. No visible rash but very itchy. And in the evenings I have to take my bra off because it makes my back sore.

5/9/07

Time flies and I am now 18 weeks and 5 days. I am getting quite big now. It is nice as I am not just looking like I have put on a few kilos.

I went to my first antenatal appointment last monday. It was good to hear I have only put on 2.4 kilos which means I would have lost some weight in myself. Not that I am overweight but not as slim as I used to be either. The midwife had problems finding the heartbeat of the baby and it really gave me a scare. I have since been back to see them and the heartbeat was found at a healthy rate of 152/min. What a relief.

Quickening is yet to happen for me. I guess being my first it can happen up til I am 22 weeks apparently. But she is moving around all the time according to the heartrate monitor.

A friend of mine has given me a "belly bean" maternity pillow as a support for my belly when I am sleeping. It is fantastic! Now I feel ever so comfortable. My back is still giving me trouble at night but my beautiful partner gives the best massages. It has now become a regular thing to do after dinner when we are watching tv. Bless him.

I started maternity yoga classes 3 weeks ago. It is amazing! I always look forward to going there and feeling my body open up and soften. I am sure it will be very beneficial for the birth.

Saturday 15th of September,

Oh my have I been busy! We went and ordered the pram last week. We have decided to go for the new Swedish Emmaljunga Cangaroo in bright cheery red. It cost a fortune but I guess you use a pram for atleast 4 years. And as we love our beautiful Australian beaches this one will go anywhere and it only weighs 9 kilos. I was considering the Mountain Buggy from New Zealand but that is wider and weighs more and you have to buy all the extas separately. This one comes with rain cover and boot cover and you can fit a toddler seat on it too if need be. Not sure my body will produce a second child but you never know.

Then it was the office makeover..... You see we live in a small stone cottage with 2 bedrooms and I have a home based business manufacturing organic skincare products. So the plan is to put the baby in the office as it is a large room. I went out and bought the office corner suite I have always wanted. It is amazing with two lockable set of drawers and a large hutch with pigeon holes and cupboards to store all the bits. Next we are enclosing the garage to make that into lockable storage for all the packaging and ingredients. Then we can move the baby bits in and get it all nice for our little Freya. We are also tearing down the old bathroom and making a new one. Phew!

She started to make herself felt last week in week 19. It was not the butterfly wings or the bubbles I thought it would be. More like a gentle poke here and there. Now I feel her move every day :-) It is great really and a bit spooky at the same time.

Last night we went out to see a friends band play and I was sure she had a bit of a dance in there.

On Tuesday we are off to the big Ultrasound. We are both really excited to get to see her again.

Here is the pram :-)

Wednesday 19th of September

We went to the u/s yesterday. Freya was being very uncooperative and was lying across my belly. Head to the right and legs to the left. It made it very difficult for the sonographer to see the heart and the placenta. And with her face turned away we could not get a good view of her. We are going back for another try in 10 days. We had a trainee doing the scan with his supervisor. Perhaps this was part of the problem. I almost wish I had gone to someone more proffessional now rather than the at the local hospital. Feel a little disappointed that I did not get to see her properly.

Friday 19th of October

Wow, it has alrady been a month since the last update. I guess I will have to go back in time a bit to catch up on the news. We went back to do a second ultrasound to check the heart and this time Freya was much more cooperative. We even got quite a nice pic of her. And we think she looks like a monkey :-) Could have something to do with the amount of bananas I chomp through each day. Here she is at 22 weeks

Don't you just love the tags so you can identify all the bits, including the tail!!!! What? My baby has a tail!

She is moving around alot now. Seems to have a bit of a pattern with waking around 3.30 am.....and then again at 5.30. Oh dear. No wonder I am fast asleep on the couch by 9pm each night. She also seems to wake up when it is time for me to eat. And my oh my am I hungry! I seem to have breakfast to then feel I am ready to go again!

The doctors appointment last week went well. I have a good low blood pressure of 100/60 and the doc gave me 10 out of 10 :-) Also no proteils or glucose detected so all looks fine. Freya is no fan of the doppler though and just hides from it. No problems really as I feel her kicking anyway. And I have only put on 5.7 kilos so far :-) All belly really.

Finally got my partner to take some photos of my belly too. So here I am at 21 weeks. I have to get him to take some more.

Saturday 27/10/07

26 weeks and a day already! It is flying this pregnancy :-) On Thursday I had a real feeling of being pregnant. I felt huge and found it exhausting to be at the markets all day. Came home with sore swollen feet and heavy legs.

I met my new midwife Corrie from the Community midwives scheme last week. We have now decided for a homebirth. She is wonderful and has heaps of experinece so I am in good hands. We will try for a water birth in a pool we get to borrow. My friend Azba just had her little girl at home a couple of weeks ago and she loved it. I think just being able to be in your own environment will make a huge difference. Apparently the levels of seratonin and oxytocin drops down during a hospital birth due to the added stress. Corrie who has worked as a hospital midwife for 10 years is amazed at how much easier and quicker homebirths are in comparison.

We still don't have a bathroom. The renovations have taken on a life of its own. After thinking we could just re-line the old frame and leave the roof, we have had to demolish the lot including the slab. It is a blessing that we can use the bathroom next door as old John has gone in to a home. It was an absolute pain having to go to friends and shower when all you want to do at the end of the day is fall asleep on the couch and not have to be social. The concrete slab was poured yesterday and on monday Brendan comes to build the walls and roof. It has been a real push for a pregnant one to organise everything from design to sub-contractors to ordering all the materials. But it will be wonderful in the end. Then it is only the shed left so we can start with the baby room. The fun and games of nesting :-)

Wednesday 31/10/2007

The walls are up, the electrician has been putting wies in and the plumber is setting the water pipes for all the taps today :-) yay :-) Another step closer to having it all finished. We are fitting the roof and all the flashings on Sunday to then put in the external walls next week.

How far along are you:	26 weeks
Cravings so far:	Pink grapefruit, bananas and rosehip soup Yum!
Things that make you sick:	At the beginning I could not stand mushrooms, broccoli and the small of fried bacon. Thankfully that is all over now.
Boy or girl:	Girl :-)
Babys name:	Freya Amelie Schwindt
Advice for other pregnant women:	Enjoy the journey and love your baby bump
Baby Daddy:	Pedro, who is the most gentle and supportive partner. He tells me he loves us every day. Cooked all the food in the first 16 weeks when I was feeling to green to cook.
His reaction:	It took a while to sink in as he dipped the stick. But very happy.
Greatest memory so far:	Seeing her on the first ultrasound at 11 weeks
Biggest fear:	That there was something wrong with my baby when the midwife could not find the heartbeat in week 17.
Strange symptoms:	metallic taste in my mouth, more saliva and bleeding gums
Advantages of being pregnant: How much weight have you put on:	Not having to hold your tummy in, hahahahah 6.5 kilos
Weird dreams:	Every night, I am enjoying the vividness of them very much
Emotional outbursts:	No, I am still a level headed person
Breast changes:	Larger areolas and definetly a bit bigger
Waist changes:	still there :-)
Things you quit for baby:	alcohol, sushi, oysters, smoked salmon, deli meats, caffeine
Most uncomfortable time:	Nausea during the first part of the pregnancy
Worst part of being pregnant:	Flatulence and feeling tired early in the evening
Best place for maternity clothes:	my post pregnancy friends and the baby expo
Taking parenting classes:	Only ante-natal and preparation for birth workshops
Pregnancy necessities:	my belly bean pillow for great sleeping
Grandparents reaction:	All delighted, especially my mum who never thought it would happen
Aunts? Uncles?:	6 in total
Godparents:	I dont know yet
Where will you deliver:	At home in a birthing pool
When:	Around the 1st of february 2008
Will you breastfeed:	Naturally

14th December 2007

So much has happene since my last entry. It has been a bit of a roller coaster to say the least.

I went back to the hospital for another ultrasound check on the placenta about 2 weeks ago. It was still in the same position 1.5 cm from cervix and in a posteriour location. Then the sonographer looked around and measured the head again. She dissappeared for a while and then came back to tell me that Feya had not grown as she is supposed to and that I had a low count of amniotic fluid. So an appointment was then booked to see an obstretician Dr Mark Sillender at Kaleya a couple of days later. I was freaked out to say the least. I called my midwife Corrie who reassured me somewhat to calm down.

At the o/b appointment I was told that my placenta may not give her sufficient nourishment and that she may have to be born early. I was told no sex because of the placenta and if I get any bleeding to rush straight to King Edward Hospital. Nice one..............I was booked in for another scan at Fremantle Hospital which I later cancelled and booked myself in to a private specialist called Tony Murphy at Attadale Hospital. He costs a fortune but hey, I really felt the need to be properly assessed.

I went to Dr Murphy on Tuesday 11th. And what a relief to hear that baby Freya is just a small petite little girl, my placenta feeds her perfectly and my amniotic fluid is normal 10. She has a small head too :-) My placenta has moved up slightly to 2 cm above cervix. So lets hope when I see him next in week 37 that it has moved enough to have a waterbirth here at home. We got to see her in 3d and she looked so cute. She has lots of hair and long feet like Pedro. Her weight was approx 1700 grams. Just a few hundred low, not too much.

The bathroom is almost done. It has been tiled and we just need to do the final coats of paint on walls, door and trimms. Put up the shower curtain rail,towel racks, toilet roll and soap dish. But it all works and we have the use of the washing machine again! I am so happy about that. Going to the laundry was just not my idea of a good time.

Sunday 13 January 2008

I can't believe I am now 37 weeks and the birth of Freya is imminent. We went to the active birth workshop yesterday so it all seems so muh more real now. The baby room is done apart from getting the cot which we are picking up later today. I have washed all the sheets and wraps , folded the clothes into sizes and arranged the toys. Guess that is nesting hey :-) It looks lovely. I have a huge satin sun up on one wall and some very special aboriginal prints are going over the cot. Mum is coming over soon so we have had to fit a double bed in there too which unfortunately takes alot of space but that will eventually go.

Now it is just the rest of the house left to be organised and cleaned. Then I have about 6 batches of products to make and label then I am just going to be pregnant and relax......I have been waiting for months to come to this.

The weather has been very hot. So we arranged to get an airconditioner, nice one. It has, however, been reasonably cool of late so it has not had much use. But the hottest part of the year will be around and after the birth so it will be very nice and comfortable to have the luxury of keeping cool. And the warmth in winter will be good too. Now we can retire our old unflued gas heater. Yippie!

My midwife came on Friday and I am now on weekly visits. She brought the pool with her so we will set it up and have a practice run soon. Pedro is worried the bearers in the timeber floor won't hold. But I think it will be just fine. Freya is still head down but she still has not dropped. I am off to the next ultrasound soon. But Corrie thinks there is no problems to deliver at home. Funny how I trust her more than the obstretician......