More....

This is my sixth pregnancy and I have five lovely kids ranging from 11 yrs down to 2 yrs.

This pregnancy has gone smoothly so far with only a short time of morning sickness, Yay!! I seem to be popping out a little quicker this time so it's either wrong dates, twins or just I'm getting older and the tummy muscles are not quite what they used to be ( the latter is unfortunately more likely.)

17 weeks tomorrow

Things are ticking along nicely. Feeling really good. My belly seems to have stayed put growth wise so I don't feel so big now. I am not feeling this baby move much as I have with other pregnancies but this can be due to the positioning of the placenta and which direction the baby is kicking. I have had times where I have thought I felt baby but nothing to make me say that it's a definite baby movement. I guess that with 5 other kids I don't sit around waiting for baby to move so I may be missing it. I will have my first scan in about 2 weeks, I can't wait.

Funnily enough I have just started to feel rhythmic taps down low, almost like soft hiccups.

A bit about me

This is my 6th pregnancy. I have 5 wonderful kids who are all so different and unique. I home school the kids and do our book keeping etc for our business. My husband and I have been married for 13 years and he's great, he's a big kid himself and full of mischief. This keeps life interesting and keeps laughter a major part of our household.

My Other pregnancies and births

1: Pregnancy normal, slight bleeding at 8weeks. Head engaged at 32 weeks causing great waddling. Was in India until I was 20 weeks pregnant.

Birth: 40.6 weeks gestation, Contractions started 3 mins apart. Hospital delivery, posteria, suction cap delivery. Tore badly, had gas and pethidine for pain relief (never again)

Time: 11.5hrs hard labor from first contraction.

Sex: Girl, 7.10Lbs with 37.5+ cm head!!!!!!

2:Pregnancy normal.

Birth: 40.5 weeks gestation weeks, hospital delivery, no pain relief. Wonderful experience

Time: 4hrs from first contraction( like a dream)

Sex: Girl, 9Lbs

3: Pregnancy: Subchorionic haemorrage at 12 weeks, Bleeding until 16 weeks. Under specialist care. Not sure if baby would make it. God had a sense of humour. Went full term but induced on due date as placenta not fully functioning.

Birth: 40 weeks, Induced. Only needed prostaglandin gel to cervix and everything was all go. I must have been ready. Nurse did not believe I was in labour so I called my husband and midwife myself. Midwife got there 15 minutes before the birth. Amazing birth although they did need to rush me down the hall quickly to delivery. I peed all the way up the hall and then vomited once I was there. I was obviously in transition. Maybe the nurse will listen to her patients now. I happen to be very quiet and manage pain very well but I know when a baby is coming. She appologised once I was back on the ward and stated that she thought I was a teenage Mum having her first baby.
(poor teenagers)

Time: 2hrs from first contraction (wow) No pain relief

Sex: Female 6.15Lbs

4: Pregnancy normal

Birth: 38 weeks gestation, Hospital birth. Got to hospital and had baby 15 minutes later. No pain relief

Time: 2hrs From first contraction (Yay!!!) what a breeze

Sex: Boy 8.6Lbs

5: Pregnancy normal

Birth: 38 weeks gestation,planned HOME BIRTH!!!!! loved every minute of it. Had baby in bath tub with dim lights and candles. Could not have been better. No pain relief

Time: 2hrs From first contraction till birth

Sex: Boy 7.10Lbs

Here's a couple of shots of our kids on holiday

I wanted to test out how to upload a photo to my page and now that I know there will be no stopping me. Belly shots, here I come.......

26/01/08 Belly at 17.2 weeks

It does not look as it feels. I was surprised to see myself, I look smaller than I expected. It is also morning and gravity takes effect by the end of the day.

Encouragement for all you small framed girls:

With my first baby I was sent for a scan before delivery to check that my pelvic size and size of baby's head would be compatible. They said that baby had a small head and looked O.K. I ended up having a suction cup delivery as she got wedged and they could not get forceps in. It turned out that she had a huge head, above average at near 38cm with virtually no fontanel meaning that there was not much molding able to happen. I was told she should have been a C-section but was so glad I had her naturally (sort of). I was concerned when pregnant with my second that the head may be a problem. My midwife laughed and said, " If you got out a head as big as your first baby then you can give birth to anything". She said it was unlikely that the head would be bigger and that my first baby had paved the way. She was sooooo right. I have had very easy births since and am so glad I did not end up having a C-section due to my small frame. My second baby was 9Lbs and was easy peazey. Don't let people talk you into a C-section because of your size. It is so much easier to get back to normal with a VD. If I had a choice I would do it the same way all over again. You can give birth to a big baby naturally and be small framed!!!!!!

Things no one tells you:

I thought I would, every now and then, add a little bit of info that took me by surprise with my first baby.

No1: Everyone has different nipples right? You get taught about breast feeding and positioning baby correctly but I had always imagined that the milk came out of one main hole in the center of the nipple. What took me by surprise was that there was little jets shooting all over the place when my milk let down and if baby was not on, wow, what a mess!!!! Most of the milk does come out of the center but you can even have a stray jet way down your nipple. I thought I was some kind of freak but soon learned that this was the norm. We are all created different, even down to our nipples and where our milk shoots out from. Have a good laugh at yourself and know it's normal/

Things no one tells you:

No.2: Babies suck really hard. I had the serene image of a tiny suckling baby gently drinking and got quite a shock when I latched on my first born and felt the pure force of a new born's suck. It was not unpleasant just unexpected. I love breastfeeding. It is such a lovely time to share between you and your babe and I would not trade it for anything. Put the time in to latch baby on well. It saves a lot of pain from cracked nipples. Check out how far the nipple is sucked down babies throat in this picture. You get to see this if you ever use an electric breast pump.

Things no one tells you:

No3: Someone else left me a message that they thought I should add to this section and it is one I can relate to. Soon after birth it is not uncommon to get the shakes, not because of blood loss or cold just a very normal body response after birth. My legs and especially my thighs can become uncontrollable. This has also happened to me during the transition phase of birth. I cannot blame it on a long labor either as my last 3 were only 2 hours. I have heard labor likened to running a marathon the body goes thru a lot and uses huge amounts of energy.
My shaking doesn't last too long and then I'm up in the shower but it's good to know this may happen so don't get a fright.

Things no one tells you:

No4: I had been quite a modest person and was not quite sure how I would like having people peering at my private anatomy but believe me when I say, I could not have cared less who was in the room when giving birth. Pushing is the only time that you really need to bare all unless you don't care and also for the odd check of the cervix along the way. All I was focused on was having my baby and I was going to do that in any state of being dressed or undressed as long as I was comfortable. Your body becomes tuned into birthing and nakedness is as far from a sexual thing as possible at that time. So for those who are worried about loss of dignity, shed the fear because the process of birth takes over and becomes your central focus.

Things no one tells you:

No5: Having really strong tummy muscles can work against you in labor if you don't learn to relax them. With my first baby I was very fit with very strong abs and I found that I was fighting against my contractions to try and stop the pain. I was told by a friend with my second baby to really focus on relaxing and concentrating on letting the cervix open up during contractions. I tried this and found it amazing. Every time I had a contraction I pictured my baby pushing on the cervix and the benefit of the pain rather that trying to stop the pain. The pain then became a positive thing and not just something to suffer thru. I began to really enjoy the good strong contractions as I knew they were preparing everything and were getting my baby closer and closer to being in my arms. I have done this with each of my births now and it has really helped me not feel overwhelmed. Yes contractions hurt but they are bearable. I love birth and I can honestly say I love the contractions as I know without them my baby would not come. Hey, I'm onto baby no.6 so it can't be that bad. I have also managed the last 4 with no pain relief as my reaction to the pain has changed so much. I would have to say that by the time you think you cannot bear it anymore is usually right before transition and it's all over before you know it after that. I love the pushing part especially.

Things no one tells you:

No.6: I found having a mirror at the foot of the bed a real motivator when pushing. I had this with my second baby and there after ( not in the bath though). As soon as I saw the first little tufts of hair I got my second wind and I was determined after that to get that baby out.

Things no one tells you:

No.7: After 3 lovely girls I finally had my first boy. Although I knew the male anatomy was different I was a little stumped as to how hard I could wash these wee little testicles ( actually they were quite huge at birth which is very normal). I quickly found out they were pretty robust.
The thing I was not prepared for is that boys have erections right from the start. Thats right your baby may salute you soon after birth.

It is also not uncommon to find a little touch of blood in their nappy for the first few weeks. Apparently it is to do with hormones. Both boys and girls can also get enlarged breasts and leak milk.

Things no one tells you:

No.8: Sun is a great healer. There is nothing better than getting the sun on the war wounds of birth. I have only torn once in birth with my first baby (never felt it at the time). It was a nasty tear but I wouldn't worry too much about it happening as most people do not feel it at the time.It was afterwards that it was more of a bother. A spray bottle of tea tree oil to keep things fresh and baring all to the sun is great. The sun is also great for sore/cracked nipples and also for a baby with jaundice. Just find a private spot where you will not receive a surprise visit from some unexpected guest and let the sun do its wonders.

Possible place of conception: India

Last year during October and early November we took a trip to India. We went to a Leaders training time at a church that relates to ours. It is part of NCMI (New Covenant Ministries International) We took our eldest Daughter Daya ( her name is Indian as I was over there for 3 months when I was pregnant with her). My Parents looked after our other 4 kids while we were away for 2.5 weeks. This was the longest we have ever left the kids. They did really well and we had a fab time. My point is that we are not absolutely sure if this baby is an Indian conception or just after we arrived back. We had spent most of our stay in India sharing a bed with our 11 year old and only had a couple of nights alone so needless to say it was great to get home to our own bed and possibly a welcome home conception???????

I have added a few shots of our trip. We brought all the kids some Indian outfits. They looked great.

!8 week belly shots

Here's my belly at 18.1 weeks pregnant. I think I have really grown in the last couple of days.

I did a blog for my 5th pregnancy. Check it our if you want. My Blog

Last days of 18 weeks.

This week has been a busy one. we have had three people staying with us. A lovely guy from Australia and a couple of 15 year old boys. We were going to a leadership training time hosted by our church. Today is the last day and although i have enjoyed it I am feeling a bit jaded now. Our billets all leave tonight so I think it will be a take aways and blob night. I Have not been feeling baby move much, just the occasional tap or little roll. This baby is very quiet at this stage compared to the others. I look forward to my scan in 3 days to see what this little one is up to.

19 week belly shot

Here's my belly at 19 weeks. It's funny how different days your belly can look bigger or smaller. I think I look smaller this week than last week but maybe it is the clothes I am wearing also.

19 week anatomy scan

I have the sex of this little pumpkin written on a piece of paper next to me. I have a feeling that although I want a surprise I may be over powered by my own curiosity. My husband David wants to know, hence the piece of paper but I thought I wanted a surprise. The lady doing the ultra sound said she had already seen the sex of the baby when I told her that my husband wanted to know, this has made me think that it was very obvious as she was very quick down in the nether region. I have always said that if it is obvious it is usually a boy. I have the video of the scan so I may go over it and see if I can spot when she saw.

Everything looked great on the scan. Baby had all the essentials and was busy sucking it's thumb or fist (very cute). My kids all came as well as my Father. I decided that because he never gets to be at the birth like my Mum then maybe he would like see bubs before anyone else on the screen.

Another interesting point is that I was feeling a little concerned that I was not feeling baby as much as I had with the others. It has much more gentle movements and I really had to concentrate to feel them. Usually by now even David has felt the baby move. I tried not to think about it too much and put it down to the position of the placenta and sure enough that is exactly what it is. For the first time out of 6 pregnancies I have an anterior high placenta. Usually the placenta is low and only just out of the way of the cervix. It all make perfect sense when you see the baby kicking the placenta rather than your belly.

Anyway, enough said. Here are the shots...................

It's a BOY!!!

I gave into temptation but am happy to know. At lease I have all the boy stuff as my youngest 2 are boys. Practically it's great.

Little weight update. 14/03/08

Weight gain: I started this pregnancy weighing 48Kgs (105Lbs) and am now weighing 54.5Kgs. Thats a gain of 6.5 Kgs. I usually put on about 10Kgs per pregnancy so It will be interesting to see this time. It only gives me room for a 3.5Kg gain between now and 4.5 months away. I think I will exceed my norm. It doesn't really bother me how much I gain as I would like to retain a little after this baby. It seems to drop off me quite quickly and I am more inclined to look scrawny and have everyone asking if I am eating properly. (I hate that). It's
funny how people are happy to comment on how skinny you are, I guess they must see it as a compliment. The old classic line is " You need to put some meat on those bones". If only they could see how much I eat. My husband and I eat very similar portions and he complains of having a bit more padding than he would like. There is a lot to be said about metabolism and breeding.

20.1 week belly shot

Here is my latest belly growth. Nothing huge since last week. I don't tend to get very big even though some of my babies have been. Again this is a morning shot. It looks very different after a day of gravity forces upon it. Maybe I should take a morning vs night shot to see the comparison.

Here's the afternoon shot at 20.1 weeks

I don't know, I think things look bigger in the afternoon. What do you think?

20/03/08

Well it's been a reasonably uneventful week. I still don't feel Jackson much( that's what we are going to call him) due to having an anterior placenta. It's very strange after having 5 other babies and feeling them very early and all the time. It just goes to show that every pregnancy is different. I guess as bubs gets bigger I will feel him more and more. My belly is slowly getting bigger and I am enjoying every minute of it. I try to put my feet up each afternoon for an hour or so while my littlest boy has a snooze. I am often flitting off here and there taking kids to music lessons or swimming or netball. My girls have also been taking a sewing class. I am learning so much from it. I never really got into sewing when I was young. I much preferred metal work or wood work.

The things no one tells you:

No 9: If this is not your first baby, be prepared for more after pains after birth. By after pains I mean continued contractions. I have found after each birth these have been more intense. It's funny because I go through labor with no pain relief but as soon as the after pains hit I am into the paracetamol. I know these contractions help to stop the bleeding and to bring the uterus back down to size but I must admit that I do find them a bit tiresome. I can handle the pain of contractions during labor because I know they are bringing our little one to us. Just be prepared that's all. Nothing intolerable just a bit annoying.

21 week belly:

So here it is again, clothing makes all the difference. No huge growth in the last couple of weeks.

It is Easter break at the moment and we have enjoyed time with family and friends. We did a Christian passover meal on Thursday night then my parents came for dinner on Friday night then David's sister and family came for lunch on Saturday and ended up staying on for tea (evening meal) we call it tea in N.Z. On Sunday we went to church and friends came back for lunch. We then had a communion meal down at church where everyone brings a plate. We had to leave early as Levi my youngest vomited all over the table. I managed to catch most of it in a cup but not exactly the most pleasant for those sharing a table with us. Yuk!!!!!! Nothing like surprises from little ones. What can you do but laugh, clean up the mess and leave.

The things no one tells you:

No10: It's O.K to have a nice relaxing bath. As long as the bath is not too hot and by that I mean you look like a beetroot and are sweating from your brow. It can still be hot enough to enjoy. I love lying back in the bath watching my belly move as baby does and seeing the outline of feet or knees just about bursting through your skin. I have not seen it yet with this pregnancy but I am sure it wont be far away. So run yourself a bath light some candles and enjoy a little time out pampering.

Surviving the first eight weeks:

Of my own personal experience, the first eight weeks you are in survival mode. You are tired, perhaps sore nipples and you feel like your body is not your own. The good news is that despite all this you can cope with tiredness because the joy of having a new baby out weighs the tiredness.

For first time Mums it can seem forever and you may even think that this is how it is going to be for ever and ever. Rest assured there is light at the end of the tunnel. I often find that after about 8 weeks baby/Mum settles into a routine ( I encourage routine, I'm not big on demand feeding) Even if you do not routine feed, baby tends to become more settled and predictable.

My Routine:

I tend to adopt a flexible routine. I am not bound by the clock but use it as a guide. I find I very quickly can distinguish my babies cries because I know where he is at in his routine. Here's my routine in very basic form:

1) Baby wakes, I feed him
2) Keep baby awake for a while, nappy change, play, bath etc (Feeding and wake time take about 1.5hrs)
3) Baby goes to bed (sleeps about 1.5 hrs).

In total it is about a 3hr cycle give or take half an hour between feeds as sometimes baby has a grow or is unsettled.

So to really summarize, I feed every 3 hrs to start with in the first few weeks but may be flexible depending on baby having a growth spurt. The routine mustn't rule you but it gives you a good guideline of what to expect when. I wouldn't do it any other way.

I choose to feed baby when he first gets up rather than to nurse him to sleep as I find Nursing to sleep can become a habit that is very hard to break later on. I like my babies to be able to fall asleep on their own with the occasional nursing to sleep if unsettled.

So there you have it. That's how I have done it for all 5 babies and I wouldn't change it if you paid me. I have seen too many Mums run ragged with demand feeding. Some people love demand feeding and have the time and energy to feed their baby every time he cries and it works for them. It's not wrong to demand feed but I do think it can tire you out very quickly. Everyone will have their own opinions on this and although I encourage routine I do not encourage being bound by routine but I also don't encourage your baby ruling your life. With 5 other children this baby has to adapt to how life is in this particular home and fit in. I cannot expect the other kids to give up everything just because a new baby has come into the family. He will be a welcome addition and we look forward to welcoming him.

22 Weeks pregnant:

Another week has passed and another belly shot update. I have been feeling a lot bigger this last week and have just started feeling it's a little harder to roll over in bed. When I bend down I can definitely feel resistance from my tummy. Jackson (babies name) is moving a lot more now or should I say I am feeling him a lot more. I can even see my belly move now as he pushes against it. My belly button still has not popped out but I am sure it won't be too far away. My veins in my left leg have been looking pretty unsightly so I tend to be wearing trousers a lot. They seem to get worse with every pregnancy so I might get something done about them after Jackson is born.

I got busy with baby clothes over the weekend. After being in storage for a while they tend to get a musty smell. They are now all washed and folded just waiting to be worn. The room is ready to go, the change table is set, the cot is made up. the only thing I do not have is a baby bath, my other one has a small crack and is now used as the dogs water bowl. I am umming and Ahhing over whether to get one or not. I often put baby either in the shower with Dad in the morning or in the bath with the other kids at night. I still did use one from time to time with my last baby but not a huge amount. It's not a huge expense so maybe I will just get one.

David (hubby) Has taken all but Levi, who is sleeping, to the library. It's nice to sit and write without being interrupted. I should really use this time to take a nap.

I see my midwife tomorrow so I may do another update then.

22 week midwife appointment:

Nothing to report really. I took all the kids to see my midwife. She also had a student with her who may attend the birth. All was well with Jackson. His heart was pumping away. My little Levi thought Baby was walking due to the sound from the dopler. My fundal height was normal and all other recordings were normal for me. My BP often goes very low during pregnancy and this time seems to be no exception. I don't tend to get dizzy with it and it is better to be low than high.

Blogging spot:

I have just discovered that I can now do a dated blog rather that just adding onto my page. Maybe you could do this before and I just didn't realise. Now you can go to the side bar and click on the latest blog for up to date information. I shall no longer add to this page as it is getting rather lengthy.