2006 is almost over...

Hi everyone,

Long time no talk... things have been pretty full on here with all my family in town. Things sure have been full on but so much fun too!!!

We had Rachels christening today - all went well and we were lucky enough that the rain held off for most of the day so the kids were able to play outside at our place afterwards (and we do only have a small house with all of the above ppl there as well as Steph's family and a few friends). Rachel was well behaved and didn't even cry when the water was poured over her head - thats my girl! :) She only started crying at the end when all the photos were being taken - damn paparazi! LOL Will post a photo of her in her gown (that is at least 25 years old) once I get hold of one - none taken on our camera - but no doubt the bros will send them through once they are downloaded off their cameras.

I have had a few glasses of bubbly today and feel quite light headed and funny now... so Steph is looking after Rachel this evening! Think I may even head to bed soonish and let Steph settle her etc... and then I will do the night feed.

We are going to spend New Years with the family (of course) before they start heading back to their respective countries and homes so no doubt it will be rowdy but lots of fun! But bags not drinking! LOL We are spending the night there so neither of us have to drive home again.

2006 sure has been an eventful year for us starting off with the sad death of our very special friend Jude on my Mums birthday and her funeral on my birthday. Then getting pregnant the following month... so of course that led to the next 9mths being pregnant and reaching each milestone after the two miscarriages in 2005. Throughout the year there have been a number of blogger babies arrive and as much as I think I can name them all I would hate to leave any one out :) Then of course there was the arrival of Rachel Judith 8 weeks ago and boy has our life changed since then! LOL

May 2007 bring us all many joys and celebrations and may we all acheive what we set out to acheive. For me it will be returning to work and managing to be a mum at the same time and to start work on slowly getting rid of my excess weight that I am still carrying. I am still about 9 kilos heavier than I was pre pregnancy so need to get some of my good habits back again before I lose them totally! :) I am walking quite a bit though - would LOVE to get back to the gym but the $$$ just don't allow me to so might have to take Sue up on her offer of doing me a home programme :)

I doubt I will post again before heading to Mums tomorrow so I would like to wish you all and your loved ones a Happy and Safe New Year. Talk to you all next year :)

Bye for now...

Firstly - I do hope you all had a very merry Christmas with your family and friends. And that Santa bought you what you had wished/asked for :)

We had a lovely first Christmas as parents with Rachel being very spoilt indeed! My only regret from Christmas Day is that we didn't manage to get an "Offical" photo of the three of us celebrating christmas or even an "offical" photo of Rachel in her beautiful dress! And then when we had the offical family photos later in the day (all 29 of us), Rachel was fast asleep and having spent almost 2hrs to calm and settle one very over tired little girl there was no way I was going to wake her so she missed out on being in those photos too! :(

But apart from the photo situation - we had an awesome time spending two great days with my crazy family! It was a very noisey, overwhelming day for the kids but so much fun was had by all. We hit the road to mums about 8am and had a bbq bubbly breakfast there before heading to the house where one of my brothers was staying (as it was bigger than mums) for the present opening and lunch etc... Present opening was diablocial but so much fun and laughter was had by all! I loved opening all of Rachels presents and she sure got some great books and clothes and toys! I also enjoyed the bubbly, the bourbon and the baileys that I drunk throughout the day and night (not altogether)! :)

We had a very unsettled night with Rachel though depsite having her basinett with us etc she was waking every 2/3 hrs for a small feed and cuddles! And the house we were staying in was a 3 story house so I did keep fit going up and down to the kitchen etc...

Boxing Day started off as a very laid back, relaxed quiet day before we all met at Waikanae (at another brothers house that he was staying in) as the house there was only 100 meters from the beach. So a family game of cricket was held while I went for a lovely but very refreshing walk along the beach with Rachel in the pram. We were initially going to spend aother night up there but decided that it would be better for us all if Rachel had a good night in her own surroundings. She had a good sleep which of course meant we had a good sleep as well.

Today has been a very quiet one here with Rachel doing lots of sleeping and feeding (perhaps another growth spurt) which is great. Just a pity the weather isn't the best. We had our visit from Plunket and in the 12 days since the last visit Rachel has gained approx 1 1/2 pounds so is now weighing in at 11lb 5ozs! But just as I had undressed Rachel for the nurse to weigh her and had picked her up to put her on the scales she pee'd everywhere - all over me, her playmat, her clothes and the floor!!! LOL

Tomorrow, we are heading up to Mums to spend the day up there... Friday we are having another day at home with some friends visiting us. Then on Saturday we have Rachels christening so have a bit of baking/cooking to do for that and a house to tidy and fingers crossed it will be fine for the afternoon tea afterwards otherwise we will be all squashed in here like sardines! LOL Might spend New Years Eve up at Mums depending on other invites etc...

Anyway, best I stop rambling and get moving... hope you are all enjoying the break. Catch ya all later

Am still here...

Hi all

Yeap I am still here - just had rather a busy week and seem to run out of either time or energy to do a post so thought I would do a quick one while I had the time (i.e. Rachel is sleeping ) and the energy (i.e. can't be bothered doing the housework).

All Christmas cards have been done and posted... all Christmas presents have been bought, wrapped and are under the tree! Oh just got Stephs and mine joint present (the microwave) to get but thought we would wait until the New Year sales so we can get a better one at a cheaper price! :)

Am having a day at home today to give Rachel the chance to actually have a decent day sleep in her own bed rather than the carseat or pram! Might go for a walk later on but will see how we are going. Am waiting for the Midwife to ring me back as I have her present here for her but I am having difficulty in getting her to return my calls (she uses a pager system) and I think that is because she told me she doesn't want a gift and that seeing Rachel (and any of her babes) born and healthy is the best gift of all! Might have to end up dropping the present and card off to the hospital and leaving it at the delivery suite office so she can just get it next time she is there.

We are still having problems with Rachel in the evenings and last night we gave her the first dose of Infant Gaviscon which seemed to work wonders for her and gave us some peace and quiet for a while too. So between the Gaviscon, Gripe Water and the Naturopharm Spray Rachel seems to be doing well - we write down all the feeds she has and how much she takes (more for me and my lack of memory) so we just note beside the feed if we give her anything extra (ie spray) as obviously we can't give her everything each feed!! She is really loving her baths these days as well and is well and truely out of the baby bath and is in the big bath! Must admit I did prefer the baby bath (as it was part of the change table and at a good height) so might start actually having baths with her in the evenings and then Steph can dress her etc while I dry and get dressed myself.

Not too much else to say really - the family are almost all in NZ now. Baby brother is on the plane from Sydney as I type this and they get to Wgtn at 3pm. Then my sister comes down tomorrow some time... I REALLY want to head up to Mums tomorrow to see everyone prior to Monday but Steph doesn't seem to think we will have time but if I get off my butt and get some housework done today then we can do the groceries this afternoon when Steph gets home and whoaloa we can go to Mums tomorrow! LOL

So best I get moving and perhaps do the vacuming etc... and as this will probably be my last post before Christmas Day (but will post in between Christmas and New Year) I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas and I hope you and your families have a wonderful day!

Ciao for now

7 more sleeps...

OMG - only 7 more sleeps until Santa comes and visits us all!! Wow where has the year gone??? 2006 has certainly been an eventful year for Steph and I but I will do a more philisophical post on that subject closer to the end of the year :)

Back to the weekend - what did we get up to?? Saturday we had Rachels 6 weeks jabs with the nurse. I had heard how painful it was for the mums to watch this but like childbirth you can't appreciate how hard it is until you go through it yourself! The look on her face when those needles went in to her legs - OMG I was in tears as well!!! Rachel hasn't had any major reaction to them - only being clingy and grizzly which we were able to deal with.

Sunday we headed to Mums for lunch and to catch up with my brother from Ireland and his kids. It has been 4 years since I had seen Phil but 6 years since I had seen the kids! They sure have grown and the girls just loved cooing over Rachel and were wanting to hold her etc! Though now Alex is 17 and Olivia is 11 - they were very confident in holding her etc... the only thing that they didn't want to do is change Rachels naps! LOL I wonder why??? LOL

The last 4 nights we have had 2 hours of crying/screaming - no set time as such but it just seems to be after she has had her evening bottle and just doesn't want to settle. Rachel is currently sleeping and due to wake shortly so fingers crossed this evening isn't another one of those nights. I guess the biggest challenge of being a mummy is the unpredicatableness of each day as I am generally a routine type of gal! LOL

Oh I managed to finish my christmas cards today while Steph fed Rachel so tomorrow I will get them posted off (and hand delivered for those local ones). Still got a few thank you cards to do though but I really wanted the Christmas ones out this week! Now I can start thinking of wrapping the pressies! :) Oh I finished our Christmas shopping last night - oh well more or less - just have a present to buy for Rachel to give her daddy! Since our budget is tight this year, Steph and I are just going to buy ourselves a new microwave as our combined Christmas present. Our current one was initially my parents, then my sister had it for a while, then my brother and now me so I have worked out it is approx 9 years old at least! And with using it so often these days for sterlising Rachel's bottles etc we decided we really do need a decent one and I have noticed when our current one is on 50% power that it is not working as well as it used to.

Oh tomorrow I have an interview with a local employment agency to get on their books so am dropping Rachel off to Steph's SIL and she will look after her for me :) The other two agencies have said they will contact me in the New Year to meet up and to register etc...

Anyway, time for me to keep moving and to fold the washing while Rachel is still sleeping... catch ya all later.

Hi all

Wow a whole week of great weather! Does this mean summer is really upon us this time??? Hasn't it been fantastic? I am just loving every day being able to have the lounge doors wide open and washing on the line and walking when I have the energy/time... Lets hope this continues :)

So what have we been up to the last couple of days? Not a lot really... Wednesday was a day at home (apart from a 45min trip to the supermarket). Rachel was pretty upset on Wednesday afternoon and Janene thanks for your tips - she does have her basinett raised at the head end and was ready to change formulas but am sticking with what we have now after talking to the Drs (more on that in a moment).

Yesterday, we had her Dr's appt for her 6 week check up and immunisation shots... so afer rushing to get the Drs on time (why the hell was I rushing I don't know) and ended up having a 40min wait before we got to see her (that was the longest wait I have ever had to see her). Gillian is really pleased with Rachel and her progress and reminded me not to listen to coffee group "comparisons" i.e. "J" is doing this and "C" is doing this etc... as every child is different and develops at their own pace! My mum reminded me that I didn't walk until I was 17mths old and didn't even talk properly until I was 5yrs old (and haven't stopped since LOL)! Anyway, we then went to the nurses room to get told that they had run out of one of the vacines so I could either let Rachel have two now and come back next week for the other one OR I could come back for them all next week which doesn't really suit us... so they have fitted us in tomorrow (Saturday) which is great as that means Steph will be able to be there too.

After the Dr's, we dropped a couple of pkts of nappies (that don't suit Rachels size) off to a friend of mine who is pregnant with her 2nd child and then just came home and blobbed. Rachel was brilliant initially but then when she woke at 6pm, she woke grizzly and just cried and cried and screamed and screamed some more! Steph did everything he could for her while I cooked tea and then ate mine... and then when Steph was eating his I thought right I would take her for a walk to calm her down but nope that didn't work either as she just cried and screamed the whole 35 odd mins I was out (and rolling my ankle while I was out certainly didn't help me)... but as soon as we got home and I got her out of the pram there was instant silence and sleep for a wee while before taking 60mls and then crashing for 6hrs!

Today, she has been absoutely brilliant - in fact too good if you ask me with the amount of sleeping she is doing... does the heat make them sleep more? Looks like I will have to wake her shortly as I am not letting her sleep for longer than 3hrs at a time during the day to try to encourage "short" sleeps during the day and "long" sleeps at night time - sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. Not everyone agrees with waking them but it is something that we are trialling to try to get her day vs night sorted.

We have also decided to get Rachel christened so I am trying to organise that for while all my famiy are here (probably the weekend between Christmas and New Year all going well). I have asked a great friend of mine and her partner to be godparents so am just waiting confirmation (once she has checked with him) of that :) And oh also waiting to hear back from the local priest - seems to be a hard man to track down! :) Can't see it being a small affair either not with 29 of my family there and then Steph's family and a few close friends! Fingers crossed it is a nice day so people can be outside as well otherwise it will be a TIGHT squeeze inside!

Anyway, best I get moving and organise a bottle for Rachel so I can slowly start to wake her up... might have a BBQ for tea tonight if we get the energy otherwise it may end up being takeaways.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and I will catch ya all later :)

Wow 3 nice days in a row! That must be some sort of miracle given the weather we have been having lately!!! Okay it was drizzling this morning but now the sun is shining and it is really quite warm! Just wish it would stay like this but I don't think it is supposed to with it turnin yucky again just in time for the weekend!

So whats been happening here... bugger all really! After Monday nights post of debating when to go to bed - I went to bed @ 9.3pm thinking that Rachel would wake about 11ish but I was so shocked when I looked at the clock when she woke me up to see it was in fact 2.45am!!!! OMG she slept for 7 hrs!!!!!! WOOOHOOO!!! And then to make that feed even better she was back down in bed just after 3.15am so only up for about 35mins! That is another great achievement for both of us! And then yesterday she was brilliant sleeping for long periods and being the "perfect angel"! Guess it was too good to be true and to last for to long... last night she was a bit of rat bag not wanting to settle and then only sleeping for 4hrs (which I guess for a 6wk old is not to bad). But this afternoon she has only gotten worse getting grizzly and not settling... so am glad I have the Drs in the morning so we can discuss the reflux issue (constipation not a problem anymore).

Right have now tried for the third time since 12pm to put her down to sleep so fingers crossed she stays asleep for at least an hour prefably two hours!

Not too much more happening really - still no christmas tree up or no christmas (and thank you) cards done... have got the cards out - just have to write them up now! And I think I have talked Steph into getting a "real" tree this year - have seen some great ones (that come with bucket and all) at Mitre 10 so I think we will get one of those but talk about major discussions on where the tree will go in our small lounge (either fake or real) but have finally sussed it out!

On Sunday, we have my brother from Ireland and his kids (who live in London with their mum) arriving so we are heading to Mums to spend the afternoon with them. Then on Monday my brother and nephew from Christchurch arrive... then on Friday my two brothers and their families from Melbourne and Sydney arrive... then Saturday my sister, her partner and his girls come over from Masterton... then Sunday my brother from Ireland partner arrives as does my brother from Christchurch partner and their daughter... so next week is pretty full on and all up on Christmas Day there will be 29 of us celebrating Christmas together! OMG just had a thought - if we all head to mass together - what a sight that will be! LOL This will be the first time since my first wedding in 1997 that all of us (including partners and children) will be together!!! The six of us were together not long before Dad passed away 4 years ago but majority of partners weren't able to make it then. Oh there will be one niece missing and that is my sisters youngest who is over in Ireland on her OE. I am so looking forward to Christmas and seeing everyone again but boy there are family arguements starting already and the boys aren't even in the damn country! Mum sent them an email telling them to sort their shit out before they come over or not to bother coming at all! That worked wonders! LOL

Oh I sent my CV off to a few employment agencies (shhhhhhhhh don't tell my boss) in the Hutt Valley today to see if there are any jobs going out this way to save me 2 hours commuting each day when I return to work! It would mean a decrease in pay but thats fine with me - we know how much I need to bring in for us to survive and to pay the bills! Would love to stick with Payroll but there aren't many payroll jobs in the Hutt Valley so will probably end up doing some admin/office work which suits me just fine. But on saying that I am not holding my breath on getting a job out here but unless you try you never know what is going...

Anyway, I might go lay down while Rachel is sleeping (for how long is the $64 millon question) and read my book...

Catch ya all later

Hi ya

Just thought I would do a quick update after our first visit to Plunket today... got a phonecall from them early this morning to see if I could see them today and as I was already going out to "Baby and Me" class I said I would pop in there on the way home. Rachel is doing really well and has gained 560gms in 10 days and is now weighing 4.480gms (9lbs 14oz) so plunket nurse was really happy with that. The nurse did a through check and is happy with everything :)

We have also made an appt with the Dr for Thursday morning to have Rachels 6 week check up (OMG she will be 6 weeks on Thursday!!!) and her immunisation shots so will also discuss the reflux issue with her then. Speaking of the reflux - she hasn't been to bad today (touch wood) and she's definitely not constipated today!!! LOL Have been trialling a Natropharm Digest-Med spray for the last 3 days and it seems ok at the moment though she certainly doesn't like the taste of it when I spray it in her mouth.

I have also bought a safety wedge for her today on advice of other mums who have reflux babies - as it keeps them on their side which makes them a lot more comfortable (if they are on their back the acid comes back up). So far she has been down for just over an hour which at this time of the night is brilliant for us! But now we have the decision to make of do I go to bed and hope that she sleeps till about midnight or knowing my luck will she wake up just as I have gone to sleep... OR do I wait up and wait up and wait up and she keeps on sleeping... LOL Oh I do hate these decisions one has to make at times! LOL

Anyway, enough blabbering from me - hope I haven't bored you all with this update... catch ya all later :)

Hi everyone

Firstly my apologies to anyone that may have been offended or upset by the photo of Rachel in the shower with her daddy... I certainly didn't think that it would offend people as it had been severely edited to show basically Rachel enjoying herself. I won't be sharing the next photo of her in the shower though as that was with me and believe me that ain't no pretty picture! LOL

So what have we been up to... not a lot really. Still dealing with Rachels reflux and constipation issues which are proving stressful and frustrating at times but with the help of an online support group and also a friend of mine in Dunedin who has two children who are reflux sufferers we are slowly learning more about it. I paged the MW yesterday afternoon but unfortunately it was her weekend off and her back up rung me back but wasn't that helpful so will wait till tomorrow when I will call Edith and have a chat to her to see if there is anything else that she can suggest for now. We will also be heading to the Drs later this week for Rachels 6 week immunisation shots so we will talk to the Dr as well if the MW can't suggest anything further.

Yesterday was a very frustrating day with Rachel not doing much sleeping at all during the day - just grizzling, crying, feeding and dosing off and on... She finally went down properly about 8pm when she slept through till 12.45am. Mangaged to stay in bed till 9.30am this morning with her sleeping in bed with us. Might look at doing that on the weekends to ensure we all get a wee sleep in.

Today hasn't been to bad and after a trip to Petone to the Warehouse and then a nice walk along Petone foreshore, we are home again for a quiet evening. Rachel is in her bouncer and watching me type away... and starting to get grizzly for a feed so best I get moving to organise a bottle for her.

Not a lot on this week at this stage - the last "Baby and You" class tomorrow and then the Osteopath on Tuesday and thats about it I think! Wow so quiet compared to last week. Might try to get the "thank you" and Christmas cards done. No Christmas tree up as yet - might ask Steph to get it down from the ceiling space in case I feel up to it (and get the time) during the week.

Okay gotta go now... catch ya all later - have a good week everyone

My first visit with Santa...


My first shower with my Daddy...


Have had another rough night and day but once we were out at Queensgate she slept nicely in her pram :) Just had one "wee" incident when we were all at a cafe and the babes were feeding when I felt something damp on my ankle... I looked down and Rachel had wet through her outfit, down my top and skirt and down my leg.... OOOPS! The pram was awfully good at covering me as I walked to the parents room! LOL Had a change of clothes for Rachel but not me! LOL

But anyway, might head to bed and see if I can get a couple of hours sleep before Rachel wakes up again but before I do that I must talk to Steph about which night feed he is going to do this weekend...

Ciao for now

Ahhhhh I'm so full now Mummy...


1 mth old and chilling out on my new huggies playmat...


Just relaxing in the pram after a nice walk...



Am feeling a bit better today after writing last nights post and thanks for your support! It means so much to both Steph and myself! After Rachel went down at 8.15pm, I went to bed and we both slept till 1.55am! Then back in bed within the hour and asleep again till 6am... so I am feeling a lot better in myself etc... Only thing is that I have my toothache back again so I really must ring the dentist but don't really have the spare $$$ at the moment especially at this time of the year.

Right off to coffee group shortly and Rachel is sleeping soundly in her bed... so best I get myself organised for when she wakes or if I have to wake her and put her in the carseat...

Ciao for now

Warning - Venting post follows...

Anonymous - if you haven't got the guts to leave your name or email address then I don't really care if you don't come back and read my blog again! This is MY blog - I will write about what I want to write about and at the moment my life is Rachel! The name of this blog is Karen's Journey - journey of life in my eyes as I see it and as I experience things! Rachel is only a month old so of course I am going to write about her as that is what my life revolves around at the moment!!! And obviously you are not a regular reader of my blog as I did comment a wee while ago that I knew I was talking about Rachel lots but I got all the support from my friends saying that it was ok with them as they know Rachel is number one in my life right now! And besides I have also been told many a time not to stress about weight at this early stage of motherhood and to relax, enjoy it and worry about my weight later on... I certainly am not going to let myself go to pieces so to speak - I will be watching what I am eating and for your info I have done 3 x 45min walks in the last 5 days! So once again, if you are not interested in reading my blog - then by all means fuck off and read something that does appeal to you! And Jen - you summed it up nicely - they are obviously a waste of space and have nothing better to do! Thanks for your support hun.

Anyway, onto more important things - Rachel! Yesterday, she was amazing - so beautiful - just sleeping, eating and smiling at her mummy! Then we had a rough patch from 1.15am till 3.30am when she was really upset with constipation! Finally got her down and she stayed down till just after 6.30am which was good. This morning she has been an angel sleeping and then staying asleep when I transfered her to her pram when I went walking with a friend from our coffee group.... got home, fed her and then she turned into demon child!!! Since 11.45am, she will be lucky if she has slept for 90mins all up! She has just cried, screamed and cried some more... and finally at 8.5pm she has just gone down - for how long is anyones guess but I won't be holding my breath! Though I must admit a lavender bath and then a shower with daddy really calmed her down. Oh during her crying, screaming sessions - I was crying and crying and crying as well!!! I went through a list of people I wanted to call but they were all either at work or at home with kids themselves and I didn't want to put anyone out and besides Steph was due home an hour later...

Oh I decided late yesterday not to go to the dietician appt today so rang and cancelled it... hey they never ever weighed me when I was seeing them during the pregnancy so how can they tell me how well I did etc??? The other bit of sad news is that Barbara from Positively Slim has decided to close the business and pursue another business in another direction. I know I wasn't able to afford to go back to her but I am still quite sad about it as it was nice knowing that I had her to go back to if I needed the support. She has two more weeks of weigh ins and then a wind up finger food lunch on the 21st Dec so will definitely make an effort to be there. So it looks like once I decide to start kicking butt again with this weight loss I will be relying on you guys for support which I know I will have when I need it!

Anyway, Rachel is still asleep - the longest she has stayed in her basinett all afternoon so its looking promising... so I am gonna hit the sack now despite it being 8.30pm... guess I will be up twice during the night then as she will probably want a feed before midnight as she has only been nibbling all afternoon and evening... and then she will want her next one a few hours later.

Night all - catch ya all later :)

Hi ya

Right while I have a few mins peace and quiet I thought I would do an update :) I do have some photos which I must download later on and share with you at some stage soon.

I am feeling rather good today as Rachel slept for 6.5hrs last night! I couldn't believe it when the clock read 4.15am! Though I had woken about 2.30am and thought "ahhhh she will be awake soon no point in going back to sleep" so I was laying there awake for about an hour before I finally must have fallen back to sleep! And then she was back down in bed and fast asleep by 5am which is great as well as she can often take a good hr before she is back in bed asleep. And then she slept through till just after 8am so I had enough time to shower, dress and have some breakfast before she woke up. Admittingly she had wet through her clothes and bedding when I got her up at 8am so she is now asleep in her bouncer while her basinett is aired :)

Yesterday, we had our "Baby and You" class and the venue was changed due to a funeral (usually held in a church lounge) and as it was now in Upper Hutt rather than Silverstream I decided that Rachel and I would walk there as she was being unsettled. Oooops the hall was further away than I had remembered... so had to walk rather briskly to get there on time but hey thats all good for me... the only thing is that I had to walk home again so was shattered when we got home! But at the class, we covered infant CPR and infant massage - we only covered leg massage in the class but the lady showed me how to do stomach massage to ease constipation and gas problems which was lovely of her and she has even said I can call her and she will visit me at home if I need help! So did some stomach massage on Rachel yesterday afternoon and things seemed ok last night.

Today, I have a friend Paula and her daughter visiting this afternoon so am really looking forward to that :) Tomorrow, I have my hospital appt with the dietician - still trying to decide if I will cancel that or not - better make up my mind pretty quickly I guess! Thursday is coffee group with the antenatal ladies - 4 of us have had our babes and there are 4 left to come... Friday I am meeting my friends Jo and Steff and their babes to get their photos taken with Santa so that will be a great outing and good chance to catch up! :) Then hopefully at the weekend we will put up the Christmas tree and decorations...

Not a lot more to report really.... so best I get moving and get some things done before Paula arrives :)

Ciao for now :)

Sunday evening already... where has the weekend gone? Ok weekends don't mean too much to me these days except for they are the two days that I have Steph home with me to help during the day... and I do love it when he is home with us :)

So what have we been upto over the weekend? Yesterday - we didn't do too much really as we had a real rough night on Friday night and I was shattered and Rachel was busy catching up on the sleep that she didn't have during the night! I have to admit that the reason Rachel was awake, crying and upset was due to her constipation and also her reflux! Was a rough few hours for me but we got through though at one stage both Rachel and I were in tears in the lounge! But it was the first real rough night we had had for a while so I can't really complain - not that I was complaining - just writing in my blog :) So back on track to yesterday, we did venture to the Baby Factory as they had their Parent Centre Discount day and although we didn't get what we really wanted - we did get a couple more bibs and a nappy bucket :) We also did a stop at the Warehouse as there was an awesome activity gym that I wanted to get for Rachel (from my brother and his family in Aussie) but they had sold out of that one so I got the second choice one :)

Last night was a bit better sleep wise and Steph was great and did the 5.45am feed :) But unfortunately she didn't settle for long and I was up to her about 7.30am. Decided that I may as well do it since I had a bit to do before heading to the Bloggers picnic. Rachel and I made it up to the Bloggers Picnic at Harcourt Park and it was great to catch up with Sue, Rachel, Helena (and Craig), Janene (and Jorja) and to meet Chris and Ang (and her friends - sorry can't recall their names). The weather was great for us - in fact it was actually quite hot! I only stayed for the first hour and Rachel slept the whole time much to everyones disappointment who wanted cuddles with her! Sorry gals - perhaps next time? :) Hope the rest of the afternoon went well.

Came home to finish tidying up and then Karen and Bryce turned up with lunch :) We had an awesome time catching up with them and talking baby talk as Karen is pregnant and offically due in 7 weeks but the specialist says he might bring her on early. Bryce was a laugh with some of the things he didn't realise babies did/needed! LOL Can't wait for them to have their wee one and to be able to visit them :)

Once they left, I had a snooze for an hour and then we have just blobbed out doing sweet bugger all. Rachel has just been fed and Steph is trying to settle her down for hopefully a few hours sleep and once she goes down I will head to bed myself I think!

Got a pretty full on week, with something on every day! Am really looking forward to Tuesday when Rachel and I are having visitors for the afternoon - a lovely lady called Paula who reads my blog and lives "locally". Her and her daughter are coming to visit and I am so looking forward to meeting her as we have been emailing each other for a while and we both feel like we know each other so well already! :)

I am supposed to be seeing the dietician at the Hospital on Wednesday morning but I think I will cancel that appt as I can't really see the point of it since she never weighed me during my pregnancy visits and I know what I am supposed to be eating and walking etc... so there is nothing new that she can really tell me.

I am meeting up with my friends Jo (and Maddie) and Steff (and Liam and Jade) one day this week at Queensgate so our darlings can have their photos taken with Santa! :) So am really looking forward to that...

Anyway, enough rambling from me - hope you all have a great week. Catch ya later

Hi all

Well compared to yesterday when Rachel did more or less nothing but sleep all day - today is the total opposite! She was up from 7.15am (after being up at 3.15am) until 12.30pm! Okay she did have a couple of "power naps" of 15mins but the rest of the time she was quite contented and happy just to lay on her playmat and "blob" out.

The MW has been and Rachel has had a nice gain of 480gms over 12 days so am really happy with that! She also has been diagonised with a bit of silent reflux... so just gotta try feeding her in a upright position and wind her frequently to see if that helps things. It was also my last visit with her and I was crying when she left as I so don't want her to go! And what made it worse was that I didn't realise it was my last visit so I hadn't got her gift basket organised so told her that I was in the middle of making one up for her and she just said that seeing Rachel grow so well was enough of a present for her but if I really wanted to give her something just to page her and she will drop in for a cuppa to collect it So best I get my A into G and get it made up!

Toothace seems to have gone away today which is great but back is playing up a bit - gees I feel like I am falling apart at times! Must get some prices for some Osteo treatment for myself (will probably go to a different one to the one that we take Rachel as she is quite dear).

I was thinking of going out this afternoon but since Rachel has finally gone down to sleep I will just leave her and play it by ear and see when she wakes up... but hey the shops will still be there tomorrow or even next week!

Not up to too much over the weekend... will be nice having Steph here thats for sure :) Might suggest that he can do one of the morning feeds so I can have a lay-in but will see how we go. Sunday we have the bloggers picnic at Harcourt Park in Upper Hutt which I had totally forgotten all about until I read Janene's journal a couple of days ago and I have double booked myself! :( So have emailed Sue and said that Rachel and I will come to the picnic for an hour at the beginning but as we have friends coming for lunch at 12.30pm I will need to be home by then... That is the 2nd time since Rachel was born that I have double booked myself so sat down last night and wrote everything up on the calendar for December so hopefully it won't happen again!

Right, I am going to go have a lay down while Rachel is sleeping... have a good weekend everyone and for the Wellington Bloggers - looking forward to seeing you on Sunday albiet rather briefly!

Ciao

Morning all :)

Wow what has happened to the weather??? It is absoutely disgusting outside!!! Can not believe that tomorrow is the 1st Dec with this weather that we are having!!! I am so looking forward to BBQ's and swims but with the way this weather is carrying on I can't see either of those happening anytime soon! I certainly hope it clears up real soon and that we do get a "real" summer real soon! :)

I am in the process of deciding which hurts the most at the moment - my neck/back which is causing daily headaches (and living on Nurofen) OR my toothache!!! I had been contemplating going to the Osteopath for myself but now with the toothache I can see myself needing to visit my dentist in the next few days! And the problem with whatever treatment I get for my back/neck it will take more than just one visit - usually you need at least 4 visits for these sort of things and that all adds up big time in the $$$$$!

Rachel is 4 weeks old today!! Wow where have the last 4 weeks gone??? They sure have flown by in my eyes thats for sure!!! This time 4 weeks ago, I was in the bath in the delivery suite... oh those memories! :) Must take some photos of her later today when she wakes up :)

Yesterday, Rachel and I spent the day up at Mums (in Raumati) which was really great and Rachel was well behaved and slept most of the time. Though she is enjoying her "floor" time more now both on her back and on her tummy and I love laying on the floor beside her talking and playing with her. My brother in Aussie has said that they will buy us one of those flash activity gym/play mats so I just need to go and get the one that I want (with no price limit) and they will transfer the funds through to our account so might do that over the weekend :) Rachel had a great sleep last night from 7.15pm to 1.15am! I was staying up waiting and waiting for her to wake about 10pmish and gave up waiting about 10.30pm and couldn't believe my eyes when I heard her grizzling and saw that it was 1.15am! She guzzled her bottle down and then ended up with a tummy ache! Gees she is just like me at times - real scary! LOL

Today, we were supposed to go walking with one of the ladies from the Antenatal group and her gorgeous son who live just around the corner from us but with the weather being so yuck the walking has obviously been postponed but we are going to try to set one day each week that we meet up and go walking. So looks like it will be a quiet day at home today which suits us really since we have been out every day this week!

Tomorrow, the MW will be coming tomorrow (have just paged her as I can not recall for the life what time she said she would be here) so will be interesting to see what Rachel is weighing then since she is drinking so much nowadays :)

Anyway, time I got off my butt and did some bits and pieces around here... probably should have had a snooze while Rachel is sleeping... hmmm might still try to do that and hope that she sleeps for another hour or so.

Catch ya all later

Yay the sun is shining again today! And that always make the day seem brighter and better no matter how I am feeling - which at the moment is tired and a bit down... nothing major - just lack of sleep I think and once I have been out and about later on I will wake up and feel better still.

Rachel is going through a stage of "snacking" for a wee while, falling back to sleep and then dosing for approx an hour before waking again for another snack and then the vicious cycle begins again... I tell you it can take it out of you that is for sure but then all the mums who read this will know this already! I do try to drag it out for as long as I can as I would rather her take more formula at one time and then sleep for longer - sometimes it will work but not for long. The last two nights I have been up twice to her as she is only doing about 3hrs during the night... but the good side of that is we are both back in bed within an hour which is great. We were spoilt initally when we had her co-sleeping with us as it is proven that when they do sleep with you they sleep for longer periods... very tempting to put her back in our bed just for longer sleep for us but Steph is not that keen on it as he really does love his bed space :)

Off to the Cranial Osteopath for a follow up session at 11am and then a quick stop at Steph's work as they want to see Rachel again... and then we are going to Steph's sister in laws for lunch and a quick chat before home for a sleep for us both!

Yesterday, we had "Baby and You" before meeting Rachel for lunch at Mega Mitre 10 - unfortunately Jo was unable to make it! Both Rachel and I tried a new Pasta and Smoked Chicken Salad which was primo and so delicious! The serving size was just fantastic and just right :) Little Rachel was perfectly behaved while at the cafe but from the moment we were in the car until we got home she screamed and screamed as she was hungry... and then murphys law that we got every red light on the way home. By the time we got home, she was so red and even had tears in her eyes - I felt like the biggest meanie mummy ever!

Hmmmm typical that as I write that Rachel has only been sleeping for "hour" long periods that she has now been down for almost 2 hours! YAY!!!!! But guess I had better get my A into G and get things sorted and organised for going out in case she does wake and I am not ready.

Catch ya all later

Hi ya

Well can't believe it is Sunday evening already! The weekend sure has flown by and don't want Steph to go to work tomorrow but only 4 weeks to go and then he will be home for 3 weeks which will be fantastic especially since most of that time my family from overseas will be in NZ as well so there will be lots of BBQ's, parties and general catch ups happening :)

MW came on Friday afternoon, all is still well with Rachel. She didn't weigh her as Rachel was fast asleep so Edith just did a visual check of her eyes, fontelle etc... and then we just had a good chat! I would get pregnant again tomorrow just to keep my regular contact with Edith but we all know thats not going to happen for a while so I am gonna miss her so much once I am discharged from her care. Am going to make up a wee gift basket for her to give her on our last visit along with a photo of Rachel (must get Rachel's photos saved to CD so I can take them to the shop and get printed) to say thanks for the most amazing care and support she has given me, Steph and Rachel.

Yesterday, Rachel's sleeping was brilliant which made things so much smoother for all. Had a hairdressers appt in the morning and had to take Rachel with me so all the girls could have a peek at her. Rachel slept through most of the time I was there and just started stirring as I was finishing up. I have got a new style - nothing fancy - just something simple and hopefully more easy to look after during the week when I often "forget" to blowdry my hair :) After lunch, we had our first family outing to the supermarket - once again, Rachel slept through most of it - waking just before we finished. We are having a few constipation issues with Rachel every 2nd day or so at the moment, so last night I did a dash to the chemist and got some Coloxyl drops which are added to her milk as required. So far, they have helped enourmously which is a relief for all concerned :)

Once she settled yesterday evening, I went to bed and we had a great night. Rachel woke about 1.15am and we were both back in bed by 2.15am which itself is a miracle as we are almost always up for at least 2hrs each night as she takes a while to settle after a feed. And then she slept through till 6.30am :)

And then she has been the "perfect" child today at Steph's parents place where we have been for most of the day at their "Welcome Summer Garden Party" ".... but one it rained most of the time so wasn't very summery and two it was inside rather than in the garden but it was still a good time. One of her aunties fed her when we arrived, she then fell asleep on her nana, then slept for 3 hrs on Nana and Pops bed (with pillows around her), woke, and another aunty fed her and now we are home. And now after a wee grumpy spell she is fast asleep again - hopefully until about 9pm or so (fingers crossed)...

Hmmmm perhaps I should change the name of this blog to Rachel's journey... LOL As that is all I seem to write about these days but I guess given time it will get back to being about me and my journey to being healthier etc :) Am thinking of setting up a blog for Rachel though so the family overseas and friends around NZ can see photos of her and read wee updates as she reaches "milestones".

Tomorrow, we have "Baby and You" class and then Rachel and I are meeting Rachel and Jo for lunch at Mitre 10 in Petone. Am so looking forward to trying the famous chicken salad that both of them rave about so much :)

Right, time to get moving and get organised as our friends Lynaire and Kev are popping in after tea for a coffee... hope you all have a great week and will catch up later on :)

Happy Birthday Jude!!! Steph and I are missing you heaps and we just know you are watching over us as we learn to be parents and bring Rachel up. I just wish we had somewhere to visit you but until that situation is sorted out, I just sit at home and talk to your photo. I am already telling Rachel all about you and what a great friend you were to her mummy and daddy! We miss the phone calls, txts, emails, visits and your way of always cheering us up and making us laugh! You are missed by so many people Jude and we all love you heaps! xxx

Happy Birthday for tomorrow Dad!!! We all miss you heaps and can't believe that it has been 4 1/2 years already since you were here with us! I am sorry that we don't get up to spend time with you more often than we do but we will bring Rachel up to see her Grandads grave over Christmas. Like Jude, we know you are watching over us as we learn new things every day now that Rachel is in our lives! I have told Rachel all about the wonderful Grandad she will never get to meet (or not for many, many years) and we talk to your photo. I miss you being there for me and always having advice for me whenever we needed it. We all miss you heaps and we all love you! xxx

Yes it is Jude's Birthday today and then tomorrow it would have been my Dad's
birthday had he still been with us. It was bad enough when it was just Dad's birthday but having them together makes this time real hard. Have spent a bit of time today just thinking of the good times we had with Jude both at work and then socially as well. One of Jude's other friends who came to visit us on Sunday suggested having drinks at her place this evening with the "girls" to celebrate Judes birthday but haven't heard anything as yet as to whether it is happening or not so have just sent her a txt to ask her if it is going ahead or not.

On to more cheerful matters, a big thank you to you all for the lovely comments and emails that you left on the recent photos of Rachel. I have just learnt how to change coloured photos to black and white ones with the photo programme we have - and some photos just do look better in black and white rather than colour! We can't believe how much she has changed in the 3 weeks especially when we look back to her day 1 photos! :)

We had a bit of a rough night with Rachel taking just over 2 hrs to settle down after her night feed and then for some reason it took me ages to get comfortable and settle down and get back to sleep and then it felt like I only had a couple of mins sleep before she woke again... but I guess I did get another couple of hours sleep but it definitely didn't feel long enough.

But this morning, she has been a total angel - going back down after her morning feed and then sleeping for THREE hours in her basinett!!! In hindsight, I probably should have gone back to bed for a wee while but the only thing I find with doing that, I just get comfy, dose off and then she tends to wake up! So instead, I got to shower, dress, have breakfast, do two loads of washing (and hung them out), vacumed, made up a couple of bottles, checked my emails, did my blog checks and a wee tidy up of the lounge. Got her up just after 11am for her next feed, and she was asleep and back in her basinett by 11.45am which is another very rare occasion! So she has been down for almost another hour but Edith (MW) is due about 1pm so no doubt she will want to weigh Rachel so she will be woken up then so must have the bottle ready for afterwards :) I keep thinking that I should do the bathroom but just don't seem to have the energy to do that at the moment so might leave that one for another day or perhaps Steph may do it over the weekend like he has gotten used to do while I was pregnant :)

Not a lot planned for this weekend, though we do have Steph's family "Welcome Summer Garden Party" on Sunday afternoon so that should be nice especially if it is a nice day so fingers crossed the weather will co-operate with us :) Am thinking that I will walk there with Rachel in the pram so that she has the pram to sleep in rather than the carseat... They are only about a 15min walk away so that will be good for me :) Steph can either walk or take the car in case the weather turns bad and we need to drive home though I guess that is what storm covers are for :)

Anyway, not much else to say - just blabbering on about nothing now... just seems weird to have this time on my hands at the moment :) Might go lay down and read my book - that will almost guarantee Rachel waking up as she just seems to know when I get comfy with my book. LOL

Hope you all have a great weekend... catch ya later

Hi ya

Thought I had better do a post while Rachel is sleeping peacefully :) We have had a big day out today and she was quite tired so hopefully she will sleep for at least another couple of hours... First we tried catching up with Robyn from the gym that I used to go to but she wasn't there so then we caught up with Rachels Aunty Angela who we spotted at her home as we drove past and then while we were there, Robyn rung me and we organised to meet for a coffee and catch up... so we did that and Robyn has offered me the use of the sauna at the gym whenever I feel the need to relax and wind down and she will mind Rachel for me. Then after that, we headed to town and into work where everyone gooed and gaaed (spelling?) over her and then we went to lunch with Marianne which was great and Rachel slept through that though mummy needs to learn how to steer the pram a bit better! LOL Went and spent some time with my old team where I fed and changed Rachel before making tracks as she was starting to get grizzly! Headed home via The Terrace to see if I could get a carpark to visit my friends at the Fire Service but no carpark was to be seen... so am home and Rachel is fast alseep.

Feeding and sleeping seem to be going well - don't want to say too much in case I jinx things! LOL Rachel is definitely a much happier wee girl now which is fantastic and last night was one of the better ones we have had for a few days.

Here are a couple more recent photos taken earlier this week:

My first time wearing a dress since it was such a beautiful sunny day :) The dress does have matching capri pants but they are hidden by the length of the dress.


Fast asleep in my bouncer :)


Right, time to go organise some dinner while Rachel is sleeping... catch ya all later

Evening all :)

Just thought I would do a quick update to say that the MW came today (after having to cancel yesterday due to being busy at the hospital) and we got great news - YAY our Rachel has gained just under 400gms in the last 5 days!!! So is now nicely over her birth weight so no more having to wake her 3hrly during the day - just got to make sure she has had a good feed, clean nappy and then let her sleep. Though on saying that - MW did recommend that we only let Rach sleep for about 4hrs at a time during the day just to ensure she gets enough food and nutrients.

Rachel is more or less on full formula now as she is no longer keen on the breast which I knew would be a side effect from introducing the bottle to her but as I don't have a great supply and what she was getting wasn't satisfying her... we are happy for her to be on the formula as like I have said in an earlier post - a satisfied babe means a satisifed mummy and daddy! :)

Got out and did a nice walk this afternoon with my friend Jo and her 12 week old daughter Maddie. Was nice having company and boy it sure was warm :) We are going to try to get together at least once a week and go walking even if its wet we will just wander around shopping malls :)

Tomorrow, I will hopefully have a friend Sheri and her daughters visiting so that will be great :)

Am trying to organise a day to head into town and "show off" Rachel to my work colleagues and also former work colleagues (from AvSec and Fire Service). Am thinking that I would catch the train into town and then walk around the buildings to save the hassle of car parking etc...

Well best I get moving and get ready for when young Miss Rachel wakes up... hoping it will be sometime soon so I can head to bed... Once she is fully off the breast, I will be able to head to bed and let Steph do the last feed but until then I guess I am still having to wait up for her.

Night all - catch ya all later

Hi all

Well still plodding on here... I must admit that since upping Rachel's formula intake we now have a totally different child in our house! Rachel is now doing what newborns should do - sleep, feed, sleep, feed etc... rather than being up for 4hrs crying and feeding and crying etc... She is such a contented wee soul now and is a pleasure to spend time with her!

We are still having to wake her 3hrly for feeds during the day but Edith is coming tomorrow and it will be interesting to see what Rachel weighs then - surely with the amount of food she is having now she must have increased in weight! But will keep you posted :) Rachel is not sleeping for as long during the night but 4/5hrs at a time is still great!

Oh - she is now sleeping in her basinett during the day so for the last two nights we have moved the basinett into our room and she has slept in that rather than co sleeping with us! Makes the bed more comfortable for Steph and I! LOL

Rachel went to her first 21st last night! She behaved brilliantly and slept "under the table" most of the night! We stayed later than we thought we would but it was a great night. Must try to remember to download the photos to a disc so Heather can then print out the photos that she wants.

Tomorrow we have our first "Baby and You" class as part of the Parents Centre Antenatal course we did. So that is our first major mission - to be up, showered, dressed and in Silverstream by 10am!

Oh one of the visitors we had today, was Steph's sister and her family and they brought with them 7 pkts of nappies, and 3 pkts of wipes and 2pkts of change mats!!! Really blew us away but boy they sure will come in handy! Haven't been brave enough to use the cloth naps as yet but am planning to start trying them during the day some time in the next week or so.

Anyway, best I get moving... hope you all have a great week and I will catch ya all later.

Two photos that were taken yesterday aged 2 weeks. The first one was taken after her first bottle with increased formula - such a contented look on her face! I could sit there for ages with her on my lap looking like that!




Birth story below....

Rachel's Birth Story

Warning - long story to follow...


We had gone out to dinner with Stephan’s Rifle club to “Mr India” on Wed 1 November 2006 for a banquet meal so there was no “hot” curries – just all mild and tasty curries. About 9.15pm I started getting funny stomach pains and had a couple of visits to the toilet over the next 45mins or so, I told Steph that I wanted to go home as I just wasn’t feeling “right”.

Got home about 10.40pm, and after about 20mins in bed and not being able to get comfy and needing to go to the toilet yet again, I got up and after being on the toilet for quite some time, I started pacing the lounge and after about 1hr of being up and wandering around, I realised that the pains I was experiencing were in fact contractions! I decided not to wake Stephan up just yet as there wasn’t a lot he could really do, so spent from about midnight till 4.30am between pacing the lounge and spending time just sitting on the toilet as I found that to be quite a comfy position.

Woke Steph up at 4.30am as I had decided by then that all I wanted was a nice warm bath to help relax things… we ran a bath but once I was in it I decided that it just wasn’t big enough for me to really relax in – well not in the positions I wanted to be in! Must have been in there for about 20 mins before deciding I had had enough of being in there. After some more pacing around the house, we decided to page Edith (MW) about 5.40am. She rung back a few mins later and after talking to her between contractions, we both decided that I would “hang in” there for another hour and then check back in with her about 7am. I rung Mum (as she was one of my support people) to let her know in case she wanted to get ahead of peak hour traffic but as she had the car booked in for a WOF first thing, I told her to get that done first and then come down afterwards. Whilst talking to mum, I had the first horrendous contraction (the rest had all been “bearable”) and was then promptly sick in a bowl that only just made it to me in time! Then rung my friend Lynaire (who was to be the other support person) to let her know – Lynaire had work commitments in the morning but was going to try to get to the hospital after lunch.

Paged Edith again about 7am, and we agreed to meet at the hospital just as soon as we could both get there. We got there first after a stop on River Road so I could put my head out the door as I thought I was going to be sick again but just the fresh air seemed to help make me feel better. But every bump in the road, every corner we went around was agony for me and I did feel sorry for Steph as I cursed him the whole way!

We got settled into our room and once Edith arrived (approx 8.15am), she examined me and I was 3cm dilated. I was then hooked up to the monitor for approx 20 mins so that they could do a trace of Rachel’s HB etc… Once I was able to move again after the monitoring was done, I opted to spend some time in the bath to hopefully ease the pain of the contractions. I spent about 90 mins in the bath though didn’t find it that comfortable and the handrail was on the wrong side of the bath for me to be able to “squeeze” while I was having the contractions. Steph was great during this time just rubbing my hips, lower back and bum as that was where all the pain was. While in the bath, Edith spoke to us about having an epidural and after some contemplation we decided that it was better for me (and everyone else) that I did go with this option.

I then decided that I had had enough of the water and got out ready for the epidural… Mum arrived as I was getting out of the bath – it was great to see another friendly face. By this stage, the gas had all been set up as well so once I got the hang of breathing it in – I was hooked! LOL Edith then told us the “bad” news – that the registrar wouldn’t do the epidural until we had another trace done (for about 15mins) due to Rachel’s HB being so “steady” during the first one. So at this stage, Edith did another internal and I was now 6cm dilated, then she put a scalp clip into Rachel’s skull so that they could monitor the HB that way and generally when scalp clips are put on, the baby gets quite active and their HB goes right up… but no not our Rachel who kept on sleeping through all of this! Therefore, the 15min trace ended up being over an hour long before they finally gave me the epidural! So all up I had gone for about 5hrs without major pain relief which was great going for me. Lynaire arrived just before the epidural was administered so it took Steph, Mum, Lynaire and Edith to hold me steady and in the correct position while they tried to get the needle in. It did take two attempts to get it in the correct place…

The time was now about 2pm, and the next hour passed in a bit of a blur but I do remember being sick a couple of times, and I recall the registrar saying that they would give me an hour and by then I should be ready to push… About 3pm, they did another internal and I was fully dilated by then but the head was stuck on the lip of the cervix and they were unsure if I would have the strength to push it out at that stage, so a decision was made to try Ventouse (suction cup) to aid Rachel in coming out. That has to be the worst part of the whole labour! It was painful whilst they were attaching the cup to Rachel’s head and it was just down right awful when I was contracting and pushing and they had the suction going…. We did make some progress but as Rachel’s HB was still steady (she was still sleeping), we decided that we needed to get Rachel out ASAP. So Howard (the Obstetrician) was called up from theatre to get Rachel out using Forceps… So before he arrived, I was given an extra strength dose of epidural and also a local anaesthetic so I only have vague recollection of this part, but one part that sticks in my memory very strongly is Howard arriving and standing at the end of the bed, telling me to push, to which I said “NO” and he looked me in the eye and said “You WILL push when I say push” and next thing I pushed, Howard had gone and Rachel was on my stomach! I didn’t feel a thing at that stage obviously thanks to the epidural and local anaesthetic. So Rachel Judith Brownie arrived in this world at 4.13pm on Thursday 2nd Nov weighing in at 7lb exactly.

They had organised a paediatrician to be on standby in the room due to Rachel’s HB not having increased during the labour. So at the time of delivery, there were a total of 9 people in the room! Not quite what I had planned but our main focus was delivering a healthy baby! I had very brief initial skin to skin contact before she was taken by the paediatrician to be checked out – she wasn’t taken from the room at all as they had all the equipment there beside my bed. The only concern that they had was the mucus on her lungs affecting her breathing so we had to watch that for a wee while but all was ok. Her APGAR readings were 8 and then 10. During this time, I delivered the placenta naturally quite quickly and then I was stitched up having torn when the forceps were used and receiving a 2nd degree tear. Once, I had been sewn up I was able to have my first real cuddle with Rachel and put her to the breast.

We were then moved to a Post Natal room an hour or so later and settled in there. I have nothing but high praise for all of the Midwives and nurses at Hutt Hospital. They were all brilliant and so helpful especially during the night! I left the hospital on Saturday afternoon once the feeding had settled down and also after I had managed to pass at least one bowel motion!

WELCOME TO OUR WORLD RACHEL JUDITH – YOU ARE VERY MUCH LOVED BY ALL AND WATCHED OVER BY YOUR GRANDAD, HANNAH, AUNTY JUDE AND YOUR ANGEL BROTHER/SISTERS.

Hi all

Still here and plodding on day by day. MW came today and unfortunately Rachel has lost weight in the last 4 days rather than gain it... so am now increasing the amount of formula we are offering her to see if that helps. If she is not up to her birth weight by next Thursday (3 weeks old), the MW will refer us to the hospital and get some checks done on her to see if it is anything else. Rachel is now basically using my breasts as a comfort and is getting sweet bugger all from them as she is very rarely satisfed when she comes off them.

I know some of you who read my blog don't agree with the fact that I am using formula so freely but considering the fact that I am going to be heading back to work mid Feb, I can't see the point in getting Rachel back to exclusively breastfed and then having to wean her back to a bottle in a couple of mths time. We are happy to give her formula as it means Rachel is happy and content which in turn means we are happy and content as well... I know I have tried the best I can when it comes to breastfeeding and to me that is the main thing. I will still offer her the breast each feed but have to limit the time she is on each side so she is not using them just as something to suck on and tiring herself out.

Rachel is one very content girl (as long as she is fed) and we couldn't be luckier parents :) Last night she slept for almost 7hrs and the night before it was 6hrs so I do know we are awfully lucky in that aspect :)

Lynda - I will try to remember to take a photo of the safe, secure sleeper that we got for Rachel as it is not one that attaches to the bed but lays in the middle between Steph and I. I know the ones you were talking about though... And for those that asked, a Cranial Osteopath is very similar to an Osteopath - they are trained to feel a very subtle, rhythmical shape change that is present in all body tissue, This is called involuntary motion.

Anyway, best I get moving as Rachel is due for another feed - will catch ya all later.

Evening all

Just thought I would do a quick post to say hi... whilst Rachel is asleep on her daddys shoulder.

I am stil in the process of writing up Rachels birth story - taking longer than I thought but then it is the fact of finding time without being interupted for feeding or a nappy change etc... but will share it with you all once it is finished :)

I meant to say in my last update, that when we took Rachel to the hospital last Wednesday for her hip check that she was the only babe there that didn't cry during the check which made her mummy so proud :) Oh all was ok with her hip check :)

She was weighed last Thursday and her weight was down to 2800gms (greater than 10% of her birth weight) hence the increase in feeding and topping up with formula etc... MW came again on Sunday morning and in the 3 days Rachel had gained 255gms which is fantastic so obviously the extra feeding and formula is working. Next weigh in is on Thursday so I am sure by then she will be over her birth weight.

Rachel had a fantastic night last night - sleeping from 11.15pm till 5.45am! She started stirring about 3am but just dosed back off to sleep. We are finding that the co sleeping is really helping all three of us get good nights and we are all a lot happier during the day. I was shown in the hospital how to breastfeed laying down - but it just didn't seem to work for me then but think I will mention it to Edith on Thursday and get her to show me and I will try again now that we are co sleeping to save me having to get up to feed her.

Today, I took Rachel to see a Cranial Ostopath due to her birth circumstances and a few of her muscles/nerves were out of alignment so had a good session there and slept through most of it. We go back in a fortnight for a follow up session. I was told that for the next 24hrs Rachel would have be real sleepy or real grumpy whilst the healing is working... so far she has been both! I think we may be in for a long night but hopefully it won't be too bad.

Nothing planned for tomorrow and the weather is supposed to be real crap so it means I can go back to bed with her when she sleeps :)

Right, time to get moving as Rachel is starting to stir so no doubt she will be hungry again! :) Oh Sally you asked where we got the name Rachel from - it was just a name that both Steph and I liked... and yes Judith is after our special friend who passed away in Jan of this year.

Catch ya all later.

Some more photos...

Hi ya

Just thought I would do a quick post before young Rachel wakes up :) Things have been better over the last 48hrs or so and we have all been getting reasonable amounts of sleep too which certainly does help matters :)

Thank you all for the advice and comments re the breastfeeding situation. The three of us have been to see the lactation consultant at the hospital this morning and have been given some advice and tips from Mandy. She was one awesome lady and so nice :) Bascially as Rachel is still a way below her birth weight, we are to now top up each feed with the formula but instead of using a bottle, we will be using a plastic syringe and tube that will be attached to my nipple therefore Rachel will be drinking both breast and formula at the same time so getting the nourishment without using a bottle/teat. We have to review the situation when she is 1 mth old so we have 3 weeks to get things going :) Mandy will get my MW to give me a script for "something" (can't recall the name) to help my milk supply. So left there feeling rather positive and not like I am failing at being the best Mummy I can be (like I had been at times).

We then did a quick trip to Porirua to pick up a sleeping attachment from the Baby Factory as it was the last one left in the Wgtn region! As the only way Rach will settle at night time is when she is with us (either on our chests or between us) so to make us feel a bit easier we thought we would get this attachement for Rach to sleep in and making it safer for her and us as well. I never thought I would be a co-sleeper with my baby/s (as I am such a light sleeper) but hey if it means sleep and happiness for everyone in the house then so be it :) I have also read a study that children that have been co-slept with their parents generally end up being a lot more independent etc when they are older so I guess we will wait and see if that is true for us.

Home, lunch, did some washing and now just waiting for Rachel to wake up but might slowly wake her up as Mandy did say we are not giving her enough feeds in a 24hr period (in other words we let her sleep for too long) so have to make a real effort to give her 8 feeds each 24hr period.

I was going to download some photos too but the camera has gone flat so need to recharge the battery so will try to post some pics either tonight or over the weekend.

Catch ya all later

Hi ya

Just thought I had better do a quick update to say hi... but to be honest the computer and blogs have been one of the last things on my mind lately.

Had a real bad night on Sunday night with Rachel crying most of the night... and very little sleeping was done by all three of us!

Anyway, to cut a long story short - it looks like I am in the 5% of women who don't produce sufficent milk so therefore we have had to start "topping up" Rachels feeds with formula. This is something I was hoping to avoid but have accepted quite freely at the same time as it means more sleep for all of us and a happier healthier Rachel which means more sanity for her mummy and daddy! :)

Not looking forward to next week already when Steph goes back to work as he has a real knack with Rachel and getting her settled but hopefully by then we will have sorted out the breast/forumla ratio and Rachel will be more settled.

I was thinking that I do need to update my template etc now that Rachel has arrived but its a matter of finding time and motivation to do it... I am trying to sleep or at least lay down when Rachel is sleeping but sometimes I just can't do it and find myself doing lots of other things. Also going through the "baby blues" in the evenings and find myself quite tearful...

Oh I have weighed myself a couple of times since getting home - and total loss since Wed 1/11 (last pre Rachel weigh in) is 6.3 kilos. I think I am not eating enough these days considering I am trying to breastfeed so really have to make an effort to keep up both my food and fluid intake.

Anyway, thats enough from me - will post again when I can :) Once again, a big thank you to you all for lovely comments and support - it does mean the world to both Steph and I.

A few photos of Rachel

So far so good here at home, Rachel stayed asleep for another couple of hours after putting her into her basinett, has had a good feed and is now back asleep....

Hi all

Just a quickie to say we are now home but still pretty shattered and sore. Will post pics once they are downloaded from Camera later on tonight... and will share Rachel's birth story once I have written it.
But just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to you all for the wonderful comments and support and congratulation messages you have left for Steph and I! They have blown us away!!!
Also a BIG THANK YOU to Kate for updating my blog for me to keep you all posted - thanks heaps hun xx
Right off to go check on my princess.... be back later

Kate again. Another quick update from Karen. She is still in hospital although is hoping to head home today, or soon. Had a bit of a rough night, and is trying to get the feeding thing sorted.

Hopefully the next post will be Karen herself with some pics of Rachel!

A beautiful baby girl..

Karen and Steph are delighted to announce the birth of their beautiful little daughter Rachel Judith at 4.13 this afternoon. She weighs 7lb exactly. All doing well, just tired after 8hr labour.

Congratulations you guys, and well done Karen! I'm sure we all can't wait to see photos and hear all about it. WOW! Your baby girl is finally here :-)

Labour update!

Hi, this is Kate.

Just had a text message from Karen.. they are on their way to hospital. That's all for now, will update with more info when I get it. Exciting!

Good luck Karen, we are all thinking of you and sending you lots of love!
xx


UPDATE: 1.10pm - Karen has just had her waters broken, and an epidural put in. Feeling pretty shattered. Hopefully won't be too long now!

Is it time???

Morning all

Yeap its 3.15am and I still have yet to get some sleep! Attempted bed a couple of times but to no avail.

Dinner out was nice but about 10pm I started noticing these real sharp lower back pains... put up with them till about 10.30 when I told Steph I really wanted to go home. Got home and spent a lot of time on the toilet in quite a bit of pain.

Tried bed but just too painful when laying down... contractions have now started (God they had bloody well better be contractions thats all I can say) and been going for about 3hrs or so. Haven't gotten to the 3 within 10mins as yet which is when Edith says to call her... Its come close a couple of times but not quite. Steph is still sleeping - letting him sleep while he can. OUCH just had another one! Have been thinking of running a bath but haven't gotten that far as yet as bathroom is directly opposite our bedroom and I don't want to disturb the "Sleeping Beauty" LOL Yeah I know I am too considerate at times but starting to think seriously about doing it anyway!

Haven't rung Mum or Lynaire as yet - thought I would try to manage by myself and will call them when I ring the midwife. Don't want to drag everyone out of bed in case its a false alarm!

Right going to get moving now... Kate has all the details to log in to my blog so once she receives txts from me she can update here when she is free too... so do stay tuned....

Holy Moly - 1 week to go until EDD!!!

Hi all

Just a quick post from me today as I'm not feeling very chatty at all today... just had MW visit - all is well with bubs but I really did think my waters had started leaking a couple of days ago but nope no sign of them breaking as yet - just extra discharge! :( She did take a swab from cervix and has sent that away to be tested in case of infection but that takes about 4 working days to get a result so bascially just got to wait until next visit next Wednesday (due date) but heres hoping I might go into labour before then.

My BP is still "perfect" and bubs HB is still great as well. Though bubs has moved from DOA to ROA so gotta spend some time on my swiss ball and laying on the left hand side to get her to move back to the left hand side...

Nothing much planned this afternoon - might finish watching a DVD that I borrowed off a friend a couple of weeks back - she lent me volumes 1 and 2 of "The Wombles"!!! LOL Hands those who remember them! LOL Talk about light hearted easy watching - fantastic especially when ones brain can't take much in these days.

Right - going now... catch ya all later

Photos taken at 38wks 5 days

Oooops excuse the baggy look with the jeans... I had pushed them down a bit to get the belly effect.


















Gees I do look small compared to other woman in the forum that I belong to who are due at the same time as I am but the MW says its because of my body shape etc...
















I feel so much bigger than I actually look... so frustrating at times.

Morning all....

Wooohooo 8 days left till the EDD.... but going by MWs estimate I only have 5 days max to go... but on saying that I do realise that I could stay this way for another 3 weeks!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Not only for my sake but the sake of Steph's sanity as well! LOL

Took some belly shots last night but haven't gotten around to downloading them as yet - might do that this afternoon and then will post them for all to see! I must admit my extra fat that I have been carrying around for years certainly doesn't help me look 9mths pregnant thats for sure!

Another restless night last night - I find I am sleeping best from about 5am till 8/9am most days by then I wake up starving! LOL

So whats on the agenda for today?? Not a lot really - have just done the vacuming (that I was going to do yesterday) and am now resting as I got quite sore doing that (thank god we only have a small single storey house). Heading to Upper Hutt shortly to post the parcels that I was supposed to post yesterday.... Gees I was quite slack in the end yesterday! LOL Then going to visit Steph's sister in law for a catch up and gossip after lunch. So thats about it for today - nothing exciting really.l

Oh yesterday when I went to visit my friend - oh I was so clucky with little Jade who is now 11 weeks old! She got up not long after I arrived (though she was supposed to be sleeping but wouldn't) and I got to hold her the whole time I was there (about an hr and half)! Got her to sleep and we just sat there talking while Jade slept on my shoulder and then about 30 mins later she was awake again - alert and quite happy indeed! I then got to feed her the bottle before having to leave... Oh she is so beautiful and so cuddly! Oh well it will be my turn soon! :)

Right time to get moving to get my butt to Upper Hutt - also have to go to the bank to bank all the old silver coins we have got here. I have been meaning to do it for the last 2 weeks - oh well it will serve me right then if I have to queue for ages at the bank!

Catch ya all later

Morning all

Had another restless night but I think that was mainly due to the weather conditions as everytime I seemed to dose off, either the wind, rain, hail, thunder, lightening would start up... or sometime a combination of them all! I did try something new and that was I put the new nightlight we bought yesterday for the babys room on in the hallway which made our room lighter and that seemed to relax me a lot more and no panic attacks... I used to be scared of the dark as a young child and now seem to wonder if this is coming back. Sounds silly I know and I am a bit embarassed thinking that I could be "scared" of the dark at my age! It could be a pregnancy related situation but also something to do with the house and the darkness of the curtains we have in our room... but as we moved into the house when I was 11 weeks pregnant I haven't had the change yet to unlink those two things... Okay now I am starting to confuse myself! LOL

Was up at 7.30am this morning as I hadn't felt bubs move for quite some time... but still no obvious movement from her after showering and eating breakfast which is unusual so went on to trying the hot drink then relax for 20 mins before having a cold drink and then relax etc... but all it took was the hot milo (and I don't normally drink hot drinks) and a bit of relaxing and I got some movement - nothing major but hey there isn't a lot of room in there for her to move around now but am just pleased that I go some movement... Keep telling her that she can come out now whenever she is ready but I have a feeling I have one stubborn wee girl in there at times! LOL

Not doing a lot today... might do the vacumming shortly as the bird seed in here (the lounge) is really starting to piss me off! LOL Still haven't got the huge nesting instinict as yet - so perhaps bubs could be a wee way away but then some people don't get the nesting urge at all! Am hoping to visit a friend of mine who had a wee girl in August and I haven't caught up with her for a wee while so best I make the most of the opportunity to catch up :) Oh have to post a parcel of soft toys away that I sold on TM - I was so hoping that it would go to someone local so they could pick them up but now the lady that has bought them lives in Gore!

Oh change of plans re progress reports when I go into labour etc... I am going to give my blogger details to Kate and she will update on here as we txt her with updates :) *Mental note - must email Kate my details in case I go into labour today* LOL

Catch ya all later...

Hi ya

Well another day almost over and another day closer to bubs EDD... well when I saw the MW on Wednesday she was estimating within the next 10 days - so 4 days later we are down to within the next 6 days if she is right! Wow thats not far away at all! LOL

I did have a better nights sleep last night but that was in the spare bed in babys room! It still took me sometime to get to sleep but don't think the fireworks were helping me there... but once I was asleep (about midnight), I woke at 2.30am for a toilet stop and then back to sleep till 7.15am!! Up for another toilet stop and then back to sleep till 9.15am when I was woken by a very hungry tum!

After a bit of mucking around, we decided to head to Porirua so I could show Steph a couple of awesome toys I had seen at K-Mart on Thursday (that I thought would be good for us to get our wee girl for Christmas) and to check out the lighting range at Bunnings.... well what a wasted trip it ended up being. Everything we bought today we could have gotten in the Hutt Valley!!! K-Mart had sold out of the toys that I wanted to show him (they were on clearance deal prices but hey thats beside the point LOL), then I thought I would show him the earrings I had seen in Michael Hill that I thought would be good for his Sister for a Christmas Present - they had sold out of those as well! Ended up getting two Christmas Presents from Farmers for my two nieces from the UK (who will be over here), got a few bits and pieces from the Warehouse and then a night light from Bunnings! So like I said everything we bought - we could have easily bought over here but hey the drive was nice even if the weather wasn't!

Got home about 2.30pm with a headache and was shattered, so had a snooze for an hour or so before getting up and now just blobbing out before organising dinner. We are having pork chops, potatoes and veggies tonight.

Right, gonna get moving - will catch ya all tomorrow sometime. Oh my plan of attack for letting you all know if something is happening is to let both Lynda and Kate know any progress reports and they will post updates on their blogs but all going well I will do a quick post on here prior to going to the hospital so you know to check their blogs but if at any stage I go all quiet for over a day - do check out their blogs :)

Bye xx

Hi ya

Well another day almost over and another day closer to bubs EDD... well when I saw the MW on Wednesday she was estimating within the next 10 days - so 4 days later we are down to within the next 6 days if she is right! Wow thats not far away at all! LOL

I did have a better nights sleep last night but that was in the spare bed in babys room! It still took me sometime to get to sleep but don't think the fireworks were helping me there... but once I was asleep (about midnight), I woke at 2.30am for a toilet stop and then back to sleep till 7.15am!! Up for another toilet stop and then back to sleep till 9.15am when I was woken by a very hungry tum!

After a bit of mucking around, we decided to head to Porirua so I could show Steph a couple of awesome toys I had seen at K-Mart on Thursday (that I thought would be good for us to get our wee girl for Christmas) and to check out the lighting range at Bunnings.... well what a wasted trip it ended up being. Everything we bought today we could have gotten in the Hutt Valley!!! K-Mart had sold out of the toys that I wanted to show him (they were on clearance deal prices but hey thats beside the point LOL), then I thought I would show him the earrings I had seen in Michael Hill that I thought would be good for his Sister for a Christmas Present - they had sold out of those as well! Ended up getting two Christmas Presents from Farmers for my two nieces from the UK (who will be over here), got a few bits and pieces from the Warehouse and then a night light from Bunnings! So like I said everything we bought - we could have easily bought over here but hey the drive was nice even if the weather wasn't!

Got home about 2.30pm with a headache and was shattered, so had a snooze for an hour or so before getting up and now just blobbing out before organising dinner. We are having pork chops, potatoes and veggies tonight.

Right, gonna get moving - will catch ya all tomorrow sometime. Oh my plan of attack for letting you all know if something is happening is to let both Lynda and Kate know any progress reports and they will post updates on their blogs but all going well I will do a quick post on here prior to going to the hospital so you know to check their blogs but if at any stage I go all quiet for over a day - do check out their blogs :)

Bye xx

Well am still here in one piece... thanks for the comment Anne :) Gotta keep me on my toes :) Have had a busy day so far and this is the first chance I have had to sit down and update.

After seeing Carla's photos of wee, beautiful Olivia - I am having trouble comprehending that I too have a baby just like that inside of me!!! I guess I still think of bubs as an ailen so to speak as all I see is my stomach moving when she moves... Still freaking me out a bit that I have a fully grown baby inside of me and that sometime within the next 3 weeks, she will be out and Steph and I will be parents!!!!

Had a real rough night last night with not a lot of sleep - well not until about 4am anyway... I have packed my rescue remedy but best I get it out again and have it by my bed for these rough nights. I find that I sleep best from about 5am onwards... weird I know but believe it or not I think my "panic attacks" are something to do with the dark! Which is why I relax and calm down as it starts getting lighter... And unfortunately, there was no big sleep in for me
today as I had a friend (who is 28 wks pregnant) coming to visit for a catch up and to see the nursery at 10.30am so it was a real struggle to get up about 9.15am! Got a txt from Karen (my friend) just before 10 to say she was running late and would be here about 11am which gave me a bit more time to relax and to do a bit of tidying up of bills etc that were laying around.

Karen arrived and we had a good ole natter and catch up... mostly all about babies of course as her baby is their first as well so it was a matter of the blind leading the blind with some of the questions she asked me! LOL

Once Karen had left just after 1.30pm, we had a quick lunch of tomato sandwiches before heading out to do the groceries. Once again it was a real struggle walking... correction waddling around the supermarket! But its all done for another week thank goodness! So now we are home, groceries are unpacked and I am just blobbing out resisting the urge to lay down and sleep... as I am hoping just to have an early night and fingers crossed sleep well tonight!

Oh, we went out for tea last night to Hogs Breath Cafe in Lower Hutt - it was nice being just the two of us and doing some talking about believe it or not.... baby stuff!!!! LOL We both thought that quality of the food has gone downhill since our last visit there at the beginning of the year (for my birthday we think it was) and the service wasn't the best either so don't think we will be rushing back there in a big hurry. Though talking about dinners, on Wendesday night we are going to Mr India in Lower Hutt (right across the road from the hospital so very handy for us LOL) for Steph's rifle club end of season dinner though I will play it by ear and see how I am feeling as to whether I go or not. And well if I am in hospital, Steph can just pop across the road, have dinner and then come back! LOL Then on the 18th Nov, we have my friend Lynaire's eldest daughters 21st dinner at Hot Rocks in Lower Hutt so thats another night out for us to enjoy with friends and hopefully (god I hope so) we will have a wee girl to take with us :)

Anyway, enough rambling from me - oh on a totally different matter - I think I have killed our rose bush so bought some rose food from the Supermarket today and have fed it and watered it well so fingers crossed I haven't left it too late.

Nothing planned for tomorrow though we may head to Bunnings in Naenae to check a couple of things out and I would like to show Steph a couple of things that I saw at K-Mart on Thursday, but not sure if I will be up to doing that trip again so will see how I am feeling.

Right, I am going to get moving now as too long in this position (legs up on swiss ball with laptop on my knees) and I start getting quite uncomfortable!

Bye for now xx