Family Shot

Family Shot #3
Originally uploaded by jodicze.

Here's the whole gosh darn family.

Daya has a migraine today so has been vomiting and very unhappy. I think too much excitment and not much sleep on the night Levi was born proved too much for her.

Levi is doing well. He is feeding about every 3hrs and sleeps in between. My milk has not come in yet but he seems happy with the colostrum.

2 weeks early

2 weeks early
Originally uploaded by jodicze.

As you can see, our little man arrived into this world this morning 7/08/05 at 1am after a 2 hour active labor.

Here's how things went:

We had a great week leading up to this birth and I thought every day would be a perfect day to go into labor.

On the 7th August the day started out just like any other Saturday. We had our usual bacon and eggs for breakfast. I then took the kids up to the supermarket to get a few things. David wanted to spray the weeds so I got him some weed killer.

We then had a bit of a lazy day. I made some musli bars and just pottered around tidying up the odd thing around the house.

We then went to Youth band practice. Daya is in the band and David is helping out. I went along for something to do. I had no contractions at this stage.

We got home about 5:30pm and I started to warm up some dinner I had prepared the day before in the crock pot. While I was doing this I kept getting cramp in my hip, not contractions just severe pinching. We all sat down to dinner and to be honest the food was yuck and I just did not feel very hungry. I had some icecream though and enjoyed that.
I started to notice some mild tightenings begin they were very regular but not intense. It did make me wonder if these would progress into labor.

After getting the kids into bed at 7:30pm the contractions were coming about every 3-4 mins but were not very painful so I dismissed it as braxton hicks contractions. I had had a night with these a few night previous.

David and I sat down to watch a movie. It was at this point I told him that things may be happening but I was not sure yet. I mentioned that we may need to move a heater up to our room just in case. I was still in denial that this may turn into true labour, but decided to get a little prepared in case.

At about 10pm I decided I should go to bed and get some sleep as the contractions were regular but not intense. I could still speak fine through them. I lay in bed for a while but did notice they were more painful when I lay down. At 10:30 David ran me a bath. If it was a false labor things should slow down in the bath but if it was the real thing it should get things going. It was lovely getting in the bath but it did not slow anything down. The contractions started coming every 2 mins but I could still cope fine and talk through them. We decided to call the midwife and let her know that things may be happening. She said to phone back in 15 mins and give her an update after I had been in the bath for a bit longer. As I could speak to her through contractions she wanted to be sure things were progressing before she made a trip out. Once I got off the phone things began heating up. We ended up ringing her back 5 mins later to say that contractions were 1 min apart and I now had to breath through them. She decided she had better come on over. This call was made at 11pm. By the time she arrived I needed no convincing that we would see our baby that night. My midwife Debbie was wonderful. She started to set her stuff up. My Mum arrived not long after and Daya had woken up and was with me in the bathroom. I had two red candles burning and they were the only light we had, it was just perfect.

I continued to labor in the bath on hands and knees until my legs and arms felt too shaky to hold me up. I then turned over to a semi reclined position and lent back on the back of the bath. My Mum put some towels behind so I could lean my head back.

I began to feel pushy. My midwife checked me and said I was almost fully dilated and she rang another midwife to come for the birth. I then had an overwhelming urge to push so told David to get the other girls up. They all arrived up in time to see Levi born into my own hands at 1pm. I pulled him up and onto my tummy straight away and he let out an almighty cry. It was the most wonderful thing to have almost the whole family there. We left Caleb sleeping but he loved seeing baby this morning when he awoke.

The other midwife turned up shortly after and commented on how we needed some photos of Levi and myself in the bath with the candles flickering behind.

I'm glad it is over now but it could not have been better. He is nursing well and sleeping in between. He is now 11 hrs old. I feel great!!!

He weighed 7lbs 7oz so would have been a big baby if he had gone full term.

We love him to bits and are so grateful to God for such a lovely birth and healthy baby.

Is it an early sign????

Last night I awoke at about 1:30am after dreaming that was in labor. I woke to the biggest contraction I have had so far in this pregnancy. It was the type that was uncomfortable but not enough to make me think baby was coming but my back was sore and I had that feeling in my gut like just before you get you period. It was enough to get me wondering if things were beginning.I then continued to have these every 5 minutes for the next hour or so but they did not increase in strength or get closer together. I contemplated getting up and putting the chicken in the crock pot ready for dinner the next day but decided that I should really get the rest and try to go back to sleep and ignor these contractions. I am glad I did as I eventually dozed off again and nothing came of it.

This morning I feel a few niggles but nothing like last night. I think I would be dreaming to expect baby to come early as none of the others have come this early before. I'll just wait and see what the day holds.

Midwife appointment

I saw my midwife today. All is looking good. Baby is still in a great position and has remained engaged at station 2+. I have also put on a whopping 2kg since my appointment 2 weeks ago!!!! I could tell that bubs had grown quite a bit and she said "it feels like a decent sized baby". I look forward to seeing the final weight at birth. No midwife has ever been accurate so far.
My next appointment is in one weeks time and she will come to my house to meet David and also make sure she knows where to come when the event finally takes place.

I have begun doing large size meals each day in the crock pot so that I can put some aside for us at a later date or give a meal to others that may need one. I took one to a friend that had her baby a week ago and gave another to a friend who has just had a sterilization reversal. I have another friend due to have her baby any minute now so I have a meal frozen for her. I guess I will eventually put some aside for us.

David and I had the most fantastic meal out the other night. I fully recommend The Beach house restaurant to any Kiwis looking for really great cuisine. I had an eye fillet steak wrapped in bacon and a very fine puff pastry. I was almost put off from the sound of the pastry but it was so delicate and the meat just melted in your mouth. David had venison that was also divine.
We also managed to discuss some business stuff between courses so that was good.

I have got over feeling impatient for the arrival of our little one. I have had the most enjoyable couple of days. It's almost like spring has arrived early. The days are clear, crisp and sunny and very out of season for us. It should be mid winter here in N.Z. Caleb is a bit out of sorts at the moment and has been quite grumpy but other than that I am enjoying my kids and the last few days until I am busy with a new born.

Nearly 38 weeks Pregnant

Nearly 38 weeks Pregnant
Originally uploaded by jodicze.

The journey is almost over and I would be quite happy if it happened any time now. It can't happen tonight though as David and I are going out for a flash dinner At a restaurant called The Beach House. We are going to have our first business AGM and decided to have dinner on the business, Yay!!! It may be a while until we can go out on our own so we are looking forward to a quiet and yummy meal together (and to discuss business stuff of course.)

I have completed the last GST and Paye return before baby arrives so it feels good to have those out of the way for a few weeks. I think that all our business stuff is up to date and in order.

Bubs is still very low, many people are commenting that I may go early. I almost expected it after Thursday last week when the Mums at my coffee group were sure I would have baby that day. I almost felt ripped off that it didn't happen but I am over that now. I had had a run of contractions in the early hours of the morning. They were 4 mins apart but not strong enough to make me think that I was going into labor.

I see my midwife on Thursday and I guess we will be discussing the final things I need to prepare before this baby arrives. There is a good New Zealand site to visit if you are looking for a home birth midwife in N.Z. It also has some links to other homebirth information. Take a look: homebirth.org.nz

I am trying to keep busy so my mind is not totally consumed with when this baby might arrive. Its amazing how most of my thoughts are about meeting this baby. David thinks I must be the most knowledgeable person on pregnancy due to all the reading I do. I love reading other peoples blogs and information related to pregnancy and labor.

I am still very comfortable at almost 38 weeks. I have the typical discomforts such as peeing all the time and its a little more difficult to walk as fast as I would like. I also find a little sleep in the afternoon is helpful. This does not always happen when you have four other children but I try. I also find my hips take a bit of adjustment time when I change from sitting to walking and I have a great waddle going on, there is no way I can stop this.

All in all, I am very happy with family life and this pregnancy but in regards to the up coming birth - BRING IT ON!!!!!