Pregnancy Info

Finally getting around to putting all of this information in the one post, so I don't have to keep searching for it.

Conceived: Last week of May 2005

First Pregnancy Test: June 7th - Negative - Home Pregnancy Test

Second Pregnancy Test: July 1st - Negative - Home Pregnancy Test

Third Pregnancy Test: July 8th - Positive - Dr. Office

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First Ultrasound: July 20th
9 weeks old gestational, 3cm long, heartrate 167 beats per minute. Gender: Unknown.

Second Ultrasound: August 19th
14 weeks gestational, 9cm long, heartrate 146 beats per minute. Gender: Unknown.

Third Ultrasound: September 28th
19 weeks gestational, 15cm long, heartrate 143 beats per minute. Gender: Girl.

Estimated Due Date: Feb 11th - Feb 21st 2006

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General Information
August 19th: Nuchal Translucency Test done. Risk factor: 1 in 12000. Moving around on the sonogram screen, but couldn't feel anything. Looked like bub had hiccups.

August 23rd: Felt movement for the first time. Felt like soft fluttering butterfly wings or very, very light vibrations. A few minutes afterward, while sitting on the potty, receieved 2 very distinct pokes in the belly.

September 12th: Changed Doctors, met new Doctor today. Told me the itchy rash I'd been experiencing was dermatitis. Uterus is 18cm long, and we got to hear bubby's "heartbeat" (though it turns out that was just the placental swish, NOT the actual heartbeat).

September 14th: First antenatal book-in at the hospital today. Hospital does partial water-births.

September 28th: The Big Day. Found out bubby is a girl. Heartrate was 143 beats per minute, and roughly 15cm in length. Has all appendages. Head circumference is 4.7cm, feet are 4.3cm long.

October 12th: D felt bubby's kicking for the first time. Was over the moon.

October 18th: Physically saw bubby's kicks in my stomache. VERY active baby. Tumbling and kicking and prodding ALOT.

November 5th: Think I may have Symphisis Pubis Dysfunction. Pubic bone aches and aches and gets worse of a night, or when I'm dressing or getting out of the car. Comes and goes and isn't constant.

November 9th: LOTS of movement again today, I'm wondering what's going on in there. Perhaps Judo training.

November 12th: Again lots of movement, including getting under my left hipbone and tickling me mercilessly. Was not cool. Also feeling more and more clumsy and forgetful.

November 15th: Glucose Testing for Gestational Diabetes. Unpleasant sugary drink that tasted like almost flat lemonade which I had to suck back in a 5 minute period. Didn't gag or throw it up.

November 17th: Passed the Glucose Test with flying colours.

November 18th: Went furniture shopping for the first time. Bought the bassinet which I just love. All white, but can be dressed up in whatever colour accents I want. Found a pram I liked, but was unsure on whether to buy that or a stroller - saleslady tried getting me to buy a $600 pramette.

November 24th: Got my changing table from Mum who picked it up at Salvos really cheap. It's light pine so will need to be sanded back and repainted, but I got it anyway!

December 2nd: Been sick for a week now; sinus infection.

December 13th: Antenatal appointment at the hospital. Got to hear the heartbeat FOR REAL this time - sounds like a really fast paced tennis match. Heartrate was 148 beats per minute, weighs approximately 4lbs and is currently breech. Signed bubs up for her Vitamin K shot at birth, and declined the HepB vaccination.

December 18th: Arms have been itching for a while now, feels like something under my skin that I can't quite reach. It seems to come most frequently when it's really hot out, or if I'm sweating. It's not constant, but we're monitoring it to be sure it's not cholestasis. So far the itching has not been consistent to the point where that's ALL I'm doing - seems to get a bit worse of a night time, or during the day when it's super hot.

Am feeling more and more uncomfortable in the pregnancy now, finding it difficult to get up and down out of the couch, and misjudging my own personal space so I'm walking into opened doors and things more frequently. Thankfully there have been no belly burns from the stove top - even though it came close!

December 23rd: Doctor checkup today, uterus is about 33cm long now. Once again heard the placental swish; hopefully Doc can make out the heartbeat cause I can't. Brought my due date from the 21st Feb to the 11th Feb. Not coughing nearly as much now, and no nasal drain to speak of. I think the remnants of my earlier sinus infection is finally going.

December 29th: At mums for the night, heading to antenatal appointment tomorrow morning early. Bubby's moving around like a maniac, kicking and squirming and flopping and diving - mum got to see my belly jumping all over the place as she moved around in there. The right side of my belly was protruding grotesquely at one point as she shifted position and I'm of the firm belief she was mooning us!

December 30th: Antenatal appointment at the hospital. Baby is PERFECT. Uterus still around 33cm long with her heartrate up at 154 beats per minute. She was SO active, the midwife couldn't believe it. She kept stating how responsive the baby is, and how awesome that was. Bubby shifted out of the breech position and is head down, planted at the birth canal, ready to be born when the time comes. Going to keep an eye on it and make sure she doesn't shift again and stay breech - don't want a C-Section.

January 3rd: Decided I would go for the Cholestasis blood test, this coming Friday. Takes a week for the results to come back. Had a bath yesterday for the first time since being back in Australia (9mths). Think bubs could feel the submersion as she started wriggling around for the first 10 minutes I was in the water. Think she might have liked it.

January 6th: Went for my cholestasis testing. Won't know the results until next Friday. Ate a small mint beforehand, but had fasted the required 12 hours so hope that didn't really interfere.

January 13th: Went in for my antenatal appointment today. Everything looks awesome! Baby's heartrate was 120 beats per minute; a significant drop from last time, but still very strong and very healthy nonetheless. The midwife was very happy with the results, and bubs is still down in the correct non-breech position. Uterus is measuring 35cm long, and we are officially in our 36th week beginning tomorrow. I will now see the midwives every week until baby is born. No results yet on the cholestasis test; they will call me if it's not a good result. New appointment booked for next Friday, and next Sunday I have the tour of the maternity ward. Also had my last round of testing for antibodies and hemoglobin, plus had vaginal swabbing done for strepB. Had to do that myself; hope I did it right!

Did more shopping today; picked up 24 cloth nappies and pins, got the pram off layby and Mum and I put it together (works well!), picked up a gorgeous little skirt for her to be brought home in. Also picked up some mattress protectors for the bassinet and a tea tree pillow - was going to buy the tea tree mattress but they were out of stock and are having a hard time getting them in from the supplier. I'm hoping to get one from BigW in Logan tomorrow.

January 15th: Woke up last night scratching the top of my left arm. Woke up D from all the scratching, so I put on some DermaVeen - it took about 5 mins to sink in and stop itching. Shortly afterward, my right arm started itching though not nearly as badly and went away within a few minutes.

January 16th: Dr Palin called to give me the results of the cholestasis test. Bile salt count was 11, which is very high for having fasted before hand. He said he would recommend having me induced at 38wks as prevention for anything going wrong. (like sudden fetal death syndrome or stillbirth) I go back to the midwives on Friday and will talk more about it with them. Dr Palin also suggests that I have the cholestasis test redone, which I will discuss with the midwives on Friday.

Also woke up this morning with aching legs and pelvis - think I must have slept wrong. Legs were a little numb as well.

January 17th: Happy BDay Garth! Called Dr Palin back to see if he thought it was necessary to retest for Cholestasis. He said that once it's been diagnosed, it's pretty well accurate and by the time we'd get the new results back it would be too late and I'd mostly likely already be induced by then so there was little point. He did inform me he's referred me to the senior OB on duty for Friday instead of talking with the midwives, so that we can discuss everything that's going on. He thinks the senior OB might not think being induced is necessary, given my itchies aren't so constant. We'll see.

January 18th: Was laying on the couch and got up when Garth came home this afternoon. Half turned to face him in the kitchen and suddenly saw lots of little black spots in front of my eyes. Not sure what these are, going to check with the docs on Friday.

January 19th: Woke up this morning with an achy pelvis again, as well as achiness in the tops of my thighs. I'm wondering if she's laying on a nerve.

January 20th: See post

January 21st: Went out this morning and picked up baby's carseat and had it installed into our car. The good news is that D was able to take it out and put it back in again with no problem; the bad news is that because our car is so small, the passenger seat has to be pushed all the way forward so the carseat fits in the backseat. This makes for alot of uncomfortable squishing and cramping for me.

Also, with Mamaala's assistance (her car primarily) we brought the chest of drawers (that I won at the tender center) home to my place, and Garth and D hauled it out of the car and put it in bubbys room for me. Mum and I then set about cleaning up her room and putting things away: clothes, books etc to get the room ready.

January 22nd: Came back to Mamala's again for the Maternity Ward hospital tour which turned out to be a little boring. It was nice to see all the rooms, including the 4 birthing rooms - all complete with spa bath!!! - as well as the actual ward rooms: 4 private single rooms, 2 rooms with 2 beds and 2 rooms with 4 beds. I hope like hell there isn't an influx of deliveries on the day we go in! If there aren't many ladies around, and the rooms aren't all taken, we are allowed to ask for one of the private rooms, which are usually reserved for women who have had complications during their pregnancies, and/or deliveries; OR if they've had to have a cesarian. We didn't get to see the rooms though because they were all full, but I imagine they're probably pretty nice.

January 23rd: Going for my Cholestasis retesting today, as well as having my liver checked and some other test for the swelling of my feet. I didn't think they could do that, but apparently they can! This is all bloodwork which I had to fast for AGAIN but this time I won't be eating a mint beforehand, like I did the last time.

Woke up around 130-2am-ish this morning to go potty and ended up staying awake scratching my left arm like a freaking maniac. I had to put 2 loads of DemaVeen on it to stop the itching and it took it's sweet time about stopping, I'll tell you that. It's not looking so bad if I have to be induced now - I cannot stand the scratching!!

January 25th: Antenatal appointment at the hospital. New bile salt results not back yet - should be back by Feb 1st, next appt. Liver test came back normal, as did general blood work. Went back to using original due date of Feb 11th, which makes me 37wks 3days pregnant. Am now considered full term. Doctor doesn't think induction is necessary but won't know for sure until next week when bile salt results come in. Blood pressure is perfect. Did not have internal exam because Doc says it's too early this week - will most likely do that next week. Need to call hospital tomorrow and schedule fetal heartrate monitoring as the wait today was 3-5 hours since all birthing suites were full of labouring women. Uterus measures 38cm long (15inches). Overall, excellent review, and am very happy with results.

February 1st: See post

February 2nd: Think I lost my mucous plug this morning. Had to get up around 2am (NSW) to go to the loo and found blood on the paper afterward. A long stringy thing was there as well as other blood and a little bit of mucousy stuff. It was quite bright, but nothing inside me jumped to the wrong conclusions... Only that this must be what I thought it was. (Doc did mention yesterday it would be normal to have some bleeding after she stretched out the membranes yesterday too)

I did get up once after that to go back to the bathroom and there was still blood, though not as much, and now brownish and not nearly so fresh looking, and I could still feel bubby kicking and moving around so again I wasn't terribly worried about it.

When I got up for real this morning, the blood was gone completely, being replaced only be the faintest brownish smear. Haven't yet decided if this warrants calling the hospital because she's moved around today so far.

...Update 4:30pm: Did lose the plug, but it was this afternoon, not this morning when I first thought. Turns out it's very dark brown and really very sticky. Kinda gross actually but at least now I know I've lost it for real. Been twingey and achey through the pelvis for most of the day on and off.

February 6th: Still pregnant. Still losing the mucous from the plug; evidently it regenerates somewhat. Pelvic region is very tight today, and very full feeling - lots of pressure. Had some twinges/aches around 4-5am-ish this morning but I think those may have just been braxton hicks. Woke up around 1am this morning scratching furiously at my arms - found out that I cannot lay on my left side now because my left arm gets too hot and thus causes the itching. Had to put three lots of DermaVeen on it to get it to stop.

Kira's foot is still wedged up into my rib but does move out on ocassion. I'm at the point where I'm convinced my ribs are bruised now.

Water broke around 11:45pm.

February 7th: Contractions began shortly before midnight, coming 3.5mins to 4mins apart. Called the hospital, headed in. Checked in and was examined - 2cm dilated. Contractions were inconsistently coming at 3mins apart for awhile, then 4-5mins for awhile, then 10mins for awhile and back down again. I was still contracting around 4-5am, midwife Janeen checked me and saw that I was still only 2cm dilated but fully effaced. She suggested a shot of morphine to relax my body since it was under some stress (bubs was fine) which would allow my body to start having regular and consistent contractions. A few hours later, I was at 5cm dilated and allowed in the tub. Around 12:45pm or so, I was 10cm dilated (FINALLY!) and got back on the bed to begin the final hour and a half of hard labour (14 hours of labour total). At 2:11pm, Kira Rose was born, weighing 3.490kg/7lbs 11oz. D delivered her and cut the cord under the careful supervision of midwife Janeen.

February 8th: Tani's 18th birthday. Was shown how to breastfeed somewhat properly, Kira was feeding every 2-3 hours and sleeping very well through the day. Discussed the option of going home early on the dismissal program, and having the midwives come out to Mums house.

February 9th: First Bath. She woke around midnight, and I could not settle her. Was feeding her every 10-15mins and she was still screaming as though she was hungry. Finally had a midwife come in around 3am, to see what all the racket was about, as Kira was screaming and crying uncontrollably and I thought she could not POSSIBLY be hungry. Midwife Anne bathed her to help relax her (we both thought she had wind and hadn't had a bowel movement since the 7th nor many wet nappies) and then asked me if I'd slept with her before. I said no, so she plonked her down next to me, put her on the boob and we both fell asleep.

Fed her on and off upon waking around 6am, every 20-30mins, becoming distressed she was having to feed so often. Asked the midwife on duty if I could go home that day. She said she didn't think it would be a problem, so she spoke to the head matron who okay'd it. (Apparently they needed the beds because of so many pregnant ladies coming in to give birth)

February 10th: First visit from the travelling midwife (Susie) who was very nice. Weighed Kira and found out she'd lost 10% of her birthweight. Said this was normal, but needed to keep an eye on it, so continue to feed her as often as possible. No problem there, seemed like she was forever screaming for food - I didn't think I was producing enough to keep her satisfied. Dropped down to 3.1kg from her 3.49kg at birth.

February 11: Decided to start her on formula as I was absolutely positive she was not getting enough milk from me. Deliberated with D and Mum and we all decided formula was the best option; also purchased a breast pump so we could find out exactly how much milk I was producing. Turns out I had very little - after almost an hour of pumping I had only expressed 20mls of milk. Fed Kira her first bottle of formula (50mls) and she noodled out completely afterward - her tiny body relaxed into a state of almost comatose-ness and she slept for four hours, sated and extremely happy. I then realized I had been starving my child for not having nearly enough breastmilk to keep her from being so hungry. (You can't imagine the guilt that flooded through me)

Did research on the breastmilk supply issue, and found out that indeed I did NOT have enough coming in: not enough wet nappies from just the breastmilk, not nearly enough soiled nappies and obviously the non-weight-gain issue. Continuing to breastfeed and suppliment with the formula.

February 12: Lost umbilicus today. Bellybutton looks like it might be an outie.

February 13: Midwife Susie came back today and weighed Kira again - she shot up 90grams, making her 3.19kg!! Absolutely stoked and over the moon with that. Told Susie we are supping with formula and the reasons why. She didn't seem pleased but she didn't seem displeased either. We're having alot more wet nappies now, though the bowel movements are still coming sporadically; once every other day or so. Susie suggested I eat lots of pears to help aid her digestive system, and/or give her little sips of cooled boiled water through the day. A half teaspoon of brown sugar in her milk was also suggested if no bowel movements were forthcoming.

February 14: Mum's birthday! Came home to Ormeau - the car ride home was a breeze even though I kept checking on her every few minutes. (Don't like the car seat, it's way too bulky) Noticed white on her tongue - possible thrush?

February 17: Possible first smile that wasn't wind. Huge, wide mouthed grins that came while I was playing with her chin and tickling under it, as well as her cheeks. First outing to the Logan Hyperdome (Mall) and she did excellently! Had some watery spit-up when we arrived, which I think was due in part to the heat and possibly the motion of the car driving, being that she's not used to it. No fussing whatsoever.

February 18: Took her down to the chemist to get her weighed (3.5kg with nappy on) and asked chemist about the white on her tongue. Chemist suggested thrush, but speak with doctor to be sure. Went next door to local doctor, made appointment. Doctor confirmed thrush and starting her on Nilstat, 1ml 3x day. Decided to cut the dosage down to a 1/2ml 3x day so she wouldn't vomit it back up on the pretense that that's what happened with me when I was a baby.

Second outing today, this time to Robina town center. Excellently behaved again - SOO proud of her! No fussing, no screaming, no crying (save for feeding time). SUCH a good baby.

February 19: Thrush is starting to show signs of clearing up. Downside to the medication is that she's waking up halfway through her sleeps; Nilstat is keeping her awake and alert. Usually doesn't take very long for her to go back to sleep, however. She is becoming much more alert and aware of her surroundings. Not showing any recognition of faces yet but knows voices.

February 20: First real smile!!(?) I leaned in close to her face so she could see me, said something to her (no idea what) and she gave me a big smile/grin. Couldn't get another one out of her no matter how hard I tried. Doh! Thrush is clearing very well, though she hates the medication. Thinking of increasing it to the full 1ml 3x day.

Woke up very early 3am-ish and D couldn't get her back to sleep. He wasn't in the room when I woke up to her cries, so I got out of bed to get her - turns out he was frustrated that he couldn't get her to sleep - and put her in bed with me. Think all she wanted was the body contact, and the fact that she was quite cold (hands were like little chunks of ice!!!) so I snuggled her into me, kissed and cuddled her and she was out like a light. Woke up once more before 5am fussing, gave her the dummy and cuddled her to me and she fell back asleep no problem.