the cat is out of the bag...

Anyone notice a blog title change?! Well, our family of 3 (plus Remmy) is going to be a family of 4 (plus Remmy)! We are expecting another little one in June! (Due date 6/6/12!)

We took the pregnancy test on October 2nd, which was the day I ran the half marathon. I did have my suspicions a few days before. I had similar symptoms as with Jamie (meaning I had to pee more than normal, which is a result of increased blood production.) The timing worked well as Jamie and I were flying out to the States two weeks later. I wanted to tell everyone in an unusual way like last time. So we bought a t-shirt for Jamie that says: "I'm not lion, [picture of lion], I'm going to be a big brother!" Unfortunately we don't have a single photo of it! But everyone loved it. Christine wanted to know if it was true, Kim screamed, my mom noticed straight away, my dad didn't notice for 2 hours (until my mom asked what he thought of it!). Everyone is thrilled.

I am now nearly 15 weeks, and into the second trimester. So far I've been sicker than I was with Jamie. With him, I was only ever nauseous, but I've been throwing up a few times a week, mostly first thing in the morning after I open the fridge or encounter certain smells like dog food or moldy food. Like last time, I had to eat all the time to stop from feeling sick. I think I'm nearly out of it. I don't feel nauseous as much. I am also much more tired. I take a nap when Jamie does, nearly everyday.

We had a scare a few weeks back when I spotted for about a week. I was referred to the Early Pregnancy Detection Unit for a scan and everything was ok. We got to see our little one a few weeks earlier than normal:

It's not as clear in the photo, but we saw it in action wriggling around. The baby is about an inch long here.

Our normal 13 week scan was at the end of November. I had blood taken and they measured the baby to check for any abnormalities and also to assess probabilities that it might have Down's or another disorder. Everything came back normal and here is the baby 3 weeks older:

Quite a difference! The also measured my fibroid, which is back and growing again. It's about 8cm now, which is 2cm smaller than it was at this stage with Jamie. It continued to grow until 20 weeks last time, so we'll see how it is a the next scan.

I have had one midwife appointment so far, where she took my history and we discussed the last pregnancy/delivery and plans for this one. Since I had a c-section last time and lost a lot of blood, and because of the 'large' fibroid (greater than 10cm), I am considered a high risk pregnancy. It doesn't really mean all that much except that I'll be closely more monitored in delivery and I wouldn't be allowed to have a home birth (not that I'd ever want one!). I am several extra appointments with the obstetrician to discuss fibroid and delivery. I will have a choice if I want to have a c-section or try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). I haven't made a decision what I want yet, and apparently don't have to decide until 36 weeks. I'll keep you posted on that.

A bit of a long one, but a lot to catch up on in 15 weeks. I'll try to update more regularly. The next ultrasound is at the end of January, which is when we'll find out the sex!

second sweep

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and notes of concern. I'm much improved today.  I had my second sweep this morning and...hooray...there's been some progression. I'm still not very dialated, but the midwife said the cervix was soft and she was able to get a finger through and touch the baby's head.  Now that I'm feeling better, I'm going to try to be a bit more active and spur him on a little more.  Otherwise, I'll go in Wednesday night to be induced on Thursday.

Any news?!

Everyone is dying to know if there is any news. My parents are getting countless emails. I'm getting emails and texts and phone calls. If there were any news, we wouldn't be hiding it...we promise! 

Sadly, nothing has changed. I went to the midwife yesterday and the baby is still in the same position as two weeks ago (engaged slightly and his back is more to my back). I've had no signs of labor or even false labor. He's just too comfy in there I suppose.

My midwife has made an appointment for me to have a membrane sweep at the hospital on Friday morning. A sweep is basically what it sounds like--they will sweep around the cervix opening to try to separate the cervix from the membranes around the baby. This will also trigger the release of hormones which can help kickstart labor. The midwife said I'll have a 40% chance of going into labor within 48 hours. If it doesn't work then I'll be offered a second sweep early next week and if that doesn't work then I will be induced. Even though I'd really like this baby to come as soon as possible, I do want to try to avoid being induced as there can higher chance for complications.  I'm starting to have those fears that I'll never go into labor naturally though...

Meanwhile, my dad arrived over the weekend, and we've been busy getting the house in order. My mom and I are making drapes for the living room and my dad is painting the living room and hallways.  We'll take some photos of the finished products (should we not get interrupted beforehand!)

Sorry I haven't posted pictures of the sock monkeys in their final resting place yet. We've got this really cool light fixture for the room, but need to have it fitted properly by our electrician friend as the wiring was more complicated than Paul could handle. But, since I can't give you any baby news, I'll give you some sock monkeys:

t- 4 days

...until the due date anyway. We'll see when he actually makes his appearance...

It's been a busy week off work. Busier for my mom than me I think, but I'm feeling more ready. She's been working hard on the nursery and it's really coming together. I'm not going to post any photos until it's finished, which should be in the next couple of days. It's super cute though!!  We've also been cleaning and shopping, trying to get all the last minute things sorted. It's so nice having her around! Now that my hospital bag is finally packed and my own bedroom has had a thorough clean, I feel better about him making an early arrival. He's going to be in our bedroom for a few months, so it's not vital that the nursery is finished on time. 

Personally I'm getting more tired during the day. I have the energy to do about one project a day and then am taking it easy the rest of the time. I even took a nap yesterday. We haven't really seen any signs that he's coming yet. He was 2/5ths engaged at my midwife appointment last Wednesday (they measure in 1/5ths for some reason), so he's moving down. I'm also starting to swell more in my hands. My ankles started a few weeks ago and my hands started over the weekend. Dad arrives Saturday, and I'd like them to have as much time together as possible, so it would be nice if he came soon, but it's not really up to me. The midwife suggested drinking raspberry tea, eating spicy food and fresh pineapple(!), as well as some 'other' activities;). And now we'll be doing all we can to get this little guy out so he can hang with grandparents for as long as possible. 

And last night we took a photo of the bump at 39 weeks. Sorry for the poor lighting and the white on white background.  I'll try to take a better one later this week: 

doctors, midwives, hospitals

Well it's been a week of appointments for me. 5 in 4 days.  These include an ultrasound, consultant appointment, 2 midwife appointments and a hospital appointment. Most were routine appointments, but the abundance is due to us trying to change to a local hospital, and because I'm now at 36 weeks, everything has to happen quickly.  Let's start at the beginning:

1. 12:30pm, February 15th - 36 week ultrasound (actual time 12:55pm)
   This was (most likely) my final ultrasound to track Baby W's growth. He's looking good. Unfortunately he was feeling a little camera shy and we couldn't get a good shot of his face, so we'll just have to wait for the real thing in a month's time.  He's still tracking on the average trajectory (hooray!) and is currently estimated to be 5lb 14oz, which if he continues to put on the average 0.5lb per week, would make him around 8lbs around his birth--which sounds reasonable, right?! He's also still head down, which is good, and let's hope that fibroid is keeping him that way. The fibroid is still showing no growth since 20 weeks, so we're in good shape.
2. 2:00pm, Februarly 15th - consultant appointment (actual time 3:15pm)
   This was a follow up appointment about the fibroid to discuss what measures, if any, will have to be taken during the birth because of the fibroid's existance.  The consultant said, as the fibroid is external and high on my uterus, it shouldn't affect me trying for a vaginal birth (as opposed to a cesearian)-good!.  She suggested that during the delivery, they use 'active management' during the third stage of labor (which is the delivery of the placenta). There is a small risk of extra bleeding so what they'll do is give me a shot which help my uterus to contract faster to quicker delivery of the placenta. I was probably going to elect to have this shot anyway (who wants to wait around for up to an hour more for the placenta come out?!).
3. 2:30pm, February 15th - old midwife appointment (actual time 4:00pm)
   This was effectively my last appointment with my old midwife, Mara.  We did all the normal bits-blood pressure (120/80 - normal), bump size (34 centimeters -normal), baby's heartrate (131 - normal), baby's position (head down-as seen in scan) and he's not started to engage (drop into pelvis) yet-I think this can start anytime soon, and urine (slightly elevated nitrate levels, so she sent off to test for urinary tract infection, but didn't think it was likely as I had no other symptoms. We also discussed our birth plan, which is basically a list of what we'd like to see happen during the birth. I think I'll save the details for another post closer to the due date, particularly as things might have to change when we switch hospitals.
4. 2:50pm, Feburary 17th - new midwife appointment (actual time 2:40pm!)
   So this was my first appointment with a midwife in Bromley. She informed me that I have to rebook with the hospital in Bromley and luckily when she phoned they had just had a cancellation, as there were no other appointments in the next month! No idea what would have happened if they didn't--a waiting list I guess? Anyway, that appointment is tomorrow and I'll have to give a full medical history, etc again as I did in my first midwife appoitnment 8 months ago. *sigh* such a waste of time. They may also go through their referral system for a final decision on whether doctors need to be involved with the delivery (normally midwives do all normal deliveries-and doctors are just on call in case of problems). She did all the normal tests again, everything, including urine levels were normal today.
5. 8:30 am, February 18th - hospital registration appointment
   This is tomorrow, so stay posted!

antenatal course #2 and midwife appt

Sorry blogging has been a little more quiet lately. Wish I could say the new house was taking up all our time, but I don't feel like we've gotten much done here either. Busy with who knows what, but we haven't been in our house long enough to get anything substantial done. The end of February is looking less busy (so far...) so hopefully we'll make some progress then.

One thing that has taken up our time is another antenatal class which was all day Saturday. Another very helpful session. We talked mainly about the birth and some postnatal care. We covered things pain relief options (which will be necessary), ceseareans (which hopefully won't be), and birthing positions (I'll spare the details). In terms of pain relief, we covered four main options:
1.TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) machines-specifically for childbirth, which you can buy or rent. The send electric pulses which can block pain gateways to the brain and also help to release endophins. They are drug free of course and have no side effects for baby.
2. Drug similar to demoral-which is IV based drug, effecting whole body rather than a localized numbness and can sometimes slow labor. It can also cause nausea and sleepiness. I probably won't elect to use this drug.
3. Gas and Air-which is a mixture of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and oxygen. I don't think they use this in the US, but it's commonly used in the UK. Good thing about it is that it only takes 20sec to kick in and 20 sec to leave system, so if I don't like it, I don't have to use it.
4. Epideral-low or high dose. Directly into spine which numbs lower part of your body. There are lots of potiential side effects, plus you have to be tied to monitors constantly, which limits mobility. But you feel a lot less pain.

I want to keep an open approach to the birth. I don't want to go in with a set idea of I definitely want or don't want certain things.  Paul and I are going to write up a 'birth wish list' at some point this month which will outline how we want to approach the birth. 

This morning I also had another midwife appointment.  Everything seems to be in order. My blood tests from last month were back and all was good. My iron levels were high which is good. Blood pressure (118/64) was normal and so was urine test. We heard Baby W's heart beat which was strong. His position is head down, which is perfect and let's hope he stays that way for the last 6 weeks. My bump measured 34 cm which is perfectly average for being 34 weeks. Our next appointments are on Feb 15th and include my final ultrasound, a follow up appt with consultant for the fibroid and another midwife appt which is where we're meant to write up our birth plan with her. I say 'meant to' because I'm in the process of most likely changing to a local midwife so I can go to a local hospital rather than have to drive an hour+ to the hospital closest to our old flat. I've got an appt at my GP on Thursday who will refer me to the local midwife services and then we'll see how the first appt with her goes before I make a final decision.

We finally bought our nursery furniture today and just making final decisions on bedding. I won't reveal anything though until it's all put together. Maybe you can bribe my mom to give you hints as she's helping plan everything and we'll do together when she comes over early next month.  Can't wait!!

mid wife appt #5

This post is slightly overdue, but we since we aren't in our home yet we haven't had regular internet access and we were out a lot last week furniture browsing.  I had another mid wife appt last Monday.  This time in the office. I know now why they do home visits. Their offices were not very nice or welcoming.  I ended up having to wait 5 minutes in the freezing cold waiting for someone to arrive to open the office. I was the first appointment of the day at 10am! It was all normal stuff. Blood pressure (normal), urine test (normal), bump measurement was 32 cm (12.5 inchces), a 6 cm growth in 4 weeks. We also did some routine blood tests, which I think were for hemoglobin levels. I'll get the results next month (unless there's a problem).

My mom has been asking me how long I'm likely to be in the hospital after baby comes so I finally asked. Apparently you can be discharged as soon as 8 hours after giving birth if both mom and baby are ok. Seems quick, doesn't it!?  I've got my antenatal classes in two weeks, so I'll find out more then.

I've got another ultrasound on Friday so stay tuned for photos. Need to also post the photo fromt the last one, but I don't have access to a scanner, so you'll just have to wait a bit longer. Sorry!

mid-wife appt #4

Mara came to see me, this time with a student, for my 26 week appointment. Everything seems to be progressing well. She took BP (120/80) and urine and both were fine. She measure the bump which came in at 26 cm (10.2 inches), which is right on track. The cm should roughly match up with number of weeks, so I'm perfect I guess. I don't have to do the glucose screening for diabetes since there is no history. And I've scheduled a swine flu vaccine for next week. We also listed to Baby W's heartrate and he sounded good and active. He's in the head down position and to my right, as usual avoiding the fibroid. We also talked about what to do once we move and for now I'm going to stay with my midwife and designated hospital. This means no more home visits and we have to drive ourselves to the hospital (or get an ambulance if necessary), which should all be fine. Hopefully it won't be rush hour when the time comes! I will also check out services near our new house once we move and make a final decision then. I got my government forms which entitle me to £190 ($310) just for being pregnant(!) and also forms for my employer so they can claim my maternity pay.

Generally, I've been feeling pretty good. No more cramping and the baby is getting a lot more active. He makes likes to make my tummy look all wonky, especially when I'm laying down. We've got another ultrasound next Friday, so I'll get to see his sweet little face and get some more snaps. We're also attempting to move house that day-though not confirmed so it could be a very busy day!

Mid-wife appt #3

I had another mid-wife appointment this morning. Very short and sweet. It was a follow up to the ultrasound.  I met with Uwa today, which is Mara's main partner (i.e. if Mara is not on call when I go into labour, it is likely to be Uwa helping me.) She was very friendy. She took my urine and blood pressure (100/65) and both were fine. She has also referred me to see a consultant about my fibroid. The appointment is in 3 weeks and she said the likely result would probably be more ultrasounds to make sure the fibroid doesn't impede the growth of the baby. Doesn't sound too bad to me...more opportunities to see my little boy:).  The other likely side effect of the fibroid is more pain as the baby gets bigger and starts pushing on or kicking the fibroid.  Will let you all know how it goes.

Midwife appt #2

Yesterday Mara came to visit again.  It was a fairly quick visit.  Everything seems to be going well. She took my blood pressure (97/63) and did a urine test (normal), then we listened to the baby's heart rate (158) and we even heard a little kick!  She then went through the antenatal classes available.  She recommended Paul and I to the labour and birth workshop in February and a breastfeeding workshop in January. These are both one-off classes.  There are some other optional ones I can do if I'm interested (obstetric physiotherapy, expectant parents class, a talk by an anathesiologist, and tour of the birthing centre). 

I'm not sure what I expected from this whole midwife experience, but it feels a lot more impersonal that I thought it would be. If I didn't read What to Expect or the other pregnancy websites, I wouldn't really have a clue as to what's going on with the baby. It's more like going through a checklist than really asking me what's going on and how I'm feeling.  It's a good thing I have such supportive friends and family:)! 

My bump is growing a bit and the baby is sitting definitely sitting on the left side--I feel very lopsided.

Our next appointment is at 20 weeks and it's another ultrasound--probably our last one, so it'll be the only chance to find out the sex. Must decide!

more questions

Q: Are you going to find out if it's a girl or boy?
A: Undecided.  We won't be able to find out until our 20 week ultrasound, which is on Oct 30th.  I don't want to find out, but Paul does. We haven't made a final decision. I think it would be nice to a surprise to look forward to on the day. Although knowing the sex would help with some planning and buying, we'll always be in need of gender neutral clothes if we're lucky enough to have more than one child!

Q: Is my mom coming over for the birth?
A: She is waiting to hear what Paul and I decide. I'm pretty sure I'll want her here at the beginning, but I haven't worked out all the details. We still have 6 months to decide. Paul has 2 weeks paid paternity leave, so whether it might be better for her to come after than, I don't know.  I think it would be nice for her to be her for the birth.

Q: Because I have a mid-wife does that mean I'm having a home birth?
A: NO!  Midwives are common practice over here. They're used for general pre- and post-natal check ups and help you through the birth, rather than having an Ob-gyn.  I could choose to have the baby at home, but I won't.  I don't want to take the risk if something goes wrong. Plus, I don't want to get my house all messy!

Q: Does having a baby mean we're moving back to the States?
A: Not YET. We do really want to move back, but the way the economy the way it is right now, it just doesn't make sense for us to immgrate back.  We're actually looking to buy a house here at the moment.  We put our flat on the market back in May but no offers yet.  We're looking to move out to the suburbs in south London (Bromley/Beckenham). We will move back, but it'll probably be another 3 or so years.   This isn't great news for my family of course, and that fact is the hardest for me, but we've been lucky so far to see them around 4 times a year, which is more than some families in the States see each other. 

Q. How much time will I get off work?
A. This is one of the greatest things about living in the UK. I get 6 months paid maternity leave, plus I can take a further 6 months unpaid and still return to the same job. Now, those first 6 months aren't all at full pay. A few weeks are at full pay, then it drops to 90% of earnings, then drops to a statutory wage. I haven't quite worked out all the financial implications, but I'm likely to take the full year if possible.  I also get 27 days (paid) vacation next year which I can also take at any time next year.

Midwife appt #1

I had my first midwife appointment today. In England, all your primary care is done through your GP. I don't have an OB--all previous gynecological care has been through my GP (birth control, smears, etc). Now that I'm pregnant, I get referred to a team of midwives who work in my local area. There are 5 on the team, and I will have one main contact, Mara, who works in partnership with one other midwife (Uwa), but I will eventually get to meet the entire team should one of mine be on leave. They do most appointments at my home which is nice. I will be referred to the hospital when I need ultrasounds (standard ones are at 11-13 weeks and 18-20 weeks).

So I met with Mara today, she was very nice and reassuring. We ran through my medical history and filled out a heap of forms. She then took blood and urine samples and took my blood pressure (118/63). She answered all my questions and gave me a bunch of booklets and things on pregnancy. Apparently there is a pregnancy epidemic in my area and she wants to organise a movie night for all the expectant moms, which is sweet. They also run weekly antenatal aqua-aerobics, but unforutnately the class is during lunch and I don't work nearby. All in all, everything was fairly straightforward. I don't have a lot of high risk factors, which is good. I should be getting my appointment letter for an ultrasound soon--very exciting.

I also met with my trainer (Fiona) this morning. She worked with me throughout my marathon training and is very good (I did finish!). She loves working with pregnant moms, and it's a real shame that she's moving back to New Zealand in a few weeks. I hope to squeeze in another session or two before she goes. She's going to write up some workouts for me and she briefed me on the three main things not to do: jumping (due to impact), over the head exercises (raises your blood pressure), and exercises lying on your back (it puts pressure on the oxygen supply to the baby). She also says not to do ab exercises (but there are mixed views on this one). So far in my pregnancy I've been running about 3 times a week for 35-45 mins (4-5 miles). I'm much slower than during marathon training (no surprise), and I'll probably only keep the running up for about another month. I'm going start going back to the gym and do weight training and when I can't run anymore do low impact cardio (swimming, walking, elliptical, etc). Today was the first weight training I've done in about 2 months and I can already feel the lactic acid building up, but will just have to tough it out as I'm not allowed ibuprofen (but can take paracetemol if necessary).