Monday 8 February 2010

update on, well, everything really

melb zoo

mae:: my last post was already a bit of an update on maesey but, of course, there is always more i could say about her. we've been doing some fun stuff lately, trips to williamstown beach, excursions to both the melbourne zoo and the aquarium (where i picked up yearly memberships to each ensuring many more visits) and we discovered (through a friend) the very best kid-friendly cafe in footscray, complete with a big grassy area full of toys and mats to lay out on the grass. life with a toddler is super fun and i am going to soak up these last few months with my one girl.

baby 2:: the pregnancy is going really well, i actually feel pretty normal these days, if not a bit fat. my belly basically exploded at 16 weeks and i was a bit freaked out that i had some giant baby growing in there but thankfully i haven't expanded too much in the last 6 weeks (not in the tummy, anyway). i'm lucky enough to be a part of a program at the royal women's hospital where i receive one-on-one midwife care for all of my visits, meaning i have my very own midwife throughout this pregnancy who will also be there at my labour (rather than seeing random midwives at each visit). i've booked in for both a baby car capsule and a tens machine hire and bought a book on managing natural childbirth (all of which i didn't do with mae and so should have). i have still requested an epidural but i want to be prepared in case my active labour goes quite quickly and there isn't time for one. and please don't rant at me about epidurals, i had a natural child birth with mae and found the whole thing pretty traumatizing, i want to try another way this time.

house:: a few walls will come down this weekend and the major demolition is scheduled for the end of the month so i spent most of last weekend packing up half of the kitchen and fretting over where the hell everything was going to go. i know the renovation, which will take most of this year if not longer, will be trying, inconvenient and annoying but i am eager to get it started. the sooner we start, the sooner we are done and i am sick of having half of a nice house (we have renovated the front three bedrooms already), living with hideous faux wood paneling and blue tiles everywhere.

new baby blankees

sewing:: i've started working on getting my oobee blankee pattern ready for release next month so used it as an excuse to sew my first items specifically for the new baby. two sweet, girly oobee blankees for sleeping with, soft and snuggly with organic hemp/cotton fleece inside. mae absolutely loves hers and won't sleep without it - i am trying to keep these two out of sight until i at least get some pattern photos taken, i have a feeling she may claim one for herself. leon's quilt is all ready to be basted, quilted and bound, just need to find the time and space to get it done so i can deliver it to dana next week!


and that is all.

13 comments:

  1. I'm impressed with how much you are accomplishing!

    When I was labour I had an epidural, it was a wonderful thing!

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  2. Ah yes epidurals - brilliant things.

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  3. So glad to hear Leslie - big changes at your house!

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  4. A word on epidurals - you're the mum, you're the one giving birth, you do whatever the heck you like! Everyone has such a different experience, how can anyone comment on anyone elses choices - I find that a tad annoying! Let the baby arrive safely and mum be as happy as can possibly be.

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  5. Epidurals are great - any women who has given birth will tell you that!

    Those oobees are gorgeous.

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  6. I'm going to try no epidural this time too... hopefully it will go ok, at the very least hopefully it will go faster :) Those oobee blankets are gorgeous, I need to start making some things for baby 2 too.

    Good luck with the renovations!

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  7. Sounds like things are exciting at your place right now!

    Re: the epidural, you should just do whatever is right for you, every woman and labour is different so no-one can tell you what's best. Having said that, the TENS made my natural labour totally bearable (still no picnic, but not scary or overwhelming). And Birth Right was an awesome book.

    Good luck with all your projects.

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  8. only starting to read blogs again after a bit of a break, only realising you're pregnant, congratulations!

    I had the TENS and 'gas and air' (entonox) during my labour, and found both brilliant. I'd also done pregnancy yoga, which I found really great (although it totally depends on your teacherh, I'd started one course and found it terrible, then switched to another teacher, with a much smaller class, and it was great, especially all the breathing). I stayed quite calm and focused during labour and birth, I knew it was important and was really 'anxious to be relaxed' if that makes any sense. I prepared as much as I could with the yoga and a 'gentlebirth' audio CD. I found the CD very relaxing, and the 'affirmations' came back to me during labour, even though I didn't listen to any of it during labour.

    Every mother has to prepare for her own situation, fears and worries, I know lots of mums who got epidurals, there's nothing wrong with getting one if it's what's right for you! An open mind is the way to go, I had my wishes for the birth, but not everything went to plan...

    I read a book by Ina May Gaskin, which was way to hippy-ish for me in a lot of places, but many of the ideas and the advice stuck, and worked - for me.

    By the way, I was with a 'midwife led unit' and I can only recommend it!

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  9. I read the Ina May Gaskin book too and also loved the idea behind it, ie women can give birth with no intervention. But I have to say I balked at the part where they recommended getting your partner or indeed just a good friend to tweak your nipples if labour stalls. My friends and I have had LOTS of good jokes about that when one or other of us was just about to go into labour!
    I had a traumatic first birth as well and the most peaceful, blissful, easy birth the second time thanks to the epidural I had before they even broke my waters! I'm a big fan of natural but I'm an even bigger fan of the mother coming out the other end without being scarred (figuratively speaking - obviously physical scars are a given). Lower rates of PND are just the tip of the positive iceberg.
    Loving your pregnancy and Maisie updates.

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  10. The one-on-one midwives at RWH are fantastic. I had both my girls (20 months and 3 weeks) with them :) (same midwife) totally recommend them. (although number 2 came so quickly that the midwife didn't make it until about 20 minutes after she arrived, but the ward midwives were great too and I had a great second labour experience after a straightforward but long 1st labour).

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  11. well done! you have so much on your plate and you still manage to take that little munchkin to the zoo. she is one lucky little girl :)

    i think it's admirable that you bought the natural birth book. man, you really had a bad experience first time round, the fact that you're considering it is just plain wonderful. but trust me, epidurals are delicious!

    would love to catch up soon. i wanna check out that cafe with the little ones :)

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  12. I strongly recommend a labor doula, who works alongside you to support you throughout your labor, whether or not you have an epidural. They assist you with pain managament, and take a whole lotta pressure off of you and your partner (Shane) :-)

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  13. epidural rocks! love the oobee blankees.

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