36 Weeks pregnant and the stitch is out!

I am so pleased to say that the removal of the stitch was over and done with so quickly and painlessly I was shocked. I expected to feel at least some tugging but not a thing. I only felt the speculum going in as it does when you have a pap smear but that was all. Yay!!!

The stitch itself was a surprise, it was just like fishing line but blue. I should have taken a photo but didn't think of it until later. So thank you all for your prayers and best wishes, it all worked so well, no pain relief needed and no bleeding or cramping afterwards. This stitch was removed this morning and nothing has happened, it will be interesting to see how long it takes to go into labour :-)

I also had an ultrasound this afternoon to check on bub, the good news is that he is still growing well and measuring ahead in size at 37 weeks 4 days and 3.088kgs. The not so good news is that he has decided to flip over and is in a breech position. Any suggestions you have for flipping him back around would be great. I would really love to try for a vaginal birth but we can only wait and see.

xx

Happy 2013 and ALMOST 36 weeks pregnant

I am so thankful to say that bub is still inside and all is still going really well. It was such a relief to make it through Christmas and New Year and I must confess that once we were past both I gave up on bed rest. That may sound rather drastic but in reality I have been on bed rest for 3 months and I am now many kilo's heavier so giving up bed rest doesn't mean I  have been running around lots either. Unfortunately my stamina and fitness just isn't what it once was and I still need to sit and put my feet up a lot and truthfully there are just some jobs I really prefer not to do so I continue to let the boys do them ;-)

34 weeks

However the need to nest did kick in and I have spent a few days rearranging the shed with all my stock, washing all the baby clothes my sister dropped off, wiping down the bassinet, change table etc. I have cleared out some books, magazines, clothes etc and taken them to our church in preparation for next weeks op shop sale. I am feeling ready for baby to arrive any time he likes now.

I had a Doctors appointment today in preparation for the removal of the suture on Monday, I am excited about getting the stitch removed, it means a lot of restrictions will be gone and I can have a swim or go for a long walk :-) I am also a little apprehensive, I have read a lot of stories from other women who have had cervical sutures and some of them had a lot of pain when removing the stitch, a few have even said it was worse than labour. I am going to be brave and attempt to have the stitch removed in the labour ward, my doctor assures me that the worst discomfort is caused by the speculum but if we have any problems we will head to theatre and remove the stitch under general anaesthetic.

34 +5 weeks

I will go in to hospital on Monday morning to remove the stitch and should be home by lunchtime, it is not common to go straight into labour (only about 5% of women) once the stitch is removed so I will pack a bag just in case but most likely leave it at home so Nick can grab it if needed and bring it in.

I am starting to get very excited about the arrival of our new little boy, it is all starting to feel real and I am quite happy for him to come any time now. He is still growing well but this week I have started to feel uncomfortable, the heat hasn't helped but even without that my sleep is not as sound as it was. I am starting to get aching thighs and hips so I have to switch sides more often and that isn't as easy as it once was, bub shifts from one side to the other when I do and that can be a little painful. I also have finally started to get up to go to the toilet through the night, I know I am much more fortunate than most and am so thankful I have a big bladder but I can't seem to make it through any more and find I need to get up early in the morning or I am just too uncomfortable to sleep. I figure now that I am not resting as well as I could be than bub may as well come :-)

just for fun on the left 32 weeks pregnant and on the right today at 35 + 4 weeks (today my tummy measured at 37 weeks and I put on a kilo this week, Nick thinks it may have something to do with the 1kg tin of toffees that I have had out each night after dinner)

I hope the start of the New Year has been wonderful for you so far, I really enjoy this time of the year as everything seems to slow down and it is a wonderful time to just relax and enjoy life at a nicer pace.

I just love this handbag so much I have decided to use it as my nappy bag, it is a perfect size and all I did was buy a Isoki Change Mat Clutch that fits easily inside, perfect!

Have a great weekend and if you are in Orange please pop into the Church of Christ on Burrendong Way next week (Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm) we are having a big Opportunity Shop sale and when I stopped in today I saw lots of fantastic bargains.

xx

32 Weeks Pregnant

I am so excited to have made it this far in the pregnancy. I am still feeling great (probably as a result of all of the bed rest) and I'm sleeping well, I have no discomfort and I'm not huge yet. The great thing about having a big belly is it makes my thighs and arms look smaller ;-)

We had a little set back last week when I went for my routine ultrasound and discovered that my cervix length had reduced from 20mm to 14mm. I was sent straight up to the maternity ward to consult with the Doctors. At one stage it didn't look like I was going back home, it sounded like the only decision to be made was whether I would need to be sent back to Sydney or whether I would be admitted to the hospital here in Orange. I was rather disappointed to hear that :-(

Having a incompetent cervix is rather scary as you don't feel anything happening, the cervix can shorten and dilate without you having any knowledge of it so it makes it very hard to monitor how you are doing, there is often no warning signs reminding you to take it easy and given that I feel so well, bed rest can be very frustrating.

Anyway, while I was kicking back in the hospital bed yet again, the Doctors decided that I would be given steroid shots and they would run some tests. One test that they did was similar to a pap smear and the sample taken indicates whether or not you are likely to go into labour in the next week. The result only takes 10 minutes and fortunately for me it came back negative :-)

In the end I was allowed to come back home with instructions to put my feet up and move even less. I just need to make it another 2 weeks and then bub can be delivered in Orange and I won't need to go to Sydney. 

I had the first steroid shot on Thursday before I left and then went back 24 hours later for the second one. They are not overly pleasant but who administers it and how makes a big difference.

So I tried very hard to behave and move as little as possible over the weekend and this morning when I went in for my ultrasound I had the best news, my cervix length had increased to 21mm :-)

I am so thrilled, bub is doing well too. I didn't get a growth scan done today but they checked his vitals as well as fluid levels. Next week we'll check how big he is getting .

The good news is that with my need to stay put more I finally finished another 2 of my cross stitch kits and hung them on the tree. It is nice to accomplish something and when we get them out each year we can remember this stage of our lives and I'll probably be wishing that I was back on bed rest.

I hope you all a wonderful week and I hope you are enjoying the festive season, we looooove Christmas and even though this year is so much quieter for me than normal I am still enjoying it and one big bonus is that I have none of the stress that can often come with the business of the season :-)

PS. Thank you for all of the wonderful support for my shop, it has been lovely to see sales pick up and nice to be moving some stock so I can have a shopping spree in the New Year xx