Long time, no see

Well now it really has been a while since I updated this. I just haven't had the time!! Seth went from sleeping like the proverbial angel to driving me insane! 45 minute naps all day, every day. Settling him to sleep was hell too. I was always rocking the cot, patting his tummy, turning him on his side and patting his back, stroking his head, letting him fall asleep feeding or on me. Hell I tell you!

My mum was my saviour, even with all her faults and everything about her that irritates me so much, she has been invaluable to me over the past few months. She called for help, Plunket help, and they were actually very helpful. Shh but the area coordinator gave us a little booklet of advice which has changed our live now, for the better! It's not Plunket endorsed so really they can't hand it out but mum and I were SERIOUSLY desperate.

So now after putting the advice in the booklet into practice, Seth is now going down to sleeps a LOT easier, I put him down, tuck him in and walk away. He's still only sleeping for 45 minutes at a time but I can deal with it a lot better now. It's even better that in the past few weeks he's been sleeping for longer and longer during the night. He's now sleeping from between 7 and 8 pm until between 5 and 8 am. It's so cool, I actually get to sleep. Now what is sleep again?

Seth is now fully formula fed due to my supply reaching a maximum of 80mls at a feed while Seth was taking more than twice that amount, medication for my PND when I was diagnosed (yeah I have PND, will talk about that later), and Seth not gaining weight as he should have been. Things have been going pretty well here since I decided to wean, yes wean not just go cold turkey. I managed to do it with nearly no engorgement. I still have a small supply if I try to hand express, it'll still shoot across the room, but that will eventually fade, probably. Seth has taken the transition pretty well though he still turns to my breast at times and will try to feed even though there is clothing in the way. Makes for lovely slobber patches. I still give him breast occasionally if he's really frantic for a feed, though he pops on and off so he barely gets anything.

PND. Ah yes, postnatal depression/distress. I think it started slowly with just little things, having to settle Seth to sleep every. single. sleep. His screaming in my ears as I did so. The frustration at not being able to fully breastfeed like I wanted and expected to. Little things that built up until I was screaming at him to shut up and go to sleep. Slamming my fist into a wall so I wouldn't do something I would later regret. Banging my head against a wall for similar reasons. I would get SO angry that he wasn't sleeping, that he was crying, that he wouldn't cooperate. That he wasn't doing what I wanted him to and what I thought he "Should" do.
Looking up the signs and symptoms was hard, talking to my husband about it even harder. I was put onto the Edinburgh scale by a few people I would talk to online and I scored an 18. Not as bad as it could have been but bad enough. I went to the doctor and he prescribed me some medication and I'm going to a PND support group which is really helping.
Since being on the meds things have improved hugely. I don't start screaming/crying/raging over little things anymore. If I miss a dose then the next day is bad though. I can now handle things a lot better and I feel a lot more relaxed. Most of the time anyway.

Well that's a bit of a novel so I shall leave you with that and I will certainly try to update more often.
Ciao for now.

Yet again, I suck, and also the latest

I seriously don't do so well with keeping this updated now do I?

*sigh* Ah well.

So, what's been going on lately is...

Wedding plans are sorted and finalised and the wedding is on SUNDAY!! (the 13th)
So that's one excuse that I have lol. I've been too busy trying to get everything sorted out for that!

Had an appointment with the Physio to see what's wrong with my back. She thinks it's just muscular from things getting strained with my pregnancy and so on. Makes sense to me. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt though!! I have a Smiley Belt to help balance me out and redistribute the weight more evenly so I don't end up with so much pain. It helps, I think lol.

A few days before my Physio appointment I managed to arse over at the beach and landed flat on my bum. Took a few days for it to start hurting but believe me, my back was punishing me!! I couldn't even take a short trip in the car without whimpering in pain!
Good thing is that has now sorted itself out and I'm just back to the comparatively mild ache from the stressed muscles.
Goodness is it nice to get The Man Thing to give me a massage before bed lol. Must see if I can get him to do that more often!!

Had an appointment with the OB and another scan to check my cervix. Cervix is doing well, still holding up to the pressure. Also had a growth scan and Mr Squigglebum is growing perfectly to dates which is awesome!
OB doesn't need me to have anymore scans unless something goes amiss and she doesn't need to see me until the end of the month, when she'll take a little looksee and see if there's any stitching left up there. If there is then she will try to remove what she can, if not well it's not something we will have to really worry about anymore!

I'm starting to get massively annoyed with these darn Braxton Hicks that I keep getting. Last night is the second night that they've managed to keep me awake for more than an hour!
Bloody things kept coming 3 minutes apart too so I barely got a break!
I only know they weren't real contractions because they started off at 3 min apart and gave me barely a niggle, and I think that was more from my achy hip than anything else!

Now because the wedding is on SUNDAY!! (OMG!!) we're having to give the house a massive spring clean! Luckily my mum came and gave us a hand picking things up and weeding because up until a couple of days ago I couldn't bend over without massive pain. Still have a few things to do like the kitchen and bathroom but then we're pretty much done!
Only reason we're cleaning so thoroughly is because I'm expecting an influx of The Man Things family after the picnic at the park and I don't want the house looking like a bomb hit it lol.

I have 2 new Med Students following my pregnancy. I've met one of them and she's lovely, though a little skittish. I'm going to invite them around for dinner (goodness what will I cook!!) so we can have a relaxed meet and greet and so they can learn everything they need to know about me in a nice relaxed environment!

Right now, I think that's the latest. Hopefully I remember to update a little more frequently!!

I suck, and other news

I seriously suck at keeping this blog updated *Blush*
So, as a catchup, we have now sneakily passed my birthday and I'm now 20, I've made it to 31 weeks with barely a hiccup, I'm getting married in 3 weeks time and I'm currently living on painkillers.

To elaborate a little:

It was my birthday about 2 weeks ago now and I wasn't expecting anything fancy, hell I wasn't even expecting a cake. I was surprised by a LOVELY cake from a couple of friends of ours. My Nana also gave me a set of kitchen scales so now I don't have to borrow hers.

Yep, I'm 31 weeks today and so very very happy that I have made it this far.
I had an appointment with my Obstetrician this morning and a scan to check up on my cervix and the good news is that since I'm now 31 weeks there is a very VERY good survival rate and a VERY good survival rate with no long term effects of prematurity! Oh and even better news is that over the last 2 weeks my cervix hasn't shortened any further!!  I'm deliriously happy right now!

The Man Thing and I decided at the end of last year that we are finally going to tie the knot. We've only been engaged for something like almost 2 years now lol. So we set a date which also happens to be the same date that we got engaged (Feb 13th) and that is now 3 weeks away.
My Aunty is helping me with my dress and the cake, our friend is (hopefully!!) going to be our celebrant and the rest of it is going to be as simple as it can get. We've planned for a picnic in the park where everyone brings a plate, then a small get together afterwards for drinks and talkies.
I'm going to be one day off 34 weeks. I must be mad lol.

Ah yes, the painkillers.
Well on Friday I woke up and before I managed to get out of bed my back started aching. 13 hours later, still in pain but by now it's even WORSE, I go to the hospital. Diagnosed with a possible kidney infection even though the dipstick came back clean. I was sent home with antibiotics and pain relief.
Roll around Monday, I've been taking my painkillers and antibiotics religiously. Painkillers (paracetamol and codeine) are barely helping and I live with a hot water bottle almost strapped to my back. Obstetrician looks at all the results from the tests they did. No kidney infection, nothing wrong with my bloods.
Seems it could be musculo-skeletal in nature, something along the lines of arthritic type pain, and now I've been referred to Physiotherapy to get a belt thing which is supposed to help. Well I freaking hope it does because I don't like being in pain like this, especially when there's no reward like a squishy pink baby at the end of it!!

I've also been told about a couple of baby clothes sales in the direction of 50% and 60% off. I'm drooling at the thought!!! Now if I can only beg and bribe The Man Thing into not only letting me spend money but also being my taxi, then I might do a little bit of shopping for winter clothes for my little Mr Squigglebum.

Oh and the little Mr is now most definately head down. WOOT!!!

Again

I'm back again. I keep forgetting to update, then when I do remember, I can never think of anything to say. Sorry guys :)

Well I'm still pregnant. Still have the sore boobs and the random other symptoms. Worrying a bit that it's all going to turn to shit on me, but still trying to keep my chin up.

It was supposed to be my due date yesterday for my son, so I've been feeling a bit sad and stuff like that. Trying to keep myself occupied and whatnot. The man thing and I spent a quiet day at home yesterday and watched dvds together. It was nice.

Anyway, I'll try to remember to update a bit more often.

And so I'm back...

From outer space...
Well, it feels like it at times anyway.

It's been a little while since I've updated, I hadnt actually realised just how long it HAD been.
Well my man thing decided not to go for the job. It wasnt reliable hours and at the moment we would NEED reliable hours. At least we know he can do the job anyway.

On the TTC front, well according to the charting website that I use, I'm 14 days past ovulation. Cant say how accurate that is seeing as my temps have been all over the place lately. Cant help I missed a few days either *blush*

I found this blog Simple Housekeeping and it's awesome. I'm really keen to give a lot of the things a go. Theres all sorts.

I'm also interested in eating more whole foods, but with the budget the way it is at the moment, it may be a bit trickier than I had hoped. Well if I actually get my ass into gear and sort out this home based childcare, then we would have a little more money coming in.

Anyway, that was just a short update on where we are at the moment. Looking forward to updating more regularly :)

Ciao for now