Help!

I knew this would happen, I bloody knew it. 

Here I was thinking this newborn stuff is easy peasy... And there Blake was, being all quiet & content, cute and happy for those first few weeks of life- tricking me into thinking it was a breeze.... Just a stroll down straight forward street. 

And then....

Along came Oscar (the grouch). 

Yikes.

I realise it's only been 2.5 weeks so far- but those could quite possibly be the longest 420 hours of my life. The irony isn't lost on me either people- I realise it was only a few weeks back that I posted about how easy newborns are & it's toddlers we should be weary of. Well, lets just say Blake is a heck of a lot easier than Oscar at the moment.

He is relentless. If he is awake, he is either grunting with such force & conviction that anyone would think I had given birth to an elephant calf, or he is wailing. If he is asleep (massive if), it never lasts for longer than 45 minutes before the grunting kicks in again. The poor thing seems to be in such a great deal of pain! And never mind the fact that I'm so severely sleep deprived that I have a numbing headache pretty much non-stop. It all makes for quite the shitstorm of a situation. 

Thus far we have experimented with; chiropractor twice, pre-biotics, infant friend, Brauer colic relief, & numerous burping methods regularly but to no avail. Last night he barely slept at all, so not only is he writhing in pain but he is so over tired its beyond ridiculous. 

Arghhhhh.

This morning I've been researching breastfeeding elimination diets to help determine what I can cut out to help his tum settle, so as of right now I'm cutting out all dairy, chocolate, eggs (noooooo), coffee, soy, nuts, acidic fruits, garlic, chilli & cruciferous vegetables (broc caul cabbage etc). I'm still not too sure what that actually leaves me with to eat, but hopefully I can come up with some concoctions that aren't too bland. Something tells me my highly evolved taste buds are not going to enjoy this new venture... All for the greater good though eh? I'm also going to get some fennel & chamomile tea and pray that at least something out of the above list works. Surely right? 

As much as I love food, sleep definitely trumps it right now. Even if that means not being able to eat the deliciously dense dark chocolate brownie I made yesterday afternoon (he finally slept for longer than half an hr, I saw my window of opportunity and grabbed it). 

Meanwhile, Olis on duty & here I am not sleeping again- I better get onto that! 

Thanks for listening to my rant!

Has anyone else been through this with their babies? If so, any tips or tricks I'm overlooking? I'm willing to try anything, anything, at this point.

Thought of the day "I'll be lucky to avoid a mental breakdown by week 4"

Gemma 

Sleep, what's sleep?

Hi friends! How are we all?

After that massive birth post I thought I had better touch base with a bit of light-hearted banter, and a bit of an update on what's been going on over here... 

Oscars update;

Well, OJ is mushrooming by the day, he is such a ravenous young man- my milk supply is overflowing. We had our final discharge from Sara yesterday morning  (tear) & he is already weighing in at 4140grams, that's a hefty 600gm weight gain in less than two weeks. Check out those plump cheeks;

So sweet & innocent, and sleepy.

But in reality, sleep isn't Oscars forte. We went to see the chiropractor this morning to get him assessed & adjusted, friends had told us it worked wonders for them & I had done a fair bit of research (googling) about it all. Turns out he had a couple of misalignments in his sacrum which could be causing digestion problems & therefore sleep problems. His poor little tum is always solid as a rock, so I figured there was something funky going on... Catherine, the chiro, was so gentle with him, which was a huge relief- it's always terrifying putting your baby in someone else's hands. He is going to need a couple more adjustments over the next few weeks, and in the meantime I've got a few manoeuvres to try at home to keep his bowels in motion- including rolling him over a Swiss ball back and forth like dough. He actually seems to enjoy that one! So keep your fingers & toes crossed for a healthier & happier baby in no time at all, and for some sleep! We actually had a mini breakthrough last night as Oscar slept 9:30- 2am (!!!!), I bloody hope it wasn't a one off. He isn't a big fan of sleeping in his bassinet so we've been co-sleeping a lot, breaking all the rules as he often sleeps on his tum aswel- which seems to help with the wind issue. Whatever works I say!! I'm keeping my sanity by telling myself everyday, this is only temporary, it will get better.... Aaaany day now.

Olis update;

I cannot say enough good things about this exceptional human being. He has exceeded all of my expectations over the past two years by a mile. Not only does he help me with the night shifts and then go to work, but he makes me laugh- every single day. Without that laughter I would be an emotional mess. 

So we are still having fun and I think that is one of the most important things to maintain. This Friday evening we are actually going to have a bit of a date night, with a bottle of red & some bruschetta- a delayed engagement celebration if you wish... Better late than never I always say! 

Blakes update;

Need I say more? She is tops.

My update;

(Still pinching myself that we actually created two perfect beings!)

Putting aside the dark circles surrounding my eyes- I am fabulous! My Mum is still here helping out which makes a massive difference, she has been cooking each night and bathing B etc... Unfortunately she leaves on Fri, so next week will be the real test for me, I daresay there'll be a few tears and dinner may not make the plate but we will survive... I hope!

Last weekend I managed to escape for a couple of hours to indulge in some retail therapy. It was a bit of a flop to be honest (trying on jeans 10 days after giving birth is really not a good idea for future reference). And although my bod is admittedly looking pretty good, it is just soft & padded in unflattering areas such as my thighs, hips & those annoying flabby bits on your back where your bra cuts into. You know the ones? Urgh, yuck. Anyway, I found a few loose items of clothing and my favourite purchase was a pair of sunnies I have wanted forever;

So so funky. Valley eyewear is freakin rad! I feel slightly lady gaga-esque in them, but I sometimes enjoy being a bit weird so it's ok.

After that (depressing) shopping trip, I decided I needed to knuckle down on eating healthier, not only to fit into some jeans though, but to help Oscars poor wee tum. So this week has been all about the roast vegetables & the bliss balls- I posted the recipe for those balls a while back & man they are so so good, I have added chopped dates & cacao nibs to this batch. Life changing. 

This eating healthy business isn't fun with the mountain of Easter eggs on every aisle corner at the supermarket by the way. Has anyone tried the ferrero rocher eggs? Amazing. 

That's about it on this end, if anyone needs to find me- I will be glued to this feeding chair for the next 48 hours, I may get up to change my bra as it is now full of spew- but other than that, I will be right here. 

**note- when I wrote this I had expected to post it that day, turns out it is 3 days later so all the 'yesterday's' and 'last nights' are actually a lifetime ago. Oops!

Hope you are all doing great, and enjoying your dreamy 8 hours + sleep a night (not jealous at all)

Thought of the day "I should really put clothes on today"

Gemma

P.s This. Was. Incredible.

Oscars Birth Story

Well it all started with this;

This may look like my general cacao banana smoothie, and it was, but it had one special ingredient. 1 tablespoon of Castor Oil. 

Yup, I did it again. I swore I wouldn't this time but my impatience got the better of me. I didn't google it beforehand, but I did ask my midwife what she thought about it before taking it again. She told me in her experience it is safe and usually works if you are past your due date, therefore I should wait until then to try it. Well I jumped the gun by 2 days, naughty eh? Call me a rebel if you like. 

So I gulped that back at 9am, and waited..... And waited.... 

And waited..

Five hours later, nothing!

When I took it last time, it took 3 hours to kick in and labour quickly progressed from there. So naturally, I just expected the same thing to occur. I actually smugly thought I was quite smart taking it so early in the morn after a big 10 hour sleep... 

So there I was, phone in hand- ready to ring Oli at any minute and start racing to / fro the loo. But it never happened. Infact nothing happened all day... 

Later on when Oli had arrived home (and still nothing was happening), he put it to me to get a pass for the night as his friend had bought him a ticket to the Queens and NIN concert...to which I responded "like f€%k, we might have our baby tonight"- neither of us believed it at that point though. I had pretty much assumed that if castor oil wasn't going to work then nothing was, he would come when he was good and ready. Still, Oli was not going to see two of my fav bands whilst I was about to burst at the seams at home. He was dreaming. 

At around 5pm I started getting regular tightenings every 4-5 mins. These were slightly more intense than the Braxton hicks I had been having but I was still hesitant to think anything of them, so I didn't say anything to Oli or Mum straight away. An hour passed and some of the tightenings were requiring me to 'breathe' through them, Mum noticed my strange behaviour & before I knew it, our lounge was being transformed into what looked like a crime scene (it was seriously that foolproof even those CSI nazis wouldn't have found a trace of blood anywhere near our lounge post birth) 

Once the lounge was all set up I couldn't help but feel like we were jumping the gun a little. With the mountains of towels / sheets on standby, the pool in the middle of our lounge, & Mum and Oli watching me like hawks- it just seemed a tad comical and I couldn't quite believe it was really happening. As I paced around the house trying to fathom what was happening, my contractions got a little stronger- so I decided it was time to call my midwife (just incase). I told her I didn't think things were too serious but it could potentially be 'go time'. She said she was going to have dinner then pop over just incase it was time. After I called Sara, we put Blake down for the night- she was a bit unsettled as she clearly knew something funky was going down, but she eventually fell asleep an hr or so later.

Sara arrived (suitcase full of supplies in tow) and she immediately reached for my belly to feel a contraction. She simply said "now that's how you're going to get your baby out, those are strong!" 

Well, I guess I was in labour! 

At 9:15pm Sara did an internal examination to see what was going on down under. I was 3-4cm with a very thin & soft cervix, and his head was right down low with my waters bulging at the front. Sara said she wouldn't want to go home at that point as it was likely that as soon as my waters broke things would progress rather rapidly. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of excitement and anxiousness at that point. Thunderbirds were go!

And then came the waiting game... 

Over the next few hours I started a little walking loop around our lounge, and I wish I had a pedometer on me as I'm fairly sure I walked a marathon in the smallest space known to man. I felt like a zoo animal pacing in its cage, with spectators and all. Sara, Oli and Mum were all in their front seats, half watching trashy telly half keeping tabs on me. Oli in particular was jumping out of his seat everytime a contraction came on, offering his masseuse services which I wasn't in the mood for (after all that!). They werent too painful at this stage but I did find myself stomping my feet like a tantrum-throwing-toddler to ease the pain, and that really worked! Mum went off to bed at around half 9 and that left the 3 (4?) of us to it. I was getting rather tired after a while & kept wanting to take a seat on the Swiss ball- but everytime I would do so my contractions spaced out further & became irregular. So basically if I wanted this baby out I would have to continue lapping up the lounge (see, I told you guys labour is a marathon!). Throughout these hours we ate toffee pops, talked about the weather, shared a lot of laughs and I persistently whinged about my envy of their cosy seats on the couch. As the night dragged on I knew nothing was progressing. The contractions were still coming every 4-5 mins & they weren't showing any signs of getting stronger or closer together. It was frustrating to say the least, I voiced my opinion about the painfully slow progress to my midwife who just told me to be patient. Hmm. That word again.

At 1:15am, 4 hours after Sara's first examination, we were due for another. At midnight she had told us we have a couple of options, she can check us just after 1am and if things weren't progressing she can break my waters, or, we can continue as we were & wait for the waters to break naturally. The only thing was, if there were any meconium in the waters, legally, we would have to be transferred to the hospital to give birth. This scared us as Blake had meconium in her waters, and the idea of that happening with this baby and us going into the hospital was horrible. That, and I knew (as did Sara) that I would be likely to give birth on the way to the hospital in the ambulance as I probably wouldn't make it in time. No thank you.

Alas, I was getting fairly fatigued, and fast. After nearly 5 hours of pacing around our house, I had pretty much used up any excess energy I had at that stage and I knew I needed to get this baby out soon. 

So when Sara did her examination and found I was still only 4cm, Oli and I decided to bite the bullet and break my waters. In an ideal world I would have loved to have waited for them to rupture naturally, but birthing a baby doesn't always work in an ideal way so on went the rubber glove with the teeny tiny pin at the end of the index finger. 

I remember shaking uncontrollably at this point, I was gripping Olis hands so tightly and my teeth were chattering away. Nervous as hell. When my next contraction came on, Sara popped my waters. I really didn't know what to expect but it didn't hurt at all, I just flooded the entire couch (plastic sheets) in a strange smelling 'earthy' scent. And they were clear! I knew as soon as my waters broke I wanted to get into the pool, so after the temp was checked (for the thousandth time) and it was the perfect 36.5degrees, in I hopped. Once submerged in the blissfully warm water, I felt a strong contraction come on instantaneously. It was powerful & painful and I breathed deeply through that ever-lasting 45 seconds. In each hand I held a small comb, these two combs were my lifesavers for the next 90 minutes. Each time a contraction would hit me like a tidal wave, I would grip those combs so tightly I can't believe I didn't draw blood. 

I was getting rather nice breaks between the contractions, 2-3 minutes, but I recall thinking the drawn out time in between was almost daunting. I just wanted him out! As they got stronger, I would close my eyes and breathe and squeeze, breathe and squeeze. After one particularly rough contraction, Oli held a cold flannel to my forehead, and oh my goodness- more more more!! So in between each contraction, Oli was quickly rinsing flannels and popping them in the freezer, pulling them out as soon as I started tensing & holding them to my forehead / on the back of my neck. It was seriously magical. Although, as the contractions started coming closer together, I would feel one coming, then suddenly Oli was gone to the freezer and I wanted to yell "Come back!!! Don't leave me!", but I was a mute at this point. Literally incapable of making a sound. Which is surprising, as I was rather vocal (to say the least) with Blake. I think subconsciously I was trying not to be noisy as I knew Blake was sleeping only a few metres away & I reeeeaaally didn't want to wake her up for obvious reasons.

70 minutes of this passed and it felt like an eternity. I said out loud at one point, "why is this taking so long?!!", when in reality things were progressing at the speed of light. I was mumbling quite a few F bombs and moaning about how sore the contractions were occasionally, but otherwise- I was just on my knees, arms flung over the edge of the pool, eyes closed and clinging to those combs for dear life. Sara and Oli kept telling me how fabulously I was doing, and to breathe deeply- just as instructed to do. But all I could say was "fuck, fuuuuucccckkkk" really quietly.

Before I knew it the back up midwife Tracy had arrived, this part is all a bit blurry but I do remember her coming right over to me & telling me she was there and I was doing wonderfully.

Transition was hitting. It quickly dawned on me that all that propaganda about the second one being 'muuuucchhh easier', was very much a lie. I could feel the baby moving down and the insurmountable pressure in my pelvis. The contractions were hitting me so hard at this point, I couldn't control my breathing- as much I was trying to take long breaths, I could only muster short & sharp ones. In the breaks, I started quietly sobbing & informing the birth party that I couldn't do it anymore. Classic line at this point- original right? But before their reassurances that 'I could and I am' would sink in, another one would hit me & I began to moan and groan. The strangest sounds were being emitted from deep within me, they were very primal. At that point I heard Sara ask Oli "would you like to catch your baby", and I did a happy dance inside of my head. I couldnt verbalise this though, I was far too gone. 

The pressure, the bloody pressure!! As his head crowned I had serious déjà vu, and I thought to myself "why on earth did I sign up for this again?". Alas, within two contractions I managed to get his head out, and a couple of minutes later- with another big push, out came his body. I reached between my legs & took his tiny body up to my chest. 

Oscar James Jentinus Tabak had arrived at 2:48am, after 1.5 hours of active labour & 9 minutes of pushing. It wasn't all fun and games after that though, Oscar was in a bit of shock (most likely from his very speedy exit) and he wouldn't take his first breath. Sara had to clamp the cord almost right away, Oli cut it and he was whisked off to the couch to get a bit of a shake up & some oxygen under his nose to get him going. Meanwhile, I was still in the pool in a strange euphoric state, eyes half open & smiling, but I quickly started panicking when I realised what was going on. After what seemed like forever, but wasn't quite 60 seconds, Oscar cried out and we all breathed a huge sigh of relief. I got out of the pool to deliver the placenta & he latched on to my boob within minutes. As he fed, I delivered the placenta and munched on an apple - I was so hungry, so in all of the pictures there's the 3 of us & my apple which is rather hilarious. I had big plans for photos to be taken during labour but it never happened unfortunately as all hands were on deck. 

But we did it! We had a beautiful and successful homebirth, and it couldn't have gone any better. After the third stage, and my check over (no tears again woohoo!) Oli took Oscar and I was escorted into the shower. The two wonderful midwives dried me off and got me dressed before setting me up in my bed with our beautiful baby all clean and warm. Oli then fetched me a big bowl of muesli and yoghurt and I remember thinking, now this is how you give birth. Within half an hour the 'crime scene' was completely cleaned up, the pool was drained and the linen was either thrown out or being washed... had you arrived at our home that morning, there wouldn't have been any indication that a baby had just been born there- which was amazing!

I can't thank Sara or Tracy enough for their support, and I wouldn't have been able to do it without Oli, he was absolutely amazing and I will forever cherish our wonderful experience.

So for anyone contemplating giving birth at home, I would highly recommend it- it is an incredible experience & you feel an overwhelming sense of empowerment & beautiful natural love within your own home. Don't be afraid or listen to all the hype around homebirth- it is a normal and natural experience, and one that should be considered more often I think. 

Oscar is now approaching two weeks with us, and it has been a rather challenging yet magical time thus far- he still doesn't like sleeping all that much at night, but we are getting to know each other, and bonding and just enjoying this new learning curve. Life is good.

Gemma

Thought of the day "I could literally eat a horse"

1 Week!!

Oscar has already been here for a whole week- shit that flew by! I've been working on the birth post bit by bit each day, it's slowly getting there (I'm not leaving out a single grisly detail so be prepared for a whopper), so in the meantime I thought I would just flood you with pics of the first week;

Where we spend 99% of the time 

Tum shrinking at the speed of light 

Snoozing 

Beautiful flowers from the parents in law

Sharing the love with my number one gal 

I've been living off muesli & yoghurt , all day everyday 

So many spoils!

Aunty Talis first snuggles 

Peepers!

First bath

And I attempted an amateur newborn shoot myself this morn- took a few keepers

Gassy grin!

Those pretty much speak for themselves, I'm still surviving on not-a-lot of sleep, and it's strange with Oli back at work already but so far- two babies is bliss!! I'll do my best to get that birth story up this week, hope all is good with you folk!

Gemma 

Thought of the day "please stop expanding boobs!"

Updates

Hi folks! How is everyone doing? 

Not a lot of vocab is coming to me today- most likely due to the fact that OJ decided it would be a grand idea to sleep all day yesterday & stay up from 10pm- 4am this morning.

Oh the joys.. 

Besides his crippling confusion between night & day, Oscar is settling in beautifully. 

Likes/ Dislikes so far;

Likes; Milky boobs, and plenty where that came from. Being attached to me, and walks in the pram

Dislikes; thoroughly dislikes getting his nappy or clothes changed, sunshine anywhere near his face and being awoken for any reason besides boob. 

I still can't believe he's here most of the time, although my nipples can. Speaking of which- people who have had boys really weren't kidding about how hungry they are eh? Every hour on the hour- "ah Mum, yes the right one please, yes that will do just fine for the next half an hr". With Blake she daintily latched every 3-4 hours or so. Oh well, at least I haven't had a chance to get overly engorged breasts or mastitis this time, he's too busy draining it all at the speed of light!

And Blake is an absolutely amazing big sister thus far. She somehow already knows to be really gentle with him & all she wants to do is give him big "mwahhhhhs" on the forehead. I truly expected tantrums & a clingy toddler, but thank goodness she's playing the cool calm and collected kid instead- my frazzled mind is hugely grateful to have such a wonderful little girl...

So far we've ventured out for our first family walk, two prams in tow, and today we went for our first outing in the car. Stress city. Lets just say I'll be staying put & ordering groceries online for the next few weeks... 

Oh and I had a beer last night, it was glorious! 

Here's a few more pics from over the last few blurred days/ nights;

I can't believe she used to fit in there so easily, look at her spilling out of both ends now!

Well, it is creeping up to the evening again and I gotta say- I'm slightly scared. Olis back at work tomorrow morn & if I only get 1 hour sleep tonight I'm really not sure how great tomorrow will be! Alas, I'm thinking positive and I'm certain Oscar will give us at least 3 or 4 hours (pleeeeeaaaassseeeeeee little darling please!)

Goodnight folks. Wish me luck!

Thought of the day "sleep is for wimps anyway"

Gemma 

Introducing....

Oscar James Tabak

Born in a beautiful homebirth on March 12th at 2:48am, ten fingers & toes and a cry that melts my heart. Weighing in at a hefty 3550 grams & 51cm in length. 

We are super stoked to have him here with us finally! He is just delicious & so so tiny & soft. I just want to sniff him all day. 

As he's only been with us for just over 24 hours, and within that 24 hours I've had approximately 3 hours sleep- that's about all the info I can muster right about now for you. I'm excited to share more soon though, but know we are all good-happy and healthy and settling into family of four life already. 

Thought of the day "my sleepiness feels like a bad hangover"

Gemma 

39 Weeks

What's been happening:

Well, he is still inside me- that's what's been happening. He is approximately 3.5kilos (yikes) and 55cm from head to toe

Weight Gain; I don't feel like my face or limbs are any bigger, but my stomach has reached maximum capacity- it is so taught I can't believe there aren't any stretch marks. 

Workouts: Walking & squatting- every single morning!

Movement: The midwife came around on Wednesday to do her weekly check up & he was situated on my right side with his arms & legs kicking out the left, and as soon as she went to write that down my stomach made a full tidal wave motion & he completely switched sides and started kicking out my right side. It looked like something out of 'Alien'. He is reeeeeaaally persisting with all of these movements, and it is reeeeaaallly uncomfortable at this point. But his head is 3/5ths engaged now which is great news! 

Food Aversions: No aversions but my hunger has certainly subsided, there's just no room for food in there anymore 

Food cravings: Not really, I've been eating lots of curries & chilli & dates though

Sleep; Below average. After my bout of really strong Braxton hicks last weekend my stomach muscles feel like I've been doing a million sit ups every day & it is incredibly sore- particularly at night. And of course- yee ol' bladder debacle. 

Miss Anything; I miss feeling & functioning like a normal human being 

Fun/ interesting things for the week;

We really thought it was all go on Monday! I had such strong tightenings all day & we were so excited and ready to rock n roll. And then, nada. So that was a bit disappointing, and now it kind of feels like its never going to happen. I actually feel like I'll just continue to be pregnant forever at this stage. Having Mum here has been good though, Blake follows her around like a bad smell all day which is a refreshing change! 

Stretchmarks; Nope

Happy or moody: Mostly moody unfortunately, totally over it.

Looking forward to: Holding my beautiful baby!

Bump Update;

I am a planet

I'll be in touch with any further updates! 

Gemma 

Week in Pics

Some of my fave things over the past few days;

What could possibly be better than this Sunday brunch? There is also a phenomenal tomato relish hiding under those eggs.

Is it even fair for a baby to have lashes like that?

A delightful ocean dip with my loves 

Market haul (almond croissants are a must)

An Oreo mcflurry with C-sauce- heaven in a paper cup.

Awaiting some bubbles

And a glorious positive affirmation to wake up to & read each morning. 

Hope everyone is having a happy hump day!

Thought of the day "Patience is a virtue"

Gemma 

Still In One Piece

Yup, the title says it all. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. No delivery from the stork as of yet,

We thought it was all on last night, I got a really strong tightening, and 5 mins later.... Another strong tightening... And then....nada. I awoke on & off during the night to some strong ones too but nothing ever came of it. 

So this morning I ventured off for a walk in hopes of kicking things off, and.... Nothing. Throughout the rest of today I've had fairly consistent Braxton hicks & some bouts of not-so-pleasant nausea so I feel like the wheels are turning, but WHEN?! When will you show your face?!!

The  suspense is killing me.

I know it is completely irrational to be this impatient when I'm not even yet 39 weeks, but as I've previously stated- patience is not my forte. I never actually expected to make it to my due date, possibly because I had Blake in my 38th week, but also because I just don't want to. Who does? These last weeks of pregnancy are not pretty. My back & heels are killing me, sleep is minimal, I literally cannot fit into any item of clothing, & my vagina feels like its going to fall out. Yup, just drop on out. So much uncomfortable pressure it's ridiculous. 

That's my rant for the day, moving right along. 

Mum is here & she bought with her a mountain of baby goods & biscuits. So whilst scoffing toffee pops, we pieced together babies first outfit for his arrival;

Good. To. Go. Although that cardi might be unnecessary considering its barely dipped below 30 this week. 

I'm a whinger today aren't I? Sorry, but it'll most likely continue this way until you see a photo of the little guy.

Meanwhile, our darling (terror) toddler reached her 18 month milestone today, 

She is so lucky she is irresistibly cute right now is all I have to say. It's good having mum here now though-  Blake has been shadowing her instead of me which is a relief. I shouldn't complain about her though, she really is the reason I look forward to getting up each day- even if she is the reason I can't wait to crawl into bed at the end of the day too. 

Oh, and it's autumn? 

You wouldn't know it in Perth. I am haaaaanging out for cool breezes & long sleeves & milos. Mmmm milo. In the meantime I'll head off and make a nice cup of raspberry leaf tea, 

Watch this space folks...

Happy Monday :) 

Thought of the day "Baby baby baby... Sleep.. Baby"

Gemma 

38 Weeks

What's been happening: Absolutely nothing has been happening!! No sign of this baby making his debut anytime soon... He is quite cosy it seems. Sara (midwife) guesstimated he is around the normal 3kgs at the moment, and as per usual- he's just spending his days bulking.

As am I. 

But I've been good- tired but good. Braxton hicks are still frequent but nothing to get excited about yet! 

Weight Gain; We went to the beach yesterday and I felt so incredibly enormous! My tummy is now entering every room a good minute before the rest of me, and I am looking forward to weight gain becoming weight loss. 

Workouts: Still lots of walks & squats, trying to do some yoga poses most days but that only lasts for about 10 mins- but thats better than nothing!

Movement: He's finally running out of room in there & things are starting to settle down. He still has his 7pm wriggle around but it's not like it was last week. I can feel where his bum is (it has moved to the left side yay), and his little kickers are always prodding me on the right side now.

Food Aversions: Nope!

Food cravings: Let's just say I am really making the most of my food freedom at the moment- lots of takeout & lots of peanut m n ms.

Sleep;   Same as last week, not fantastic but not too bad either, my bladder is going to freak with joy at all the space it gets soon! 

Miss anything: Socialising- with my waddling & the 35 + degree days on end- I literally don't leave the house.

Fun/ interesting things for the week;

It's not exactly fun but Blake has been teething again (I know), and she has been an absolute nightmare to be around. I rung Oli in tears on Thursday afternoon, "I can't do this" wah wah etc... And my absolutely wonderful, darling fiancé, packed in his work and took Friday off so I could rest up & regain some sanity. It also happens to be labour day on Monday so we get four glorious days together to share the tantrums of the toddler. Thank goodness for that man. 

**Yes it is labour day tomorrow, could be an omen? Here's hoping! 

Oh and just a couple of hours ago we finally picked up our new feeding chair / lazy boy, it was our final thing on the list to get so I am over the moon! Check her out, she's a big unit!

Stretchmarks;I think we're in the all clear in this department folks! Stoked! 

Happy or moody: It varies by the hour, but super happy today

Looking forward to: A lot!! Going clothes shopping- I'm just excited to fit into things besides XL tee shirts! Going back to the gym, having a wine or ten, & most importantly- I'm SO excited to pick Ma up from the airport in 2 hours time, woohoo!! 

Bump update:  

Pleeeeeaaassseee be the last one. That thing is impressive! (And yes his sleeping quarters are now in our bedroom, hint hint, come on out)

I'll be in touch with any updates! 

Gemma