Friday 25 October 2013
Another week has past and we are getting closer to Lil Dash's arrival!
Here is the 26 Weeks bump photo:
Last weekend I went down to visit my Mum and Sister. We had planned to take Mum for an overnight trip to where she grew up. For a long time Mum has been wanting to go (even going so far as to go through a stage where she kept packing up all her stuff and trying to leave) so we thought it would be nice to take her and share that memory. It didn't quite go according to plan.
We headed off on Saturday morning to pick Mum up and were told he hadn't had the best morning and had been in a bad mood. We also found that some of her clothes were missing (it tends to happen in the care facilities apparently) so we did a dig around and managed to find some (we even found clothes and shoes in her room that weren't Mum's) and packed up to go.
The drive up was great, albeit long, and Mum was in great spirits when we arrived. Our first stop was my Nanna and Pop's old house. I haven't been back there since my Nanna's funeral about 15 years ago, but the place looked pretty much the same. It was lovely to see, it seemed so much smaller than when I was a kid (which isn't surprising). Mum seemed really happy to see the place.
Next stop was Mum's old primary school, which has been beautiful maintained and expanded. We took some lovely photos of Mum in front of the school and she was still in great spirits. Then we had lunch with my Aunty and after took Mum to the apartment we had booked for the night. That is when everything kind of fell apart.
As soon as we walked in Mum freaked out and became hysterical. She was adamant that she couldn't stay there and wanted to leave. I have never seen her so distressed and upset. It was just heartbreaking. We spent some time trying to calm her down, but very quickly realised that there was no way we could make Mum stay there when she was so upset. We decided to head back and Mum quickly settled once she knew we were leaving.
On the way out of town we were even able to stop for fish and chips and to go eat them at 'Cannon Hill', which is a place we used to always go with my Pop. Mum was her usual cheeky self while we ate and then good in the car for the entire 3 hour drive back to her place.
Once we were there and out of the car it was a different story. Mum was very reluctant to go in and once we got her in there she had another melt down. Over the next hour or so she ranged between angry, aggressive, devastated and upset. We spent a long time calming her and finally were able to get her into bed.
The next day we went to see her early and walked in to her sitting folded arms and glaring at us. Turns out she had another bad morning. She was again very upset and angry, which is just awful because you feel so helpless to make it better for her. Eventually we took her out for a while and that seemed to help, until we got back. We struggled to get her to eat lunch (she had a very small amount) and had more upset and anger towards the care staff. Finally we took her out to the garden and after a while we were able to get her laughing and happy like the morning hadn't even happened! I talked to her a lot about Lil Dash, which seemed to make her happy.
Then sadly I had to leave to go to the airport. It was really nice to leave her in a happy, good mood. The rest of the weekend with her was rather traumatic (for her and us) to say the least.
While I was away Bio Mum put in some amazing work and finished off the baby's furniture. It looks incredible! Here are some photos (which don't do the furniture justice):
How pretty is the canopy above the cot?! That was an Ikea purchase from our very successful trip a few weeks back.
There is still a bit of work to do and many things to acquire for the nursery/baby! We are getting there though and the more together the nursery gets, the more real it seems. Oh wow, in just over 13 weeks we will be holding our little girl. As exciting as that is, part of me is fighting the urge to hyperventilate with nerves!
I'm off to have my glucose challenge test tomorrow morning, so fingers crossed that goes well. Then OB appointment on Monday. Dr B is away so we are seeing Dr Anna instead. I'm sure she'll be lovely and I'll be sure to update the blog with info on that appointment next week.
Tonight we are going to see a Game of Thrones Burlesque show, which should be very interesting. I am really looking forward to it! The rest of the weekend is packed with yard work, shopping and washing. I can't wait for a quite weekend! I'd like to get a few of those in before Lil Dash is born.
It has been a draining and at times really tough week since my last post, but its hard to be upset when I'm sitting here with my little girl wriggling away in my belly! She is our miracle and through such a hard weekend with Mum, she is giving me so much comfort. I love you my little girl.
Until next time, thanks for reading!
Friday 18 October 2013
Hello all, welcome to the latest instalment of the Tales of Bio Mum and Incubator Mum!
Here is the 25 Weeks bump photo:
I actually saw a girl last night who is at 22 Weeks and man her bump was double the size of mine (not twins). I guess it just goes to show that all bumps are different and that comparing yourself to other pregnant ladies is really not a good idea. I had a few seconds of going 'oh shit is there something wrong with my baby and my bump?!' before I realised that I was being ridiculous. Lil Dash is developing just as she should and so is my bump!
Another good week has been had, although poor Bio Mum is still getting over her cold from last week. Over the weekend we were able to get all our Ikea furniture painted and moved into the bedroom. The tallboys and draws/bedside tables look great! We opted for a white-wash kind of effect and it was worth the effort as they really make the room! It is also lovely to have so much draw space.
We also spent some time finishing the undercoating of the baby's furniture and started the first coat of paint. I am a MUCH slower painter than Bio Mum, I get really obsessive with getting it perfect and take so long that is doesn't really work well for me. I'll admit that on Sunday while painting the bassinet I had a mini meltdown and was in a huff for the rest of the painting. I am a bit of a perfectionist some times!
Bio Mum has also been doing some painting after work during the week, here is where the furniture for Lil Dash is looking now:
On Sunday we also went and picked up the draw/change table that Bio Mum's sister has kindly given us (see photo above, with draws removed). It is just lovely, but when I look at it all I can see is more sanding and painting! Good thing I'm away this weekend, maybe when I get home the sanding/painting fairy (read: Bio Mum) will have done all the hard yakka!
I'm off to Melbourne for the weekend to spend some time with my Mum and Sister, which will be great. We are going to take Mum back to where she grew up for an overnight trip. I haven't been back there since my Nanna's funeral when I was 12, so its been a while. I hope Mum will enjoy it and the trip won't be too stressful or overwhelming for her!
I have also been working on a photo book full of photos from the course of Mum's life (my sister and I feature heavily of course), which I hope to get my sister's input on this weekend so I can finish putting it together next week. I'd love to get it to Mum ASAP.
Mum is doing well, settled into her new place and the staff there are just amazing! They are dedicated and kind and really making an effort to give Mum not only wonderful care, but compassion and comfort too. I am so glad we moved her. On the cancer front, there are still no obvious symptoms and she is still not in any pain (she is also still totally unaware that she has cancer). I really can't wait to see my little (she's like 5 foot nothing) Mum and give her a big hug!
We've been very lucky this week to get some lovely hand-me-downs from friends. We scored some girl's clothes for when Dash is a bit older from Steph and an overwhelmingly kind amount of stuff from Colleen and Jason including a baby bath, jolly jumper, cute purple (I love purple) elephant, play pen, nappy bin, sterilizer and some other lovely bits and pieces. Here are some photos of our loot:
We are very, very lucky to have such great friends (and family, let's not forget Bio Mum's sister and brother in law who have been beyond generous).
I also had to buy Lil Dash a little suit. It was so cute and tiny and I just had to have it (despite my very vocal refusal to have a lot of pink):
I can't believe that our little girl is going to be tiny enough to fit into this (its a size 0000)! I can't wait to hold her, babies aren't as breakable as they look right?
Bio Mum went and checked out another day care and we have found childcare heaven! This places sounds absolutely amazing (I was stuck at work and couldn't get there) and I really hope we can get Lil Dash a place there for Jan 2015! Hell I'd rather go to this place than go to work.
We still should go and see a few more day care places, but I think this one was the clear winner.
Well that's all folks, I'll post again soon!
Friday 11 October 2013
Almost 25 weeks now! It is amazing/terrifying how fast this pregnancy is speeding by! I remember back when I was in the midst of my awful morning sickness thinking that this pregnancy would never end, but man was I wrong. As Dr B has been very clear about not letting me go over my due date, we have a maximum of 16 weeks to go before we meet our little girl. I am blown away by that thought.
Lil Dash, we can't wait to meet you!
It is incredible how much love you can feel for a person you haven't even really met yet. I haven't met my daughter, but I already love her so much.
Here is the 24 weeks bump photo:
I think in the last week or some my belly has kind of popped! I definitely feel more 'round' and feel like I look more pregnant.
Lil Dash is still very active and is greatly enjoying head butting me in the bladder fairly regularly so that has been fun, she is a cheeky little thing already. She is going to be a handful I'm sure!
Last weekend Bio Mum and I headed off to Bowral in the Southern Highlands for a long weekend to celebrate our impending 3 year anniversary and also a last hurrah before baby (a 'baby-moon' if you will). The place we stayed at was lovely, although the service in the restaurant and the spa left a lot to be desired. The town was just wonderful though and we had a great weekend.
On the Saturday we headed into Bowral after breakfast and firstly went to this lovely charity knitting shop (all proceeds went to the hospital) and bought some adorable clothes and a beautiful blanket for Lil Dash (see photo below)
I can't wait to see our little girl in her jumper, vest and beanie and I can't wait to use this blanket for her.
After that we went to Bowral's 'Tulip Time' which is like Floriade in Canberra, but much smaller. Here are some photos of 'Tulip Time':
Yummy donuts! at Tulip Time!
At Tulip Time a lovely lady told us we had to check out a place called Joadja. So off we drove down a road which felt scarily like we were driving into the middle of nowhere never to be heard from again! Finally we arrived and were pleasantly surprised!
Joadja used to be a shale mine and refinery (producing kerosene) and is now in ruins. Bio Mum and I used a very unhelpful map and did a self guided walking tour around the ruins. It was amazing and beautiful. Below are some photos:
One of Joadja's Highland cattle. Despite how bad they stank, they were very cute!
Joadja is in the process of setting up a whisky distillery and in the interim are selling Spanish sherry, of which Bio Mum bought a bottle. I hope there is some left when I am allowed to drink alcohol again!!
After our tour and a lovely chat with the owner, we headed back into town for a late lunch and then to our accommodation for a much needed nap and then room service dinner! It was bliss!
Sunday was supposed to be spa day, where Bio Mum and I would each get a massage (in my case a pregnancy package including a facial, foot bath and massage), but due to a stuff up with our booking (which I confirmed over the phone twice before we left for our weekend away) we ended up just cancelling both and heading off to enjoy our day elsewhere. It was pretty disappointing as we were both excited for our spa experience, but as it turns out it was a good thing because we had a lovely day!
Our first stop was Fitzroy Falls, which was spectacular! It was a pleasant (at times tough) walk with some remarkable views. My favourite place was called the 'Grotto' and it was a steep climb down not so stable footing to get there, but was absolutely worth it. Here are some photos of the Grotto:
After Fitzroy Falls we headed back into Bowral for lunch at the Imperial (local pub), which was pretty nice and then wandered through an art gallery, a pop culture shop (where I bought Bio Mum a large R2D2 cardboard cut out for our anniversary) and then finally the supermarket and back to our accommodation where it was nap time for both of us.
A leisurely hotel room picnic was had for dinner with yummy bread, dip, cheese (hard cheese for me), olives and other goodies. It was perfect.
Monday we headed off after breakfast and checking out to Ikea. Thank god Bio Mum is such a planner, because we managed to get in and out with pretty much all we wanted in record time and with minimal hassle and drama. I'd have to say it was the most successful Ikea trip I have ever had, Bio Mum is very efficient! Here is the back of the ute containing our Ikea haul! It was like playing tetris to fit it all in!
That was the end of our lovely weekend! Home with our haul and now lots of flat pack to be assembled (Bio Mum has already done our two new bedside tables). This weekend will be finishing the nursery furniture and building the rest of the flat packs! What fun! Especially as Bio Mum has caught another cold and isn't feeling well, poor thing!
It is going to be great to get the nursery mostly done though! I can picture our little girl in there now and that only gets stronger the more the room comes together.
Until next time, thanks for reading!
Lil Dash says hi (well she is kicking me so I assume that's what she wants me to say!)
Friday 4 September 2013
Let's start with the good stuff, 23 Week Bump Photo!
We had an appointment with the lovely Dr B on Wednesday and all is going well. Lil Dash is still on the larger side, but Dr B was happy with her progress. He said she is head down and her heart beat is very strong. We got to hear her heart beating and it was just wonderful!
He gave me a referral for the glucose test so in a few weeks I'll be doing that. Dr B said as everything is going so well that should be the last test we'll need. We talked to him some more about the birth and epidurals and fun things like that. I really trust Dr B to get us through the birth with Dash and I both healthy and happy. I'm so glad we selected him as our OB.
The last week has been a very productive (albeit tiring) one! We had a long weekend here (lovely 3 days off!) so Bio Mum and I used that time to rip through the nursery and made some amazing progress! We (and by we I mean mostly Bio Mum as I am rather slow) were able to finish sanding the nursery and all the baby's furniture that we currently have, undercoat the room and most of the furniture and then paint the room (including doors and trims). It looks amazing! Here are some photos I took, it isn't the best as the room has now reverted to our dumping room for a short time.
We still need to finish undercoating the furniture, then do a couple of coats of the semi-gloss paint we've picked out, assemble and then arrange the furniture in Lil Dash's room. It's all coming together and is so exciting! It's amazing to think that in a few short months we'll be bringing her home to her very own room.
Oh I snapped this photo this morning of the loveable Moo and just had to share it
It's nice to know someone is getting some use out of that treadmill! I found her on the treadmill yesterday morning too, but she jumped off while I was searching for my camera!
This weekend is another long weekend for us so Bio Mum and I are off for a relaxing weekend away in the Southern Highlands. We've got accommodation at this gorgeous looking place and pampering organised for the spa! I can't wait! We leave in about...an hour and a half and won't be home until Monday (after a trip to Ikea on our way home from our weekend of course). I'll be sure to take some photos and post about the weekend next week.
Dash has been very active today, mostly seeming to be head butting me in the bladder. Its so nice to feel her moving around in there (even at night when I'm trying to sleep!), she is a very wriggly little girl!
I'd better run now, got to go finish packing so we can get on the road and get our weekend started!
Friday 27 September 2013
Everything has been ticking along beautifully since my last post. Lil Dash gets more and more active every day. She is quite a wriggly little monkey! She especially loves to move around a lot when I am relaxing in bed or on the couch, actually these days as soon as I am stationary for more than about 5 minutes she starts wriggling. I wonder if she'll be as active once she's born!
We've spent a fair amount of time over the last couple of weeks looking at day care centres. It seems kind of strange to be looking into day care when she isn't even born yet, but where we live the waiting lists are anywhere from 12-18 months so we have to get our names down early!
Most of the ones we saw were great, with two major stand outs for us. There was one however that was just awful! The place was dirty and smelt and the staff seemed uninterested, in fact one of the staff appeared to be stoned (I really hope he wasn't). There was no structure or order and the kids were running rampant. We were looking in one of the rooms and the lady taking us on our tour had to leave us at least twice to chase kids back inside the centre as the staff supervising them hadn't noticed they were chasing birds outside. It was just terrible.
Next week I have to call some more places and get our names down on more waiting lists. Given the demand for day care I've been told we should be on at least 8 waiting lists, we are currently on 4 (including the awful place, which we wouldn't accept a spot at anyway).
The plan is I'll have 11 months off work with Lil Dash. Bio Mum will have the first month off with us and then the last month off when I return to work. That will give our little girl almost a year at home before she goes to child care. Plus it gives both of us some one on one time at home with Lil Dash.
Monday was Bio Mum's birthday so on Saturday we headed off for a picnic with some friends and Bio Mum's lovely sister, brother in law and nephews. It was such a beautiful day! The weather was perfect, the company was perfect and the food was great too! I did manage to get a little sunburnt, but not too badly as I kept moving so I was in the shade. Being in the sun for too long made me feel a tad sick. I don't cope with sun and heat as well as I did pre-pregnancy! It's a little scary that I'll be at my biggest right in the middle of summer!
Sunday Bio Mum and I spent most of the day working on the nursery. We have started sanding the furniture so we can paint it, still a bit of work to go there! After that will be the sanding, cleaning and painting of the walls and trims. Then it will be the blinds going up and finally the furniture, decorations and stocking the room for our new arrival.
Here are some shots of the nursery I took this morning, clearly it is a work in progress!
The above photo shows our baby's bassinet, which was used by Bio Mum as a baby and many family babies since then. I can't wait to put our little girl down to sleep in it! We are planning on adding wheels to the legs to make it more mobile around the house!
I have to admit I wasn't such a big help to Bio Mum on Sunday, after a few hours I managed to fall asleep on the couch. I hope to be a bigger help to her this weekend coming. We have a long weekend (3 days off! Heaven!) and hope to get most of the nursery done.
Monday Bio Mum and I had the day off work in celebration of her birthday and spent a relaxing morning together at home (with me heading out for McDonalds for breakfast) and then I was out for the afternoon for my friend's mother's funeral. It was a very sad, but moving service and I was glad that I got to be there in support of my friend. She is living my worst nightmare. It certainly made me think about my own Mum a lot.
Monday night we had a quiet one and got a very special surprise from our little girl. While we were lying in bed I happened to notice a little movement in my tummy. We both watched intensely and then got to SEE Lil Dash kicking/moving! It was absolutely amazing. I so love our little girl.
Here is the 21 week bump photo (because I was slack and didn't post last week!)
And here is our 22 week bump photo (not the best photo)
I am definitely noticing a difference in my belly as it gets bigger. I tried leaning forward to put on my shoes at work yesterday and had to lean sideways as the bump got in the way! Oh man I still have approximately 17 weeks to go! How much bigger am I going to get?!
Had a lovely date night with Bio Mum last night. We headed out to Nightfest at Floriade (big flower festival for people who aren't locals) which was just lovely. I got to play with my new camera and managed to get a few shots that weren't too bad. I'm very slowly getting the hang of it.
Just went out on my lunch break to have a look at some maternity jeans. Now I might be showing my nanna nature here, but who in their right mind wants to wear maternity skinny jeans! I mean really, are they serious?! I couldn't find one pair of jeans that were even remotely flattering or comfortable! It was really disappointing. I might duck out for a little shopping this weekend and see if I can find some jeans that are actually comfy and flattering.
We're off to see Dr B again next week so I'll be sure to post again then.
Ciao for now!
Friday 13 September 2013
It's been a big week. Sunday night we had some friends over to celebrate my birthday and Bio Mum and our friend Steph made me home-made sushi! I have been craving sushi like crazy since my morning sickness subsided so it was just what I wanted. It was so yummy! Best birthday dinner ever!
Then on Wednesday, which was my actual birthday, Bio Mum got me the most amazing Nikon D3200 camera. It is incredible, but it's going to take me a while to learn how to use it properly. Miss Moo has been a reluctant model as I tried out different features of the camera. I mentioned to Bio Mum ages ago, not long after we got pregnant, that I wanted to get a really nice camera so I could take photos of our baby. It was sweet that she remembered. I can't wait to take lots and lots of photos of Lil Dash. I love my camera!
I got a nasty sore throat for my birthday, not exactly what I wanted but what can you do. I also got some lovely flowers from my workmates which made the sore throat a little easier to bear, see the picture below
All in all it was a lovely birthday!
Yesterday we went to have our 20 week scan, and aside from me almost fainting on the table, it went really well.
It's at this point I am pleased to announce that our Lil Dash is in fact a little girl!! I can't even describe how amazing it is to known that our Lil Dash is a little girl. She is growing beautifully and exactly as she should. we got to see her little hands and feet, ten fingers and ten toes all accounted for!
I think knowing she is a little girl makes her all the more real, not that she was a figment of my imagination before. She is just becoming more of a little person to me now. She is our daughter and we get to meet her soon. I can't describe how much I already love this little girl, this little piece of me and Bio Mum.
Here is a scan picture of our little girl:
She has been quite wiggly the last week or so, which is nice. She seems to like to make her presence known!
Here is the 20 week bump photo
I'm off to visit my mother and sister tonight for the weekend, which will be good. I'm not feeling so crash hot (viral sore throat thing) so it will be a fairly low key weekend. Just so long as I get to spend some time with Mum then that's the important thing.
So that's all for now. I'll post more soon!
Wednesday 4 September 2013
Firstly thank you to all who have read this blog, thank you also for your kind words and support. It really does mean a lot.
Now onto the update!
Mum is doing well at the moment and we were lucky enough to get her into a really great care facility that will be able to provide her with appropriate care that will suit her needs. It was a difficult move for her (and my sister) as it was a bit confronting to walk into a dementia specific ward and see the other residents, many of who are more advanced than Mum is. After a day of upset and distress, Mum has settled in. I'm sure the next few weeks will bring more upset and distress as she gets used to the new environment.
I do feel guilty that the move was so hard on her, but now I know that she is going to be safe and well looked after. I can live with that guilt, but I couldn't live with it had we left her where she was and something terrible had happened to her because the care she was receiving was not adequate to her needs. I will sleep easier knowing she will be safe.
I'll be flying down on 13 September to spent the weekend with Mum and my sister, so I am looking forward to that. My poor sister has to have surgery on 11 September (my birthday!) so it will also be good timing as I can help her out for a couple of days. I am planning to fly down each month until I am no longer able to travel.
It's hard to not to dwell on the fact that Mum has cancer. I try not to think about all the worst case scenarios that might happen and I am trying to stay positive and focus on Lil Dash and how excited Mum is going to be to meet her little grandchild, but it is difficult not to imagine how absolutely devastating it would be if Mum never got to meet our baby.
Let's aim for some positive thoughts and I know seeing her next week will make me feel better.
In other news yesterday Lil Dash was quite the little wriggler! It was the first time I was absolutely certain I was feeling Dash move around in there. I thought I felt something last week, but was unsure. Then yesterday morning I was sitting quietly at work and it was unmistakable as Dash moved around on and off for about 45 minutes. Then last night Bio Mum and I were sitting on the couch and I felt Dash moving around. Bio Mum put her hand on my belly and after pressing in a bit (on my poor bladder) she was able to feel Dash move too!
It is really early for us to be feeling movement, but our little one is already a bit of an overachiever so I am not all that surprised! It was really wonderful to be able to share that moment with Bio Mum.
Today we had out appointment with our OB Dr B which went really well. Everything is progressing just as it should, in fact Dash is several days a head of schedule (meaning Dash is a bit bigger, which is why we were able to feel the movement so soon).
Dr B tried to get a good look at the sex of our little one, but Dash was not so cooperative. We are all booked in for our 20 week scan next week so fingers crossed Dash behaves then and we get to find out!
Here is the 19 Week bump photo taken on 2 September 2013, please excuse the fact that you can see the bottom of my bra hanging out...I am a class act.
On Monday I went and bought my first few pairs of maternity pants after sitting at work all morning rather uncomfortable due to the tightness of my work pants. I was able to get 3 pairs of pants at Big W for $20 each, so I was happy with that! While the pants are not the most stylish, man are they comfortable! I might keep wearing them once baby is born.
This weekend we start on the nursery, which I am super excited about. I am feeling the urge to nest! I'll be sure to take some photos of our progress and post those as we go.
Sunday will be awesome as we are having some lovely people over for dinner to celebrate my birthday, but most importantly Bio Mum is making me home-made sushi!! Oh man have I been craving sushi! I am so excited to eat some it is almost insane.
Have a wonderful rest of the week and I'll post more soon!
