Today I took a self portrait. Me at 25 weeks with little Matilda May. I am ready to go for a swim in our hotel pool as David and I had one child free night before we become parents of … Continue reading
Category Archives: mother
Bump Watch: Writing a Birth Plan
This week I have started thinking about the kind of labour and birth I want to have. I was thinking about it so much last night that I barely slept a wink.
I looked at the NHS Online Birth Plan but there was too much I did not know to complete it fully. I needed a site that would guide me better through my options. Having never attended antenatal classes or expereinced a third timester the best childbirth education I have had so far is my hazy memories of giving birth to Esther and William and watching One Born Every Minute!
Today I have been looking at birth plan information at www.babycentre.co.uk and I have found this to be much more detailed.
They advise naming your birth partner as point one of your birth plan. My birth partner will be my husband, David. I cannot imagine going through something so important and so intimate with anybody else. If labour is long and David needs a break then I would be happy for Michele, my best friend, to come and keep me company for a while in the early stages. If she is available and willing. I haven’t asked her yet!
I would want David to be with me through any and all procedures. We have no secrets and he has already seen things and done things for me that no husband ever should. I want him with me every step of the way.
The next thing to think about is positions for labour. In an ideal world I would like to remain active. I would like to be able to move around as I know that if I am lying down I will focus more on the pain. I like the idea of being up on all fours when I cannot be moving around. But I guess what will be will be. I delivered Esther and William in theatre, on my back. If this was my first pregnancy and everything was straightforward I would have loved a water birth, but for me that is not meant to be.
My first choice for pain relief will be gas and air as I had with Esther and William. I would like to try and give birth using only this if at all possible. If not then I would like to use whatever pain relief is least harmful to the baby and at this point I have no idea what that is. From what I have read it seems all drugs pass through the placenta to some degree. I am looking forward to learning more about my options with the NCT.
After the birth David is not fussed about cutting the cord when I ask him now but I would like him to be given the option at the time as he may feel differently then. We are 99% certain that Matilda is a girl, should that turn out not to be the case then I would like David to be the one to tell me. I would like our daughter (or son!) to be delivered straight onto my tummy and I want to breastfeed them if I can.
So that is my birth plan so far. I bet the reality will be nothing like the birth I imagine but I hopefully have a few weeks yet to enjoy the dream, or experience the nightmare.
My main question that I cannot find an answer to is will labour me so much more painful at full term than at 27 weeks? That is what I really want to know.
Celebrate Someone or Something Special with Edspire and Experience Days
Congratulations to our winner Claire! This competition is now closed. Christmas is over. 2012 is well underway. It will soon be Valentine’s Day followed by Mother’s Day. Everyone will have a birthday if they have not had one already. Everyone … Continue reading
Bump Watch: 23 Weeks
So today I am 23 weeks pregnant with Matilda Bump and there is no hiding the fact that I am pregnant anymore. Bump is beautiful and big and baby is a little body popping wriggler. I love being pregnant! What … Continue reading
Listography 2012: Top 5 Photos from 2011
This week Kate has challenged us to share our Top 5 Photos of 2011. Not an easy task when you take hundreds of shots a day but here are five of mine, five precious moments from the year just gone. … Continue reading
Bump Watch: SnuggleBundl Review
Earlier this year I went to the Baby Expo in Brighton and there I watched a fantastic product being brilliantly demonstrated. I fell in love. I also felt disappointment that this product was not around when Esther and William first … Continue reading
Today I Felt It
Today I felt it.
I felt the snap.
I would like to say that I have controlled it but I don’t think I have.
I think maybe I can though.
I put the babies to bed at 10am and listened as I always do to their monitor as they battled against sleep.
I think Esther actually fell asleep quite quickly. William took the best part of an hour.
I sat and listened.
I was doing other things but I was also listening.
I could feel the bubbling beneath as my nerves began to fray.
Then I felt the snap and I had to stop listening.
I checked for mail.
I considered going out in the garden.
I settled for shutting myself in the bathroom, washing machine on, and vigorously cleaning my teeth.
I know I need to tell David that I need a break soon.
But he is too busy for that.
He is working this weekend.
But I will be alright.
I’ll keep us busy.
I can feel it now though.
It is like a nervous energy has taken over my body.
Has anyone else ever felt like this?
Five minutes of peace over
The boy he sleeps
But now the girl is awake
No rest time for Mummy today x
Bump Watch: 17 Weeks and Feeling Fat!
So today I am 17 weeks pregnant and I am feeling fat! Just today have started needing the loo a lot! Think Baby must have changed position and be putting pressure on my bladder? My bump is definitely looking bump … Continue reading
World Prematurity Awareness Day
Today is World Prematurity Awareness Day, a day to stop and think about those babies born too soon. I write about prematurity regularly on this blog and work hard to support Bliss and the fabulous work they do supporting premature … Continue reading
Best of Brighton Baby Expo 2011
On Sunday I took David, Esther and William to the Baby Expo in Brighton. I had been following all the build up for months and was so so excited about the show. When we got there though I could not … Continue reading