It's GO Time!

So I'm not going to publish this until the little man is here, but OMG we are having a baby! Well of course we are, but we are actually going to have a baby at most in the next few days!
At 10:45pm on 28th April, Channy got up to blow her nose and her waters broke!!!!!!!! Now they broke before she blew her nose, so no, it wasn't the nose blowing that broke it lol.
So we both just kinda looked at each other and paused for a moment to decide what to do lol
Then Channy called the hospital and they said to go on in to be checked and monitored. So next call was to Channy's sister who was on standby to look after the kids...which of course we have because their father has chosen now to go on an extended holiday!
Anyway, we called...and called...and called some more, but like most people do at night, her phone was on silent. So we called our dear friend Erin to come over til Channy's sister could get here (she's about 20 minutes away) and after Erin realised that we were serious, she came over, still kind of asleep and expected to see Channy panting on the ground naked lmao!
So anyway, we finally get ahold of Channy's sister (17 calls later lol) and we head to the hospital. By this stage Channy is having a few contractions, but nothing serious, just little cramps really.
So we get to the hospital and they check her out, and yep, her waters have definitely broken. They hook her up to the CTG and she's having mild contractions, which is a good start. So then a really lovely doctor comes in to have a chat, and was great at explaining everything, then says she wants to do an internal.
So she does her bit, wand says that we are only 1cm dilated, which is 1 cm closer to meeting our baby!
So our options are to hang around and wait, or go home and get some rest...so we opt to go home. I asked Channy if she wants anything to eat on the way home, and she said no. Then when we were just about home she says, 'I could probably go a cheeseburger'. So what else does one do when In labour but go through Maccas drive thru ,
So now we are home...but not resting...too excited and timing contractions, which at this point are about 8 minutes apart...so now we wait!

So it's now 10:43, and we are still waiting...no more or no less regular contractions...so we still wait. Heading off for a walk soon. We have to head back up to the hospital at 3:30 this afternoon. Hopefully more happens by then! 

Update: it's now 12:56 and this feels like the longest day of my life lol! We all went for a walk at about 11 to see if that kicked things along...she had all of 1 contraction while walking pffffft! So we come home and decide to have a rest. Lie down and about 5 minutes later they hit! 3 1/2 minutes apart! At the moment she is napping and they have slowed to about 7-8 minutes apart. Part of me wants to make her move to get things going, but part of me wants to let her rest! She is worried at the moment that if we go to the hospital, they will stop or tell her to go back home, which I understand completely! Nothing worse than thinking you are getting somewhere and you aren't...so more waiting for now.

So it's now 8:40pm on Tuesday. We have been up at the hospital since about 4pm, at which time not too much was going on...contractions here & there but nothing stable/regular/shout worthy! So the decision was made to start an IV of cintocinon which was started at 6:30pm. It only made it to 4 mls before contractions became pretty intense! They are about every 3-4 minutes apart at the moment and enough to render a f*^k or two 😉 

At this point Channy is coping great with the pain, although I don't think she feels the same way! 

Love this girl to bits!

Next stop is doctor to do an internal at about 10:30, so the hour forty five countdown is on! I'm hoping for about 5cms! 

Well well well...that all got away from me lol! It's now 7:59am on Thursday May first! And our boy has been here for 23 hours and 54 minutes! That's right! Luca Paul joined our family at 8:05am on Wednesday 30th April! Not even the month he was supposed to be born!

Tuesday & Wednesday were very full on, and he ended up entering the the world via emergency c-section. Although he was teensy tiny, poor Channy has a pelvic arch that is even smaller, and there is no way he would have fit! But he is here, and he is perfect and I simply cannot believe it! 

I don't have time at the moment to finish off the birth journey, but I want to do it very soon while it is still fresh. But for now I will end with the perfection that is our son!

Luca Paul Kanofski-Tenuyl

Wednesday 30/04/2014

5lb 9oz

46cm

The waiting game...

So, technically we only have at most 35 days until we meet our little man! In reality, it could be at any moment! This bun cooking adventure has simply flown by! And not just for me! Even Channy says how fast it has gone! 

Although she has hit the uncomfortable, can't sleep properly, need to pee every 5 seconds stage, she said this morning she is really wanting to meet him but doesn't want it to be over! She's the pregnant woman everyone hopes they will be! She really is enjoying every single moment of it, which I think is as much of a shock to her as it is to me! It's an amazing feeling being pregnant for the for the first time! Everything is new and exciting as well as scary and overwhelming! But I am over the moon that she really has enjoyed it all! (Insert massive smiley face here)

Anyway, today we got in and finished off all the last little things in bubbas room. We have had it pretty well set up for a couple of months now, but had some stuff just chucked in there *blush*. So now we are ready to roll! I even put the car seat in the car to get the kids used to it being there! And we had a bit of a mission fitting the pram in with one of the back seats up to fit all the kids in, but after about 15 minutes of head scratching and taking it out and putting it back in, we got it sorted! YAY

So I shall leave you with a snap shot of the nursery, which will probably never look like this again once the little man arrives ;-)

Day of reflection

A day of reflection, respect and rememberence. ANZAC Day has always been a day that has touched me, and I'm always moved to tears at the Dawn Service. This year I took both my daughters with me, it being the first one Ayla has attended. Rhiannon has been to quite a few, but she has always been a child who is capable of being quiet and appreciating things that most adults can't. Ayla on the other hand, is the kind of child that can't keep quiet even if her life depended on it! But this morning she made me one proud mamma! Sitting quietly, taking everything in and saving her questions and observations for the walk back to the car <3

I thought that I would come home and snuggle back into the warmth of my bed and have a bit more sleep, but I'm the kind of person that once I'm awake, I'm up! So home for another coffee with my girl, who stayed tucked up in bed so we didn't have to take Connor (for those not aware, Connor has autism, and struggles big time with waiting and sitting still). I would have liked to take Connor to see how he went because his teacher wrote in his communication book yesterday that he sat beautifully through the service at school, and he was most excited to tell me he heard the "ANZAC song", but I really don't think that is the kind of place to test his patience. Perhaps next year.

So now today we are going to do the final finishing touches to the nursery, put the car seat in the car & just generally have a quiet relaxing day :-) love having days off with my family <3

Lest We Forget

Be kind to yourself and love those around you just a little bit more than you did yesterday
Bel xx

Liquid Gold!

At our last ante natal visit last week the midwife mentioned something that is completely new to me, which isn't an overly odd thing as soooo much has changed in the past 8 years since I was pregnant! Apparently now it is a common practice to express colostrum before bub arrives! It's not recommended, or even allowed, until 36 weeks, as stimulation can cause uterine irritation and lead to contractions, but considering we are now in the 'full term' status (eeeeeeeeppppp), it's all systems go. 

Now I get the theory behind it all - you express some colostrum, hopefully remember to take it to the hospital in the mad rush that is sure to be craziness, and have it on hand 'just in case' baby needs to go to the nursery or can't feed properly from the breast. It's a great idea...in theory...but my concern with it is the pressure it places on the mum-to-be even before baby arrives! There is such a stigma attached to breasfeeding...it is such a taboo subject among many online & real life communities! And it shouldn't be! It saddens me that there is so much pressure and negativity surrounding something as simple as the basic human right to be nourished! 

I was very lucky to be able to breastfeed all 3 of my children! Infact, I was thinking about it while brushing my teeth (weird I know) and I have so far spent over 4 & 1/2 years being the human equivalent of a jersey cow lol! However, if I were unable to feed my babies, I would hope that I had enough positive support in my life to move onto bottle feeding without a hitch! Does it really matter how my babies are nourished? As long as they ARE in fact being nourished and properly cared for, who's f'ing business is it how it's achieved? 

Ok, getting right back down off my soapbox and back to the reason for my post! So we hit the 36 week mark on Tuesday, so tonight Channy had a go at getting some of that much desired liquid gold into a cup, and OMG did she what! I was a hell of a milk maker back in the day, and had enough milk to feed a small village, but I'm positive I wouldn't have gotten 25mls of the ever perfect colostrum BEFORE giving birth! My girl is a champion! She had been quite concerned about not being able to breast feed, even to the point of saying the other day that she was more worried about that than actually giving birth! Yup, she's nuts lol. But that is the pressure that is inadvertently put on mums! If the fear of not being able to breast feed is greater than the fear of labour and delivery, there is something seriously wrong with the message being sent to mums! 

I do my absolute best to support my girl in her decisions, regardless of what they are, and I will certainly not be forcing anything on her that she's not happy with! And I hope that the fact that she has managed to get far more from her first time expressing than I even thought possible, is enough to ease her mind and prove to her that it's not something that should be stressed over, rather something that should be embraced if possible, and moved on from with comfort & ease if not! 

So I'll leave you with the evidence! I certainly wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it, so wouldn't expect anyone else to ;-)

Off to catch some z's, because tomorrow is ANZAC day & my little girls & I are headed to the Dawn Service to pay our respects!

Night night all.

Be kind to yourself and love those around you just a little bit more than you did yesterday
Bel xx

Womb with a view

So the OCD in me is starting to peek through...we moved our room around on Tuesday to make room for the bassinet (eeeeeeek!) and then last night when we were about to take our weekly photo we realised that the photo wouldn't be as easy to take...now Channy has to stand between the doors of the ensuite & walk in robe, and let me just say that the bump is almost as wide as the little part of the wall ;-)

But this also means that for some reason the pic is coming out less sharp :-( which means it isn't the same as the others, and not being the same kind of erks me lmao

4 weeks to go! OMG, how did that happen?

Be kind to yourself and love those around you just a little bit more than you did yesterday
Bel xx

Talk about parallel universe!

So I stumbled across a FB page on Tuesday about a beautiful couple embarking on the journey of becoming mums, and reading through it all and watching their VLOGs I swear they are Channy & I 12 months ago! They live in Victoria, which is about the only place we differ, and they had experienced the loss of a bubba, and have just now discovered they are expecting again! Sooo much of what they write could have been written by Channy & I, it is just too much lol

It's almost as if I can go back and read their posts and relive what we were doing this time last year! Which is kind of nice, because it makes me remember things that I had probably forgotten what with all the excitement and focus that is on our little bubba now! 

If you want to take a look, head over here 2 Baby Mamas

In other news, Channy has been having some pretty intense cramping since yesterday, which is most likely pre-labour pains, which are a great thing! Not really ready for him to arrive just yet (well, physically & practically we are, have been for months now) but I think at least a couple more weeks of cooking would be ideal for him health & strength wise :-) 

We had a little chat last night about the possibility of him arriving on ANZAC Day (tomorrow) and whether we would include Zac in his name to honor our fallen ANZACs, but he already has 4 names, so to add another to the mix would just me asking for him to not be able to say or write his name properly until he hits puberty lol. 

It's starting to get a wee bit chilly here in the mornings, and anyone that knows me knows I HATE winter! But this year I'm actually really looking forward to it! The only reason being, that I had told myself months ago that the start of the cooler months means that we are getting so close to bringing baby into the world, so I can tolerate the chill purely for that :-)

Be kind to yourself and love those around you just a little bit more than you did yesterday
Bel xx

She know's ALL!

We went to visit my 80year old Nana today, and Channy made me laugh when we were getting ready this morning...she was looking for baggy clothes...in the hope that the belly would be inconspicuous! But my Nana being my Nana, knows all! Nothing was said the entire 3 hours we were there about the baby, not even the kids mentioned it, then as we were leaving, she asked Channy "so when's this one coming out?"!!!! The colour of Channy's face can only be likened to a tomato as she blushed away and said "4 weeks". That's the first time she has really made me stop & think, holy shit, there's a baby coming REALLY SOON! How did that happen? 8-/

I had mentioned to Channy early on in the pregnancy that regardless of whether or not we told Nana about the impending baby, she would know! The town she lives in is the town I grew up in, and it's a small country town in every sense of the phrase, in that everyone knows what everyone else is up to before they are actually up to it! So of course Nana knew about the baby! 

To be honest, it is somewhat of a relief! I know she will be excited when he comes, she does love little babies! 

We also went out and visited my dad's grave on the way home. I really wish we were closer so I could go more often. I really wonder what he would be thinking about the whole baby situation...he was a very straight down the line man, so I imagine he would be like Nana...don't talk about it and it's not a problem lol. I do miss him so very much :-( and really wish he was here to see his grand babies, all 4 of them. Going out there today kind of made me want to give the baby his middle name, but we are already set on a name, and Connor & I already have his name, so think it was just my emotions getting the better of me. 

Be kind to yourself and love those around you just a little bit more than you did yesterday

Bel xx