hissychick » I’m pregnant

Introducing….

hissychick — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:08:45 +0000

What seas what shores what grey rocks and what islands
What water lapping the bow
And scent of pine and the woodthrush singing through the fog
What images return
O my daughter.

~T.S Eliot ‘Marina’~

Oh joy

hissychick — Mon, 25 May 2009 07:32:45 +0000

Forgive me, dear internets, for my slackening pace when it comes to the posts. I’d almost love to be able to say that this is because I have been succumbing to early pregnancy nausea and fatigue…but it’s because you smell.

Well it’s only partly that.

I have been dealing with ‘just a virus’ for over a week right now, a dreadful snotty lurgy that has tortured my throat and nose and general will to live, before deciding to settle in my right ear this morning, from which I have not yet regained my hearing.

Oh the pressure as the train ascends the mountain, the freaking pressure. And no suitable decongestant drugs to be had thanks to the first trimester/breastfeeding combo that leaves you with something as useless as your immune system to deal with it all.

But there’s no more time for sooking and fondly remembering the golden days of pregnancy, when you could actually lie around and do stuff all. Although thanks to the darling man that is mr hissychick I have been doing as much of that as I can.

I digress.

You see my two darlings have pulled a two for one get out of jail daycare pass on me. This morning I received a phone call at work to inform me that E has severe conjunctivitis in both eyes, and while we’re at it, A has hurt her mouth and you might want to get the still bleeding area and wobbly tooth checked out.

Mr hissychick valiantly escaped the office to collect the kids.

Of course the earliest doctors appointment we could get is tomorrow (and not one for myself, around our way you have to give the medical establishment two weeks notice that you might be sick ). Somehow through the magic that is my husband this does not clash with the afternoon with the pediatric dentist gig. So our day off will be a fun one of juggling engagements a mere 50 km away from each other, thankfully with a visit to Nana to offload the gunky eyed one and new batch of germs collected at the doctor’s office in between.

Despite all of the shenaningans one thought keeps running through my mind: Could it really be true that this time next year I’ll be juggling a third kidlet and their issewes as well?

God I hope so.

29 January 2005

hissychick — Sat, 29 Jan 2005 03:11:51 +0000

38 weeks Well…my waters broke in a rather spectacular fashion just before midnight. My contractions are irregular at this stage, but after two visits to the hospital my OB has agreed to let me continue to see whether I will go into labour naturally. Otherwise I will be induced tomorrow morning at 7:30 am. OMG, after such a challenging TTC journey I am going to hold my little one in my arms before the weekend is out

20 January 2005

hissychick — Thu, 20 Jan 2005 03:10:25 +0000

36 weeks 6 days Well my darling little one, we have cause to celebrate. As of tomorrow, you are considered a term baby! Plus we found out that you are 3/5 engaged, or locked and loaded as your Daddy puts it at this week’s OB appointment. I guess that means you could be here very soon, or you could tease us all and go the full 40 weeks. Either way, I don’t think you will be overdue. My belly is certainly showing signs of dropping, for one thing the indigestion has eased up and the movements are no longer up under my ribs. The OB has had a bit of fun trying to work out what position bubs is in, I seem to get a foot sliding across towards my right hip a few times a day and I have a big baby lump on the right side of my tummy, but then i also seem to get other little kicks and punches all over the place as well. I’m am both excited and rather scared about the impending birth, it still doesn’t seem real. Last Saturday’s birth classes were both reassurring and informative and I hope tomorrows final class is too. The facilities at Westmead Private look fantastic, I love their active labour policy but was also relieved to find out a bit more about epidurals. I no longer feel so scared about asking for one if I really need it. Anyway DH has been back at work this week, and it has been kind of wierd being at home on my own. I’ve tried to finish packing my labour bag, rest, read trashy mags and watch trasy telly, and work on a stitching for the nursery. I’ve also spent a fair bit of time emailing and phoning people too. I just wish this hot weather would let up, it takes so much energy out of you and as for fluid retention… Last week we went on our last DINK hurrah and spent a couple of nights up at the Crowne Plaza in Terrigal. We went all out, getting a swish room on the top floor with a balcony overlooking the ocean. It was just soo lovely, we enjoyed sleeping in, both room service and eating out, lazy wanders along the beach (I even bared my belly in a bikini and went for a dip in the tidal pool), long baths, and predinner drinks and canapes in the club lounge on our floor. Plus I had the most divine prenatal massage in the hotel spa, so expensive but DH insisted. It was just lovely to relax, and connect with little miss. So much so I am considering splashing out on another massage if i get the chance (I have a $50 gift voucher from Christmas for a beauty therapist that I could use towards a prenatal or postnatal treatment). Oh yes….and Mum threw me a baby shower last Sunday, which was really lovely, and we were so spoilt with lots of lovely gifts including a Gymini from my sister, bunny rugs, sheets, towels and lots of gorgeous little clothes. Our little one is going to be the best dressed baby for the first few months of her life. Here’s hoping that the scan was right, because most of the clothes are pink! Hmm i think that’s a decent enough update for now. Tonight DH and I are going to pack bubs’ hopsital bag (her nappy bag) together, tomorrow we have classes and on Sunday a group of friends are coming up to visit us and we are heading to our local pub for lunch. Now it’s back to the couch for a rest. This afternoon I will do a relaxation/meditation session using my Joyful Pregnancy CDs…and get back to the dreaded Epi-No. So far I am at 5cm…need to get to 10cm if possible. Oh well, if both of these things contribute to a shorter labour and reduced chance of tearing then it will be worth it. A friend’s sister had a little girl (her first baby) last night after a just under 4 hour labour, I have no idea if it was just chance or whether she had been doing any specific preparation, but i’ve put my order in for a similar type of labour scenario! Just kidding…who knows how it will go. All I know is that little miss is going to come out somehow, and my main desire is that both she and I come out of it all OK. Love you my little one, not long until we meet now.

9 January 2005

hissychick — Sun, 09 Jan 2005 03:08:00 +0000

35 weeks 2 days Well the nesting frenzy has had me in overdrive my darling little one! Over the last week or so we’ve pretty much finished up all essential baby shopping, prepared the nursery, cleaned out cupboards and reorgnaised a new linen cupboard, and today we will finish up reorganising the laundry, now that the new dryer is up. Your room looks absolutely gorgeous. Your nana and I have washed and put away most of your clothes and set up your room properly. Your Pop did some garden maintenance so that it will be easier to get you to and from the car once you are born Your grandfather from Melbourne came up for a flying visit to install gorgeous curtains that your grandmother made for your room. And your Daddy has been working non stop on all of these projects and more! So glad that you are still squirming and hiccupping away in there, even when some of those kicks no longer tickle and the constant movement and all the usual late pregnancy aches and pains makes it hard for your mum to sleep at night. You must be going through a bit of a growth spurt though, as your Mum is very hungry! Mum has been busier than ever since she stopped work, but her BP has stabilised and she likes to be doing things so she doesn’t freak out too much about your birth at this stage. On a different note, DH and I are heading up to Terrigal tomorrow for a couple of nights. I am really looking forward to getting away from it all to be honest, and just enjoying our last pre baby hurrah. We are booked in at the Crowne Plaza on the swish no kids top floor (although technically I am smiggling one in). We let them know it was our last holiday before baby hoping that they will be extra nice…what’s the bet they simply cover all upholstery in plastic in case my waters break LOL. On the way back we will be picking up a Papa glider chair and ottoman..a bit of a splurge but DH reckons I deserve it. What a darling man. So keep growing safe and strong little one, I will report back in after our much needed break.

1 January 2005

hissychick — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 03:06:09 +0000

34 weeks 1 day Happy New Year little one! Can’t believe that I can actually say that not only am I having my baby this year…but next month (eek!). The good news is that at last week’s appointment my BP was on the way down, my weight was stable and there was no protein in my urine. Here’s hoping my BP is just as well behaved at this week’s appointment. The not so good news is that I have been in such a heightened state of anxiety and moodiness that some days I think I am going to lose the plot. Poor DH, I seem to alternate between hating his guts and then feeling really guilty that I am having such rage filled thoughts about the man i love. I think it’s really started to hit me that this birth gig is not too far away, and to avoid thinking about how frightened i am about that side of things (and the even deeper fear that i will be a crap mother) I have started to fixate on the nursery, and the fact that it seems like the whole house is a shambles. Oh well little one, I will take a deep breath and try and relax for your sake. You are certainly getting bigger, you give me the wierdest kicks in the wierdest places at times, and I do find it rather amusing that you seem determined to squash yourself into the right half of my tum when you also have plenty of room on the left. Makes for a wierd bump at times. Bleurgh. Too hot today. Time to take you and yor Daddy off to a nice air conditioned cinema for a couple of hours.

26 December 2004

hissychick — Sun, 26 Dec 2004 11:30:10 +0000

33 weeks 1 day Ooops…time has gotten away on me and I haven’t updated the diary for a while (again). Just wanted to say thankyou very much my little ‘bean, for the gorgeous diamond earrings that you got me for Christmas. It was also very clever of you to get your Daddy to write up a card for you too LOL. Now you keep kicking and growing like a crazy thing in there, and make sure that Mum’s BP doesn’t get any higher OK? Well….Christmas was lovely yesterday, even if I felt like I was the pudding! And it was so surreal today, when DH decided he wanted to get the pram out of its box, and assemble the change table and baby hammock. Kind of exciting really. He is in such a good mood, it is so lovely that he was able to organise to have three weeks off for a holiday now so we can enjoy some time together, both to do some things as a couple and get ready for our little girl. I finished up work on Christmas Eve, which was both a relief but also felt kind of wierd. It’s serious now, we’re really going to have a baby. I should find out for certain about my permanent appointment in February (talk about timing), but for now I just want to relax and try and make sure my BP doesn’t rise any further. I should explain…at last week’s OB appointment it was slightly elevated, I had put on 3kg in two weeks, so coupled with the good old ankle and hand swelling I have to go along to another appointment this week to make sure I am not developing preeclampsia. I’m hoping that it was just a combination of the stress of job interviews, work, commuting, lack of sleep and too much festive eating, and that it will be back under control now that the pressure is off and I can rest a bit more. Although I don’t feel like resting that much, I wake up a bit achy (goes with getting to the big stage I guess) and I do hate sitting around. But at least I don’t have to wake up to an alarm and I suddenly have four extra hours in the day now that I am not travelling for work. Anyway, on a different topic, DH and I had lunch with Lucy (Elle), her DH and their gorgeous little daughter Olivia last Wednesday as they were down from the NT for Christmas. It was so lovely to catch up, I can’t believe how much Olivia has grown since I last saw her and she is such a happy going little one- I want one like that! And Lucy was looking wonderful, I am so thrilled that all is going well with #2. It was great for the boys to meet too. Now if only we lived in the same city! Well that was an epic…time for me to sign off for now. Merry Christmas my darling little one, can’t wait to see you in 2005, not long to go now. We just won’t think about how you’ve got to get out right now, that’s a whole other diary entry.

5 December 2004

hissychick — Sun, 05 Dec 2004 11:29:00 +0000

30 weeks 2 days Well my little one, everything is going beautifully according to my OB. Low BP, your heart is going along like a little steam train, fundal height is on dates, weight is good, you were lying with your head down, back to my left (left occipito anterior?) which is perfect! The whole appointment was reassurring for both your Dad and I, we had a bit of a chat with the doc about my grumpiness and mood swings and we’re feeling a bit better about it all. I think that it’s probably just normal reactions to the big changes ahead..and a lot of sookiness on your Mum’s part about Daddy being away all week in Canberra (and having a meeting in Canberra on Feb 10…but we shall leave that alone for now). OK…time to stop talking to my bump and get back to normal diary writing LOL. My OB has recommended that I start taking Raspberry leaf tablets to ripen my cervix and tone my uterus…when I told him that I was still not very impressed with any of the options for getting bubs out he laughed! Anyway…he will be on holidays from Feb 19, and gave us info on his locum, but said that it was unlikely that i would go over his nominated due date of Feb 17. Partly because of the raspberry leaf, and also because he encourages couples to go the shag and make good use of the prostoglandins in semen. DH must have tuned out, because I had to reiterate this again later and he found it hilarious. I mean, we found our weekend shag funny enough as it was, we can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like at 40 weeks LOL. I also pointed out to the OB that I was unlikely to go overdue because he had tacked 5 days on to what I still hold is my true due date (feb 12) and he laughed and said that most people didn’t realise he did that. So, all in all a good appointment. I think I might go and grab an early dinner and shower before settling down to watch the box. Hope this will help me sleep..because i would like to keep my better mood after all the seesawing I have done lately. Love you my little one…can’t wait to meet you even though I really wish the stork delivered you

3 December 2004

hissychick — Fri, 03 Dec 2004 11:28:07 +0000

30 WEEKS!!!! Dance of joy, you seem to be so healthy and normal so far my little one. Please stay that way …yes, even if you squirm and kick so much in the middle of the night that I can hardly sleep, and seem to get the hiccups at least once a day…that is so cute by the way. Well…the nesting instinct has well and truly kicked in, last weekend DH, my Mum, Dad and I painted the nursery, and rearranged lots of furniture, this morning I was busily cleaning windows, putting up curtains and just generally turning the junk room/study into a study/guest room and MIL has been working away on the nursery curtains. It’s a good thing that it’s been a bit cooler otherwise I would be frustrated with not being able to do any other than retain fluid! Speaking of retianing things, I seem to have grown enormous overnight…from pregnant to HEAVILY pregnant. Which is fine, so far so good (er…except for the large weight gain between 26 and 28 weeks)…I just wish people would stop telling me so! Come on, when you are six foot tall and waddling around like a duck, don’t you think I’ve already noticed? It especially doesn’t help when they mutter things about having a large baby…DH already teases me that our daughter is going to have a giant head (eek!). I think, if anything, she is going to be one looong baby, if her movements are anything to go by. It’s kind of disconcerting to feel a kick or punch down low followed by one up near my ribs, because i have a long torso (and yes, i was a long baby too..). The work thing. Well, I am finishing up on Christmas Eve. PLlus after extensive negotiation, whilst I can’t hurry the recruitment process I have managed to get a contract renewal sufficient enough to entitle me to 9 weeks paid maternity leave just like everyone else! Whilst I am relieved to be getting rid of the four hours a day commute, very happy about the paid leave and excited about being on the home stretch to my meeting with my long awaited little one, I am also completely freaked out. About what this means in terms of my career, and losing my independent income and also losing the social interaction. And, I don’t know, reality setting in about becoming a Mum. Yes I am scared of the birth, but its the rest of the my life thing after that that has my head in a spin at times! I guess this is the reason my mood keeps seesawing and I find myself becoming more emotional… ..that and the lack of sleep (it’s true, it does become an effort to try and get comfy and stay comfy), the job uncertainty (will I have to do an interview before I go, or worse still, within weeks of the birth)..and that DH will be away in Canberra all week for work. It’s funny how being up the duff makes you a bit more ‘dependent’ and vulnerable…even more so now because that fear of going into labour alone is at the back of my mind. Nope…push that aside. So far so good, and with my next OB checkup on Monday I hope that remains the case. Love you so much, my little darling girl, not that lomg to go now until we meet

7 November 2004

hissychick — Sun, 07 Nov 2004 11:26:17 +0000

26 weeks 2 days Had an OB appointment this morning. All is well with the ‘bean, fundal height is on dates, heartbeat pumping away beautifully and lots of squirming when my doc was palpating my uterus! I put on less than half a kilo in the last four weeks, but my doc wasn’t concerned seeing as I had had that bout of gastro, and in fact told me I was doing excellently on the weight gain front. So far I have put on 5 to 6 kilos in total. As long as my little one is thriving, that’s all that matters. We now move to fortnightly appointments, which is more reassurring but also a reminder that this pregnancy is ticking on. Where has the time gone?! If only I could sleep properly. I am like a zombie a lot of the time now, and the crankiness and bad moods that result from lack of sleep are not helping either. It is not good for my relationship with DH- enough said. Anyway DH and I are organising someone to come and measure up our’s and the baby’s windows so we can get blockout curtains or blinds. If I can’t sleep because our room is too light, what is it going to be like for our little girl?? We have also ordered an Amby Baby Hammock, which should be here sometime this week. So now we have a place for bubs to sleep, a stroller and a change table. In a few weeks’ time we will be painting her room too, once i can find someone who stocks Berger breathe easy paint (sometimes I wish i didn’t work where I do, otherwise i wouldn’t be so freaked about VOCs in paint). I am still, quite often in a state of belief that we are very very likely to end up with a live baby in our arms come February. I often sit down for ages, transfixed as i watch my tummy move, aware of all the squirms and kicks that my little girl makes. I am so in love… ..but I am also rather scared of the birth and breastfeeding business. I guess it’s good to process some of the fears now right? That’s all I want to say on that for now. Hmmm I should be writing my job application right now. Crazy as it is, work are finally advertising positions so with any luck i will be able to secure my position just a week or so before I leave. It would be nice to have a permanent job so that I have the option of returning to work, possibly even part time down the track, and it would mean that i won’t have to have a shite fight with HR re paid maternity leave (according to my union i am already entitled to the nine weeks pay after three years service, regardless of my tenure but I know I will have to put up a fight). However, work is the last thing i want to think about right now. Talk about doing everything a@#$ up! Either way, I have decided that Christmas Eve is going to be my last day of work. NOw I am just counting down the days..