My apologies. Most sincere apologies. Apologies in great waves of sycophantic grovelling and throwing of hats over thresholds.
I have been silent.
No good reason really, just that things have been a little hectic what with final baby preparations and assignment deadlines for uni, but I haven't had the time or inclination to actually update this damned thing. And now I have no idea exactly how updated you all are, so I shall just ramble aimlessly for a while until I get bored.
That sounds like a plan, don't you think?
Hmm...news, news...
8 DAYS TO GO
Yep, only 8 days to go until the due date. I'm fucking HUGE and really fed up of this whole thing now; I keep going through stages of being very impatient and wanting to meet Heather at last, then suddenly realising that one way or another, Alex and I will be parents by the 26th of this month. When that thought hits me I get all scared and pathetic and wish that I'd enjoyed my time as 'Kate' rather than 'Mom' a little more.
We actually had a nerve-wracking day when I was 37+3 weeks pregnant, as my contractions started and were getting stronger and more frequent, and we actually got to the stage where we were thinking "this is it"... I was having them all day and eventually called Alex to come home at 4, when they seemed to be increasing in frequency and intensity. Delivery Suite had already told me that, from the sound of things, this was it. But anyway, Alex got home, I decided to take a shower (because who wants to spend the first moments as a Mom smelling like total ming?)...and the contractions stopped. So we went for a walk for two hours (we got lost) and the contractions started again. Much stronger. When we got home I called delivery suite again, because I was convinced that things were moving too quickly. Then the contractions stopped. Again.
So I lay down on the sofa, thinking that I'd just try to get some rest...and the contractions started again WITH KNOBS ON. These ones were really good ones, that I couldn't talk (or even properly breathe) through. So...a couple of hours of this...
Long story short - it all stopped at 1am, after I'd actually spent since 9am in early labour. I was not impressed. I am still not impressed.
Never in my life have I eaten so much fresh pineapple. This baby is coming out, dammit.
GRR
She's bloody got hiccups again.
GOOD NEWS, AND I AM MENTAL
Throughout this pregnancy I've said how odd I think women who say that they want a natural birth are. How I don't see why someone would actually opt for all the pain and stuff, when there's very good pain relief available.
Well...I'm opting for a natural birth. We've found out that we can use the Birth Centre at the hospital, which is as close to having a home birth as you can get. It's midwife (rather than consultant) led, very relaxed, very calm and totally lovely. Alex describes it as being like "a very modern hotel run by midwives". They don't have medical intervention in there; you can have gas and air, and you can have pethidine if you want it, but you're not allowed an epidural. There's no medical equipment in the rooms, apart from the little doppler thing to listen to the baby's heart every now and again, and you're not hooked up to any monitors or anything, so you can move about as much as you want.
This. Is. Fantastic.
It really is pretty much like having a home birth, but with the security of knowing that, if (touch wood) something did go wrong, the midwives push a button on the wall and all the doctors and midwives who are availible will come running. And we're literally just the other side of a door from delivery suite, where they have all the baby resusitation stuff etc. I'm so happy with this. We now need me to go into labour naturally...NOW!! Seriously, I actually do have to start off naturally - if I have to be induced I won't be able to use the Centre (and I will be sad). Fingers crossed...I'm booked provisionally for a sweep on the 19th May, so if she hasn't come by then hopefully that will do the trick. Apparently it's very successful with lots of women.
WHY DOES MY MOTHER WISH ME MORE PAIN???
I'm not sure if she just doesn't understand what she's saying to me, or whether she actually is wishing for me to have a horrible horrible labour and birth.
She's already told me that she hopes I have a back to back baby, as this is what she had with my sister and I. Hmm. When you have a back to back baby, your labour is longer and you're generally in more pain than if your baby is in the right position.
The other day I mentioned to her about the sweep and the conversation went as follows:
Me: "I'm provisionally booked in for a sweep on the 19th, though hopefully we won't need it."
Mom: "A sweep? Oh....you mean being induced."
Me: "No, I mean a cervical sweep...where they stimulate your cervix and try to stretch it out a bit"
Mom: "So, having your waters broken then."
Me: "No, they do this to try to start labour naturally."
Mom: (pulling the face that means 'well that's very weird') "...they didn't do that when I had you and your sister. Why don't they just induce you straight away?"
Me: "Well, because they're trying to start labour naturally..."
Mom: "But why don't they just break your waters?"
Me: "Well, breaking your waters doesn't necessarily mean that you'll go into labour. They do the sweep, then if that doesn't work you go into hospital for a course of pessaries, then if that doesn't work they put you on a drip, then if that doesn't work you likely have a c-section."
Mom: (clearly disbelieving and thinking I'm talking out of my arse) "Well, they didn't do it like that when I had you and Amy."
Alex said he was really having to work at stopping himself from pointing out that Mom had her last baby over 18 years ago...during which time there have been one or two advancements in research and techniques.
But anyway - why would she want me to be induced?? Why?? On the whole, it's more painful!!!
Then I had to listen to a lot of unnecessary reassurance, telling me about how the baby will come when it's ready and how I don't need to do anything (despite having been virtually BULLIED by my midwife about fresh pineapple and raspberry leaf and having lots of sex), and that she'll come when she's ready. I pointed out that she can come when she's ready, but if she's not made an appearance by around the 23rd she'll be encouraged. Mom said "No. She'll come when she's ready".
I pointed out that if she's not making moves to vacate the premises I'll be offered a c-section.
Mom said "no. She'll come in good time."
Christ...she actually offered to come to the hospital with us the other day (only if I asked her, darling), on the basis that she'd decided that I was worried that I wouldn't be getting the proper treatment or something. I can't imagine having her there; she'd be arguing with the midwives and telling them what they needed to do, whilst sporadically trying to offer me reassurance and advice which I'd probably end up smacking her for. And Lou thinks that she might take the opportunity to flirt with Alex while I'm distracted; humping his leg or something. Well, you never know.
MOTHER IN LAW - SHE IS UNCONTROLLABLE
We don't want to be visited at the hospital. If we use the birth centre people won't have chance, as they try to aim for an early discharge (6 hours) there, which I'd absolutely love. But if for some reason I have to go onto the ward for a day or two, we don't want visitors. And if we do come home after 6 hours, we don't want visitors at home for the first 24 to 48 hours or so.
Why?
Well, I know it may seem harsh, because everyone will want to come and meet the new baby...but to be fair, Alex and I will have JUST become parents, I'll have JUST given birth (and will be feeling a bit rough), Heather will be totally baffling both of us because, lets face it, you can read all the baby books in the world and you're still going to feel lost when confronted with a brand new person who's relying on you for everything.
I don't want to have to do the "let's do the right thing and have all the family round" majiggy, just because we're trying to make sure that we don't offend anyone. As far as I'm concerned, people can come round when we feel ready to have visitors, not when they decide that they time is right. If people get offended by this, well, they need to stop and think about it for a moment. If people get offended, they're being a tiny bit selfish.
But anyway. Alex hadn't spoken to his Mom about our feelings on this and he'd got the impression that she was planning on coming for a visit on the day that Heather is born. This is all made worse by the fact that Alex's cousins just had their baby in March...and Leni (Dee's sister) went to visit them at home just hours after the birth.
I'm so scared. She mentioned something about coming to the hospital the other day and I had to try to gently suggest that we're only going to have visitors when we're ready, and that it might not be in the first 48 hours afterwards...but I don't know if it's sunk in or not. Hmm. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
Roight...I'm getting very achey from sitting here now, so I'm buggering off. I know this was a crappy crappy entry with very little actual substance or news, but by God I don't care.
Off for a sit in the sunshine now.
ONLY EIGHT DAYS TO GO....TICK TOCK TICK TOCK...
GO ON, GIVE US A CUDDLE
give Kate-Lee more *HUGS*Get hugs of your own