We discovered I was pregnant in Venice, Italy but waited until we arrived home in Brisbane before we did a pregnancy test to confirm!
I had a great pregnancy with only a few hiccups... I was a little stressed as we were selling my unit and W house. My unit appeared harder than it should have.
Early in February, I went off with mum as support to meet my Obgyn who did a scan and showed me our new addition....so small and so perfect yet a blob in my belly was all we could see!! I was only 8 weeks and 4 days pregnant at this stage! The Obgyn stated that I was due 11/9 and documented 10/9. After seeing our bub albeit a jellybean, I had fallen in love!!
We had our 12 weeks scan around March and all was good (what a relief!). We went to Sydney for Easter in April and I felt our first kick on Easter Monday...what a wonderful feeling!!
At 20 weeks, W and I went off to the next scan and watched the radiographer count toes and fingers, we watched the heart beating, and then we we asked if we could find out what the baby was.... and there it was...right in front of our eyes....a boy!!! All the girls at work that day had said it would be a boy but for some reason, I had thought it would be a girl. We went home and told my parents it was 98% a boy!! They were very excited!! Now for the great name search!!!
We had plenty of girls names over the last 20 weeks but very few boys names that we could agree on....out came the naming books...
My obstetrician sent me off for my 27 week GTT (glucose tolerance test) and in the back of my mind I had a feeling that it would come back positive, but I put this aside as we were so busy packing and moving! One Friday afternoon, my obgyn called me and said the GTT had come back positive and I should get myself a BSL machine and do QID BSL's and document and of course commence a low GI diet. My reaction to this was tears that first Friday and then I came to my senses and realised this was a warning and I could embrace it or let it get the better of me. Coming from a health back ground, I realised all I could do was embrace it and so I did! In the whole of my pregnancy I only gained 3 kg and lost about 15kg (since the day I became pregnant)!!
I finished work at 34 weeks due to my incredible tiredness and blood sugars. The day I finished work, we moved into our beautiful new family home. I spent the next 6 weeks relaxing and getting ready for our new addition. I spent my days with my mum giggling over many silly things including names and birth thoughts etc...
W and I had hoped for a natural birth and really had no plan for the birth, we would take what would come. I had stated I would prefer no epidural or spinal if a c-section was to be endured and the rest would happen as it happened. We wanted the miracle of life to enfold in front of us.
A was due on 10/9 and my Obgyn stated that he would induce on 9/9 or 10/9 if Baby S hadn't come by then. I was hoping and praying that Baby S would come early.
We celebrated Fathers Day on the Saturday 5/9 with my family. We had a quiet morning watching tv and cleaning the house. We went off to lunch and had an amusing time at Del Ugo, New Farm. We then went to my parents house for desert to celebrate further. In the car I mentioned to my husband I didn't really feel well... it was a mild back pain and really just a feeling of not feeling 100%. I didn't have the beautiful looking white chocolate cheese cake that my sister in law B made a) because of the sugar and b) it had cream cheese in it. I sat there quietly while everyone else devoured it around me!
Late that afternoon after many giggles and chatting W and I left and came home. W asked me how I was feeling and I replied "mmeh"....
We came home and W asked what I wanted for dinner....I didn't really want anything but W pointed out I needed something for Baby S sake and because of my sugars. We had soup - I JUST managed to eat it.
That evening, W watched the Wallabies and the Lions playing on tv simultaneously. I watched "The Bill" as this was our Saturday evening ritual. I fell asleep on the lounge as I really wasn't feeling 100%. Eventually I went up to bed at about 10pm. I could not get comfy so I came back down after about 15 minutes and decided a hot pack was required, I mentioned to W on my way past him that "you will be a daddy for fathers day", he said "no I won't he isn't due until Thursday and all first bubs are late"... as I bent over to get the hot pack out, down came a flood...my waters had broken!! Right then and there!!! No decency to wait until I wasn't standing in front of W ...just down it came. I went off to the loo and W got the phone to call the hospital.
After a short conversation with the midwife on the phone, we decided to head into hospital! Luckily the Wallabies and Lions games had finished as we had to manoeuvre our way near the 2 stadiums in order to get to the hospital!! W drove me right to the door where I waddled in and into the early assessment unit. Yes indeed my waters had broken and the baby was okay (they did a CTG). I was moved up to the ward to wait and see what would happen overnight. I called my mum at around 2am once we were settled into the ward, she had asked me to call her and tell her what was happening when we went to hospital. I didn't get much sleep that night due to my waters continuously dripping and the excitement of the unknown. I had slight pain in my back and lower pelvic region, but nothing too severe to complain about. The next morning my mum rang to see what was happening and we told her we were waiting for the Doctor who was on call for my Obgyn. Being a Sunday, my doctor was having a day off...
W called his parents and sms a few of his friends to say we were in hospital and waiting to see what was happening... My mum and dad brought in my diabetic medication and our phone chargers at about 10am so we waddled down to meet them at the entrance of the hospital. Finally at around 10.40am the Doctor came in and we had a chat...he decided I was failure to progress and had only dilated 2cm after 12 hours and my sugars were starting to increase... so he decided to do an emergency c-section.
We were prepped for theatre, W thought we had a while but I realised we were off and racing, within 10 minutes we were downstairs, changed and prepped- W in his scrubs and me in my teds and gown.
I cried while the spinal was administered and then became anxious as I had lost control of my body and I like to be in control at all times.
After what seemed like hours but in fact was only minutes, the Doctor, announced it was a boy and showed us our son....that first glimpse was amazing, no words can describe the way each of us felt. There he was the little man that we had loved since before we knew we were pregnant. The paediatrician took A and did his thing with him - weighing, measuring, clearing out his lungs. W went and clamped the cord and watched as A was being cared for by the team. All I could think as I lay there on the bed being sewn up whilst my husband and our son were on the otherside of the room was "wow...this is it, what I have dreamed of forever - I am a mum - and we are a family". They brought A over to us once he was settled they said they were going to place him in a humidicrib with oxygen for awhile so I had a quick cuddle and off he went.
In recovery I shivered as the drugs wore off and watched my little man in the humidicrib. How very surreal. Finally after about half an hour I was allowed my cuddle!! What a precious little man and gift we had been given!! We had two names chosen however I had added a third and in the end the third name was chosen for our son "Alexander Clarrie". Clarrie is after my paternal grandfather, father (whose middle name is Clarence) and W's dad Clarry.
We were taken back to the ward and there were my mum and dad waiting for us to introduce their grandson to them. My mum fell in love then and there...I could see it in her eyes! My dad looked proud as punch.
We stayed in hospital for 4 days and got to know each other... W stayed with me which was the best thing ever as we could experience being new parents together. When I see W hold A I fall in love all over again!
That my friends is the story of our little man, Alexander. He is very much loved by both our families and our friends have welcomed him with open arms.
