Mastitis…
is sucky:-(
I’m hoping I’ve avoided the worst of it… but it’s still not pleasant:-(
The Genial Hearth
I’ve just put the kettle on, join me for a cuppa and a chat.Archive for Motherhood
Cygnet’s Birth Story
This is a very long post… If you’re not interested in minute details of the birth story, feel free to skip it:-)
I need to write this up before it gets lost in a flood of hormones and milk!
Sometime about the start of the third trimester, once I decided that I agreed with Puggle that Cygnet was a boy, I started thinking that he would probably come early (my mother’s theory is that boys are early, girls are late… it seems to hold for our family). Puggle was 6 days early, Bilby days late, so I was guessing that Cygnet would be 4 days early. Of course… 6 weeks ago a State Government election was called for 3 days early… so I revised my prediction:-) We made sure to organise our postal votes—and I am very glad we did them! (Although, it does mean I’ve ended up with the most vacant feeling about this election!)
I’ve been not particularly well for a couple of weeks, which combined with pregnancy has resulted in many night-time loo trips.
2.17 Sat morning, I got back from one and made a note of the time, because I realised that possibly it was a contraction that had woken me, rather than any other sort of discomfort.
2.28 I figured that yes, it was probably a contraction, because I was fairly certain that was another. Then it was just a waiting game, to see when (if) more came. About 15 minutes later, there was another, then around 15 more. So… things are definitely happening, time to ring the birth centre and give them a heads up. The contractions were definitely more intense than I remember the early ones being with either of the other two, so when I spoke to the midwife, I said I thought that we’d be in ‘tonight’… I don’t know that she heard that…
They picked up fairly rapidly, and between them we worked on packing bags/car, and making sure that all was organised. At about 3.50 we rang my folks to say we figured we’d be heading to the birth centre pretty soon, so could they come over now… By 4.10, they hadn’t arrived, but I’d rung the birth centre again to say we were leaving (the contraction just before that I’d had a definite pushing sensation… not intensely so… but it unnerved me a bit). That was when I had the news that they were going to prepare the parent education room for me, all four ‘real’ rooms were occupied:-( (When we got there, Janni said she hadn’t expected to see me until the morning, and had hoped to have had someone cleared out by then.)
Mum and Dad arrived very soon afterwards, so I made my way to the car… Mum asked what they would do about bringing the kids in (Puggle really wanted to see Cygnet being born… but had been placated with the opportunity to see ‘him’ “all bloody” and see the placenta… so we had arranged that—depending on time of day—they would come in at the same time as us and wait in the waiting room… of course, overnight was the one time we had planned that they wouldn’t come in at the same time.) I suggested they all just come in as soon as they were all awake and breakfasted… I was fairly confident that Cygnet would be born before the sun rose! Contractions were around 7 minutes apart by now… but were really intense… Puggle woke to come and send us off—he did not want us to leave… but he did agree to kiss Cygnet goodbye:-)
I had two contractions in the car… one on the way (Underwood Ave?), and one as Paddington drove into the Birth Centre carpark… it’s a sharp turn into the covered entrance—and he hasn’t driven the car more than a couple of times—certainly not to the point of being certain where the front and back are…
We got inside and were shown to the Parent Education room… the biggest room in the building… of course, it has no beds, no comfy seats, no ensuite… It has a large pile of beanbags (I think we could probably have used a new beanbag each, each hour we were there and still have had some left over), a number of gym mats, a whiteboard and a pile of seats. Fortunately, there was a fit ball, so I took possession of that and a backwards chair while Paddington went to get the bags and the midwife went about ‘converting’ the room. Eventually we met ‘our’ midwife… one of the blue team—I have been with the yellow team. It was also pretty chilly… I hadn’t expected that, as the general feeling in the rest of the birth centre is a touch too warm when you’re dressed. They had the airconditioning turned on, but it seemed to be directing a cool breeze right at me.
We had asked about what happened in times of overflow—without actually expecting it to happen to us:-( It seemed that the room gets used enough that the know what needs doing, but not enough that they get much practice at it. A pillow was scrounged, and some blankets found… a little table (the one the kids use to play on in the waiting room) was moved in so I could have water close at hand. Eventually the whiteboard was moved next to the door to screen things a bit (not that there’s any through traffic normally… but people do tend to wander in to pick up various educational materials… not an issue at that hour of the morning… but could have been later.) People did keep coming in to do things later, realise they’d forgotten something (no hand washing facilities) and have to go away and come back later.
Before long (at some point here is where my sense of time disappears…) I moved to snuggle up to a beanbag on a mat… I couldn’t get comfortable. The midwife comments that I look nice and relaxed! I think that I’m not at all 
So… a bit of a hike to go to the loo (the ones off the entrance) and possibly my waters broke… another contraction with definite need to push, in the waiting room on the way back. I’m also pretty sure now that my waters have gone. Back in the room I’m draped over a beanbag, kneeling on a mat. I think they’ve found some sheets and things so that I’m not directly on the vinyl. I’m definitely needing to push, and I still can’t get comfortable. (I know that at some point I told Paddington that if we ever do it again, I’m not doing it without water! It was either sometime around now, or after delivery). The contractions were coming fairly constantly—I felt as though I wasn’t really getting a recovery between them. And I was pushing. I don’t know how many there were… I don’t think it was many. I know I reached down to feel his head and could feel the bulge—I wasn’t sure if it was me or him… but I could feel where his head was, and it was all slimy (I wasn’t expecting that). I do remember talking to him and telling him to stay there for a bit more… that wasn’t the right push. I kept my hand on his head, and cradled it through the next push, which I think is when it came out. I felt a sharp pain, that I could have sworn was a tear (that’s what I thought). I kept my hand under his head, he was there… then I waited. He cried. I knew I would need to push again, but I wasn’t getting any urge (Paddington told me yesterday that at that point the midwife got out her watch and checked the time.) Finally I did. And I pushed, and he came out… (I assume the midwife caught him—I definitely wasn’t holding him any more). I sort of collapsed over the beanbag—I wanted to collapse further, but he was below me and I didn’t want to risk squashing him. Paddington told me it was a boy:-) (If I didn’t say anything about the water before, now was the time.) It was 5.54am. Sunrise was supposed to be 6.27—so he well and truly beat it:-)
Eventually we got ourselves sorted out, so that I was holding him (and lying down! At long last! Vaguely comfortably!) Eventually I moved him round so he could nurse when he was ready (and help that placenta along…) He attached with no difficulty. The midwife checked for tears. And commented about the lack of any blood. Cygnet was completely un-bloody (much to Puggle’s later disappointment… he had desperately wanted to see Cygnet while he was all bloody!). I didn’t tear or even graze—in spite of what I thought I’d felt. In fact, the first blood was after I delivered the placenta (6.15 I think… so pretty much 4 hours from start to finish)… (and Cygnet finally got a little blood on him when Paddington cut the cord—the merest speckle). The afterpains just about did me in:-(
Once the placenta was checked, and I was cleaned up a little, I finally got to lie down a bit more comfortably and reposition Cygnet (I have been so relieved that I learnt to breastfeed while lying down with Puggle! It has made so much of this recovery time much easier!) I even started feeling hungry—given the last couple of weeks, I was very pleased:-) It got to the point where I got Paddington to check that we hadn’t been overlooked for breakfast—given we hadn’t been there that long and were not in a ‘normal’ room… but it was ok, I was assured breakfast was on the way. During this time, another pillow had been found, as had a fold a bed, so they were made up. We rang the grandparents to tell them:-)
In fact, breakfast arrived at almost the same time as Puggle and Bilby:-) So I delayed eating a little in order to introduce them to Cygnet:-) They were both very taken with him, but Puggle wouldn’t give me a kiss—he wanted to wait until we got home, and he could have a hold of Cygnet:-) Bilby decided I needed to be wearing my glasses… Cygnet was nursing, so she asked to as well. We managed somehow, although, it wasn’t very proficient. She was much happier once she’d met eyes with Cygnet across my chest:-)
After a little while, they started to be more interested in the food than the baby, so Paddington took them out. Of course, just after leaving the room, Bilby started wanting to nurse again… but Granny and Grandpa took them home for second breakfast instead:-)
Then, I got to eat:-) Best food ever 
The hearing test woman arrived, basically to tell us he was too young to do the test right now… so we got the card to ring and book later.
Time for the loo, and I really wanted to clean up a bit more before moving to the bed… of course, no ensuite… by this stage, the bathroom with the big bath was vacant. So I had the choice of that (half the length of the birth centre away) or the shower off the on-call room—but I was warned the water was often a bit chilly. I decided to go for the longer walk… which, aside from being pretty tired, wasn’t a drama… and it was a lovely warm room:-)
When I got back, I actually felt pretty chipper:-) The midwife was all set up, so we did weights and measures. Cygnet weighed 3365 grams (7 lb 6 1/2 oz), was 49 cms long, and had a 35 cm head circumference. I hopped into the bed, curled up with Cygnet, and there was even a bit of room for Paddington:-) We slept:-)
We’d decided that we’d probably stay till lunchtime, that would give us time to sleep and eat, and we weren’t sure how long it would take for the paediatrician to get to us. As it turned out, she arrived just after I woke up. Aside from difficulty in finding the femoral arteries (as with Bilby… but at least Cygnet wasn’t screaming!), it was all very straightforward. I decided I’d like to sit up to feed, and the midwife dragged in an armchair from the waiting room.
If I hadn’t already selected lunch (or I was excited about eating lunch at home:-) ), I think we would have headed home then. As it was, we hung around for it. It wasn’t as tasty as breakfast—although, it did smell pretty good:-)
Then we gathered our stuff together (made sure we had the placenta:-) Puggle has finally looked at it, so it’s gone into the freezer with the others, until we work out where to plant it), the midwives went through the discharge paperwork, and we headed home. It was just after two when we left, and we were home, unpacked and settled in by about half past. Mum and dad weren’t expecting us quite so soon, and had parked us out of the driveway:-) Mum had just settled down for a nap on the couch, because both the children were settled. Instead, she cuddled Cgynet for a bit, and we chatted (Paddington headed off to do the weekly shop… pretty much at his usual time). Then I headed to bed so that I’d be ‘established’ there before the kids woke.
They were both very excited when they woke:-) They got to have cuddles—and have asked for them continuously since then:-) Then Paddington’s folks arrived to take the kids to the park (and home for dinner… they had brought some for us, as well:-) ). So we got to spend most of the afternoon quietly, then put the kids to bed as normal (well, relatively… They were a little unsettled…) Definitely a plus, the disruption to them was fairly minimal.
Now of course, we’re all readjusting, which is taking a while… I’m recovering more slowly than I had anticipated. The birth related discomfort disappeared by day 3, but I am taking longer to get over the various ills of the previous weeks:-( As I said though, so glad I can nurse lying down! I just hadn’t expected to be doing it for so long I’m desperate to be able to sit up on the couch!)
We’re still working on a name…
I managed to not have Paddington spend Father’s Day supporting me through labour, but on reflection, having the first day home with the kids being Father’s Day was probably not the most resful thing he’s ever done… My parents took the older two to a family BBQ for the evening (they didn’t want to miss seeing their cousins) and given how wiped out I was from being vertical, it’s just as well we didn’t go…
Cygnet has done really well so far, his weight loss was well within the bounds of normal, and has put on 140 grams over the last two days… he’s wee-ing and poo-ing on schedule, and the cord has fallen off. He’s also moving his head around nicely, and pushing with his legs:-) He’s sleeping delightfully so far—of course, it is very early days yet:-) He does seem similar to the other two in all the good ways:-) I’m getting the hang of tandem feeding… Bilby is really enjoying the milk—-she’d been asking where it was. Now she says ‘bilk!’ with great satisfaction:-)
Anyway… this is monstrously long… but I think I have everything important in… I certainly hope so, because I’m finding it all becoming very vague:-( The wonder of birth…
Car!
We have to do the actual transfer and stuff, but we have a satisfactory RAC report, so we have a car! I can start forgetting car info!
I am so relieved! Now I can reclaim my brain, and start making other decisions:-) How many more nappies do we need? What should we call Cygnet? Which carseat will we get for Bilby? How can we rearrange the house?
Lovely Day
Puggle slept right through (well, joined me about four).
Bilby came in about seven, nursed and slept… woke up and wandered out—but came back almost immediately and nursed some more… and fell asleep!
So we all woke at 10… and snuggled for about half an hour!
It’s probably going to make the rest of the day a bit off kilter… but it was very pleasant!
“Little Cherry Nose”
Puggle has taken to kissing me on the nose, and then commenting in a sing-song voice “Little Cherry Nose”… The other day I finally thought to ask him where he had got it from (I didn’t recognise it, and he’s still at the stage where I’m pretty familiar with all his inputs—usually it’s a book, or one of the folksongs).
He told me he got it “out of my heart”.
How could I not melt?
Why Is It So?
I can sit on the couch and read. I can sit there and stare at the computer. I can sit there and craft.
But add a small (cosy, but wriggly!) child to the situation and I fall asleep! Almost without fail:-( Even if I’m reading to them, or just talking…
Soporific is…
a three year old snuggling on your lap for hours (about eight)!
Puggle seems to have a temperature, but doesn’t seem ill in any other way—except that he’s very snuggly (within a minute or two of leaving him to get Bilby/make lunch, he’d be complaining that he needed more snuggles!), which is not his usual behaviour unless he’s just woken up.
Nappy Thoughts
I enjoy reading many of Elizabeth’s posts. This one, on cloth nappying, really struck a chord with me.
We’ve been using disposables for a while now (Puggle was in cloth once I got breastfeeding sorted out, until he outgrew the stock I had.) I keep meaning to get back into cloth. Yesterday I finally returned Puggle into terry flats, which I’ll continue to do when we’re around home. Hopefully, that will make him more aware of his nappy state. I left him cover-free—because I haven’t sorted out large covers, and I’m hoping he won’t be in them for much longer. I do have some polar fleece though, so if it looks like continuing, I’ll make something suitable. Of course, I need to work on folds… making it fit around a toddler and still having enough in the right place to absorb sufficiently is a challenge! I’m using a variation on this fold. Mostly it’s working, but the legs are a bit open (and he waddles around for the first minute of a new nappy saying ‘I can’t walk!’). But he was still asking for a cloth nappy when I changed him.
For Bilby, I need to sort through our nappy stash. We had a nappy-lanche a while ago, and because I wasn’t using them, it wasn’t a priority to get them organised (it was when she was too small for the nappies we had—yes, it’s been a while!)
But, I’m feeling inspired now… It’s a good time to get back into the swing of it!
Resetting the Equilibrium
We’ve been away for a few days, without Puggle. We brought him home last night, so today is our first day back in our usual routine.
It hasn’t gone quite as I’d planned, although, I was expecting to have to be ’strict’ (grandparents who bow to every whim can be rather unsettling!)
Last night, he didn’t seem to have particularly missed us, but today is a different story!
Still, instead of piles of cleaning up and sorting out (I’ve done a little!), today has involved lots of snuggles and cuddles and kisses and many tickle spiders and hugs and butterfly kisses and “I love you”s.
I know which I’d rather!
Missing:-(
Puggle is leaving when he wakes from his nap, for a special little holiday (actually, it’s kind of like three in one). Paddington and I (and Bilby) are going to Swancon. Puggle is spending a couple of days with one set of grandparents, a day in the middle with us, and a couple of days with the other set of grandparents.
I miss him already:-(
I haven’t been away from him for any length of time apart from the bit more than a day after Bilby was born. And although we knew that separation was coming, we didn’t know when it might be, it was very brief, and I was labouring, sleeping and getting to know a newborn.
This time, I have been preparing Puggle for when he’d be collected and what he’d be doing. Each stay is a couple of nights and the connected days.
Reading on Praise
I found this quite interesting. I know his cleverness is something for which I often praise Puggle… may be worth re-thinking that.
(Thanks to The Headmistress.)
Mastitis
Second dose since Bilby was born!
This is rather sucky:-(
At least with both of these, I recognised that’s what was happening, so I haven’t got it as badly as the first time with Puggle.
I don’t think I’ll be heading out to lunch though:-(
Trials of Mothering…
Do you know how hard it is to say “Take the gherkin out of your ears!” while not giving into laughter?!
Bilby is here!
She arrived on Monday morning at 10.32am, weighing 3.56kgs and measuring 50cms. All went well with the delivery (no drugs! no stitches! I love the bath!) and we were home a little over 24 hours later.
Puggle adores her, although he has taken (is still taking) some time to adjust… as are we!
No name as yet:-) It’s not been a week, you didn’t really expect us to have one yet?
by A. A. Milne
by Andrew Lang
