It's the final Countdown

Hi everyone, thanks for being so patient waiting for me to finally get back to my blogging. It's nice to get your emails and know you're out there thinking of Rob and I. Everything is going really great and at last the weeks are starting to fly by as you all assured me they would. On the weekend I had my baby shower which was so much fun and of course we were very spoilt with lots of great presents for Poppy. It was a beautiful sunny winter day and Laura made lots of yummy treats for everyone to eat. Kylie was the event organiser extraordinaire and the backyard was filled with balloons and looked gorgeous. The best present of all was that my friend Jen made the trip from Melbourne and we got to spend a lovely weekend together as well as having her at my shower.

Yesterday I had my 31 week OB appointment and we found out that Poppy has turned into a breech position. We still have a few weeks for him/her to turn back around but if not I will end up having an cesarean. I'm not too worried if that is the way things turn out but if I have a chance to deliver naturally I certainly intend to try. The countdown is definitely on with only 2 more OB Appointments booked. The last one is in 4 weeks and at that one we will be booking the final date for the inducement or C Section. Rob and I are so excited - it's amazing to finally be here about to have our baby.

While we were at the appointment we think the midwife may have accidentally slipped up and told us that Poppy is a boy. She backpedalled pretty quick and tried to convince us she didn't know the sex of the baby - but we know it's right there on the file. We will definitely be very surprised if we end up with a girl after all the indicators we've been getting at different appointments. Can't wait to meet this little person either way.

I am feeling in pretty good health for the most part and besides some lingering nausea and the standard back pain it's all pretty cruisy. I'm still working and thoroughly enjoying the company of all my kids - I'm going to really miss them when it's time to stop - but I'm sure I'll have my hands full!!

What's New??

As of today I could have as little as 6 weeks and 2 days until I'm induced. It's more likely to be a few days longer than that but what's the harm in dreaming.

Rob, Poppy and I are all doing well and getting very excited about the big day. Well I can't say for sure that Poppy is excited but Rob and I can't wait - it's so close now it finally feels real.

I'm still having very regular scans and checks and the doctors are still predicting that bubs will tip the scales at a good 9 pounds or more ( the earlier I'm induced the better!!).

I've started going to the labour ward twice weekly for CTG monitoring (CTG is the continuous or intermittent measurement of the baby’s heartbeat - Cardiocotography). They strap me up with 2 monitors across my tummy and measure Poppy's heart rate pattern for between 20-30 minutes. Today was my first visit and it all looked great. The theory behind doing this is mostly, I think, to keep my stress levels down and of course keep an eye on the bubs as we head for the finish line. Here's a link to some more info about the tracking if anyone is interested http://www.sanclinic.com.au/SUW/CTG.html

While I was there I heard a woman presumably in labour screaming blue murder. When the midwife came back to unstrap me she said that the sound I heard was the woman arriving at the hospital and getting out of the lift and that she literally delivered the baby within 10 minutes - Fantastic.

Rob and I had a lovely weekend and had Reuben and Declan for a sleepover Saturday night. It was so much fun and the boys had a great time playing silly games with Rob. This coming weekend I have my baby shower on Sunday so I'm looking forward to catching up with all the girls and having a nice afternoon tea. Then our next few weekends are going to be filled with ante-natal classes - busy busy.

Technical Difficulties

Hi Everyone

Sorry I've been MIA for a while - I had no internet access for a week!! It's amazing how much I have come to rely on it for most of my communication - it was terrible. Anyway I do have lots of things in my head which I need to write but not right now. For now I just wanted to let you all know everything is great and Poppy is absolutely thriving. I'm having some backache and trouble sleeping but nothing I can't handle. Especially since I only have 8 short weeks to go!! I'm sure that time will absolutely fly by because we have so many thing going on every weekend between now and then - baby shower, ante-natal classes etc etc. Stay tuned for some updated ultrasound pics soon.

XX KD XX

I think Poppy's a boy!!!

26 weeks gone 77 days to go.

We are moving along through this pregnancy and I am thrilled that we are being induced early. It could actually be as early as 36 weeks - making it only 70 days to go. At the very latest Poppy will be arriving at 37 weeks.

The weekend just gone was the equivalent time in our pregnancy that we last Banjo so we were feeling quite stressed out anyway and then we received a call from our OB at 10am on Saturday morning. One thing you would all know is that a call on the weekend from any Doctor is not good news.

Our bad news came in the form of a positive test result for Group B Strep (the bacteria that was believed to have been the cause of Banjo's death). It just happened to coincide with a weekend we were already on tenterhooks plus I had been experiencing a lack of movement from Poppy. We were asked to go directly to the hospital for scans and so that I could be placed on IV antibiotics.

The scan was not very reassuring as even though bubs heart rate was fine she was not really moving at all (compared to our normally very active baby you would have heard me talk about). The Doctor of course assured us that if the heart rate was normal we had nothing to worry about but it's very hard to be convinced in this situation.

I had a cannula inserted in my wrist and had a dose of the antibiotics with instructions to return at 6pm and midnight for 2 further doses. We did all this and on Sunday I started on a 5 day course of oral antibiotics.

Since Sunday Poppy's movements have returned to normal which is great and who knows if it was all a huge coincidence or if we got to her just in time with the antibiotics.

One thing I know for sure is this pregnancy is really hard and stressful. It's so much more difficult than I thought it would be. I honestly thought I could put what happened before behind me and use my logical brain to know that chances of a repeat of events is millions to one. It just isn't so - I feel like I am going to lose my mind and I must have cried at least once a day for the last 6 months.

Thank you to all of you who constantly support Rob & I - I'm only just realising how much you are all on tenterhooks as well. Poppy is going to do us all proud - I really believe that.

As of tomorrow I am 25 weeks pregnant. This is the stage of pregnancy that we lost Banjo so I have been a bit nervous for this baby and obviously thinking about him a lot as well.

My obstetrician in her infinite wisdom had me in for a scan today to try and quell some of my nerves. It was also a chance to chart the baby's measurements and see how he/she is developing. The good news is that Poppy is growing well, the bad news is it's actually too well and I'm carrying a future 10 pounder - OUCH!! Unfortunately this also means that that nasty 'C' word has now come into play but we still have plenty of time to make that decision. There is a chance that poppy will slow down and not continue to grow at such a rapid rate. For those of you that are now wondering whether my bad eating habits and propensity to be a fatty are growing me a fat baby - don't worry I wondered too - but the doctor assured me it's purely genetic. In that case I am blaming Rob - here's the picture of Rob as a baby - you be the judge.

The scan was really enjoyable though and bubs is moving around like a circus contortionist - nice to see - not nice to photograph so not many cute pictures to share. We do have 2 cute one's of poppy's feet though - enjoy.