I had my OB check up today. He measured Samuels' stomach on scan and it measures 25w 1d so he is one day ahead. He is so pleased though that he says there is no need for a 28 wk scan..  So we don't get to see him in detail again unless my OnB decides on a scan after 30 wks.. I thought I could feel his head down the bottom of my tum and his bum and feet near my liver but no, when he did his quick scan today he was sitting there quite happily punching where I thought he was kicking but plenty of time yet for him to turn around and there is lots of fluid apparently. He did say my pelvic instability will get worse. yeah I think I knew that one.. OWWWWW!!!!!!

I told him how I stress every now and again when Samuel has quiet times and he said at 25 wks he will still have long periods of quiet but he told me several times that if ever I get anxious or worried I can ph up and go in or even go to the maternity section to get a quick check that everything is ok. He is so lovely and caring. I told him how yesterday was Annabelle's due date, 2 yrs ago, and he understood how I was feeling and said he would be surprised if I wasn't upset. We don't go back for another 4 wks, then it is a 3 wk visit then down to 2 wkly. I passed my glucose tolerance test for Gestational Diabetes so no more testing but I will still keep an eye on my blood sugar levels.

Samuel is quite active a lot of the time now. He doesn't mind curry lol. The kids still love feeling him move and will either put their hand on my belly to feel him or just sit there and watch him moving. I do feel more Braxton Hicks Contractions now. Sometimes they can get regular but a lot of the time it is ok they are far apart and not a worry. Stay tuned for more updates :)

June 18th 26wk 1d  OK I dyed my hair today. So here are latest pics. They also include Donkey, the rocking horse we bought for Samuel last night. Donkey from Shrek. I saw it and couldn't go past him. I have got over the latest stage of breathlessness. Restless leg syndrome is still with me so I have to remember to eat a banana a day or it makes trying to get to sleep most aggravating. I can add dry skin and dry eyes to the list now too.

July 9th 2004. 29 wk 1 d. Back from my OB appt, now on 2 wkly visits and baby is big, he measures about 300gm over expected weight and he is definitely a HE.. girls don't come with additional bits like he has.. lol Dr is very pleased and will do another growth check at 34 wks. Nic was always 2 wks ahead of expected growth from this stage onwards and it looks like Sam will be the same with an arrival 2 wks earlier than dates. He stressed again about going for checkups/monitoring if I ever get worried about slow movements. I showed him the record or blood sugar readings and was also pleased with the readings which are great. Hiccups are ok and are not a sign of cord compromisation or lack of oxygen. He did say any violent movements to report in straight away though as they are more indicative of a sign of lack of oxygen as baby will struggle in distress from lack of oxygen. He also said due to the stretchiness of my tummy  as in skin and muscles it will be ok/normal for Sam to be in any position at all right up to labour. Today he was transverse when he did the scan. But that's ok coz Nic was head down, head up and transverse right up to birth, he was head under my ribs the day before he was born and I never felt him turn yet the next day he came out the right way lol.
Can you tell I am relieved that everything is ok lol.. mind you I did point out to him that everything was spot on target with Annabelle too right up til it wasn't... BP was ok at 110/70 and weight is now up to around 65kg. My tummy still only measures about 102 cms round though so my tummy expansion has stopped but Sam is growing bigger.
 

July 13 2004 29 w 5d. I have painted the bassinette. For the time being it will sit across two chairs at the end of the bed Robert does say he will have the stand built in time though. My dad has been round to start painting the chest of drawers. Yesterday he did the base coat of white to seal the timber as they are raw pine at the moment. Then on Wednesday he will be back to paint the blue colour on. Tummy now measures 107cms.. wow what a growth spurt in the last few days. Tash and her cousins are still excited and sit on the edge of the bed when I go to bed so they can watch him move. They tried to get video of my tummy moving through all its funny shapes etc but when they turned the camera on he stopped and then started again when they turned it off.. is this boy psychic already lol lol.

More pics taken July 18th 2004.

Of course the bassinette won't always sit across two chairs lol. Hopefully Robert will have the stand for it finished in time. The 'bump' hasn't grown much in size but he does fill all available space and is still fairly mobile. By night time he is head down with his back to my tummy and all tucked in but during the day he is usually transverse. he still gets hiccups at least three times a day.

July 19th 2004 - 30wks 4ds. Had 30 wks OB appt today. Blood pressure was on the low side at 100/67. Been having heaps of painful braxton hick contractions including back ache .. due to stress. Fundal height has apparently been a week or two behind Samuels growth and dates but this week it was up to expected measurement. Joint pain is no worse but no better. Samuel si still all over the place. On today's scan he was head up under my stomach yet later that night was head down again. I also now have a prenatal care record sheet to carry round in case I go into hospital early so he will update it each visit.

July 21 2004 - 30wks 6ds. Last night we spent about an hour and half watching Samuel play lol. I have never seen my stomach so mobile in any of my pregnancies or have such a strong baby kicking back against our hands. He started off with is head once again under where my stomach is supposed to be and kicking my liver. After several gyrations he had turned over so he was facing the other way with his head under my liver and kicking my stomach. He then proceeded to move his way down til his head was down near where my appendix used to be and lying with his back against my pubic bone and feet and legs stretched up to my stomach. This morning he was head down against the pubic bone again but with his back up against my left side and his legs bent up with his knees under my navel and his feet against my ribs. I was able to measure him from head to backside and he is 27cms long, he moved his legs though before I could measure his full length. Annabelle at this same day though was 44 cms long and weighed 3lb 6oz. Tomorrow marks the day/date stage of the pregnancy where  she stopped moving and a few hours later her tiny heart stopped beating. Every day from now on is a new day and a another day closer to Samuel arriving safely.

I hope what I write isn't to boring or too enlightening lol. I find it does help though to compare with other people as to how their baby moves and to know it is normal to be so mobile. After reading quite a few messages from other mums around my stage they get so worried about their baby being the wrong way round and having to have a C section but in the majority of cases it is perfectly ok for baby to be lying any which way right up til labour. Having said that though in a first pregnancy baby is usually a bit more cramped as the muscles aren't so stretched so Drs prefer them to be head down by 36 wks.

Monday August 2nd 32 wks 4 ds OB appt today, Samuel is now head down but we knew that. His position was described as on his knees praying lol with his back towards my tummy and tucked up asleep. No cord around his neck, so that is a HUGE relief. His bladder is working and all is good. I said I was expecting him to be around 51 cms long and around 8 lbs but my Dr doesn't think he will get to that big. He is making appts 2 wkly still, if we get that far. He doesn't seem to think we will make it the full term but then again I tend to agree with him. As he says for now everything is going really well and just keep on going as we are. I tend to get strong contractions that tend to leave me unable to move and make my back ache. The pressure build up makes me feel as if sometimes he is just going to drop out lol.

Monday August 16th 34 wks 4ds. OB appt... well Samuel has dropped from growth in the 90% to 50%. he measures 2 weeks behind, 32wk 3ds. My OB isn't worried though coz he has gained, he is just slowing down. As he said I don't cook big babies anyhow. His estimated weight is 1995grams or 4lbs 3oz. Nicholas at the same stage had an estimated weight of 5lbs 5ozs so it looks Samuel will weigh around what Tash did which is about 6lbs. I have had lots or braxton hicks ctx over the last few days with some quite close together like under 10 minutes for  a few hours but once again he isn't worried. Fundal height is supposed to measure the same as weeks and instead of 34 it is 32. Today he was lying with his head down to the right and his feet up to the left so he is diaganol. I did wake up to a scare though with my tummy being absolutely flat and wondering where on earth he could be hiding!! lol. He soon woke up though. He has a sleeping position now of being head right down, back facing out and his arms and leg curled up inwards against my back. When he wakes he goes any which way. A real little acrobat. Maybe he is training for the olympics when he is older.

For the last few visits fundal height has been.. week 19 measures 19, week 24.5 measures 23, week 28 measures 27, week 30 measures 30, week 32 measures 31, week 34 measures 32. Scan shows adequate amniotic fluid. His heart is beating just fine and you can see his lungs/ribs moving as he 'breathes' so he is just gong to be small.. see how we go to the next visit which is August 30.

Wednesday August 25th 35 wks 6ds. Still weigh 65 kgs. Still getting lots of contractions but no cervical changes at all despite taking and inserting Evening primrose Oil and raspberry leaf tablets. I really think for the first time in 13 years I am going to prove my OB wrong. He keeps saying Samuel will arrive early but so far unlike the others who did arrive early and showed signs from 33 weeks onwards that they would  be early.. Samuel is showing no signs at all other than the increased strength and often timing of contractions. I get the feeling he will end up arriving by C Section. I DON'T want a C sec at all but if it means a healthy baby and delivery I guess I have no choice in it.  Samuel has been being good lately and has been head down now for a while. He can be so far down I can't feel his head then after a 'play' time he will be up a bit.

I have just started a new web page. "Croesus" is the name of our new property where Samuel will grow up with lots of room to run around. Hopefully the house will be built by the time he is 6 months old.

Monday August 30  36wks 4ds. OB appt today and I got told off. I need a new ego. I had my list of queries which he knocked on the head. Mt broken tailbone will just rebreak in labour if it has to be. He said it is quite common for tailbones to break in labour once the head pushes on them. Cervical dilation, he said Annabelle's labour was different in that it was early, my body wasn't ready and al I had was one prostaglandin gel cap. We discussed the psychological aspect and that maybe it was  mind induced as once I was told I would need a C sec I had 1 contraction in the next half hour whereas they had been 1-2 minutes apart lasting up to 2-3 minutes. He reckons I will end up with a quick labour like with Nic. So now we go to the telling off. If I feel as if I am getting regular strong ctx like I have a few times the last few evenings I should go in to be checked/monitored coz he doesn't want me having Samuel at home. He also went on at me for a good 20 minutes about how if I am at all worried about slow or lack of movements, pains anything if I get to the stage of wondering if I should ph the midwives then I HAVE to ph them. I said if I phoned or went in every time I was worried then I could be there every day and he said "So? the problem with that is???" He pointed out that I don't have the knowledge to know if everything is ok and sitting at home waiting for things to settle down or get worse is doing nobody any good and  they can't know what is happening if I don't tell anyone or get a tracing done of bub's health. I did point out that I went in with Annabelle and they found a heartbeat so said everything would be ok we'll just monitor you overnight and sent Robert home after I had been given a steroid shot JIC.. and her heart stopped 3 hrs later. I was thinking the same could happen again and nothing would be done even if I did go in. History is a great teacher though and they would do a C sec if I presented with a problem like that again. So that is that part of the appt.

Now for Samuel. Adequate amniotic fluid and moving, he has a full bladder which apparently indicates good amniotic fluid volume as well. I asked about his slowed growth and he pointed out how all babies are different. Also how growth rate in children can be different at any stage and so long as he remains within the normal growth lines then he is fine. He will just be a small baby around 6 lbs. So he was trying to be very reassuring. He understands my fears and worries about Tashs inducement 13 yrs ago and her Apgar of 1:5 and then Annabelle.. so he is great in that respect. I am now on weekly visits.

So that's it for today's update. Still have reflux/indigestion though :(

Friday September 2 37wks 1dy. Spent last night in the observation/delivery suite at Calvary Hospital. I had grumbly ctx al day and felt really ill all day. Didn't have tea because I couldn't stomach the thought of food never mind eat it. My two nieces Stella and Lucy spent nearly 2 hrs in the evening talking with me and watching my belly moving as Samuel tried to stick his foot out my side. They were so amazed at how many weird shapes he could make out of my tummy and even more amazed when Robert got a baby born doll and showed them how big Samuel is compared to the doll. Ctx started getting regular around 6:30 so around 10pm I had had enough and figured ok I was told to go to hospital so I had better do as I was told. The midwives who admitted me then kept an eye on me all night thought Samuel would arrive before morning as ctx were down to 3 minutes apart and lasting over 2 minutes and putting quite large peaks on the monitor.

I had 2 doses of mylanta and maxallon injection for the nausea and upset tummy but neither really worked. They started to ease off around 2am so I told Robert to get some sleep so he curled up on the couch after trying to sleep on the recliner type chair which was to uncomfortable. By 4am they decided to unhook the monitor for a while and let me try to get some sleep. I woke a few times. The monitor went back on again just before 7am and my OB came in at 8:15am and even though I had a few small ctx he said it was false labour and I may as well go home to wait it out as it may take the whole 3 weeks.  Him and the midwives all told me repeatedly if the same thing happens to go straight back in as the only difference between real labour and false labour is one ends with a baby and one just stops. The pain is the same and the strength of ctx is the same and as for dilation.. it can happen quickly or not for  ages so that is no sign to go by as to whether to go into hospital or not. On a brighter note though the false labour with Nic wasn't as strong or painful although the timing was the same and he arrived 8 days later.

Today I have done as I was told and rested, slept from when I got home to lunchtime to make up the lack of sleep and still feel sick so watching what I eat to not make it worse. I am not taking maxallon again as it makes me feel even worse with headaches and feeling really weird. Samuel is still being very active although his head is almost engaged, doesn't stop his arms and legs going though !!!!

Monday September 6 2004 37 wks 4dys. Had my OB appt today only Dr Jamie was away sick so I got to see the midwife. We did the usual talk before hand, how are you sort of thing, so I mentioned the pinkish show last night and the diarrhoea yesterday morning and the niggly ctx the last 24 hours. My BP was 115/65 so ok. She listened to Samuel's heart with the doppler and after a few seconds it slowed down remarkably so she had me roll onto my side but his heartbeat stayed low. She decided to get the other OB in the practice to come in and check things out and talked about either admitting me or monitoring me in the maternity ward NST. Dr Peter came in and did a scan and Samuel's heartbeat had gone up to a steadyish 124 so he checked the strength etc and said he was ok with his heartbeat. Did a quick measure and asked if Dr Jamie had given me an estimate on size so when I said that 3 wks ago he put him at 4lb 3oz he was ok at knowing that I knew he was small as by his measurements he is still on the 50%. He did talk about maybe leaving a week and then the possibility of inducing but I said how we would rather wait and have a natural labour unless it was medically necessary and that induction after a previous C sec can lead to another C sec. He asked if we wanted an appointment before Monday but in the end we decided a week is ok and if we have problems or concerns we know we can ph up and be fitted in with my usual OB or go up to maternity like we did the other night. He did say that if I did go into labour today that knowing how Dr Jamie was concerned for me he would get off his sick bed to come and deliver Samuel but we said that we were quite confident that if the need arose Dr peter would be perfectly ok too. He did say Dr Jamie would be around after 5pm.

I have had some hard ctx and some niggly ones most of the day but no change in dilation so no need to rush off to hospital just yet. At least he now has his head in the right place lol.. even if he does think he has to kick his way out my side instead of coming out the usual way lol. I am now allowed to take Zantac for the nausea/indigestion and so far it seems to have worked. I have stopped taking the EPO and Raspberry Leaf Tablets as they made me feel ill, besides I figured I had Greg, Tash and Nic with no additional herbs to help so back to basics.

Wednesday September 8th 2004 37 wks 6 dys and Robert's 44th birthday. After having ctx roughly 5 minutes apart and leaving me breathless for nearly 2 hours I finally decided to once again go in to Calvary to be monitored to see what was happening.  Robert took me in when he got back from town. We got in there around 1:30pm and rather than admit me they just put the monitor around my belly and covered the bed with a sheet rather than disturb it too much if it was just another false alarm. The monitor was left on for just over an hour and showed a regular pattern of 3 small ctx around 40-50 peaks every 5 minutes followed by a big one of over 100. In the ned I needed to go to the toilet so I was taken off the monitor but due to the regular 5 minute pattern when they phoned my OB he wanted e to stay so he could see me when he had finished his day. We ended up having tea while waiting and he got there just after 6:15pm and said once again it was false labour. He did try to reassure me that a lady in the room next door had had her baby that afternoon after 3 weeks of false labour and multiple trips to hospital and that I could end up doing the same or I could end up in labour that same night.. it just could not be predicted. I was told once again that if I got to 5 minutes for over an hour I was to go in AGAIN.. so I said no! Fed up with going in to be sent home again.

After he left the room Robert went out to talk to him at the reception desk and my OB mentioned how 'pissed off' I appeared to be. He stressed to Robert the importance of me going in each time and that if I was gong to be so stubborn then Robert would have to look out for me. Suffice to say next time I WILL NOT go in unless I am in so much pain I am crying out for pain relief like gas or pethidine. Samuel is still doing very well apparently. As I write this at 5am on the Friday morning he has been mobile and has moved up out of the pelvic region and has his backside hard up over my floating ribs, hence me sitting up trying to get him to move down a bit. Samuel sitting on my ribs is painful, then again the ligament pain and feeling like my right leg and groin is splitting apart is painful too when his head rests down there. For someone who is supposedly only going to be small he can make me hurt lol.

My next anticipated day of possible delivery is Sunday Sept 12 as that will make me 38wks 3 dys which is the exact day Tash and Nic arrived.. Greg made it to 40 wks 2dys but I sure don't want to wait that long. OUCH!!!!!!

Monday September 13th 2004. 38wks 4 days. My last entry hopefully, next edition will be Samuels webpage as in his arrival and life thereafter. Had my OB appt this morning and Samuel hasn't grown in the last week and there is only one small pocket of amniotic fluid. My OB wants me in hospital this afternoon at 4:45pm ready to be induced when he has seen his last patient for the day. He is hoping that one prostaglandin gel cap will be enough to start labour off and that by 10pm he will be able to deliver him. That means an interrupted evening for him. I would have thought more sense to waiting til tomorrow morning and delivering at a reasonable hour through the day rather than interrupt an evening at home but he must be concerned if he is prepared to interrupt his evening. If it doesn't go according to plan then he will be back at 8am in the morning to break the membranes. He did warn us of the possibility of having to have a C sec. Sometimes induction after a C sec doesn't work and a C sec is needed. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.

All the Tummy pics.

13 weeks	13weeks	15 weeks at Kingston Beach April 5th 2004. Annabelle's 2nd birthday
16 Weeks April 13. Just woke up	Mother's day belly pic at 20 weeks.	Mother's Day 20 weeks at Annabelle's and my mums grave.

Me and Tash (12). Mother's Day	22weeks 5 days. May 25th	22weeks 5 days. May 25th
25weeks 3 days. June 13th 2004	26 weeks	26 weeks

26 weeks 2 days	30 weeks 3 days July 18th	30 weeks 3 days
30 weeks 3 days. Me and proud big sister to be Tash	35 weeks 5 days August 24th.

37wks