Now the real fun begins

This is my bump at almost 38 weeks. I’m surprised I don’t fall forwards or how it hasn’t burst yet! The only people I’ve seen so far with bumps as big as me are having twins!

And the thing is, if she decides to be born 2 weeks late, I still have a whole month of growth ahead of me!

On another note, pregnesia (or baby brain or whatever people call it) has been affecting me dearly lately. I forget what I am doing often, do things I really didn’t want to do, forget what I was talking about, but worst, I’m losing the ability to speak English. I find myself talking to people and not being able to find the words or saying something completely wrong or with an appalling grammar! If this goes on I might need a translator at the hospital!

The funny side is that Russ, although in a much smaller scale, has been slightly off as well. I wonder if he will feel sympathy pains when I’m in labour?

Anyway we were quite impressed. It all looks brand new – the hospital has been through major works – and it all looks spacious and clean.

There are 18 rooms midwife and consultant led. They all have en-suite and the midwife led ones also have CD player, oil burning facilities for aromatherapy, odd shaped sofa and a bed and loads of stuff to help during labour. One of them has a birth pool There are other rooms like an induction room with 4 beds in them and not a lot of space – especially not for dads to stay there during the process – so I hope I don’t need to use one of them, theatres where the C-sections are done, rooms for rest and reflection, etc.

We also got a chance to see the midwives in action with an emergency. One of the pregnant women in my group lost consciousness. It was very hot and she kept her coat on so maybe that was the cause. The midwife that was doing the tour rang the alarm (available in every room) and about 10 of them came running to help! Very efficient!

We then went upstairs to see the post-natal ward and again it was impressive. Hot drinks available in the corridors, rooms with only 4 beds each, each bed has it’s own tv/telephone/internet connection… All very good.

The best bit was when we managed to see a midwife teaching the new parents to bathe the new born. He/she was put in a see through bucket so that they (and us from the corridor) could see how it’s done. They look so small and helpless!

If everything goes well the discharge happens between 6 hours and 2 days. ou can’t leave until both the baby and the mother are checked by the doctors. You also get the chance, as it happened, to be shown how to bathe, change a nappy and breastfeed. They expect the dad’s to change the nappies while the mother is resting. I liked that

All in all I was really happy with what I saw and the people that work there seems really nice. Can’t wait

(and there were no women in labour at the time so no screams to freak me out )

Today I had an appointment at the Derby hospital. It didn’t start well as we were stuck in traffic and got there late. I just hope that Tubbs doesn’t decide to be born during rush hour. It won’t be fun being stuck in a car in pain for ages!

We had to wait quite a bit to be seen but finally the nurse called my name. She told me there would be 2 doctors present, a consultant and a trainee. The trainee welcomed me as usual and said what we were going to be doing (the usual measuring, blood pressure check, etc). Then the consultant asked me: ‘ you are a student aren’t you?’ I said ‘yes, a PhD student’. He looked impressed and saluted me (for some reason) and asked ‘PhD? Very good, what on?’ I answered the usual ‘Planetary science, meteorites, comets and that space related stuff’. And then it all went funny. The consultant asked me to explain the phases of the Moon and complained that he could not understand a Moon crescent. Oh dear, the Moon phases are a bit difficult to explain especially in a few minutes and without the aid of some images so after much insistence I gave up on explaining and he gave up on understanding. We finally got to the appointment per se and all was well. As soon as I sat back  down he comes back with the questions! ‘Is the UK very involved in the space program?’ I said yes and that quite a few instruments were designed and went on space missions blah, blah. By then they were both quite excited and asking questions. ‘I saw a scientist on TV talking about it from the Open University, what was his name? He had a beard’ I said that it was probably CP and that I worked on his department so I knew him a bit. ‘That was it! CP!’ they said excitedly, ‘You know him?? Oh he seems to be a bit eccentric! Is he?’ And as I was saying that he could sometimes be a character the nurse intervened and actually said: ‘Come on lets get you out of here before they ask any more questions!’

I’d never seen doctors this keen to keep me in instead of wanting to get rid of me asap! I just had to laugh. They looked like two excited children That made my day!

I had to book another appointment for four weeks from now in case I am overdue and I also booked a tour of the hospital so I can actually see what facilities they have. That will be on Sunday.

On an unrelated note, most people know of the saga to find cot sheets. We went to Dunelm after the appointment and they had nothing but fitted cot sheets! Loads of them! Sigh…

If it was just the cold it wouldn’t be so bad but at about the same time I started getting a sharp strong pain on my ribs on the left side. The result is that I can’t sit down unless I’m leaning backwards and the worst of all, I couldn’t sleep on my sides. Right or left. Sleeping on my back is not advisable especially at this point in the pregnancy and it certainly isn’t comfortable. Worst bit even? Asthma came back and together with the blocked nose the result is I can’t sleep on my back! So I couldn’t sleep! I got to the point of desperation!

Fortunately the asthma eased and the pain in the ribs decreased so I can now sleep on my right side for short periods. But I still have a blocked nose and a pounding headache. But much better than before

My bump has dropped considerably (might have helped with the ribs) but it’s still growing and Tubbs is certainly still moving a lot. I think more than ever. And it’s really funny how she responds to external stimulation

One thing that I’ve noticed is that whenever Russ puts his hand on my bump she calms down. Guess who will be putting her to sleep?

Anyway I have been reading lots about babies and found some books that are a bit more real and prepare you for what can go wrong even with breast feeding. Until now the picture was painted as a perfect one. It is slightly concerning but I think I prefer to be prepared for it than to be caught off guard and feel like a failure or like I’m not a good mother.

I’m also getting quite impacient! I can’t wait to see what she looks like and to be able to hold her. I mean she is inside me but I can’t touch her.

I already packed my hospital bag (I like to be prepared) and realised that she has loads of clothes but only up to 3 months. Nothing above that! We are going to have to do some shopping. We have almost everything else. All we need is some sheets and  a mobile for the cot, some towels, a thermometer and a couple of toys she can look at and touch.

34 weeks tomorrow

The doctor was the slowest doctor I’ve ever seen. At first I thought it was because he was foreign (sounded like a germanish accent) and wasn’t very comfortable with English, but even writing down the notes took ages. Very odd. I was supposed to see him about the latex allergy but the only thing he asked me was what made me think I was allergic and that was that. I’m not sure if it’s because of the allergy or the possibility of diabetes but I am being followed by both the midwife and a hospital doctor so I have another appointment with the hospital.

In the mean time I haven’t been sleeping very well. My back has been hurting all day and night and together with the heartburn and the night visits to the toilet I’m not left with much time for sleeping. I getting bigger and bigger and it’s starting to get a but frustrating not being able to do anything. I can’t get out of the sofa without Russ’s help, I can’t pick up things from the floor or reach lower cupboards, I get tired just going up the stairs to use the toilet, I’m in constant pain and starting to get bored. Especially when there is so much left to do with the house and I can’t do it. Honestly I’m starting to get a bit fed up with being pregnant and I can’t wait till Tubbs is born healthy and beautiful. Still 10 more weeks to go (if she’s not late) and my mood is getting worse each day (Poor Russ)

We are less than a week away from moving into our new house (whoo-hoo), so I registered with the doctor in Heanor. It’s less than 2 min walk from the house so really handy. I had to go and see the midwife so she could get to know me and check my notes and also to be able to order the Anti-D that I need to have this week

Russ was in a workshop near London so he couldn’t go with me. Instead Sophie drove me there.

The midwife is really nice and for a change I can actually hear what she says. She told me that Sophie better come in as well because it was going to take a while. You see Derby hospitals use different maternity notes so she had to transfer all the information from the old ones.

I was so impressed. The pack the hospital gives you is great! It has loads of information I didn’t know before, maps of the hospital, help of all kinds and the notes are so much more detailed. They even have a part where all the feedings from when the baby is born are recorded to make sure I’m doing it right!

Anyway she checked everything. She took my blood pressure which is a bit low as usual and took blood for all sorts of tests. She said the usual ‘what fantastic veins you have and the blood comes rushing out it makes it really easy’ I find it funny that the blood fizzes, hehe. We also heard the baby’s heart beat

Anyway, at the beginning of the appointment I told her I felt ok, just a bit big. She measured my fundus height (size of my uterus) and she said that I really am big! I just hide it well. Apparently I am right at the upper limit of what is normal. I should be 27cm and I am 29. Added to the fact that I have relatives with diabetes she said we better make some tests to make sure I’m not developing gestational diabetes. This would make the baby too big which may make labour complicated and if it’s too bad that baby might be producing too much insulin to compensate. It’s not a very serious thing, and it happens quite often in pregnancy. It’s easily manageable and it goes away after birth so I’m not too concerned. Besides I still have to do the test to see if I even have it.

Now the test is the bit that is leaving me and Russ slightly worried. It’s called a Glucose Tolerance Test. Basically I can’t eat for 12 hours (only allowed to drink water). I go to the hospital, they test my blood and then I’m given a glucose drink. Then they test my blood again several times over 2 hours to see how I react to the glucose.

The bad bit about it is the not eating. Anyone who knows me know how my temper gets even worse if I’m hungry. Spending more than 14 hours without eating is not going to be nice. Russ told me he doesn’t want to go with me and that he would rather eat a bowl of spiders than to be with me if I haven’t had breakfast!

Anyway it’s going to happen on the 24th November so I advise you not to talk to me until lunch time

P.S.- And just because I like to make it difficult I am allergic to Latex gloves which might be a major pain. Everything in hospitals is latex!! So I am going to see a consultant at the hospital over this as well to see how serious it is. It might mean that I have to be followed by a consultant as well besides the midwife. My dentist had already complained about the fact that I am allergic to latex AND penicillin. He said ‘what an interesting combination’ with a not very happy face. But it could be that it’s just a small reaction and nothing to worry about.

In MK no one seemed to give a damn about any of these things. The new midwife wasn’t very impressed that they didn’t make more tests.

So far it seems like Derby is the place to be! I’m being well taken care of

So I had to go in, do another test, and hope that the bugs are not there and were just some kind of contamination (I don’t have any other symptoms). Sigh… If they are we need to hope that I don’t react to that other antibiotic.

Just making things a bit more complicated. If this is as complicated as it gets I’ll be happy

The midwife came and used some kind of Doppler machine to find the baby’s heartbeat. It seemed to take a long time, but eventually after the point at which I would have given up, she found the baby’s heartbeat and it was beating strong and fine. A while later, the doctor came to see us and was checking that everything was OK.

Some time later, the doctor came back with the midwife to do an examination on Cat to see if they could work out what caused the bleeding. Then the doctor went away again to speak to another doctor to get a second opinion! Eventually they all agreed to give Cat some anti-D and do a blood test and send her home.

At this point it was already quite late (or very early if you prefer) and both of us fell asleep on and off. Cat had a bed but I had a chair that refused to allow me to sit comfortably! To be fair, I think the bed was just as uncomfortable!

We were also kept awake by the noise of several women giving birth in nearby rooms. I couldn’t help but laugh at the noise, but I think poor Cat was given a reminder of what is to come.

Eventually a nurse came to give Cat the anti-D injection into her bottom. I saw the 2 inch needle and had to turn away. Cat’s face showed just how unpleasant it was, and I give her a gold star for bravery!

We were then allowed to leave, and after wrestling with the car park ticket machine, we came home, thoroughly exhausted and drained from the whole experience.

Today I had to get up to go to a meeting at my old work, but when I got back home, I went almost immediately to bed and slept for about 6 hours. Cat was on her own for most of the day, and both of us are still worried and upset, but I think Cat is more so than me. We need things to go OK without incident for a bit, as last night shook us up quite a bit, and you begin to understand how worrying being a parent is going to be.

Hopefully this is the worst thing that happens in the pregnancy and everything goes better from now on. I think all of this is made worse by the fact that it is our first child, and everything is new to us. I’m sure my mum will tell us that the second one is easier