Hungry Hungry Kaylee!

Howdy followers!

What an interesting/exhausting week its been! Kaylee is 3 weeks old this week and has the appetite of a dino! The plus side of this is that although she is feeding every three hours, she is gaining weight well and should hopefully be back to her birth weight soon.

We have had a few issues with her weight in the last 2 weeks as she wasn't gaining enough weight on a week to week basis. Since then we have slowly managed to increase her intake, although it sadly meant that we had to move onto a more formula based diet.

At first it was difficult, as I was so emotional, which was made worse by being so tired due to feeding every hour or so . But with support from my friends and family I was able to put my emotional attatchment to breastfeeding aside , and learned how to bottle feed Kaylee instead. That night for the first time in nearly 2 weeks I got a decent nights sleep and was able to function a lot better. And as for Kaylee, 1 week on she is gaining weight well and has never looked better.

 

 

One Hell'ova week!

Well what a week it has been!

 

This time last week I was just a normal (albeit heavily pregnant) woman impatiently waiting for my baby to arrive.

This week I have a 1 week old bundle of joy who despite arriving a little early, is everything we could ever have dreamed of...

 

1 week ago

 

It all started just over 1 week ago, me and Andy were at the midwife's for our 39 week appointment, everything was going well until they did my weekly urinalysis and blood pressure. They say a facial expression says more than a thousand words, and we now realise exactly what they mean.

 

I was reliably informed that not only did I have protein in my urine, but my blood pressure was significantly higher than was considered normal. One short phone call later and we were on route to the James Paget Hospital to be checked over. Little did I know that just over 24 hours from being seen at the maternity assessment unit I would be giving birth...

 

What happened next

 

The consultants had decided that I had Pre-eclampsia and in order to protect the life of me and our baby, I would need to be induced the next morning , just in case.

Sadly being induced would mean that I would be unable to have the water birth I had planned, but I knew that with Andy to support me,I would still be able to have a moderately natural birth with minimal interventions which was great.

The next morning I was induced via a pessary at 9am , and then the real fun started, Upon deciding that we had hours to wait before anything interesting happened, me and Andy decided to go for a wander down to the canteen for a coffee and something decent for breakfast. I lasted about 10 minutes before the pains started, so we made a hasty exit back to the ward so I could lie down.

In the meantime some kind soul had been to deliver a really cool birthing ball, and although I didn't get on with it much Andy absolutely adored it ( although that may have been because it was more comfy than the chairs provided lol)

 

The rest of the day went very quickly, my contractions started coming thick and fast , and I was given a cylinder of gas and air to help with the pain. What felt like a few minutes later I was being whisked down to delivery suite to have my baby as the contractions were only a few minutes apart !

 

Our birthing room was lovely , and even had a bath that I attempted to enjoy , however sadly I couldn't have gas and air in there, so i didn't stay comfy for very long ;(

a few hours later we welcomed our beautiful bundle of joy into the world in what would appear to be record time ! having been induced at 9am that morning Kaylee Anne Musk was safely delivered with her waters intact at 1747 that evening .

Weighing an impressive 7lbs 12.5 ounces she is the most perfect bundle of joy I have ever held.

What was most amazing was that when she was born she had no trace of pain killers in her system as I only had gas and air throughout the whole labour ;D

 

The midwives and student midwives that day were absolutely amazing , and for all the faults of the nhs, these guys were perfect. Me and Andy were made to feel welcome and though they must have been very busy, we were made to feel like we were the only ones on the unit.

 

Moving on

 

 We were moved off the delivery suite around 1am that morning, and I was allowed to go home later that day after waiting for a review from the paediatricians and maternity team. My blood pressure was still high , but the doctors were happy to manage it in the community and so at 6pm ish we left the hospital with little Kaylee and set off (in the rain) for home for cuddles and a brief visit from my mum and dad who were so anxious to meet their new granddaughter.

The first week has been an emotional rollercoaster as we get used to parenthood, but as we all get to know each other, we settle into a happy routine. As of today Kaylee Is 8 days old and getting more beautiful by the day :)

 

Next blog entry will be in  a week or so's time where I will talk about some of the challenges that we have overcome in the first few weeks , and what new parents can expect from midwife visits, plus all the stuff they don't tell you in the parenting books!

 

 

But for now,

Keep well, happy and safe

 

The Musks

 

37 and a half weeks and ready to pop!

Hey guys,

 

Been an interesting couple of weeks since my last blog, Have been seen my the midwife for my 37 week appointment, who has reassured me that the baby is well and happy and still engaged which Is great news!

 

 I also met with the health visitor last week who gave us our treasured red book and some information about breastfeeding and local support groups in the area.

Its very reassuring to know that there is always help available in this area, the antenatal and postnatal teams here seem to offer so much more compared to the bare minimum that we experienced in Norwich.

For example, there are 2 surestart centres in the immediate vicinity, 1 within walking distance, and 1 a short bus ride away. Between the 2 of them they do baby massage, post pregnancy yoga with your baby, breasteeding cafe's, baby and toddler play groups just to name a few.

I am fairly confident that if we wanted to , we could find a club/class/workshop to attend every day of the week if we felt so inclined to do so .

 

I can now say with complete confidence that me and Andy are absolutely ready for our baby to be born now, sadly im still struggling with some aspects of the pregnancy, my hands and ankles have finally succumb to swelling, so much so that I have to wear my wedding and engagement rings on a chain around my neck ! I have 2 pairs of shoes left that I can squeeze into, but if I do too much walking then the balloon very quickly and take aaaaaages to go back down to normal ;(

 

My iron levels have also gone down again so I have agreed to go onto a strong iron supplement for the remainder of the pregnancy, whilst this isn't particularly pleasant, I do at least have energy again and the dizzy spells have stopped. I do recommend any mum to be who start feeling dizzy to go to the doctor and get checked out, you don't want to run the risk of keeling over and hurting yourself, or your baby just for the sake of a blood test and a nasty tasting pill ;(

( I have included some links at the bottom of the blog explaining a little bit about what you can do to help all of the ailments should you wish to know)

 

So now we play the waiting game, made all the more fun due to my increasing discomfort levels , and the knowledge that my good friend Mrs Morris gave birth to a beautiful baby daughter last week!

Fingers crossed our little one appears soon as she has a whole queue of people who are so eager to meet her ;)

 

But for now, its bye from me, the behemoth  bump & of course soon to be daddy musk.

 

P.S for all who are interested here is a picture taken last week showing how big me and the baby have grown in the last few weeks!

 

(taken at 36+4)

 

All information posted below comes directly from the nhs choices website, it is not a substitute for seeing a doctor, should you have any concerns seek medical advice immediately.

Varicose veins in pregnancy

Varicose veins are veins that have become swollen. The veins in the legs are most commonly affected. You can also get varicose veins in the vulva (vaginal opening). They usually get better after the birth.

If you have varicose veins you should:

• try to avoid standing for long periods of time
• try not to sit with your legs crossed
• try not to put on too much weight as this increases the pressure
• sit with your legs up as often as you can, to ease the discomfort
• try support tights, which may also help to support your leg muscles – you can buy them at most pharmacies
• try sleeping with your legs higher than the rest of your body – use pillows under your ankles or put books under the foot of your bed
• do foot exercises and other antenatal exercises, such as walking and swimming, which will all help your circulation

Try these foot exercises:

• bend and stretch your foot up and down 30 times
• rotate your foot eight times one way and eight times the other
• repeat with the other foot  

Feeling hot in pregnancy

During pregnancy you’re likely to feel warmer than normal. This is due to hormonal changes and an increase in blood supply to the skin. You’re also likely to sweat more. It helps if you:

• wear loose clothing made of natural fibres, as these are more absorbent and breathe more than synthetic fibres
• keep your room cool – you could use an electric fan to cool it down
• wash frequently to help you feel fresh

 

Swelling of the joints

 

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/swollen-ankles-feet-pregnant.aspx#close



 

the 35 week mark!

Howdy and Hello from me and Andy ;)

 

What's New???

 

The last few weeks have been nice and calm, as many of you know me and Andy have recently moved house, and we are finally established in our new bungalow in Belton :-)

we have 2 bedrooms now ,one of which is our brand spanking new nursery , here is a picture of our cot bed with the baby's ever growing cuddly toy collection!

What you cant see is that the walls are a pleasant buttercup yellow so that we can adapt the room as the baby gets older. We do of course have some pink items, such as our moses basket but I couldn't fit that in the shot!

The other aspect of our nursery that I utterly adore is our wardrobe and our collection of outfits!

This is not all of the clothes and outfits that we have, and I have no doubts that we will end up getting many more over time, but for now I am very proud of the items we have ;)

 

I will attempt to post some pictures of the rest of the house on my next upload, this one is a bit of a rush job as I'm really tired at the moment!

 

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Also this week me and Andy went to our antenatal workshop at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital , I would love to say that it was really interesting and informative and we learnt loads, but in reality all we learnt is that I apparently have a "neat and tidy bump"... as opposed to an untidy bump??

They broke the day up into 2 halves, in the morning the midwife discussed how to recognise labour, and what the stages of labour were. Followed by a skimming over of different methods of pain relief ( natural, gas & air, water birth, Pethidine, Epidural ) I feel fortunate that I already knew what pain relief I wanted , as the information offered was not overly enlightening, however it seemed useful to some of the parents.

In the afternoon we spent a few hours learning about how to feed our babies and how often we should wash them, sadly there wasn't any videos we could watch, however I did recommend a brilliant video that I found on youtube by mothercare which was very useful.

 

As you can probably tell, me and Andy were not overly enamoured with the day,  we learnt a little bit, but I think we probably learnt more from the independent books that we have read ( Jo Frost Confident Parenting and The Pregnancy Bible)

 

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What's new with Mummy

 

Sadly my iron levels have plummeted again and have had to succumb to the use of iron supplements, in conjunction with an iron heavy diet. I am sure this will solve the problem, and I am of course more than happy to suffer the foul taste if means our baby arrives safely. On the plus side, it does mean that I can drink loads of orange juice ( as vitamin C aids the absorption of iron ) and justify eating a large steak, wrapped in bacon with all my favourite veg, including Spinach and broccoli !

The only downside is that until the tablets kick in I have approximately Zero energy levels, which makes going out , just a little bit of a chore!

 

What's new with baby

 

Our baby seems very content still, she is still moving around , but not as much now - we suspect she has run out of room! however she still loves listening to music, and still wriggles around a lot early in the evening and when Andy gets home.

 

Well that's all for now, Hope everyone is well, let me and Andy take this time to invite you to come and visit our new abode, just get in touch with us either on facebook or send us a text/email

 

Bye for now

xxx

 



Getting stuff ready

Hi Everybody!

This week has been eventful and interesting, me and Andy got registered at our new doctors surgery, and I was able to get booked in with our new midwife, ready for when me move to our new home :)

We also took an inventory of everything that we have been gifted and purchased in readiness for baby's arrival, which was very therapeutic, although maybe not as therapeutic as taking loads of the baby basics back home to wash, dry and iron so that they are nice, clean and fluffy for when our little bundle of joy arrives. It was quite possibly the only time I have really , really enjoyed doing the laundry. Here is the culmination of my mini nesting session!

 

What's Happening with Mummy

 

Lots of changes happening still, not only have I gained just over 2 stone, but my ankles are now swelling on a regular basis, I don't mind too much, but its quite uncomfortable if I want to go for a long walk ( which is one of my favourite forms of exercise)

Im sadly still getting heartburn, but thanks to a handy tip from my mum, its getting more under control with the use of Yakult pro-biotic drinks, I definitely recommend this to anyone who suffers!

I continue to get Braxton hicks (practice contractions), however I am learning how to deal with these the more they happen, I wont lie, they aren't the most pleasant of occurrences , but at least when I get the real contractions I will know how to deal with them!

 

What's Happening with Baby

 

The baby is continuing to kick and hiccup, however we don't feel her moving around as much now, having been reliably informed that the baby's head is now down, in readiness for the big day.

 

And finally.....

 

Thank you to everyone who has given us beautiful gifts for the baby over the last few months, here are just a few of the beautiful things we have been given ...

These are a few of my favourite things ;)



 

Howdy and Hello,

 

Welcome to my week 31 blog entry , This week has been largely uneventful as I settle into domestic life with astounding ease ! I never thought i would enjoy keeping house and crafting ( and I reckon a lot of you reading this would never expect me to be able to keep a clean, orderly house either!) But nonetheless I have settled into my own little routine, which allows me to spend a small portion of my morning dusting, hoovering etc , and the rest of my day in relative comfort pursuing other interests.

 

I must confess that I am now starting to get a little bit more tired during the day, in fact yesterday I felt so tired that I spent the vast majority of the day either in bed asleep or on the sofa, early asleep! Fortunately I had nothing more pressing to attend to , other than having to go to the doctors for them to redo some blood tests. I count myself very lucky that Andy was able to take me and get me home, as by the time I got home I was ready to go back to bed! But I suppose these things happen sometimes ;(

Aside from the tiredness , I count myself lucky that although I have Braxton hicks every now and then, and heartburn on a daily basis, generally I am in good health, and getting bigger and bigger !





 

When I'm not cooking, cleaning or sleeping, my good friend Stacey has inspired me to try some new craft ideas, and so the last 2 weeks I have been learning to knit, and make bunting, I certainly have a long way to go until i can knit cardigans and the like, but hopefully with some instruction and perseverance I can get there one day ;-)

 

 

Babies movements

 

This week Andy and I continue to be amazed by how active she is during the day, We now feel hiccups on a regular basis, and when I hear a loud sudden noise, there is definite movement from within!

I continue to feel very blessed that my baby doesn't give me any sleepless nights yet , in fact after 11pm she generally settles down ( unless I try and roll over then she voices her displeasure!) From then on we don't hear a peep from her until at least 9am, I have a feeling she is taking after mummy just a little bit in that aspect!

 

Well thats all for now, Keep smiling and watch this space for more updates both pre and post birth ;)

 

P.S I found this wonderful playlist on 8tracks.com which is perfect for relaxing to that I also want to share with you, enjoy http://8tracks.com/karinanirak/piano-strings-covers-take-three

 

 

Getting bigger, and ready to move house ;)

So here we are at week 30 ! Me and Andy are both really excited that we only have 10 weeks to go until we meet our beautiful new baby. I know for certain that I cant wait to give birth so I can attempt to stake my claim on my body once again lol!

As you can see from the picture to the left I am sporting quite a proud bump, and have many comments about the size of it, only a few days ago did someone think that I only have a few days left until I pop, which I found both scary and hilarious!

The baby is continuing to move around quite a lot which is really nice ( well apart from when I'm sitting upright , then it hurts like hell) and Andy has this lovely game he plays with our baby where he finds a foot and either tickles it , or taps on my bump which makes the baby kick and wiggle around a lot! most of the time it feels lovely, but I think he forgets how strong our little one is , as some of the kicks are a wee bit painful;(
However on the whole, the baby has settled into a routine quite independently, and as luck would have it, I never feel any kicking, hiccupping, moving around etc from 11pm until about 4ish so I count myself very lucky.

We are continuing to prepare to move house this week, we have sorted through all of our kitchen , bedroom and bathroom stuff and deep cleaned everywhere , in anticipation of people coming to view the flat, I must say I get a feeling of immense pride seeing our house looking to calm and clean and organised. We just have a few things left to sort out here , then we can start moving things into our new bungalow ;)

Well that's all for now, feel free to post predictions on babies weight if you can, as well as any nice names that we might have missed !

Ciao from Clan Musk