Happy Birthday to me?

Today is officially my birthday, I am 25 and my little princess is now 8 months old. Where does time fly? Tiábella is such an amazing little personality! But such a "Daddy's girl". And the spitting image of him too, the short dark blonde hair and amazing blue eyes. I almost feel like I am cheating by blogging about her because there is nothing wrong with her, nothing serious to complain about, nothing medical to endure and inspire others with. The biggest issue? Well, besides throwing up non stop until about 7 months old and not growing for a few months, was the day her two bottom teeth popped through and then it was only a little grizzle!

She has a hugely curious mind, and loves to grab and touch and feel and move things from hand to hand and twist them around, and taste EVERYTHING! I often wonder how the world looks to her, what does she see, what makes her smile? Why does she think that her hands must be covered in saliva before she touches something?

But as she grows and embraces the world more and more, getting more independent, standing without assistance and insisting on feeding herself, I find I am missing one thing more than anything else. Tiábella doesn't want to cuddle or snuggle with me anymore! She is too eager to show off her new "tricks" and cuddles with mummy are not part of the deal. Maybe, just maybe, if I am lucky I may get a Happy Birthday hug this morning... Fingers crossed!

Fathers Day?

Today is Fathers Day... a day to celebrate the wonderful job that fathers all over the world do...

BUT

As I sit here writing this, covered in projectile vomit from my 5 month old, teething daughter, while my husband is away taking his almost 4 year old daughter back home to her mother and then going to work, I do wonder about a couple of situations... Like, those who do not want to celebrate their father due to their father not being interested in being a father and therefore while being part of the family ignored the fact that they are a father altogether, or abusive, or (in the case of a dear single mum friend of mine and her new darling daughter) have a father that just cannot be arsed to even acknowledge them... To some people, Fathers Day is not even worth thinking about, let alone celebrating!

According to dictionary.com a father is: "1. a male parent"... Very unexciting really! I did have a quick look at urbandictionary.com and the meanings in there become a lot more 'colourful'! Personally, a father to me is not just the man who you share 50% of your DNA with, a father needs to be a person who loves you unconditionally, protects you, helps you grow and learn about life and the world around you, and basically gives a damn about you... Looking down the list on dictionary.com, I feel a little better to see that "to father" also means "20. to assume as one's own; take the responsibilty of"...

I then think of another friend of mine, who has two young children to her ex-finace... But is now dating a decent, kind and loving mutual friend of ours. This is technically his "first" Fathers Day, as the children now call him DAD, and I feel a little hope welling deep down inside me... I can only hope that we can all find someone decent and worth saying "Happy Fathers Day" to, even if that person is not biologically our father...

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all the dads out there, especially those who are decent enough to be fathers to those who may not be biologically theirs. I tip my hat to you!

{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual from Soule Mama.  A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your “moment” in the comments for all to find and see.

Where did the time go?

Well I am back... it turns out being a mum is a lot more time consuming than I ever would have expected! Tiábella is now almost 12 weeks old and we are moving this weekend into a bigger house. Life is very busy but I am trying not to be stressed by it! As I sit here typing this, Tiábella is laying in her cot talking to herself. I feel so guilty sometimes for not having her in my arms 100% of the time, but I know that she needs to learn to be away from me, and it is extremely hard to pack this house with her constantly needing my attention!

Here are the things I am looking forward to when we move into our new house:

1. Appropriate heating!! I will no longer be freezing all the time!

2. A bath... I will now have the option of a bath or shower, and Tiábella can hop in the bath with me, as she is now getting too big for the baby bath.

3. Tiábella's nursery being next door to my bedroom rather than downstairs! She will no longer need to sleep in the bassinet in my bedroom overnight (good thing as she is getting too big for the bassinet too!)

4. Doors on the bedrooms!!! It sounds funny, but our current house is so open plan that when my husband works nights and therefore sleep during the day, Tiábella and I have to leave the house or he cannot sleep...

5. A backyard!

6. A spare room/room for Charlotte. Now when she comes to visit she will have her own space where I will not have to stress about a 3 year old touching things she knows she shouldn't!

7. Storage space. We have none here.

8. A telephone line, so proper internet! Yay!

Here are the things I will miss about our old place:

1. The clothes dryer.

2. The modern feel of the place (totally not appropriate for a baby and 3 year old though!)

3. How close it is to where I work (when I am not on maternity leave...)

That's about all I will miss...

And just because I am so super proud of my baby girl, here she is (11 weeks old)!

My baby finally arrives!

I am pleased to announce the arrival of Tiábella Adele on the 25th March 2011, at 9:11am (AEST) via c-section. 

So this is the first opportunity that I have had to get back online since the birth of my darling baby girl! After being given the news the night before that the doctors wanted to operate and get my baby out, it was less than 12 hours later that I was taken to the operating theatre and started my "birthing" process! It is the strangest sensation being awake and aware of being cut open, but not being able to feel anything more than some pressure and pushing... My husband saw them pull her out (even with a c-section she had a tight fit!) and then suddenly I heard her cry and relief flooded over me. She was then given to my husband to hold next to my head while they stitched me up, and then, about 50 minutes after she was born, while I was getting my "tap blocks" put in to help with pain relief, the midwives held Tiábella to my breast and I was able to feed her for the first time. We went to recovery for all of about 20 minutes where they checked that I wasn't bleeding and that I was getting feeling back from the spinal, and checked Tiábella's blood sugar levels (as this is the major concern that babies of diabetic mums will have overactive pancreas' and will have ultra low blood sugars). Her first reading was 2.4 (near perfect for a baby) and the next two that they did over the next couple of hours were both 3.4. Perfect. So my baby's pancreas is working just fine! Her apgar score was a 9 at one minute and a 10 at five minutes. So all my concerns about my baby's health were all for nothing, she is damn near perfect! We both stayed in hospital another 4 days and are now back at home. She is 8 days old today, and I am loving being a mum!!!

my last day of being preggo...

So the time has finally come! I have been in hospital since Tuesday for observation of my diabetes, and after a final growth ultrasound this morning that confirmed bub was approx. 4.6kg, the doctors have decided it is time for bub to join us! A natural birth carries too many risks when the baby is that size, especially in babies of diabetic mums, as after the head 'births' the shoulders can get stuck (called shoulder displacia) as this is where the baby holds the majority of it's weight... So first thing tomorrow morning I am scheduled for a c-section!

As the date looms near...

Well, Bub and I have officially done it!! We have made it to 37 weeks! Yup, we are considered full term!! I am so proud of myself and my little one. I never thought we would make it this far, and chances of bub having issues are reduced this week and next and then get worse again towards 39+ weeks. So the doctor finally gave me an induction date and I will go into hospital next week and my gorgeous little baby will be born! I am so excited! Hell scared at the same time too, of course, because KNOWING when you are going to go into labour means you have time to stress and think about exactly what that means in terms of pain, complications, the afterwards etc etc. At least if you go into labour naturally then it kinda just happens and you don't have time to think or stress about it. Well, that's what I find anyway!

To add to this drama, I have starting having low blood sugars. This can be considered a sign of the placenta losing function, so now I have that to worry about too! It seems that because I finally had good news about my induction, something else HAD to pop up to keep me on my toes!

Last night my lovely husband and I went out for dinner (our first date since we got married) and it was so much fun! Then we had icecream on the waterfront and walked for ages while we waited for the movie we were going to go see... In the end we didn't see any movie as I was exhausted after all the walking and he was tired too, so we went home and went to bed with a DVD. It was actually the perfect end to the evening! So now I am trying to fill the rest of my week with things to do and people to see before I become a full-time mum!

Oh, and by the way, sleep is now impossible for me it seems! I am just too big and sore and cannot get comfy at all...