Happy Birthday Little Man!

The big day is finally here.

Little Man is officially 1.

The story continued...

(Warning: graphic caesar photos)

After an entire night of labouring every 3 minutes at 8am I was advised that I hadn't dilated a bit.  Baby was still up really really high, almost transverse with his head on my left hip and butt in my waist on the right.  

I took another shot of Pethidine but again labour stopped completely.  

Around 10am my obstetrician popped in and asked if I wanted the oxytocin drip to go in.  She also pointed out that if this was my choice then we would be committed to having this baby today, on my due date.

Those clever midwives and doctors knew: this baby was BIG, and way too high and in completely the wrong position.  There was no way I was getting him out, but they were willing to let me give it a shot.

In went the drip and by 2pm I was delirious with pain.  Still no dilating though, so my midwife (Margie again) and Dr Sophie (as my boys liked to call her) sat on my bed and said that there was very little hope of this baby coming out on his own.  They briefed me on the risks of breaking my waters (cord prolapse) and added that this baby was big.  Really big.  My Big Man was big at 3.7kg, and that was an agonising vacuum and forceps delivery.  The way these women were talking made it sound like my baby was going to be even bigger.

In the end it was a really easy decision.  A caesar it would be.  Amazingly, once we'd decided and arrangements were being made both the MOTH and I couldn't contain our excitement any longer.  After two and a half days we were going to meet our baby.

It was recommended that I have an epidural to ease my pain while I wait for surgery to become available and I reluctantly agreed.  You see, in both my other labours my epidural didn't work.  With Big Man it was patchy and with Middle Man it didn't work at all!  No pain relief whatsoever.  I was terrified of being cut open while that epidural was wearing off.

Well, it was definitely my lucky day because just as that epidural was about to go in (literally; local anaesthetic had been administered and the doc was holding the epidural ready for insertion) Margie rushed in and shouted, "Leave the epidural!  Surgery is waiting for her now.  She can have a spinal block when she gets down there."  Hallelujah!!!

The rest is a bit of a blur.  Through it all I was positively shitting myself with fear but the caesar went very smoothly.  I do remember at one point panicking because I thought I couldn't breathe but it was kindly pointed out that my oxygen levels were at 99%.  

The 29th of October 2009 was a great day to have my baby.  Surgery was filled with many many people, mainly students all there to watch me have my 3rd baby, first caesar, and learn something from it.  For us the added bonus was plenty of people on hand to take photos.

Just like with my other two boys I will never forget the moment I first heard my Little Man cry.  I had just been cut open, he wasn't even out yet but he still managed a gurgly cry.  It was a moving moment and I couldn't control my emotions any longer.  After 2 and half days baby was almost here.  

But what is it?  A boy or a girl?  

The MOTH was called over to cut the cord and, having seen the sex of the baby, came back over to me and whispered gently in my ear, "We have another little Spiderman."

Welcome to the world, baby Evan!  

And Happy 1st Birthday.

       

My day off!

The story continued...

I spent the night tossing and turning and delusional with a fever.  By morning, the fever had passed and there was still no sign of any new contractions so I was moved from the labour ward to the maternity ward.  Those wonderful midwives made sure to give me one of the rooms furthest from all the mummies who already had their babies.  And what a wonderful thing, because the entire day passed uneventfully, waiting for labour to start up again after a hormone was administered after breakfast.  By this point I was impatient and frustrated and so so disappointed at not having met my baby yet.

My gorgeous boys visited that afternoon with their grandparents and then went home with Nan for the night.  The MOTH stayed with me until visiting hours were over then went home to rest.

Within 30 minutes of him leaving I felt the first contraction, although this time it was down low the way it should be.  It was followed pretty quickly by another, then another.

I picked up the phone and called the MOTH to tell him the exciting news but he got annoyed with me and said it would still be hours.  He was off to bed.

When my midwife came in to check on me I told her about the contractions and she too got a little annoyed.  Said she would come back in an hour to check on me and wanted to hear that I'd had at least 5 in that time.

Well, I did!  Probably more like 20!  I asked for a hot pack and she did a wonderful job of making me feel comfortable as I settled in to labour quietly for the night.

To be continued...

A very special day for me

Like every mum, the memories of my labours and births are very special to me and that is why today is such a special day.

On this day last year my labour with Little Man started.  

At precisely 7am and still two days away from my due date,whilst making Big Man and Middle Man's (then still Little Man) sandwiches for preschool and childcare, I felt those first cramps of early labour.

It was different to my previous labours though, so I brushed it off as the beginnings of a bout of gastro when my MOTH asked if I was okay.

After both morning drop-offs and a trip to the shops there was no denying that my cramps and dashes to the loo were more to do with baby #3's arrival and not a tummy bug.  At only five minutes apart my contractions felt urgent, despite me already having two extremely long labours in the past (don't ask about hours - I prefer to talk about how many days I was in labour because it sounds shorter).

Arriving home I phoned the MOTH to please come home and 'hang out' with me until these contractions felt real (the cramps were still high up in my belly and not down low as they should be).  

He arrived home at lightning speed and ran hot baths and showers for me.  Around 11am it was certainly time to phone the hospital and ask what the hell was going on.  After their usual questions, and my strange answers, I was ordered to come in immediately!  "Third babies can do funny things," she said.

At the hospital - and may I add, it is one of my favourite places in the world, with so many wonderful doctors and midwives and memories - I was looked after by an amazing midwife named Margie.  I recently bumped into Margie at a furniture store and SHE REMEMBERED ME!  And my little bruiser.  God love her!

Anyways, I chattered on and on and on about how I'm sure it's just a tummy bug, and other stuff along the same lines when she turned and firmly announced, "You are definitely in labour!"  She got me into a room, gowned up and super super excited to meet my third baby.  She also repeated the third-baby-fiddly theory.

By 3pm I was in agony and absolutely exhausted.  I hadn't dilated a bit (disappointing) so I asked for Pethidine which was happily administered.  Ahhhhh...... bliss!

During the midwife's next visit to my bedside I commented on the Pethidine and how wonderful it was.  She took one look at the printout of my contractions and pointed out that my labour had in fact stopped.

Around 6pm my wonderful obstetrician popped in for a visit.  She was surprised that labour had stopped because she'd just spent all day convincing the midwives that my 'labours start slowly and take a long time, but once she gets going she's off life a rocket'.  After mumbling something that sounded like 'third babies can be unpredictable' she gave me the option of going home and waiting for it to all start again, or hanging out in the hospital for the night and then being induced in the morning if nothing happened.  I chose the latter.

The MOTH hung out with me a little longer but eventually went home to rest and spend a little time with Big Man and soon-to-be Middle Man, and left me to get some rest too for what was shaping up to be another long labour.

...To be continued...

My 'To-Do' list

Birthday cake baked:

DONE

Birthday cake ganached:

DONE

Birthday cake iced and final details:

Hopefully tonight...

Cake pops finished:

DONE

Gingerbread biscuits:

Still baking... Fondant toppers about to be cut...

Note to self: 

"I know I can, I know I can, I know I can do it!"

Happy Birthday Week!

The party planning is all in high gear this week, starting today.

Furniture being picked up by my wonderful FiL today;

Birthday cake baked;

Ganache setting;

Cake board about to be covered.

First step of ganaching is set to happen this afternoon.

Wow!  I can't believe the big day is almost here.  Our Littlest Man about to turn one, and our last opportunity to celebrate the first birthday of one of our children.  It's a very special week.

Happy Birthday Week Little Man!

Special food for my special boys

It has been a very hectic few weeks for us, hence my blogging absence (although I don't seem to be a diligent blogger anyways).

Part of the reason has been a small home-renovation that's been going on, but more so all the party preparation for Little Man's 1st birthday in a couple of weeks.  It's now in full-swing and I hope to find a minute to upload some photos next week to show where I'm up to (and perhaps get a bit of advice...).

In the meantime I am busy busy busy testing out new recipes.  You see although Big Man has some food allergies, we've known about these for a while and have been able to make the necessary changes at home with minimal fuss.  When it comes to parties it's his allergy to dairy that causes a little strife as almost all sweets have dairy in them, as do pastries, biscuits and many savoury crackers. 

Since starting our Little Man on solids we've noticed the same symptoms appear as those in our Big Man, except there seem to be more foods that trigger them in Little Man.  And now that we know that Big Man is anaphylactic we have been extra cautious this time around.

Our current no-go list is as follows:

(Are you ready for it...)

Egg white

Egg yolk

Dairy Milk

Soy Milk

Goat's Milk

Sheep's Milk

Fish

Crustaceans

Bananas

Peanuts

Tree nuts

As it is absolutely essential for Little Man to have some cake at his own party I have been on a frantic search of egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free cakes and sweets.

I've started with testing out some of my own recipes and simply replacing butter with dairy-free spread, and using egg replacer for the egg.  I've stuck to recipes that use liquids other than milk such as cocoa for chocolate cake, coconut milk for coconut vanilla cupcakes and all have been as delicious as they were before.  My taste-testers couldn't even tell the difference!  

I'm really pleased with the results and can't wait to show you the final party product!

Have a lovely weekend.