Baby Caterpillar - 30 Weeks

Another HUGE week this week with another impromptu hospital trip. This time, not for my sickness for once, but my high blood pressure! Of course as soon as I got there all was okay, and it had completely dropped, but because I have protein and swelling I can never be too careful! I also had a little more bleeding this week, but I often get that when I've vomited a lot, and all was okay. So I was hooked up to the ctg again, had blood and urine tests and oh, got my gestational diabetes results from last week. I was positive. I have gestational diabetes now too!!! How on earth can I possibly have something else this pregnancy?! So appointments will now be weekly, alternating between diabetes appointments and pregnancy check ups. 

Due to everything going on this pregnancy; hyperemesis, dehydration/fainting, bleeding, baby measuring small, mild pre-eclampsia (for the moment), pelvic issues, and now GD, I've decided to ditch my VBAC plan. Most likely I'll need to go early anyway, and I can't be induced, so it'll result in another ceaser.. I've decided to plan for one anyway. I just feel like so many things have gone wrong this time, I'm not sure if I could handle the birth going wrong too, plus It'll be nice to have something go to plan. Also it's nice having a 'date' and seeing the end. 

Seriously, no wonder I'm exhausted!!

Symptoms this week:

Hyperemeis.

Dehydration.

Feeling Faint.

Protein.

Swelling/Fluid.

Leukocystes

High BP.

Pelvic Pain.

Trouble Staying Asleep.

Exhaustion.

Gestational Diabetes.

Colostrum.
Baby's Engaged.

Weight gain: 7 kilo. .. I've lost a little bit of weight this week.

Doctors/Midwives Appointment:

I saw the midwives this week re my BP and will have another appointment on Monday for all the diebeties stuff.

Scan:
Next scan in around three weeks

Size of baby: 

Baby is now around 1.32 kilo and 39.9 cms long.
Big growth spurt this week!
About the size of a large cabbage!

Baby's doing this week:

Baby can follow lights and see around their environment.

Time left:

10 weeks!!

Next Milestone:

33 weeks, after the next scan.

Baby's Gender:

GIRL!

Nickname for baby:

Caterpillar - because of the hungry caterpillar themed nursery.

Cravings:

No cravings this week!

Names:

We've decided to incorporate my Opa's name into the baby's name as he's battling cancer. His name is Adriaan, and the baby will be Arabelle Adrianne.

Baby Caterpillar - 25 Weeks

Oh hello 25 weeks, I feel like you're finally here but came around so quick at the same time! 

25 weeks:

20 weeks:

What a huge growth spurt this little one has had in just 5 weeks! Although I'm carrying SO much fluid!

We are doing our progress picture again, so I'll share next week, come back to see!

 

I have just had some kidney tests done as they're worried about pre-eclampsia returning this time with some high BP readings and so much fluid and kidney pains. I'm waiting for the results now, so will update more on that next week too.

I haven't been toooo sick this week, thank goodness! I think I've only had two bad days, where I couldn't keep anything down. Things are definitely improving with my sickness, but I do hope it would completely leave me alone soon!!

Symptoms this week:

Hyperemisis.

Leg Cramps.

Pelvic Pain.

Braxton Hicks.
Swelling & Fluid.

Trouble Staying Asleep.

Feeling Hot.

Increased Appetite.

Colostrum.

High BP.

 

Weight gain: 7 kilo -I need to stop writing my weight I think, ekk! At least the doctor said it's mostly fluid. 

Doctors/Midwives Appointment:

I had a doctors appointment this week, where they've put me on fortnightly appointments now because of my blood pressure instead of monthly. So my next appointment is in about a week and a half. 

The doctor sent me off for tests on my kidneys, so fingers crossed all is okay there, and also gave me a referal to book my next scan. I'm so excited to see the baby again in a few weeks, but nervous as to what will be out of the cyst in their brain.

Scan:

 Around 3 more weeks.

Size of baby: 
About 660gms, and 35 cms head to toe!.. grown 5cm in a week!

About as long as a zucchini!

 

Baby's doing this week:

Their brain is growing rapidly!

 

Time left:

15 weeks!! 

 

Next Milestone:

Next milestone will be our 27/28 week scan!

 

Baby's Gender:

Will reveal after our 27/28 week scan.

 

Nickname for baby:

Caterpillar - because of the hungry caterpillar themed nursery.

 

Cravings:

Black forest chocolate.. what does that mean?
 

Names:

All decided, woohoo!!

 

Baby Caterpillar - 24 Weeks.

It's been an incredibly busy week pregnancy wise this week, full of swelling & high blood pressure (scary since I had pre-eclampsia with Jydan), a midwife appointment, braxton hicks and doing up the nursery!

So I woke up one morning and my legs, feet and arms were incredibly swollen. I couldn't even clench a fist! And my feet were so sore. I knew it was a normal part of pregnancy, but since I had pre-eclampsia with Jydan I thought it was better to get checked, and there it was! A BP reading of 140/105. Not very high yet, but I'm normally 120/80. It's been up and down since, although not sitting at my normal reading, so I'm just keeping an eye on it for now. I got the nurse to check if there was any protein in my urine, and there's not.. yet thank goodness! But seems it's on the cards

On a positive note, I've been working on Caterpillar's nursery! Not finished yet.

Plus I'm super excited to be 24 weeks and be classed as 'viable'

 

Symptoms this week:

Hyperemisis.
Swelling & Fluid.

Tiredness.

Trouble Staying Asleep.+

Feeling Faint.

Tingling Head.

Bump!

Increased Appetite.

Pelvic Pain.

Colostrum.

Braxton Hicks.
High BP.

 

Weight gain: 5 kilo -that scales creeping up now!

Doctors/Midwives Appointment:

I had a really quick midwives appointment to check my blood pressure and protein. All was fine at the appointment. Doctor's appointment next Monday

Scan:

 Next scan is at 27 weeks to check on the cyst on the babies brain.

Size of baby: 
About 600gms, and 30 cms head to toe!

About the size of an ear of a corn! And a ruler!

 

Baby's doing this week:

Their brain is growing rapidly!

 

Time left:

16 weeks!! 

 

Next Milestone:

Another Milestone passed, 24 weeks, yey!
Next milestone will be our 27/28 week scan!

 

Baby's Gender:

Will reveal after our 27/28 week scan.

 

Nickname for baby:

Caterpillar - because of the hungry caterpillar themed nursery.

 

Cravings:

ICECREAM!
 

Names:

All decided, woohoo!!

 

Baby Jydan - The Birth Story

The Birth Story:
Monday, 2:00pm-4:00pm.
Monday the 12th of November my mum came over for a visit and I mentioned that I was extra swollen, my mum agreed that it seemed to be even more lately. We went to the chemist at 2:00pm and checked my blood pressure. My blood pressure was 139/89. Afterwards I debated if I should call the Pregnancy Assessment Clinic and if I should go in and get it checked properly.
I decided to call and they said that I needed to come in as soon as possible. So mum and I made the trip to the hospital at about 3:30pm. I texted hubby that I was on the way to the hospital, I didn't call him because I wasn't concerned. I was seen at about 4:00pm and my blood pressure was now 142/92. They checked my urine and I had +++ protein, which is quite concerning! I was then wheeled to the labour ward into an assessment room in a wheelchair by the midwife as I wasn't aloud to walk!!... I had pre-eclampsia.
 
Monday, 5:00pm-9:00pm.
I then called hubby and let him know, he said he would finish up at work and come down. I was put on a fetal monitor, and bubby's heartbeat was great. My reflexes were tested and I had exaggerated reflexes on the left side, this is a symptom that pre-ecampsia is on it's way to turning into eclampsia. At 5:00pm my blood pressure was checked again and it was now 170/110. I was given blood pressure tablets and began a fluid drip to try and flush out the protein. At 7:00pm the decision was made that I would be induced, starting of with a tablet that's inserted into the cervix to help soften and dilate the cervix. I was told that it would be left in for 12 hours and my waters will be broken at 8:00am. An hour later I went to a room in the maternity ward to stay the night.

Monday 10:00pm- Tuesday 5:00am.
The next two hours I spent talking to the lady next to me, she was induced at the same time, in the bed next to me and now we were waiting it out together. (we ended up swapping numbers a few days after and still talk!). I started to get some mild contractions that started of as period pains, they then went more painful and then they started in my back.

Tuesday 5:00am- 11:00am
I was moved to a birthing suite and my contractions were monitored, they were 2-3 minutes apart. They were pretty painful at this stage but the scariest part was when the midwife said they are only mild! They were going to get ALOT worse. I texted my mum and my husband, I told my mum to come straight away, because I was in too much pain to be by myself. I was only 2 centimeters dilated but as I was having regular contractions, they took the tablet out and broke my waters at 6:30am. My mum arrived at 7:00am and Tim arrived about 8:30am. By 9:00am the contractions were REALLY painful and all in my back and I had my first round of 'water injections' which worked absolutely amazingly. I was checked again at 11:00am and I was 4-5cm dilated. I was so excited to be 'almost' halfway. My dad had also arrived by this stage.
 
Tuesday 12:00pm - 3:00pm
The contractions were absolutely hideous, I tried water therapy, hot water packs, massages and more water injections.

Tuesday 3:00pm - 7:00pm
I was checked again at 3:00pm and was still only 5cm (I was also told that they could feel some hair on bubby's head!) so I was put on a potocian/syntocin drip to bring on the contractions harder and faster to help try and dilate more. Because I had to be on the drip the baby's heartbeat had to be monitored so I couldn't be free to move. I had another water injection but it didn't work because my contractions were too severe. I couldn't handle the pain anymore so asked for gas around 5:00pm. The gas helped but I felt like I couldn't handle it anymore. I felt so agonisingly broken. My labour was all in my back. I spoke to the midwife about other drug option and we decided to wait till after the next check and try some water therapy until then. So I had a shower for 20 minutes, which is all I was aloud because I had to go back on the heart monitor machine. Being without gas or anything for 20 minutes was horrible, I was in so much agony but the shower did relieve a bit. When I had to turn the shower off, getting dressed and walking back to the machine was possibly the most pain I had ever been in when a contraction arrived.
I decided that I would like some morphine so I buzzed the midwife who explained that I would need another exam to see how dilated I was because I couldn't have morphine if I was too far dilated. So I was checked at 7:00pm where I was still 5cm. It was recommended that I have the epidural instead because they would now need to turn the drip up on full, making my contractions much more excruciating then they all ready were and having that much pain could affect my blood pressure. Having to stay still for the epidural while having a contraction was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do *teary*. I think I almost broke my mum's hands! 
 
Tuesday 7:00pm-11:00pm
After the epidural my labour was actually enjoyable! I actually napped on and off. I could still move my legs and feel my contractions tighten. I was really happy that I could still feel something because I knew it would help with pushing my little guy out. The contractions started to get painful through the epidural so I turned it up probably four times over the four hours which ended up meaning that I couldn't move my legs much at all.
 
Tuesday 11:00pm- Wednesday 12:30am.
I had another check at 11:00pm where we were hoping that I was at least 8 centimeters. I wasn't. I was 5-6. This time I was checked by a doctor. The doctor said I was probably only 5 but she stretched it open to 6. She also told us that baby's head was beginning to swell by trying to get through but he couldn't. She had to go off and talk to her supervisor on what to do next. I wasn't sure what she meant. The midwife spoke to us after she left and said they were going to discuss what will be best to do, either let me keep going, or go for an emergency c-section. I remembered what I had in my birth plan; "Although I prefer a natural labour I would like the decision for a c-section made as soon as it’s needed. Please do not wait for improvements in the baby or my labour to determine an emergency c-sections and make an immediate decision. " My mum reaffirmed that I should make this decision too.
The doctor returned at 11:30pm and said they have decided to go ahead with an emergency c-section. I was told it would happen within half an hour, I was told of any potential complications, signed permission forms and prepped for surgery. While waiting to be bought into surgery I was so scared (teary again!). All I could do was stare at the T.V. I couldn't look at my husband, mum or dad. Every time they would talk to me I would get teary, tune out of the conversation and give them a quick nod. I was so shocked and scared. I was wheeled off to surgery at about 12:30am.

Wednesday 12:30am-2:00am
When we arrived at theatre, Tim got changed into scrubs and my epidural was increased. I started getting shaky which they said was caused by the epidural. They ran through what was going to happen during the surgery and in recovery afterwards. I was shifted onto the surgical table. I wasn't told much during the procedure but I remember the point when the anesthetist said they had started. I could feel my skin tear with them cutting but without the pain. I could feel them pushing and pulling. I kept talking to my husband, we talked about everything really. I was trying to occupy myself. I even tried to talk the anesthetist at one point. And then the moment came (big tears!) they held up my son at 1:17am!

As they were pulling him out they said about how much he looks like his dad. I hardly saw him, they didn't hold him up high enough and it was only for a couple of seconds, but I knew he was the most beautiful little boy I've ever seen! They said about what a big boy he was too. He had a little cry and was taken away. I told my husband to leave me and go be with him, that I would be fine. When I turned my head to the left I could see him in the corner of the room. I then began shaking so much that my muscle's hurt. I felt so sick and hot. They put a sick bag next to my head and ice on my forehead. I heard them mention about getting ready for a transfusion. I was so sick that it didn't click what they meant. They kept saying about measuring the amount of blood and then I saw the big jug of my blood. I asked if I had lost alot and they said it was okay, it was in the normal range. What they didn't tell me is how much. Tim over heard them saying it was 700ml. The normal range is between 400-700ml. Tim then sat down next to me holding our son and I can remember the tears in his eyes. It was such a beautiful moment for him. He got to hold our son for the first hour of his life. All I wanted to do was hold him. I couldn't even touch him cause I had so much wires and monitors around my arms. The next thing I knew is they were packing up, taking the screens down and people were leaving. I had passed out.

Wednesday 2:00am-3:00am

I was shifted back onto my previous bed and moved into recovery. I was asked if I wanted to hold my son, of course I said 'YES PLEASE'. As soon as he was in my arms I started crying, I couldn't believe I was finally holding my son! We had skin-to-skin and I tried to feed but he wouldn't latch on (we found out later on that he couldn't suck because he was tongue tied). He used my breast as pillow and just fell asleep on me. I held him for about an hour and was pushed into the maternity ward into a room that I would spend the next few days in. On the way to the room I was pushed passed my parents. I was so captivated by my son that I didn't take much notice of anything else around me. I had become a mummy!

Baby Tiley - 38 Weeks

Baby Tiley This Week:
I think every site I look up to find Baby Tiley's around about weight and height tells me different measurements. The majority of websites say around 7 pounds and alot of them state that boys will tend to weigh more then girls! My own guess, if his born this week, he will be around 7.5 pounds. I think he will be about 8.3 pounds by the time 40 weeks come around.
They are also saying that he would be anywhere between 19-21 inches now (48-53 centimeters)... yep, the websites seem to have no idea now, it's all at a guess! My guess is he will be around 50 centimeters when his born.
Tiley would have lost most, if not all, of the vernix and is now starting to shed the lanugo, the fine hair that's been covering his skin.

Tiley's Movements:
I've been nick naming Tiley 'flop' this week because he has been flopping to the one side. If I'm laying down I have to sometimes move him to the middle so I can get up, which absolutely kills my pelvis. It's quite hilarious though looking at my bump all to one side.
Tiley's been getting into my ribs SO much. He really likes to kick his leg through them and often when I'm laying down I can see his foot protruding out!

Being 38 Weeks:
Well, It's NOVEMBER!! Due month has arrived and I'm still pregnant! I actually can't believe I'm still here! I start drafting these posts a few days before I publish them so I was a bit reluctant to start this one, just in case I would be waisting my time.. apparently not!
I know every pregnant person wishes they would go early, but with all the contractions and going into early labour two weeks ago now, AND being told that it will be a few days to a week, almost two weeks ago, I was dead-set baby would be out by now. Every Saturday that passes (If you remember our 'Saturday theory', if not, take a peak at Week 23) I'm on high alert... 'ohhh was that a contraction'.. 'what was that?'................... Hopefully this Saturday ;).
All in all, this week has been fairly good actually, besides being slower, fatter and dopier (lots of baby brain moments!!) I'm not in as much pain as I have been, or I've learnt to handle the pain better, either way, I've enjoyed being pregnant most of the time this week.

Weight Gain:
Do I go there? Ekk, okay. I've avoided writing about my weight gain since I was probably three/four months pregnant because I put way too much on. I have put more on then I hoped, I think I hoped for about 10 kilo's and I've put on 14-15 kilo's depending on the day. I'm pretty happy with that though. So I'm actually at the same weight I was at 32 weeks, so no weight gain for the last 6 weeks but I figure I put so much on mid pregnancy to make up for it ;).

Reminiscing:
As my pregnancy ALMOST (hopefully!!) at an end I've been dying to mimic one of my friend's blog posts. Check it out here Young Mum's Guide To Survival - The A-Z of my first pregnancy.

Here's my A-Z of my first pregnancy:

A is for Achne! Oh lord, mid pregnancy I seemed to get alot on my back!
B is for Bones! My bones have been SOO achy at the end of this pregnancy.
C is for Cervix! My cervix has bled alot during this pregnancy.
D is for 'Do's & Dont's'! Everyone tells you what you can and can't do!
E is for Eat! I had terrible morning sickness at the start so I would eat alot.
F is for Friday's! Working while pregnant, I could not wait for Fridays!
G is for Ginormous! Enough said. I am huge!
H is for Husband! I don't think I've ever been so in love with him!
I is for Indigestion! I have had terrible indigestion at the end.
J is for Jydan! The name we have picked for our son!
K is for Kick! My favourite moments are seeing the kicks on the scans.
L is for Life! Can you believe I'm actually making a life?? Seriously?!
M is for Marks! I have got so many stretch marks!
N is for Nesting! I never realised how disgustingly dirty my house is!
O is for Obstetrician! I've seen one for about 10 minutes this whole time!
P is for Pressure! My blood pressure has been a concerning this pregnancy.
Q is for Quickening! The first movements felt, I was around 13 weeks!
R is for Relaxin! The terrible hormone causing my pelvic pain.
S is for Sleep! I cannot sleep at all!
T is for Trimester! Passing the first trimester was amazing!
U is for Ultrasound! At 6, 10, 11, 20, 21, 29 & 36 weeks!
V is for Vulnerable! Be careful, hormonal woman on the loose!
W is for Waddle! I've only just started to waddle in the last few weeks.
X is for Xander! Xander is the name Tim wanted to call our little boy.
Y is for Yawn! I am ALWAYS yawning (I even yawned writing this!!)
Z is for Zoo! I've loved preparing our zoo (safari) themed nursery!

Symptoms This Week:
-Fatigue
-Breast Pain
-Insomnia
-Heart Burn
-Swelling
-Headaches
-Baby Brain
-Lower Back Pain

Labour Signs:
-1.5 Centimeters dilated (1/2 a centimeter this week!).
-Contractions.
-Lower Back Pain.

Contractions:
Thursday night/Friday morning I experienced another 'false labour'. These contractions lasted from about 8:00pm the Thursday night till 3:00am the Friday morning.
At the start they started of mild, just like a stitch. I didn't time them because they weren't really painful yet. By 11:00pm they had got worse so I thought that I should try and sleep them off before they get too bad. But then came my first painful, painful contraction. So I went to bed, but definitely couldn't sleep.
The contractions were about four-five minutes apart at this stage. Even in my false labours my contractions come quite frequent so I wasn't fussed with them being so close together. At about 12:00am I yelled out to Tim, who was still awake in the lounge, to come rub my back and hold me. He held and rubbed me and was so patient with me for another hour (see, i'm just training him for the real labour ;) ). These contractions between this time were the most painful one's I have felt yet. Tim then put the hospital bags in the car and waited for me to give him the 'okay' to call the hospital. I timed my contractions and they were now lasting about a minute and about two minutes between. To everyone else, contractions this close would be a big warning sign, but my false contractions come hard and fast. I was though, beginning to not cope with the pain. I said that we will go to the hospital in about an hour, that was around 1:30am... but, by the time 2:00am hit, they started dying down, becoming less painful and spreading out. I think my last one was near 3:00am and that was it. So here I am again, still pregnant and no baby. Everything had stopped AGAIN! :(.
I still get 3-4 a day, mostly in a row 10 or so minutes apart and then they stop. I'm beginning to think I'll never know what true labour is because of my contractions!

Midwives Appointment:
Tim was able to attend this appointment again, which was good :).
The midwife we got was the one that dealt with my contractions at the hospital last week so it was good that she knew what was going on with my early labour. Even though I find her rude.
Bubby was measuring a week and half ahead, which is still in the normal range but because last appointment he was measuring a week behind, it means that there was a 6 & half week size difference in just 4 weeks. They discussed about sending me for a scan because of the huge difference but they chose not to in the end.
The midwife also said that she thought she could feel more of his spine too, so his trying to turn out of the posterior position, hopefully!
His heart beat was between 130-150bpm (the average fetal bpm around this gestation is 120-160bpm)  so perfect, he gets complimented on how great his heartbeat is and how happy and healthy he is all the time, I love it! It makes me so proud.
My blood pressure was okayish, at 132/84, it seems to be climbing up again.. ho hum... so we will just see! But it is 'fine' for now.

Progressive Shoot:

We did another progress picture on the weekend, my last of these photos during the pregnancy, we have one more to go in 6 weeks time with baby! Check out the different seasons during my pregnancy too, it's been such lovely weather lately making some gorgeous sunny photos!

Baby Tiley- 35 Weeks

Tiley This Week:
Baby is weighing in at about 5 & 1/2 pounds now and boy can I feel it! I don't know how I'm going to cope with another two pounds (hopefully!!) on top of that! But then again, two weeks ago he was supposedly only 4 & 1/2 pounds and it doesn't feel all that much different. Tiley has grown another centimeter this week, and will continue to grow a centimeter each week until around 38 weeks until he stops completely while in my tummy!
Baby is beginning to co-ordinate his reflexes now, his always accomplishing something each week.
For some reason I have been really looking forward to making it to 35 weeks, I couldn't wait to make it, and to be able to say only five weeks to go. Tuesday marked me being 8 months pregnant! Woohoo! Today marks 36 days left till my due date! woohoo!

Hospital Appointment:
Last friday I had the hospital appointment to check my blood pressure again. It was 145/75 which they said is fine because the most concerning number is the bottom number, and 75 is perfect. The top number is an indication of stress, and not a major concern, and the bottom number doesn't tend to go up too much at all with stress. The second number, the diastolic number is under 90 at the moment so it's not a concern.
I spoke about my concerns with feeling faint, dizzy, blurred vision and bad headaches which I have been feeling for a few weeks and have let them know about with the last three appointments. It seemed they finally listened and tried to figure out what was causing these symptoms. So the lady then again took my blood pressure but with me standing up! My blood pressure dropped to 100/65! Because of the huge changes in my blood pressure when I stand up I'm getting all these symptoms, and the 'bad headaches' are actually migraines.
I was just told to take my time getting up, sit down when I feel like I'm going to faint and take some panadol.
Because my blood pressure isn't a concern for now, my next appointment was made for when I am 37 weeks.

Symptoms This Week:
-Pelvic Pain
The pelvic pain, although it is terribly painful, I'm getting quite use to. Besides, nowadays, if I feel I'm in too much pain to do something, I can just say no and rest at home, so it's not overly terrible.
-Blood Nose
This week I was blessed with my second blood nose (not!), with these migraines and blood noses I feel like everything in my head is going to burst!
-Insomnia
My lack of sleep has actually improved this week. I'm only waking up twice through the night for bathroom/drink/quick eze trips and the first time I can easily get back to sleep.. I can deal with that ;).
-Heart Burn
My heartburn has increased this week, is there a limit to how many quick eze you can have a day???
-Migraines
My major symptom this week has been the migraines. This I think is all to do with my blood pressure going so high and then dropping so low as I mentioned above. I had never had a migraine before and just thought I was getting 'bad headaches'.. yep, very bad headaches!
-Swelling

My SUPER swollen feet!

>>> Check out my swollen feet! There not always like this, by the end of the day they are swollen but not this bad, but with my extreme business, this is what they looked like by the end of last week. They think they are pregnant too!
-Faint
So this is to do with my blood pressure getting so low too. A rest stop normally fixes this but has the tendency to make for some very embarrassing situations. During our maternity shoot I had to ask if I could sit and rest for a moment.

Amber Jewellery:
So I've just bought an amber anklet for Tiley, and wanted to share some information about them, if you know much or not much about them, they are so interesting! They have been increasingly popular over the last year or so and are suppose to be a relief for the pain associated with teething. If it does or doesn't work for our baby, I think it's worth trying.
The amber anklet I bought is made of raw baltic amber which comes from tree raisin that grew in the forests of the baltic region, especially Europe, millions and millions of years ago. It's said to be extraordinary amber. This particular amber is still sold in pharmacies and health shops in the baltic region, especially in Germany where their herbal remedies, natural therapies and medications are more advanced then Australia - I even take a German herbal iron liquid - so, so far it is not on the Therapeutic Goods Australia register.
Amber is thought to work by realising natural oils through the skin into the blood stream. Baltic amber contains about 8 % succinic acid, also known as the spirit of amber or amber acid, which is thought to be a natural antibiotic.
The raw amber is unpolished amber that has not gone through chemical shaping and cleaning so they have more natural oils.

Maternity Shoot:
Saturday was a pretty fun day, the morning started off with getting my makeup and hair done, all organised by our maternity photographer and we had our maternity shoot by TK's Photography. Here is a sneak peak image of our shoot.

I'm so happy with Tanya's work. I had major doubts about getting these photos done, from my pregnancy weight gain, to me carrying so low, but I thought with how much of a treasure and miracle it is to be here right now, the unknown if there will be number 2, and being our first, I knew one day I would look back at them and be thankful I got them done. But, with Tanya's amazing work I'm looking at this photo NOW and so thankful I got them done. Definitely much better then I thought they would turn out, my doubts of myself seem so silly now! So definitely check out her website,  http://www.tksphotography.com.au/.
I can't wait to share more images with you but I believe that will be in a few weeks time. Thankyou Tanya!
Tanya from TK's photography will also be doing fresh newborn photo's of little Tiley!

Masquerade Party:

Last Wednesday was my lovely friends 25th birthday and she had a masquerade! It was a fantastic night and my word, did her venue make some delicious mocktails! I thought I would share because I had spoken about getting a mask and dress organised in a previous blog post that you can see HERE. Not quite like the masks I shared but I suppose it was similar to the first mask on the previous blog post. Still gorgeous. My darling hubby bought me the gorgeous mask to wear so I didn't have to make one in the end :)


5 more days 'till out breastfeeding class!

Baby Tiley- 34 Weeks.

Baby Tiley:
I just can't believe how big our little boy is now, his not that far off being a newborn heigh. He would be about 46cm from head to toe now (based on if he is 51cm at birth). That's only 3cm smaller then how big I was when I was born! No wonder his stretching out a lot - I'm sure his so squished now!

His also about 2.4 kilos now / 5.2 pounds. I'm secretly hoping that he will only put on another 2 & 1/2 pounds, around about. But I don't mind :D.

Tiley's working on his muscle development this week, and will be turning his head from side to side, opening and closing his eyes and moving those gorgeous little muscles.

My Bump This Week:

Tiley's Movements:

Tiley often has his legs up towards the right. I especially only feel him get into my right rib but a couple of days this week I felt him all in my left side. For some reason too, the left rib kicks hurt alot more then the right ones! He seems to have settled back into his usual position now, he must prefer his legs and being flipped onto the right side, thank goodness - I know I certainly prefer him being on my right. Before he was too squished and would flip and rotate alot I seemed to have never liked him being into my left side, it was always so painful and uncomfortable, I wondered if it was anything to do with the way the curve in my spine went.

Tiley had some massive work-out days this week, I don't think he slept for about 30 hours! Or if he did, it was only 5 minute naps! He definitely took all my energy and I was exhausted because I couldn't get to sleep at all! He does this around once a month or so and goes absolutely nuts for a couple of days straight -  and then so quite, that he has a lack of movements! Last time it happened, at 30 weeks, it made me quite concerned even though it has been happening throughout the whole pregnancy and I went to the hospital for lack of fetal movement, all was okay of course :). Although he would go very quite he would also stick to his routine of most movements around 6 am and then 8 pm. My guess is his going to be a very routine baby... gee! I know so much about one little tiny tummy baby.

High Blood Pressure:
I mentioned a few weeks ago about my pre-eclampsia scare (you can read a little about it HERE) and then my blood pressure dropping back down and all being okay the next week (Which you can read more about it HERE)
Well, here's an update;

I have been keeping a very close eye on it, and checking on it about every two days. If it's high I keep checking it until it goes down and even give the hospital a call if I feel it's too high. It goes up really high each week and then goes back down again - it's so unsteady!

Monday it had gone up again so although I have just had a midwives appointment last Friday I am booked in again this Friday. I feel that weekly appointments are more fitting for my situation as along with the blood pressure there is protein and SOMETIMES (It does go away too!) sudden swelling. If my blood pressure was high all the time I would be diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, but it seems I am only pre-eclamptic a couple of days out of the week... my body can amaze me by making my beautiful boy and then frustrate me for not doing it perfectly!

Symptom's This Week:
-Heartburn
-Increase In Allergy's
-Pelvic Pain
-Insomnia

All in all, I do not feel ' 34 weeks pregnant'... I feel great! Possibly only 24 weeks pregnant. I feel I can do this pregnancy thing for more then the next 6 weeks (but baby WILL be coming on time!!!). I often get the comments now of 'oh you must be over it', 'oh I bet you can't wait until it's over'.. but i'm not.. Am I normal?

Realising I've ONLY got six weeks to go, I'm really making the most of it. Videoing every circus act Tiley does, taking many bump pictures, showing off my bump with tight clothing, spending quality time just rubbing and 'ahhing' over my belly and his movements and doing double takes of every time I look in the mirror with my belly exposed. I'm not ready to give up being pregnant yet.. I'm secretly hoping the next 6 weeks don't go too fast  (Possibly coming from the unknown fact if we can have #2) but on the same hand I am more then ready and mentally prepared and excited for this baby to come!

Midwives Appointment:
Tim actually got to go to this appointment which is the first midwives appointment his been to, besides our scare at 11 Weeks and all our scans but none of the midwives or doctors appointment. It was amazing to see him involved. He loved hearing bubbys heartbeat because our home Doppler doesn't pick it up as loud and strong.
My fundal height is measuring a week smaller, I can't keep up with this fundal height business! but that's still pretty perfect :).
Other then that, we chatted about what to be on the look out with regarding pre-eclampsia and what to pack in my hospital bag.

Does anyone know what pres.part & station means??

Itti Bitti Modern Cloth Nappy Review:
So I HAVEN'T tried these cloth nappies on bub yet, obviously. We've washed them a couple of times with Tri Nature Washing Powder snapped and folded them all up and they are ready to go. Tim and I sat for a couple of hours feeling, snapping and chatting about our favourite nappy's, which ones we do and don't like and our favourites were definitely the Itti Bitti's. We've bought many brands so we can see what we like best, what suits baby's bum and what we will continue buying. Just a reminder, we have not used them on baby yet - this review is just based on thickness/thinness, drying time, waterproofness, matching boosters/inserts and size. I will do another review when baby actually wears them, and we will see if our favourites or thoughts change.

Itti Bitti's come in so many gorgeous colours and patterns. They also have sales on so often. Itti Bitti comes in three different styles, the Itti Bitti D'lish (sized nappy's), which also come in Snap-In-One's or All-In-One's, the Itti Bitti Tutto's (One-size-fits-most) and the Itti Bitti Boo's (Night Nappy's). We have the the Itti Bitti D'lish's, and the Itti Bitti Tutto's.

Itti Bitti D'lish Snap In One's (These are our favourites):

• They are very quick drying, the quickest of all the nappies we have.
• You can use the nappy as a shell/cover without the boosters for other nappy's that are not waterproof.
• You can 'snap in' the boosters for a complete nappy.
• If only the boosters are wet, you can just replace the boosters, snap in new boosters without changing the nappy.
• You do not have to unsnap to wash, they can be washed all together!

Itti Bitti All In One's:

• These are so easy and convenient, they come with everything inside and sown into the nappy.
• You don't need to worry about finding the correct boosters or anything, they are all-in-one!

Itti Bitti Tutto's:

• These are One-Size-Fit's-Most and go from size's small to extra-large which are bigger then the d'lish comes in.
• These can last forever!
• These work just like the Snap In One's that we love!
• They come with three different boosters that snap in. You can use all three for night-time or choose whatever boosters best fit your baby's wetting and pooing habbits.
• Tutto's come with hip snaps to avoid fabric rubbing on baby's hips.

3 days till my maternity shoot!!

P.S I have been working on my blog.. is it looking better?