Well i guess i should start at the beginning...

Heath proposed to me on the 7th of Jan 2004 - 2 months later i found out i was pregnant! was it a plan?? yes! call it a commitment deal - you propose and i'll go off the pill, i think i just wanted heath to propose before i committed my body to the tortures of childbirth! Ted and colleen actually rang us a few days before we knew ourselves to tell us that they were pregnant, heath was stoked to ring back 2 days later and tell them the same news! so the race is on to see which one pops out first.

The first few weeks of pregnancy were very exciting, as we were planning our engagement party we thought it would be an ideal time to tell everyone the news. so on the night of the party we got to suprise alot of heaths relatives and our friends... one round of congratulations quickly followed by another. needless to say i couldnt drink alcohol at this stage but at least i wasnt the only one - colleen and i did a good job of drinking OJ all night and i found it wasnt hard at all watching everyone around me get completely tanked :)

I was 5 weeks pregnant when we found out the news and over the next few weeks i could feel a constant stitch in my left side which is apparently the baby embedding itself in the walls of the uterus. it was a strange feeling but comforting at the same time. The next few weeks passed quickly as we waited for our first hospital visit.

Week 12 - June 3rd - we had our first ultrasound - i was very nervous and excited at the same time, hoping that everything would be ok... and it was. Baby fully healthy, strong heartbeat and moving and wiggling around heaps though i cant feel it at this stage. I think seeing the baby made the reality of it all hit home for heath. Click here to check out the photos and read more...

I suffered a bit of nausea, tiredness and dizzyness up till week 13... i also struggled with the smell and taste of certain foods. Milk was the first thing to taste weird... sour actually. my fave pineapple fritters - sour. meat - had to keep as far away from it as possible. even in the supermarket it would make me feel sick just looking at it all. even some packaged foods made me feel ill - even without smelling it, seems just knowing what it tasted/smelt like was enough to bring on the nausea.

Week 14 was pretty good though still suffered doing the grocery shopping - i came to dread my daily safeway visits. trying to eat more food over this time too was hard when you cant stand the food stores! finally growing out of my real clothes so had to buy some nice maternity pants http://www.bellybutton.com.au/ - thank god they have decent clothes these days! My jeans were getting really tight at work and i often found myself undoing my buttons while at my desk.

Week 15 - June 21st
Got a headache on the monday, had it still on the tues and weds... thursday i stayed home from work hoping to sleep thru the headache and get away from the computer screen for a while... which doesnt help the headache. doesnt help that i cant take any pain killers either! Friday and the headache is finally gone :)

Week 19 and 5 days - July 23rd
Today we went for our second ultrasound... it was great fun. first we got to see the baby's heart beating - all four chambers pumping away nicely! They measured each foot and hand, the leg bones, spine, head and she said the baby was perfect :) she also said the baby was very well behaved as it was laying in the perfect position for the ultrasound to get a good view, but when she went to measure the spine she couldnt get a good angle. she pushed and wiggled my belly trying to make a mini whirl pool to get the baby to spin around but i think it enjoyed riding the waves too much. she sent me to go to the toilet and have a drink of water and somehow it worked and she was able to finish taking measurements. overall she said the baby looked great, in perfect health and it was one of the quickest ultrasounds she had ever done as the baby is normally always in the wrong position.

some other amazing things we saw was the baby swallowing the amniotic fluid - looked like it was sucking its thumb but without the thumb, the little mouth opening and closing. then she showed us the stomach where the fluid would have travelled to straight away, ready to be passed back out the other end. we could see the rib cage and all the bones in the hands and feet as well as the spine. she took a great profile shot of the baby and then a front facial shot - the baby looks really cute in one and kind of alien in the other :)

i dont think the baby enjoyed the experience much, it wiggled around for ages afterwards but it felt nice to feel it moving. havent had any serious kicks yet though, just little niggly feelings. in the ultrasound it looks like its running out of room to move but the nurse said its still got a few weeks before it starts to really press against its boundaries - i read in one of my books that the baby's arm and leg muscles will start to strengthen up over the few weeks and i should get lots of kicking action. she also said that i was a good size for almost 20 weeks considering my small frame and that i would probably be one of the lucky ones who will lose all their baby weight a few weeks after the birth and i'll be back to my normal size again... nice to know i wont have to work hard to get skinny again, ive always been that way naturally no matter what i eat - so thanks to mum for my genes :)

In other news, Ive been feeling really good over the past few weeks, heaps of energy and hardly any nausea as long as i get a good nights sleep. there are still some foods that turn me off - pineapple is the biggest one, seems the baby just doesnt like the taste :) Weve got a baby cot and change table now from Heaths cousin Alison, her little Liam all grown out of it. as well as a few lovely blankets, singlets and a cute little pair of socks from Pat and Les (Heaths parents). Mum is coming over in a few weeks and we'll go shopping for a few other essential items like a trendy 3 wheeler pram and baby capsule for the car. Plans are still in motion to move back to perth in march - were both really looking forward to it and looking at houses at the moment which is kinda exciting too.

Well thats all for this journal entry... hope you are all happy and well!

Week 23

I had another midwives appointment today and all is well - baby is very active and kicked the nurse when she poked around too much.
I got to hear the baby's heartbeat which was amazing - sounded like Pharlap running the race of his life! you could hear each chamber of the heart pumping away and the whoosh sound of blood pumping through it - the four chambers of the heart sounded like hoof beats and the blood sounded like a horse panting :) Heath was a bit disappointed he missed out on hearing it.
ive been having some bladder control problems - nothing major but the nurse said its normal and did a test and it all came back ok.

We dont have anymore ultrasounds unless they think something is wrong - bit disappointed as i enjoyed seeing the baby move around.
Overall feeling good, just get tired easy and going to the loo endlessly which is apparently training me for those sleepless nights to come.

I have my next midwives appointment at 28 weeks where they test for Gestational Diabetes which is apparently very common in mothers these days even if you have no history of diabetes. Other than that everything else is smooth sailing - well apart from heath of
course who needs to have his coccyx removed after injuring it at christmas time.

Week 26 - 4th sept

My mum came for a visit last weekend which was lovely - she really enjoyed feeling the baby kick and just in shock still that im actually pregnant and not my usual skinny self - though she did keep commenting on how ive still got my figure :)
We did a bit of baby shopping - bought a 3 wheeler stroller and a car seat and also got a free baby walker thrown in which was cool. the day out shopping exhausted all of us more than we thought - heath especially who couldnt believe how hard it was to pick a stroller. Didnt help that noone in Baby Target wanted to serve us or offer any advice on the different models... we ended up going to Baby Co which was a bit cheaper and with heaps of friendly sales people to educate us on all the strollers and different types of car seats.

The baby is getting more and more active these days... last night we could actually see my belly move with each kick which was sooo cute. my belly button has all but disappeared - it was like a deep well for ages then it all rose to the surface and my belly is just flat now - belly button hasnt actually popped out yet but i hope it doesnt.

I took my belly piercing out the other night and ive got a plastic one that should mould to the shape of my stomach more - ive heard from alot of mums that they wore this type of piercing right throughout the pregnancy and birth without any problems so just hoping im the same. either way im lathering up with heaps of moisturisers so i dont get any stretch marks :)

2 more weeks till my next hospital visit where they do the test for diabetes - apparently they take a blood sample then make me drink a glucose drink. i then have to wait an hour and they do another blood test to check my glucose levels. if i come back positive i have to see a nutritionist and possibly have insulin injections. family history apparently doesnt matter much as its more a symptom of pregnancy than something hereditary. will let you know the outcome.

My back is starting to get sore with the weight of the baby, and the baby is also starting to push upwards on my stomach and ribs - spreading the ribs apart to make room - sounds lovely doesnt it! i hope all my organs go back in the right place after the birth! as a result of this im getting a bit of heartburn now - had a really bad bout of it one night where i felt like i was going to be sick for hours - and its just the stomach getting pushed higher and the contents of it (food and acid) rising back up the eosphagus (or however you spell it :)). If i eat too much or too quickly it comes on so i have to eat alot of small meals now and try to not lie down afterwards. Getting uncomfortable sitting up on our couch as its really dodgy, i sink right into it and straight away my belly and ribs start to ache so i spend most of the time on the floor on a mattress. still getting the numb tingly legs and one of my hips likes to ache if i walk around too much - it was so sore the other night i could hardly walk on it and it felt like my hip was going to give way.

In other news heath and i finally bought another house in perth!! were pretty stoked about it - its in Beldon, a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with formal lounge/informal lounge/dining and games room - best of all it has a pool!!!! got it at a great price and cant wait to move in. Already packing things up on this end - the sunroom is already half full of box's - and were very happy to be heading home.

Week 30 - 4th october

Well things are progressing slowly - just counting the weeks till bubs is born. Mum is now calling the baby Mr Wiggles which is cute as he sure does wiggle alot - or her! gotta watch myself there :)

Weve been buying heaps of baby stuff of course - the baby room is so full of stuff i really need to organise it better.

I now measure 92cm around the waist - scary huh! bubs is meant to be growing at about 1cm a week and it feels like its pretty much on track. my belly buttons gone all deep again which usually signals a big growth spurt - the ol' belly button only slightly popped. the new piercing i put in has been working wonders - its nice and lightweight and has heaps of movement still so no fear about tearing the skin as i grow.

Ive started writing up a birth plan - kinda scary as i dont really want to think about the labour and birth just yet - all that pain i keep reading about scares me heaps having never felt any real pain in my life - never even a broken bone - i sometimes wonder how i will cope and just hope that the pain relief will be as good as they say.

Week 32 - 18th October

In the last 2 weeks ive started to get some water retention mainly in my hands and wrists. the swelling is worse in the mornings and by the evening my hands have returned to normal. its a very sore achey feeling and i have trouble gripping things - like writing with a pen. im going to have to take my engagement ring off soon or risk having it cut off eventually when the swelling gets worse - i'll wear it on a necklace instead :)

Ive been really really itchy the past week or so - from the soles of my feet all the way up to my shoulders. the midwives made me come in for a blood test as it can be a sign of liver damage - the acid bile building up in your blood stream - but turns out im fine - nothing to worry about. Just very very itchy! they gave me some pills to take to reduce the itching though they dont work very well, they're also a mild sedative so helps me sleep some nights when the itching and the leg cramps keep me awake. I had a flu for a few days too which wasnt very nice either as i cant take any antibiotics so just had to suffer through it.

i get a bit of heartburn in the evenings if i lay down too quickly as well. other things that i feel almost hourly is bubs pushing and moving around alot - there is less kicking now as bubs runs out of room so its alot of heavy pushing especially towards my rib cage which is starting to get a little painful. i actually felt a foot move from the outside of my ribcage to the inside of my ribcage - very weird uncomfy feeling that was.

Overall, feeling alot to whinge about :) but just the usual pregnancy related aches and pains really.

On friday the girls at work threw a baby shower for me which was lovely - was the perfect group of people and wonderful conversation and bubs got some pressies too - clothes and toys and blankets and other bits and pieces which will all come in handy. Mum sent me a lovely parcel with a cute little outfit, some bibs and other cute bits and pieces too. She likes to call him Mr Wiggles as he wiggled around alot when mum came to stay.

Ive started leaking milk already! they say it can start this early... i noticed when i was putting on my moisturiser to keep the stretch marks at bay, when all of a sudden my nipple started leaking clear kinda milky fluid - mostly its still clear stuff - as the real milk doesnt start till after bubs is born. sure made my heart race though - im planning on breastfeeding anyway but i guess a part of me didnt really expect milk to come out - at least i know they work :) heath was very unaffected by this and replied "well what did you expect?" he could have been a little more excited i thought as i pass into another phase of motherhood.

The baby room is all setup - everything looks really lovely and cosy and baby like :) even got the spare bed made up ready for when im up all night with bubs, with heath soundly asleep in our room! we have a baby motion sensor that goes under the mattress so hopefully i will get a few nights sleep in my normal bed without being too paranoid about the baby.

so there are only 8 weeks to go now till bubs arrives - its all getting very exciting and scary at the same time. ive only got 2 weeks of work left before starting maternity leave so am looking forward to spending time at home organising the baby room more and getting things into motion for the big move to perth.

Well I think thats about it for the latest baby news...

Week 36 - 12th November - The Birth of Amber

WARNING – no holds barred this is the full story so contains grossness and goo
and detailed descriptions and emotions… all good though!

Well it all started on the morning of the 12 of november… heath and I thought we'd
be adventurous and try a little bit of morning hanky panky – which turned out to be
very uncomfortable for me to say the least – it always had been while I had a large
belly but this was different somehow.
(apparently hot sex, hot showers and hot curry are meant to bring on early labour)

So heath goes off to work and I go back to sleep, waking up around 9.30am I get out
of bed and notice a wet patch the size of small plate… thinking this is something else
and not my waters breaking I just get up as normal and jump in the shower! Heath
comes home around 10 to pick something up and I tell him I feel a little crampy and
sore after sex but we both thought nothing of it and he goes back to work.

Next im on the loo and no matter how much I wipe things are still wet down there – I
go thru a whole roll of toilet paper almost! I'd been having incontinence problems so
partly thought it was my bladder playing up…

Around 11am I feel a small period like pain in my belly – just a small cramp – and my
lower back is a bit achy too – a hot type of achy. These feeling subside after 5
minutes or so and I feel nothing for a good 20 minutes after that.

The aches come back again and im starting to think that something is going on… so I
ring the hospital for advice around 12pm and they tell me to go lay down for an hour
and rest, and see if anything changes.

Laying down seems to speed things up and I feel worse… every 10 minutes the pain
returns, sometimes less sometimes more. So I ring heath after half an hour (12.30) and
tell him to come home as im not feeling well. Then I ring the hospital again letting
them know im having regular pains – contractions!

The day before I had booked a TENS machine (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve
Stimulation – meant to block the pain signals) so I ring the medical hire place again
and let them know im going into labour and are any TENS machines available? The
lady is very excited but none had been returned yet… she promises to make a few
calls for me… we'd only been to the TENS information night the previous evening!

I throw a few last minute things in my hospital bag between contractions but then
have serious pains – 5 to 7 mins apart – I ring heath again "you'd better be close to
home!" he was just around the corner… its now 1.30… heath grabs my toothbrush,
dresing gown etc and were finally ready… the hospital is 10 minutes away and I have
2 contractions in the car…

We get to the hospital right on 2pm… heath gets the wheelchair and were admitted to
a birthing suite decked out like a hotel room… big double bed, nice couch, dining
table and our own bathroom etc… feeling good… nice atmosphere, JJJ playing on the
radio helps to relax me and things are almost normal… very surreal… what are we
doing here? Is this really happening? I ask the midwife a few times and she says that
all the signs are there. She puts the monitors on my belly to record bubs heartbeat and
the level of my contractions… 40… 60... 80... woh!! 120!! The little graph gets higher
and higher… I stop looking at it :)

I get a phone call from the medical hire – they've found a TENS machine for me so
Heath dashes out to pick it up – its just down the road so hes back in about 20
minutes. We put it on and im already hitting the boost button when contractions
happen… I'm sure heath got some secret thrill out of strapping me to it, being an
electrician – never had to wire up his fiance before :)

Things stay the same for an hour or so… regular contractions every 5 minutes. Heath
and I just waiting in between quite relaxed – thinking I have hours of this to go. Were
both just amazed that its happening early!

We have a really nice midwife – Rosemary – who tells me im doing great and she just
sits reading thru our medical records and birth plan, waiting and watching and
offering advice where needed. She reminds me of Madam Hooch, the quidditch coach
from harry potter – has the same hair style and wears it kinda spikey too :) which for
some reason boosts my confidence like shes gonna perform some magic spell and
bubs will be born.

Im just sitting up on the bed with heath next to me – don't feel the need for any
massage or breathing exercises yet… don't really want to be touched too much during
contractions – just try to get a comfy position but mostly its all uncomfortable…
manage to go to the loo a few times but need heaths help to walk there… the midwife
suggested a shower to help with the contractions but I really don't want to get wet.

After a while the TENS machine doesn't seem to be doing the trick and we ask for the
happy gas. Rosemary wheels it all in and I start to breath big deep breaths of it… its
only on low at the moment and tastes like dirty air – give heath a quick puff of it just
for fun but quickly grab it back as don't want him all numb!

Contractions start to get really painful – most of the pain centred in the belly area but
a hot pain moves across my lower back too. We turn up the gas as much as possible…

Rosemary suggests another position so I hop onto the mediball with my legs under the
bed and a pillow to rest my head on… things quickly start to get more painful. I find
myself grabbing the rail at the foot of the bed and rolling back and forth on the ball.
The gas has made my legs numb from the hips down which is fine, and my nose is
tingling from it but other than that I can feel everything. By now its around 5pm…
only been in hospital for 3 hours which I realise has flown by…

The TENS machine starts to annoy me – in between contractions I just want to rest
and not feel the constant pulsing no matter how low I set it to so I get heath to take it
off.

3 or 4 more contractions and im wondering why I didn't go straight to the epidural but
we go the next level in our birth plan and ask for the pethadine. Rosemary goes out to
get the script signed by the doctor – they usually have it signed and ready but for
some reason its not – well with 4 weeks to go they probably thought they had time!

She asks if I can feel the baby bearing down yet and I say "not really, don't think so –
not quite sure"

Shes out the door maybe a minute before I really start to hurt and heath quickly
presses the nurse button… now I know what she means by that bearing down
feeling… like the biggest poo is about to happen!

she comes running back in with the nurses and they put me on the bed to see how far
along I am… she hasn't had time to get the pethadine and heath keeps telling me to
breath deep on the gas – long deep breaths really do help as I try to suck more gas
back. It's the breaths not the gas though that feels good and helps me focus and not
panic…

Dilated 6 cms – not long to go now… they can feel the babies head when they do the
examination…

JJJ still plays in the background but I can no longer hear it… vaguelly recall hearing
John Butler Trio then later Cat Empire… and hoping that she's born to one of their
songs… but cant remember at what point they came on.

Next thing I know the pain increases exponentionally and all of a sudden im writhing
on the bed and almost wipe everything off the bedside table trying to crawl away from
the pain – I remember the nurses being real quick – as my arm moved across the table
they managed to pick everything up and move it away – sunnies, hair brush, bottle of
water etc… I have a lucid moment where I think "geez their good! even I didn't know
I was going to do that!"

I cant feel it but I look down and one nurse is holding my leg… she tells me to push if
I want and man am I glad to push! The urge to push was intense – I couldn't have
held it back if I wanted to… I turn to look heath in the eyes to try and convey the pain
that im feeling – I want him to know what its like! I want to send the pain to him
somehow… he's holding my hand the whole time…

I push once or twice – then things start to go dark like im falling into a big black pool
of water – and I feel myself slipping away into the darkness which rises really fast… I
reach with my other hand to clutch heath with both and I hear myself saying "im
losing consciousness… im passing out!" I think to myself this is ok – ive reached my
pain threshold and im going to wake up with a baby…

Then another contraction hits and the moment is gone and im plunged back to reality
in an instant… the nurses ask if I want to feel the head crowning so I reach down and
feel this little gooey head… still in disbelief that its all happening…

Then another push or two and she slithers out in an instant – once her head was out
the rest followed straight away which felt bizarre but good. The worst of it was
over… Heath cuts the cord and they guide the baby over my belly and lay her on my
stomach for a second which I barely remember… then they take her away to warm
her up under the lights and check all her vitals… about 5 minutes later I actually ask if
shes a girl or boy! I didn't care – she was born and I was happy she was alive!

Amber Rhys-Jones was born at 5.53 pm weighing 2690grams at 36 weeks (4 weeks
early)… From the time they moved me off the ball and onto the bed to when she was
born was about 20 minutes – to me it felt like 5 or 10.

Afterwards my body is shaking all over and they cover me in a warmed up blanket
which slows down the shakes… then I deliver the placenta which takes a few minutes
but doesn't hurt… the nurse shows me the cord saying its nice and thick and
healthy… bubs was well looked after in my belly :) and the midwives and nurses tell
me what a good job I did of the labour… especially as I did it without any pain relief.

The pain felt like the biggest poo of my life – like shitting a watermelon as my mum
used to say – but a watermelon covered in hottest chilli! Was a big hot burning
sensation…

They take amber to the special care nursery… heath helps me to the toilet – way too
painful to do anything even though I feel I need to, then he helps me shower and
dress. I lay down for a minute again – feeling exhausted and sore. Rosemary comes
in to express some colustrum so they can feed her… at first she tries to catch it in a
syringe type thing without the needle but I have so much of it she then just uses a
small plastic jar to catch it… shes amazed at how much I have and says that I
obviously wont have any problems with milk supply.

Then heath helps me into a wheel chair so I can go see amber… im still very shaky
and sore. She was in a glass box with the portholes… and looked so small! Her hair is
still wet and we can see tiny brown ringlets like someone drew them with a fine pen…
its amazing! Were both just grinning and amazed, fascinated with her. When she
finally opened her eyes they were the deepest darkest colour – we couldn't really tell
if they were blue or brown – they were just very big and dark.

We get our first family photo taken then… and a cute one of her with heath looking
through the porthole. And I go back to the birthing suite to rest… heath and I lay
down together and have a real cuddle for the first time in months… my belly
instantly back to its usual size just really soft.

Amber was in the glass cubicle for a few hours to regulate her temperature and then
just in one of their plastic cots for the next 3 days… I breast fed and did formula top
ups to help her gain weight. After day 2 they put me on the breast pump to stimulate
my milk flow earlier… so she would breast feed, then expressed breast milk was
given, then formula… feeding her took about an hour or more including nappy
change. They'd wake me every 3 hours to feed her but I didn't sleep at all the first
night – just kept replaying the labour in my head over and over not wanting to forget a
moment of it.

After a few days she was allowed to room in with me on the ward – where I shared a
room with 2 other new mums – all of us up every 3 hours to feed our babies and
talking heaps about our experiences. One of the girls had done all the hard work – 20
hours of labour – then had to have a ceasarian because the cord was around the babies
neck! Her stomach was so swollen from the surgery that she still looked half pregnant
and it hurt for her to walk – I was so glad my labour was normal after seeing what
she'd been thru. I had recovered fairly quickly from my labour and felt fine the next
day – just tired.

Amber was also a little bit jaundiced but not enough to cause concern… if she was
they'd have to put her in a special glass cubicle under strong UV lights for 48 hours
so I made sure I wheeled her cot into the sunlight every day :) - one less thing to
worry about though.

Then the second night on the ward we all woke up with sore boobs – they were like
DD size and hard as rock – the milk production was well under way! They were so
hard amber kinda bounced off them everytime she went to feed and I had to express
milk just to attach her.

The next day they weighed amber and I was certain she would be ok to go home… I'd
even packed my bags ready for the good news! Nurses kept coming in for me to fill
out discharge paperwork and it all built me up for the good news… especially as the 2
other mums in my ward were going home too – we were all so excited!

she'd dropped from 2690 to 2485grams. I couldn't stop crying – I just wanted to grab
her and run out of the hospital with her but I could understand the doctors reasons and
just wanted her healthy. All babies lose weight in the first few days and they just
wanted to make sure she had turned the corner and started to gain the weight. If
they'd let me take her home and she didn't gain weight it would have been even more
difficult on me emotionally they said so its better that we wait another day… I cried
and cried. Even the midwives felt really sad… heath came into hospital straight away
and we just laid on the bed together. A few nights before I heard one of the other
mums crying for the same reason – not a dry eye in the house. It was hard but after
heaps of cuddles with heath and a few chats with the midwives I started to feel better.

Later I ran into one of the dads whose son was in special care… they were finally
taking their bubs home but she was crying so much with joy that he had to go get the
baby… such an emotional place for everyone!

So day 6 in hospital and time for another weigh in… I almost felt sick. I wanted heath
to do it this time but he had to work so I just tried to be strong and positive… they
weighed her early in the morning and she was 2500grams… she'd put on weight! but
I had to wait till the lunchtime doctors rounds to find out for sure. But it was all good
and we could take her home! I rang heath and he left work straight away to come and
get us… we were going home!

He found me packed ready and waiting… I kept asking the nurses "are you sure I can
go? Your really letting me leave with her?". We did a final round of goodbye's and
thanked all the nurses and midwives – everyone grinning from ear to ear with the
good news! Then we walked out into the real world… the sun shining and beautiful
amber in our arms :)

Since then its been nothing but happiness – the nurses came to weigh her a few days
after we got home and she'd put on 100grams! She's perfect and healthy and we are
so blessed to have her!

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