Saturday, December 26, 2009

Merry Christmas

How do you like the new Santa? Cute, hey??

We travelled up to East London to spend Christmas with my folks. We decided to surprise them and not let them know we were coming. Luckily I knew my mom was babysitting so we could be pretty sure they were at home. They were very happily surprised.

Young master Mitchell has been progressing in leaps and bounds (and kilograms too!). He realised he could roll over while we were here and now changing his bum is rather difficult especially a poo bum! He has charmed everyone with his ready smile, especially his grandparents. Granny has very sore arms now after babysitting little Isabella, who is a bit colicky and cries a lot, and then lugging around this fat lump too.

We also met Mitchell and Branston's new cousin, Caston, in PE. He is also very cute.

I hope everyone had a super Christmas and will have a great new year too.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Well then...

Looks like I am no better at updating this blog than the last one. Since going back to work, every second on the computer is devoted to work as I don't have that much time to spare and I have been hectically busy. I have not even read a book in the last month and if you know how much reading I was doing before you know that is hectic.

We decided to get an au pair to look after young master Mitchell initially as when I was ready to go back to work he was not ready to go onto the bottle so we started off with me working from home and stopping to feed him, then going back to work. I found an au pair who is not too expensive to work from 8:30 to 4. Unfortunately she is leaving me now as she has just discovered that she is pregnant and has to organise a quick wedding so she is going home to her mom to organise it. So in a week I will be stuck again! We are now pondering whether to stick with an au pair or try and find a day mother. Mitchell is doing fine on the bottle now so should be ok away from home. But then there will be no-one at home for Branston in the afternoons. And he has been doing really well coming home in the afternoon instead of going to aftercare. Well, we will make a plan.

Anyway, so how is Mitchell doing, you ask? He is getting nice and fat with these little fat bracelets round his wrists and ankles. Four months old now and a very solid baby. Last weight measurement was about a month ago and he weighed 7.1kg then (15.6 pounds) so I reckon he is over 8 kg now. He is quite a happy baby, does not cry a lot. He likes to be held a lot and to have people talking to him. He is developing quite the little personality now and shouts rather than cries when he is hungry or angry. He is totally adorable and I love him to bits. I have photos on the other pc so I will try and put some up for all to see as soon as I can.

It is quite amazing how much like Kendra he looks now. He is at pretty much the same stages of development she was at when she died. One can see now how far behind she really was. Pretty soon he will be overtaking her. It is also so nice to have a baby whose face lights up when he sees you. That is one thing that Kendra never really did. She would laugh at anyone who made faces at her but I never really felt that recognition for her mother that should have been there and with Mitchell I definitely feel it. We took him out to visit her at the memorial park yesterday but it was a bit of a rushed visit as it was so hot (32 degrees!). The way Mitchell shouts also reminds me a lot of Kendra. He makes me think of Branston too when he was a baby. A bit of a combination of both of them. Except for the blue eyes, those are his daddys. It does not look like they are going to change now, I think they are supposed to be settled at about 4 months.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Colic etc...

Well, today was our last (hopefully) session at the chiropractor for Mitchell's colic. It does seem to have helped a bit though he still has his moments. It has been nice to have him awake and not too miserable, though I find myself a bit lost, not really knowing what to do with him when he is awake. I can put him down and do things, like make myself a cup of tea or make supper (not that I consider that an advantage - it is quite nice having Gathry do most of the cooking while I am busy with baby!). On that note, I am extremely blessed I think to have a husband who willingly does the cooking and helps out with baby wherever he can. Not all husbands do that.

I have been to the local clinic's mother's support group meetings twice now. It is nice to meet other moms, though it makes me realise how much easier it is the third time around and how much less anxious one is. Most of the moms there are first timers and sometimes come up with the oddest things. We had a talk by an audiologist and the one mom thought grommets was a condition the baby gets eg my baby has a cold/grommets...

Mitchell has gained 450g since the last visit to the clinic and now weighs over 4kg. He has also grown in length by 5cm since birth! So he is a growing boy and my sweet, tiny little newborn is fast disappearing and being replaced by a chubby baby! Obviously my milk is doing it's job, no matter how painful the process is. Apparently I have a bit of thrush which is making feeding him rather painful. If not for that I would be totally enjoying the breastfeeding process. As it is, at least once a day I am tempted to give up. Oh, well, the joys of starting over!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Welcome to the world little Mitchell










Well, baby Mitchell is almost 3 weeks old already. I do apologise for not posting earlier but I knd of had my hands full! Mitchell Meiring was born on 29 July 2009 at 15:39 weighing 3.7kg (about 8 pounds) and 49cm tall. He is a bit colicky so takes up quite a bit of time hence no updates. I will do a birth and hospital experience post soon(ish) but in the meantime here are some pics. We are going to the chiropractor to try and do something about the colic this afternoon. Hopefully it will help, can't stand to see the little face all scrunched up in pain:(

Friday, July 24, 2009

Hanging in there...

Well, after making us all think that he was going to be coming out early, this baby has decided to just hang in there a bit longer. We had a doctor's appointment today, which neither we nor the doctor thought we would make as we figured he would be out by now. With every doctor's appointment now they attach these monitors to my belly and one measures the baby's heartrate and the other measures foetal movement. I had a Braxton-Hicks contraction while they were busy today and the sister thought I was in labour but then the doctor checked and said everything was still closed up tight! Cervix still long and no signs of dilation. So we made an appointment for next week and I am back home again. Baby had a bit of a growth spurt in the last 2 weeks and now weighs about 3.2kg.

I suppose I should really be enjoying this enforced rest. I can read to my heart's delight and eat what I like and get Gathry to do all the shopping, fetching to and from school, cooking etc. It would be so much better if I weren't so darn uncomfortable. But this is never going to happen again so I suppose I should really make the most of it and stop wishing the little fella would arrive.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Moving on

Well, it has taken me long enough to get my new blog going. As with Kendra's World I cannot promise regular updates but I will try my best. As mentioned there, I have decided that Kendra's World was just that, her world. I have said all I can say on the topic of grieving for a lost child, well no, there is still a lot more, but that chapter of my life, although it will never be over or closed, is suspended. It is time to move on and celebrate new and existing life. I never really felt comfortable talking about the rest of the family on a blog that was created to keep people up to date with Kendra's progress. I will still update that blog now and again but for the most part, I will be using this one.

So, on to current happenings. Branston is in PE visiting his grandparents and cousins and is very reluctant to return home. He is having a lot of fun over there and, although he is probably missing pizza and takeaways, is enjoying being able to play with his cousins and on his Wii and lots of late nights.

When we sent him, we really thought that he would be coming home to his new baby brother but this baby is really hanging in there, despite what we all thought a couple of weeks ago. At the doctor's appointment on 1 July she informed us that the placenta was showing signs of calcifying, which usually means that the baby is getting ready for delivery. Because of that and the fact that the amniotic fluid had reduced and my history of early delivery, she decided to give me steroid shots to get baby's lungs ready just in case. Well, those steroids gave me a few sleepless nights and seem to have made baby's kicks really powerful but he has decided to stay where he is for now. I spent a frantic week trying to get my work up to date so that everything could continue smoothly once I go off.

Well, I had another appointment on Tuesday, which we did not think we would make, thinking baby would be out already. And everything is looking good. Baby's heartrate was a little bit fast, but when I went back yesterday to check again it was all fine. His weight has stabilised which is another indication that he is getting ready to come out. He now weighs about 2.8kg(6 pounds). I am 35 1/2 weeks along and this weight is about right for where I am now.

I think I am ready, we have the pram and carseat as well as loads of wonderful things which I received at my babyshower and since then. I consider myself really lucky to have so many friends who could help me set up again. The prices of baby things nowadays is really scary. Mentally, of course, I am terrified, mainly because I know what is waiting for me. There is a part of me that really wants this baby out now - the part that is uncomfortable and aching all over - but another part that says he must stay where he is for a bit longer.

So, here I am, sitting at home, waiting it out, resting as ordered. Anybody want to pop around for a cuppa? The hospital is only 5 minutes away, so I promise you won't have to deliver the baby!!