What’s Been Happening?

Well, time is really getting away from me. Ashley turned 8 months yesterday and so much has happened over the last month or so. Most of the time I have been busy running around buying things for Ashley or doing his washing and cooking. I want to cook as much food for him as possible and although it is time consuming it is worth it. Let me catch you up…

Aunty Fee went to South Australia and brought back a cold! OK, so it’s not contagious and very cute, so all is forgiven. Ashley loves to bat it around while on his tummy or just swing it around by the tag.

Finally settled a date for Ashley’s Christening and sent out ‘save the date’ magnets.

Had Uncles visiting from Singapore. They were here for about a week and Ashley enjoyed all the excitement, attention and his first ride on the train from Rockingham to Perth.

With summer fast approaching I bought Ashley his first pair of sunglasses – these cute blue Baby Banz. He doesn’t mind wearing them most of the time except when he is really tired. But they look so adorable!

Ashley spends most of the day babbling, from about 2am – 10pm with sleeps in between. He is so happy and social and will talk to pretty much anyone and anything...

and I am sure there has been much more. I’ll get back to you…

Look What I Can Do Mum!

It has been a while since I have made a post but things have been pretty hectic. Ashley is 7.5 months old and has learnt to roll in the last few weeks as well as eat chunkier foods. He spends much of his time playing and has discovered that he can roll onto his tummy but then can’t roll back, which makes him pretty crabby. I now find that I can spend the best part of a day peeling, cooking, chopping and freezing fruits and veggies for Ashley’s meals. Although it is time consuming I find it relaxing to prepare his food, knowing that he is getting good healthy, nutritious food.

Over time I have found that Ashley isn’t keen to go out at night time and can sometimes get crabby if he can’t sleep (don’t we all), especially in the noisy restaurants. Going out during the day is a completely different story! Ashley loves to look around and all the new sights and sounds and will spend most of the time laughing, kicking his legs and making noises at all the new things he can see and hear. The funniest is when he ‘talks’ to inanimate objects, in particular anything shiny or bright colours, like handbags, posters and stacks of cereal boxes.

Ashley is also now sleeping in his cot for his naps during the day and also for the first part of the night. It is weird going to sleep without him in my bed and I still lie awake and listen to him playing with his toys and talking to himself before he falls asleep, then I will have a quick look to make sure he is OK before drifting off to sleep myself. My little baby is becoming a man!

Here is our night out at Jade Court when Namu’s Dad came to visit. Ashley really took to him, which is surprising considering he doesn’t usually take to strangers.

Reflection – How Things Change

It is really amazing how much has changed over the last year. It was this time last year that I was preparing to become pregnant. I now have a 5 month old and have finally finished my Cert IV of Training and Assessing. Looking back over the year it feels like time has flown by, although there were certain times that that didn’t feel like the case.

I have been much more relaxed and confident over the last month and I really enjoy the interaction with Ashley. Previous to having Ashley I hadn’t looked after children under the age of 4 months very often. Reflecting back on those first few months I feel that I lacked some of the bonding. Whether this is from the depression, Ashley’s hard time with the food or just me I don’t know but I am concentrating now on looking to the future.

Ashley changes on a daily basis. He has quite a big personality for such a little guy! He loves talking (not just to people but also to anything bright (the alarm clock reading) or shiny (handbags)). He is a very happy and content baby and loves learning. I have just taught him to say ‘arghhh!’ when I shake his rattle. It is pretty funny and cute (well, for now anyway). Now that my course is complete I enjoy being able to spend all my time with Ashley. I love singing to him, pulling funny faces and doing everything I can to make him smile and giggle – it’s great, and like everyone says, make the most of it while he still thinks your funny.

You know your baby is happy when you find that they fall asleep holding onto their toys. Ashley tends to get frustrated when he can’t put his rings into his mouth. He will pull and shake them and then gets so tired he just falls asleep. It’s funny how quickly it happens.

Ashley loves playing with his toys, especially his Eeyore blanket, Spot rattle and bunny teether. His favourite part of them is the crinkle noise they make when he chews on them. The video below shows you just how enthusiastic he gets!

Starting Solids

Yesterday was a big milestone for my lil boy…starting solids! It was exciting to see the look of anticipation on his face when the spoon headed towards his mouth. He really seemed to enjoy it, even if it was just rice cereal with a bit of milk. It was a pretty messy affair and after half an hour he spewed some of it up but all in all it was a success!

Toys! Toys! Toys!

Just like every other mother, today Mum and I braved the crowds and took Ashley toy shopping. With no deposit lay-by’s the shops were packed. After going to Myer last week and Big W and K-Mart this week, Christmas shopping done!

Ashley enjoyed himself just looking around at all the other people and all the toys. I tried to stick to only buying him a few toys, since when you buy kids too many toys they don’t get around to playing with them all. I am also planning on saving them for the next baby and don’t really have that much storage space. To be quite honest I think once he has finished playing with them they will have to be stored at Grandma’s house.

OK, so what did I buy? A Go Baby Go – Sit to Stand Giraffe, Rocking Plush Lion, an Interactive Letterbox and Foam Letter Mats. Besides the fun things I also have put aside some ‘traditional’ learning type things, like books and flash cards. Mum and Dad bought him; a Winnie the Pooh Story Reader, Wooden Count and Learn, Animal Wheelpals Hammer the Bedbugs and Foam Letter Mats.

Since we thought that Ashley also needed toys to play with now, we bought him a Train Set with flashing lights and music, plastic ball with bell rattle, 2 nursery rhyme CD’s and 2 teething pacifiers. With all the exciting stuff going on at the shops he also ended up with a purple balloon (from Big W) and an orange balloon (from BankWest).

Baby Discoveries

It is so cute watching your baby learn. At the moment I am watching Ashley explore his Eeyore blanket. One corner has a plastic textured teether, while another corner has the crinkle plastic inside. He is fascinated with chewing anything at the moment as he is teething but because he is only beginning to learn how to hold things I have been holding the teethers for him. Poor guy is really giving them a good chew and boy is his bite strong!

It still amazes me how quickly Ashley is growing up. In the last few weeks he has started to rub his hair and face a lot. This is really distracting for him, especially now that he is learning to self-sooth. He has learnt how to put his hands together to push his dummy back in but still doesn’t understand why his dummy gets pushed out when he hooks his fingers behind it or tries to suck his thumb at the same time! Just over the last few days Ashley has started to discover he can make his voice louder than just the cooing. What’s really cute is the fake sneezing noise he makes, which scares both him and me!

When Ashley is bored he will definitely tell you about it. My Dad was talking to him when he let out one of his loud sighs. It’s so cute! Usually he does this when I’m trying to get a burp out of him. He will give me a loud sigh and then fall asleep on my hand. Another thing that Ashley loves is when I blow ‘raspberries’ on his tummy, look at him and say raspberry. It is guaranteed to get a chuckle and cheer up the grumpiest baby.

5 Little Ducks Went Out One Day...

...The Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...I am so glad I took singing lessons, it makes singing nursery songs in public less humilating.

This coming Saturday sees Ashley turning 4 months. It is amazing how much he changes week – by – week, even day – by –day. He is much more interactive now and you can really see his personality coming through. I love nothing better than watching him when he is sleeping. You can see him curling up his hands, using his hands to brush his hair, all while pulling some interesting faces. You can see when he has a bad dream he will sob and whimper in his sleep and you can see his beautiful smile when he is ‘talking to the angels’. Watching Ashley sleep definitely brings a smile to my face and makes all those difficult times worth it. What makes me laugh is when he starts wiggling and squirming, followed by a loud fart!

As far as milestones go, Ashley likes to use his whole hand to hold his dummy in place when he sleeps and he will also practise flicking the dummy out of his mouth (too bad he hasn’t figured out how to get it back in!) He is also bringing his hands together and boy can this kid talk (gees, wonder where he gets that from!) and finally he is beginning to learn how to hold his rattles. It is so cute!!!

You can probably tell that I’m one of those proud mums that has trouble talking about anything but her lil man and believe it or not I still spend hours just being fascinated by the awe of it all. Ashley is truly my little blessing!

Motherhood Thoughts

Well, my little man is 13 weeks old already and I can’t believe how time flies, although there are days when I think that the time isn’t going fast enough.

I must admit (and not very many will admit to it publicly) but motherhood isn’t what I thought it would be. I mean, I knew there were ups and downs, good days and bad days but I’ve been surprised by the number of bad days. At times it makes me wonder if I have done the right thing. Am I ready for this? Why is Ashley good for other people and not me? And am I a bad mother if there are times when I just want to be alone.

Taking a look back at the last few months I can see that I am battling Post-Natal Depression. It is not something that I wanted to admit. I mean he’s only a baby and I’m an adult so why do I feel that I’m always losing the fight and things are out of control? I think things are better now that Ashley is happy with the meds and new formula. It really is amazing to see the difference in him. There are times though that I cry and feel that I’m not doing the right thing by my lil baby boy. I know that with me being teary and stressed Ashley gets upset and stressed too but there are times when I can’t help it and feel like I’m losing control. I have given in and let Ashley sleep in my arms when I'm sitting in the lounge (he won't stay asleep if I put him down), sleep in the swing or in my arms in bed at night time. I love this time just sitting and gazing as he pulls faces when he sleeps but it also means I don't get anything else done, the house starts looking messy and then I get stressed out...arghhh!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I love my lil boy and when he smiles, make noises and falls asleep in my arms he really lights up my day…I just hope I can get myself together so my emotions don't rub off on him and he thinks that I am a good mother!

3 Months Old

Today Ashley reaches 3 months old. We finally have his feeding issues sorted out and he is definitely much happier. Sleeping though has been another issue. I have decided to stop spending hours fighting with him about going to sleep and have began to embrace co-sleeping. This was something that I gave a lot of thought to and not a decision that I made easily. In the mornings Ashley now stays awake until lunch time. During this time he spends time in his swing, ‘tummy time’, story time and me singing and playing with him. His favourite songs are his nursey rymes in particularly Old MacDonald had a Farm and Hickory Dickory Dock. After lunch is nap time and night time involves a bath, naps and looking around (Ashley automatically seeks out the TV due to the colour and sounds).

Yesterday was another visit to the Paediatrician and he is happy with Ashley’s development. He has gained 1kg in 4 weeks and is thriving, so he now doesn’t have to go back to see him until he is 6 months old. The paediatrician has also given me the go ahead to start Ashley on solids at the end of the 4 month mark (so really 5 months). This will make for an interesting time I’m sure and hopefully it will help to get him to sleep through the night! Lately with his teeth trying to come through Ashley wakes a few times during the night and he still wants his 3 hourly feed, although every now and then he will sleep for 5 hours.

The 9 Week Mark and First Milestones

Well today Ashley turned 9 weeks old. He has been having a bit of a rough time since we have come back from the hospital. I thought that he had Colic but after seeing the Paediatrician this week it appears that he may be having trouble breaking down the milk proteins in the formula and he also has reflux. The Paediatrician has put him on a liquid anti-acid and another change of formula. He has been regurgitating his feeds and it can take hours for him to settle after a feed. My poor baby has been squirming in pain which has also been causing reflux and wind. The change of formula and medication had meant that he was starting to feel a little better, although his pattern was to stay up about 9 hours in a 24 hour period, with 3 hour sleeps in between. We are now trying another new formula (number 4) and another lot of medication which has meant longer sleeping times. This formula is not based on cow’s milk and is only available on prescription at $110 for 800 grams. That’s only for a weeks supply!

I was planning on just taking Ashley to the community nurse after having this initial check-up with the Paediatrician but I have since decided that because the Paediatrician is so thorough and pro-active I will continue to see him on a regular basis. Despite the problem with the formula Ashley is gaining weight and appears otherwise happy. He has started smiling and cooing and the Paediatrician said his development is ahead of schedule (yay!)

As for me, I went and had another scan of my leg yesterday and I still have the blood clot in my calf. At the moment I am waiting to hear the OB about what he would like me to do about it. More than likely it will be to continue with the daily blood thinning injections for the next few months. I am also still trying to finish my training and assessing course, meaning that Mum and Dad have had Ashley stay with them for about 3 days a week.

Many people have said that Ashley looks like my Grandma, my Mum and of course me. Mum and Dad reckon that he looks like me when I was about 6 months old. What do you think?

Ashley on Easter Sunday dressed by Auntie Fee in rabbit romper, ‘trendy’ rabbit booties and beanie and finally a smiling photo taken yesterday while waiting for the doctor.

Ashley is 1 Month Old

Ashley turned 1 month on Friday and even though there are plenty of sleepless nights (and days), I can’t believe how time flies.

When we came out of hospital we both ended up sleeping in the lounge to enjoy the air conditioning but now that the weather has cooled down we are back in my bedroom and Ashley is more settled. It was hard for him to sleep in the lounge with the TV going and the lights on while I was up working.

The last weeks have been tough because Ashley has had really bad wind and would be up all hours of the night. After hungrily trying advice (no matter how stupid) gathered from well intended family and friends I have finally found a solution. I am giving Ashley Infacol drops and using teats that came with some new cheap bottles I bought. The more expensive newborn/anti-colic teats seem to flow too quickly and he was gulping his feed and falling asleep in about 20 minutes. Now his feed and settling takes an hour but he is much happier.

Ashley loves his baths, food (of course), his hands, poking out his tongue and cuddles but hates having his clothes and nappy taken off and having to wait for his food. He has already started making cooing noises, will look at you intently when you talk and sing, is showing an interest in his toys and is learning how to smile. He is now not sleeping all the time and after waking at about 7 – 8am he will stay awake in his bassinette, on the floor or being held while he looks around. He will stay awake until his next feed at lunch time.

Introducing My Beautiful Baby Boy...Ashley William Hayfield

Firstly I want to say thank you to everyone for their visits, presents, prayers and well wishes. Below are some photos of Ashley that were taken in the hospital as well as some pictures of all the pressies we received.

You will probably notice that in some of the photos Ashley looks really yellow. He had a bit of jaundice but during the days in hospital it cleared up, meaning that he didn’t have to have any treatment.

Baby's first bath. Ashley loves the water.

Unexpected Early Arrival

Ashley and I finally returned home on Sunday. Although I was booked to have a caesarean birth on the 3rd of March, Ashley had other ideas. At 5am on the 19th of February my waters broke. I was lucky I had my bag packed except for a few last minute things. After calling the hospital to let them know I was on the way I called Mum and Fiona. Mum was already prepared to take me in (I am a bit OCD) and this was arranged months in advanced with towels and plastic already in Mum’s car just in case. The hospital is a 35 minute drive from home and I was lucky that by the time I got there I was only having mild contractions.

Fiona met us at the hospital and after being prepared for surgery I was the first one in at 8am. After having an epidural (this was the bit I was scared of the most) I was laid down, cut open and Ashley was born. Both Mum and Fiona were my birthing partners but only one person was allowed in the theatre. After they whipped out Ashley they brought him over to show me before turning to show him to Fiona (who was lucky enough to experience his first wee). They took him to one side where the Paediatrician checked him out before wrapping him and giving him over to me to hold for the remainder of the surgery (as per my birth plan).

After returning to my room I was met by Mum who was waiting to hold her first grandchild. She has been great helping me out both before and after the pregnancy including buying all of his furniture and doing my housework. By the end of the pregnancy I was so big I could only walk short distances and my belly measured 155cm in circumference.

At about 2pm Ashley was taken into Neonatal ICU because his oxygen levels were at 94% (which isn’t that bad) but the Paediatrician wanted the levels at 97% or above. While in there his body temperature was also a little low so he was put into a humidicrib over night. Thank God the following afternoon his levels had picked up and he was returned to me. For me the first night was a little worrying, hoping and praying that Ashley was going to be OK.

Ashley is now doing great, eating well and is a very happy and contented baby. He has a great set of lungs which he only uses when he is hungry or wet but besides that he is sleeping for 4 hours at a time, for which I am very grateful.

I am OK and was up and about the next day (I have a high pain threshold) and was able to look after Ashley straight away (the hospital encourages you to have the baby in your room as much as possible). Due to the Gestational Diabetes I have had to continue to have my blood sugar levels measured and the yesterday it was discovered that I have a blood clot in one of calves. I now have to wear pressure stockings and give myself blood thinning injections daily for 6 weeks before returning for another scan in which they hope to see that it has dissolved.

Pregnancy Thoughts

Just the other week someone asked me what I liked about most about my pregnancy. This is actually something that I have been thinking about a lot lately as the pregnancy is almost over and the next phase of motherhood begins. For me the best time has been the end of second trimester and the third trimester. Third trimester has been more clumsy and tiring as I have gotten so much bigger, so quickly but I am enjoying taking the time to rest in between tasks and this is when baby and I ‘play’. I can talk to him and he’ll kick me in response. I can push and poke him and he will kick and move in response, although sometimes (like when I am hurting and trying to sleeping) he gets a little carried away and I have to tell him to take it easy! I enjoy sharing with him my hopes and dreams for him and my excitement and nervousness about meeting him for the first time.

Many people know that I’m a ‘control freak’ and this pregnancy has made me realise that I’m going to have to ‘let go’ quite a bit and take things as they come. I have really had to make a conscious effort during the pregnancy to not let things upset me and to be as positive as possible. Although I have some control over the birth and the years ahead, at times I am going to have to trust other people, from the OB to people helping me once the baby is born. I think that this is something that I am going to have to consciously keep working on but I am confident that a new baby to focus on will help me.

C – Section Confirmed

Last week’s appointment with the OB confirmed that I will need a C – Section and I have been booked in for 03/03/10 (if not interrupted by act of God). I have to be at the hospital at 6.30am and the surgery will be some time in the morning. I am nervous about having the epidural but I don’t want a general because I want to be awake to see my baby being born. For me it is about ‘letting go’ of control and putting full faith in God and the surgical team.

With less than 4 weeks to go I’m starting to take things a little easier (at least not lifting anything too heavy) or doing anything that will send me in to labour. I still have things to do and need everyday I can get. At this stage I can’t believe how fast the 9 months has crept up on me. I should have started organising things a little earlier. In fact I thought with my OCD the nesting would have started earlier but I just need to not stress and remember that when I come out from hospital the dusting will not matter!

32 Week Update…Kicking All the Way

This week I had to go for another 3D scan so that the OB could get a more exact size of the baby, they also checked the baby’s heartbeat, blood flow and kidneys. Everything is looking good and in the last 2 weeks bub has gained another 300 grams, bringing his weight to 2.3 kg which is actually smaller than the OB thought but still larger than the 1.8 kg average for this stage of the pregnancy.

My belly is still rapidly expanding and I’m finding it is getting to the stage where I have heartburn every night no matter what or when I eat and walking for extended periods of time is uncomfortable and tiring. I am hoping my belly doesn’t get too much bigger otherwise I will no longer be able to drive (about another 10cm). I have already put my seat back as far as I can while still being able to safely have control over the car. With only approx 6 weeks to go, fingers crossed it won’t be a problem.

Lots of people have asked me about the baby kicking. He has been kicking day and night (more so at night). When I am sitting up either driving or watching TV he squirms more than kicks, probably because he is feeling squashed! Bub is actually a ‘Frank Breech’ meaning that his feet are raised up by his head, meaning that the kicking that I feel is lower than if he was the right way down. His head is sitting up by my ribs. Over the weeks bub’s has less room and the kicking has been getting stronger. It started off feeling like little muscle twitches and now the kicks are so strong that sometimes they surprise me and make me jump! I also find that since I am laying down and resting more now (without sleeping) it gives me time to pat and poke bub’s so he will hit and kick back. This usually goes on for about 15 minutes until he gives up and goes to sleep. I must admit it is pretty amazing being able to have this kind of interaction already before he is even born.

Baby Shower

Last Saturday (9th Jan) was my baby shower. Although the day was hot the party went off without a hitch, thanks to Beth, Fee and Namu. Thanks goes out to Beth for the lovely handmade invites (see below), decorating the house and the creative party hats. Thanks to Fee for letting us use her house and the yummy choc-honeycomb mudcake and thanks to Namu for organising and making the delicious food (especially her secret recipe, marinated chicken wings) and for organising the games. With everyone pitching in tidying up was quick and painless and with the abundance of food we were also well fed for the next few days!

The party started at 3.30pm and with all the eating, drinking, game playing and opening pressies we didn’t finish until about 7pm. I received an array of beautiful and useful gifts for baby which were greatly appreciated and will definitely come in handy. Fiona let her creativity shine by making a ‘nappy cake’ with a toy topper and it turned out really well!

This weekend I posted out my baby shower ‘Thank you’ cards and sorted through all the pressies, attempting to arrange them in bub’s room.

For those of you that couldn’t make the party, here a few more of the memorable pics (still waiting on more to be sent to me), including; my big (and rapidly getting bigger) belly, guests, me and my pressies and the famous ‘drinking from only a baby’s bottle’ (thanks Namu)!

I will upload more photos as they come in.

Week 30 Update

Just after the new year I got my results for the glucose test which said that I have Gestational Diabetes. Basically it means that I need to go on a low GI diet for the remainder of my pregnancy and my baby will be larger in size at birth. My levels weren’t too bad and I had a feeling that this was coming.

Today I went for my 30 week check-up and although I have lost 1kg, baby has gained 830 grams (all in 2 weeks). This brings his weight in at 2.27kg (or 5 pounds). He is still sitting breech and at this stage the OB has decided to schedule me for a caesarean in the first week of March. Due to the baby’s size and position there is no chance of a natural birth. I am a little disappointed but in the end all I really want is a healthy baby! Based on the speed of the baby’s weight gain, if I was allowed to go to full term it would end up being a 11 pound baby! At that size it would probably make the news or the Guinness Book of Records (DEFINITELY don’t want to be famous for that!) The OB is also going to send me off for another 3D scan to confirm the baby’s weight and the development of his organs.

Below is a ultrasound pic of bub with his eyes open and his fists up by his head. The OB thought it was cute so he printed it out for me.