D Day – ECV

so, we made the hour and 20 car ride to the hospital. With a bladder the size of a pea let me tell you, the bumpy dirt roads were not my idea of fun!!

We arrive at the birthing unit and we are shown into our ‘suite’. I remember looking around and thinking it looked alright… Nothing like the regular birthing suites. Because I was too fat to give birth in the nice suites with the baths and double beds, where your husband IS allowed to stay with you overnight, I got a sterile room with a shower and a fridge…. What a load of crap. Why couldn’t I be in a nice room, I was still completely able, I could get up and down like any other woman, why…. Because my BMI was 1 point too high…..! 

Anyway… I was ultra sounded by a learner doctor, who was undecided if bubs was the right way or not…. There is a head down low… No, maybe it’s a bum… HELLO PEOPLE… A bum and head are slightly different?!?! Two midwives came and went… Then a third came in… By this stage we had been in the room for about an hour…. The midwife did a sneaky and ultrasoundsed me herself… ‘Heads down’ she told me with a smirk, ‘no ECV for you today!’. I remember thanking my lucky stars! I was so scared of having the procedure done!!!

The doctors finally entered (2 of them + the learner) accompanied by 2 midwives! I was a bit overwhelmed by it all.  My husband was sitting over in the armchair playing games on his phone. On went the ultrasound machine again. ‘Heads up, bums down..’ They said…. And the tears began, I just couldn’t stop them.  My husband, still sitting in the arm chair, playing games….

It was time to try and turn this bubba the right way! 

I had googled what was involved with the ECV, and it scared me, ALOT! Please mums to be, don’t google it. 

With a doc on each side of my belly, a midwife at my head and one holding my hand the procedure began. They were tring to push bubs forward, just roll her over. It didn’t hurt. The only thing that hurt was the one doctors pointy boney fingers trying to reach through my belly to hold bubs head. I wanted to punch her! It didn’t work. They tried again the same way…. It didn’t work…… I was asked how I was going, because they wanted to try tipping bubs backwards… I was okay to try again. It really wasn’t that bad!

Well, the third time round nearly sent me packing. I wouldn’t say the pain was unbearable, because it wasn’t painful… It was uncomfortable. I think it was the pressure.

It didn’t work.

Three is the limit, we are not trying again, they told me. I knew what this meant. My biggest fear. A c-section. Why? I have no bloody idea. I guess every new mum envisions that moment they push a watermelon sized human being out of their woohoo and hear it cry for the first time… They make it look so precious in movies. It’s the way it’s supposed to happen. Right…? ….. WRONG!!!!! I know this now, but at the time, you guessed it, I bawled, turned into a right blubbering mess. They told us our baby would be with us Monday or Tuesday ‘which would you prefer?’ Uhhhhh…..

Tuesday it was. 4 days later.

Until next time.

Hang in there.

New mum M x

Your arguments against breastfeeding in public. They are invalid.

Another great read! I breastfed for 6 weeks, but then received some bad advice and ‘gave up’. For a new mum breastfeeding was awkward for me. I felt so uncomfortable doing it in the first couple of weeks, worried someone would say something…. This probably didn’t help me either! What also didn’t help…. And he has no idea…. But my husband was always asking me if I wanted him to cover me up?! NO I didn’t want to cover up, I had a right to feed our child, the sheep and cows and every other animal in the universe does it without being covered up ( not that I like likening myself to an animal – but it’s life, it’s supposed to be natural!). And did he not realis how hard it was to get a baby latched on while juggling a blanket covering everything?!

Mummy Spits the Dummy

I’m sorry, everyone. I never intended for this to be a breastfeeding advocacy blog, but – y’know. Boobs and their baggage are things that predominate my life at the moment, so…

You’ve probably read about Cheese & Biscuits cafe in Rockhampton, who kicked a massive goal for breastfeeding mothers this week by politely ejecting a customer who was frightened by the sight of a lactating breast in their courtyard. He’d already complained to management, who’d informed him they were a breastfeeding friendly establishment and that they would under no circumstances ask a nursing mother to cover up or leave. He then took it upon himself to approach her, leaving her visibly upset when the owner came out to deliver his coffee. When apprised of the situation, the owner swiftly transferred the man’s coffee to a takeaway cup and showed him the door. She later posted about the incident on Facebook:

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Musings on Mumhood- Feminism, Love and Grief

I have to share this. A Brilliant piece. Reminds me of myself!

The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive

I’m currently writing this at 11.30pm, in the garden, where a fairly stiff breeze is blowing. This is the only place I know I won’t run to the baby if he cries (Robert is in the house with him, in case you think I’ve just left him). I’ve wanted to get some thoughts down about motherhood for months, but it’s been rather hard to write. Not just due to the new occupant of my lap. But because my feelings are hurricaning through me and evolving every day.

When I was pregnant, I finally kicked a nasty, expensive habit that garnered me more than my fair share of tuts and frowns.

Bad for your health. And your vocabulary.

Part of the reason I read these exploitative trashmags is that I love peoples’ stories. I don’t think anything is banal. When I was pregnant, I would walk down the street with a person in…

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Only 9 Months to go!!!

so… After the initial shock of discovering that it didn’t take us years to conceive, the wait began. 

Here comes the part I know I’m going to be criticised about.. And fair enough… I am a stupid, foolish and selfish person. I’m a smoker. I did not give up when I fell pregnant, nor did I intend to. My husband does not smoke and kept a very watchful eye on me to make sure I was cutting back.

I continued playing netball for our local club in the A grade. 

To our friends, I was terrible. How could I still be playing sport… Well, it was my life, our baby and to be honest, the child wasn’t even the size of a pea! I had plenty of cushion to keep it safe! Long and short of this is, I saw the season out and finished when I was 4 months pregnant!

Aside from being judged over the smoking and playing sport I had a very easy pregnancy no morning sickness, DD didn’t do too many somersaults, we were cruising along into the third trimester no worries! 

Two weeks before I was due and hoping I could give birth at our local hospital – half an hour up the road, my GP did all the normal checks, and informed my my BMI was ordering on being too high to give birth locally. So I was sent to the nearest hospital with a paediatrician on call 24 hours a day. 120km from where we live….

I was then sent by that hospital to have a routine ultrasound to check that bubs was ready to go…. She wasn’t…. Bum down head up they told me….. Great, just great.

Another week, another trip to town…. We had 2 options given to us. Book in for a c-section then and there, or attend the hospital in 2 days time for an ECV (to turn bubs around inside my belly). As most new mums are, I was desperate to give birth myself, I didn’t want anyone chopping me up! So I elected for the ECV in two days time.

Baring in mind, I am now due to pop in exactly one weeks time. I started googling ways to make your baby turn around in my belly. We were due to be heading to town at 11am this particular day for the ECV, but in all my wisdom, I thought I would try a few positions to get this kid to turn around. I was upside down in the lounge room, counting to 20, over and over, just willing this damn child to turn! I DONT WANT AN ECV… GOOGLE SAYS IT HURTS!!!!!!!

I’ll be back tomorrow and update on the rest, my child is waking!

Hang in there ladies!

New Mum M x

Hello world!

Well, this is new! 

I had a brainwave, lying in bed listening to my 5 month old daughter grunting, farting and wriggling in her cot at 1 am… Why not start a blog?! I didn’t even know what a blog was until 3 days ago… What makes me think I can even start a bloody blog?! Well here goes….

My welcome into motherhood wasn’t all that everyone craps on about. I didn’t feel a rush of emotion, love busting out of me… I thought there was something wrong with how I was feeling?! After my first few weeks with our little bundle I swore black and blue that I would share my experience and feelings with everyone who cared to listen. 

Why does everyone make motherhood sound so damn peachy? Were all the mothers I had spoken to all lying or did they honestly have the most perfect God damn kids to ever walk the planet! 

Let’s go back around 16 months, February 2014. One of the happiest days of my life. I finally, after 10 years married the man who has helped me become what I am today (I say a strong willed, opinionated woman – he would say a stubborn pain in the butt!!!). We honeymooned, discussed children.. which we already knew we both wanted! It was decided in March that I would stop contraception and we would see what happens… ‘It can take years for it to happen’ I told him….. I was late in May….. I bought a test, drove home from work and passed DH – I told him our conundrum, and went on my way. I unwrapped the test, read the instructions and did my thing…. The text message to DH read:

‘We have a problem’

 With a photo of our positive test…

Our life was going to change forever!!!

I’m planning on posting each week. There is a lot to tell. As I said life wasn’t peachy in the first few months, BUT, I now wouldn’t change anything at all. The love I have for my DD & DH is beyond anything I have ever felt before. 

Please stay posted, there are plenty of tears, tantrums and giggles to be had from the first 5 months of my story…. And I’m sure plenty more as our little miss grows!

Until next week, hang in there new mums! It’s hard now, but when your bubba looks up at you and smiles or giggles for the first time it all starts making sense, you are their world, their Everything!!

New Mum M xx