TITIANMACS BABY DIARY

[titianmac]

Titianmacs baby diary
thursday 8th september 2005

11:30pm

Hello! One of these days when ive been missing a few hours it'll be because this baby has decided to arrive but as usual not today!!!
Ive just spent the last hour watching back to back desperate midwives on tv hoping to inspire this bump that its all gonna be okay and stuff, after all its set in Derby at City hospital where we're heading and on todays episode i even saw my midwife Nerissa- how mad is that?! Shes off poorly at the moment but she's my girl and really does care just like she seemed to on the show with the family she was following.

Well, house wise the stairs are looking glam sporting a new and rather super rail with spindles and all- its not that exciting in the normal world but after a blocky evil panelboard thing and then nothing this really is the height of glamour and luxury!!! Sadly as the way the original one was constructed and distroyed was far from conventional just like everything in this dumb house the joins are visable and mean that despite longing for a wooden appearence we have to paint over it to help hide all the problems... thats the beauty of white paint i guess, anything can lurk beneath it! We can polyfiller and bodge to our hearts content and noone except the whole world reading this will ever know
The fishtank has moved out of the living room and into the dining room for the time being so we are now able to get a new lounge carpet- joy of joys. This one is not even quite 2 years old but is really tatty. It was clearly badly fitted as its wiggled here and there and hasnt stood the test of time at all well dispite costing a small fortune. This time we're going for a corded or matted type rather than fluffy or pile?!thingy. It'll mean the odd friction burn more for baby once its crawling but in the long run it'll be the smart move- honest! I mean theres doormat tough and then theres this stuff, its hardwearing but not brilo pad! We're going to repaint to as the colour we have seems to have magically gone peacher as time goes by and yet was not suppose to be peachy! Its called chamios- like the clothes you clean your car and stuff with but looking at it you'd think peach unquestionably... not quite what we had in mind! the hallway is also being painted and stairs recarpeted, floor laminated ready for muddy pram and boots. Its all go and usually the stuff done before a baby arrives not when but in our case its the only time andrew has off work and is a regular day to get stuff done- not a shift pattern!

Emily totally loved nursery again but i think now may just sleep right through friday and wake up sometime saturday lunch! She got there 20 mins late this morning as although awake in theory just wouldnt wake up bless her. She finally got moving but couldnt face breakfast so we compramised and she had a big beaker of warm milk so that there was at least something inside her. I told the staff as she should theoretically have brekkie there but obviously slightly earlier and left it with them. Worst case was they have snack at about 10 and lunch just before 12. On collecting her they informed me she had eaten for britain Turkey meatloaf, roast potatoes and veg with gravy and then jam tart and custard. It was impressive in itself but more so when i found out she'd also tucked away 6 squares of toast (i assume 1 and a half slices) and then her fruit at snack time too Thats our girl!
She insisted i took a photo of her this morning to show grandma, grandad, nana and grandad john so i thought you might like a peek too- i love the fact her school bag is almost as big as she is yet she insists on wearing it! i never fail to smile at the sight


While she was out i wasnt able to do any decorating stuff in the nursery as andrew was asleep after nights but i did get some jewellery finished off instead. Im so pleased with it having completed the order i have and now designed another necklace with matching bracelet and earrings. I've had quite a relaxed and girly day really, went shopping with mum and then even managed to get my nails redone at Jaynes so im feeling quite glam.

I had a call from the doctors surgery to pop in and grab a perscription which was a bit mad because i feel fine but apparently i have a germ of sorts requiring antibiotics The midwife last week found traces of white blood cells in my urine which usually mean they are trying to fight infection so a sample was sent off for testing. Thankfully im not dying of anything nasty that i know of as a week later results came back to confirm something or another... im not even sure whats wrong to be honest as it was the receptionist who spoke to me not a doctor, i think its a urinary infection as thats what the midwife thought last week and apparently they are common at this point of pregnancy... seems that could be the slight backache i have not labour twinges Either way im on antibiotics for the next 3 days so i guess i'd better lay of the fags and booze eh?!

I'm really restless just now, ive been up to bed twice but cant settle or get comfy, im really looking forward to crashing out on my belly once the baby is here- its a nightmare being pregnant when it comes to sleeping- you cant lay on your front, cant lay on your back or you can faint if the weight puts pressure on your spinal cords, and cant sleep comfy on your side because of pins and needles or just a plain lump in the way of curling up! Im gonna make a nice cup of tea (im getting quite into it now!)and try again in a mo, despite the fact im owed a lay in sods law says emily will be up at the crack of dawn full of beans and with andrew on nights again i cant leave her to ruck about or squeek- she needs entertaining much to my horror Good old cbeebies eh?!

[titianmac]

TITIANMACS BABY DIARY

SATURDAY 10th SEPTEMBER 2005

SAY HELLO TO JAY MCGOWAN!!!!!!
Born yesterday Friday 9th September 2005 at 8:23pm
Weight 7lb 14.5oz
All the gossip to follow but ive literally just got out the hospital now and wanted to share this much at least

[titianmac]

... and of course today Emily met her little brother too

[moon]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

What an absolutely beautiful baby. I can't wait to hear all the gruesome details

Welcome to the world Jay!!

I'm so excited for you

Well done

[titianmac]

TITIANMACS BABY DIARY

THE OFFICIAL REPORT!


Hello! wow, what a weekend! As i said earlier, Jay has arrived and all is well. We are home from hospital safe and sound, Emily loves him to bits and seems to be doing fine and Andrew and myself are adjusting beautifully- i dare say so far so good.

At the start of the week i told Andrew that i would go into labour friday evening but that the baby would be born after midnight meaning it was on Aislings birthday, also it follows the trend from when labour started friday night with Emily and once again Andrew was on night shift. It was quite funny the way it did actually all happen, basically at 4pm friday i told andrew i'd been wrong as NOTHING was going on. At 4:50 i had what i thought might actually be a contraction. At 5:10 i had another to confirm the first. At 5:15 another which was rather quick in succession, follow by a string of constant 4 minute gap contractions!!! They dropped rapidly to every 2 minutes and we headed off to hospital relatively swift assuming we were having the baby which we were At 8:23 just 3 and a half hours after that first contraction Jay entered the world!!!

So here it is the story you've all been waiting for in true titianmac style- backtrack with me if you will......



approx 4pm
Im in the car with Andrew and Emily and we are heading up near Chesterfield to a place called Scoobie Clinic to buy new brakes for the subaru Its actually very cool- the guys are really nice and andrew always leaves poor but happy Its a strange place that terrifies me as a city girl to get to as its in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere at the bottom of a mad hill- you even have to cross a brooke! We've been laughing that if anything will inspire the baby to make an appearence it'll be the rally style drive to scooby clinic, we just pray it doesnt arrive there else it'll be all a bit born in the barn style! Scooby clinic is actually a farm believe it or not with a few large shed things that are workshops and i swear there are bails of hay and the lot As were driving up im sat telling Andrew that i think i may have been slightly off the mark to assume the baby would be born shortly as id said because things couldnt have been more quite on the western front... no hicks, not much movement, placid temper and all that We were literally planning therefore that we shall stop at a pub for dinner while we're out and have a nice evening before andrew squeezes in a nightshift at work.

4:40ish
At scooby clinic safely- had a braxton hick on the last stretch of country road literally at the point of no return. Laughed with nerves at the timing of it but didnt give it a second thought. Andrew hops out and heads off to say hi to the guys and get sorted but i sit in the car avoiding mud and keeping snoring Emily company. Decide i need the loo. Know its gonna be grotty but hey- when you gotta go you really gotta go Head back to the car and emily is awake so we lock up and take a wander to find Andrew and say hi to the guys.

4:50
Sat in the office looking at photos of one of the guys lads who's just turned a year old. Very cute kid. Feel my tummy puffing up, assume its ahick but comment that there was an element of pain involved and joke its a potential contraction. We all laugh but everyone looks a little scared, Andrew and i have already concluded jokingly that this baby will just arrive with no warning- you know like on tv straight into 2 minute contractions and delivered on the way to the hospital stuff- thing is we're in the middle of nowhere a fair distance from home and in the impreza which i really dont want to create a mess in!!!

5:10
Physically twitch and say ouch at the next hick/contraction.... decide we perhaps best make a move just incase!

5:15
Look at the clock in disbelief at my next twitch. Laugh nervously and drive swiftly. Decide perhaps to skip dinner at the pub and head straight back towards Derby

Things continue in a clockwork fashion every 4 minutes with growing intensity. Initially its funny and we're laughing but gradually the pain removes humour and the trauma of looking happy so not to scare or upset mummy becomes obvious. Emily asks more than once whats matter mummy and its all i can do to say its baby giving mummy belly ache. Im now hanging onto the handle above the door with 2 hands squeezing desperately trying to look cool and all the while emily is grinning and andrew is laughing. Between contractions im fine but during them im unable to speak or move desperately trying to focus on staying cool! I can remember asking andrew how well attached the stupid handle is and also how expensive to replace as i cant help but think it is seiously about to brake under the strain
Ring mum and let her know we will be dropping Emily off with her for the evening at least and must be sounding calm as she didnt get it till i told her literally we were having a baby so she was having emily Got to hers telling emily she was helping grandma make dinner and we'd see her later. Didnt want to try explaining because A) shes 2! and B) if she did understand how would we then explain if it was a false alarm? or c) what if she panicked?!
We shot home to make the call to the hospital and grab my bag. I jumped in the bath which was vaguely pointless but filled a few minutes of time while andrew was on the phone and getting stuff sorted and then while i got dressed (or at least tried to) andrew had a quick predictable shower himself. Things were getting a wee bit nervy and it was at roughly that point we actually wondered if we'd been too cool and perhaps should have got mum and dad to meet us at the hospital and skipped the bath and shower!

7pm
We're walking/crawling/wobbling across the carpark with flashbacks of emilys arrival. Thankfully once in the building we're into the maternity area swiftly and put instantly into a room. We somehow ended up with the pool suite which was tempting beyond belief to go bobbing but we didnt in the end. There was however the coolest squidgy comfy couchy thing parked in the corner with a huge comfy bean bag on that was like a giant cushion- which i instantly found divinely comfy and very welcoming
Someone was with us instantly and despite once again being shift changeover time (how do we do it?!) and this time they understood i was keen to try out pethadine and responded beautifully. With Emily i was put on a monitor for half hour before they examined me- this time she just got on with it and was pleased to announce i was a rather super 7+cm We had a brief chat and decided that i would have pethadine asap then lay on each side for 10 mins in the hopes of softening membranes before potentially breaking my waters and getting things going. The new team come in and i instantly recognise the chick in charge from tv, how cool, Jay was delivered by superstars!
Also in the team is a training midwife and a really cool dude who's actually a training doctor doing his maternity bit- if all goes to plan we're gonna be his 4th delivery.
Thing progress in what i can only refer to in our world as record time. I have no idea what ime it was but i can remeber needing to pee and then having the b*tch of all contactions while trying to walk back across the room to the couch from the loo. The pethadine had kicked in its first stage as we realised i wasnt out of it but had a slight smirk bespite the chaos and was a little swayey as i wobble to pee. Good job andrew came over as i literally couldnt move stuck in the middle of the room bobbing up and down blowing madly as we were clueless to my progression and you must not push till told to do so! once back on safe ground the next one had that pushing urge too so they said go with it! Next thing i know they had the little baby heart monitor pokeing at me and things were a little wobbly with him too. If you've ever hear a baby heart beat you'll know its bombombombombombombombombom but this was all bom..... bom..... bom.......
Thankfully andrew and myself are calm people and so are medical staff. Sometimes i think ignorance is bliss because i knew instantly that it was mega slow whereas andrew figured it was probably slower than it should be because it was quite obviously slow but not as aware of how slow it really was. The staff sent out for a special trolley and another person appeared ready for a bad situation but things were fine. They explained that there is a curve somewhere on the way out and that it was probable Jay was simply stuck there for a second till the next push moved him along a bit- the problem was that they anticipated he was sitting on his cord restricting his oxygen supply. They decided to break my water instantly and thankfully within seconds it was audiably quicker as things were moving nicely once again. It was only minutes after this that the head was ready and it was truely the most barmy thing i've been through! The thing is when we had emily she crowned but then just wouldnt come out so i needed to be cut and was was a conehead curtousy of a sucker delivery so to speak. This time i managed to shove jay out so we had a moment that didnt exist with emily when literally we could see his whole head while waiting a mo for the body to follow! Now i dont care how many times ive seen that on tv- it will never make sense to me- theres just the most crazy realisation that its your baby and its there! Next thing i know i jumped half off the couch as the shoulder appeared and andrew now tells me Jays arm arrived with a pop as i jumped- literally a shoulder elbow and arm to wave followed by the rest of him now i know why it hurt so much!
I have no idea what the medical team think of people or if they just dont think but the look of suprise on their faces was classic when once again andrew declined cutting the cord as proud dad, i guess most people are desperately arguing about who's gonna do it?!
Having got this far you'd be forgiven for thinking its job done but theres still the placenta to deliver and that is weird in itself! you have an option of delivering naturally or speeding things up with a drug via a quick jab in the thigh. With emily i had the jab but this time we just let it do its thing- each has pro's and cons of which to be honest i dont remember properly but at the time we opted for the natural version. With emily it just kind of happened- your sat there then suddenly its like squidge- theres a placenta but this time i literally had to push it out which was seriously hard as your body has stopped trying to push and you cant feel what you're pushing- its like pushing into thin air and not knowing at all if you're even getting it right!!! During all this Andrew was at holding Jay as i felt slightly woozy- probably because by now although slightly late the pethadine was kicking in
From that point on im sorry to say the night went from fab to slightly f***ed We're not sure what actually happened or why- if it was a blood loss thing, a reaction to the pethadine, shock or what but over the next few hours i managed to pass out about 4 times It was weird as i felt totally fine, sat laughing and chatting cool as a cucumber but then i'd move or stand up and go woozy to the point the world went fuzzy, sound went weird and i proceeded to go out cold! It was only for seconds at a time and the good news is that i was keeping them up to date on my progress ie you sound wierd, its gone fuzzy etc- after all its not like me to shut up at the best of times eh?! Eventually at about half past midnight they managed to wheel me upstairs to the maternity ward and things eased off. Andrew went home at about quater to one and left us to it. The staff were fab looking after us, i was not allowed under any circumstances to get out of bed or even attempt to sit up etc so it was frustrating but i was so tired it didnt matter. Thing is typically Jay was mucousy and kept bringing stuff up so i either had to keep pushing the buzzer for someone to mop him up or just stick my arm in and do it myself. I went for option 2 but obviously when you know theres a chance hes gonna be sick again you kind of dont sleep so you're there to fix it if it goes wrong..... it was a long night! SOOOOOOOOOO tired but soooooo unable to sleep with one thing and another.
I could go on forever and type a thousand more chapters but i guess here is a good place to try and wind up ....
Saturday was a good day. We had visitors galore including all the grandparents, my brother and Marie, andrews sister jayne who was impressed to still see 10 nail extensions freshly applied thursday night and still beautifully intact etc. We were both given the okay and left late evening in time to get home and catch the chinese before crashing out blissfully on my tummy Jay sleeps like nothing else and on that note it is once again bedtime for us all now so im signing off ....
Thanks for reading and i'll be in touch soon,
Night night.xxxx


oh and yes- ive eaten a huge pack of peanut m&ms and will be buying more tomorrow!!!

[supergirl]

Awwe how lovely congratulations to you and Andrew and a special hello to little Jay.

[christie]

gorgeous baby - not just saying that! he is absolutely beautiful

I want one

[titianmac]

Titianmac's baby diary
Friday 16th september 2005
10:57am
I can't believe this time last week there was no baby Jay because he's so much a part of our lives now already.
As you can see he's quite happy and calm and as yet hasn't lost his amazingly cool punky little hair do!



We've established a bedtime routine that seems to work so far with emily- she has to say night night to jay and help tuck him up then shes pops into her bed with her special treat of hot chocolate and hey presto we're done... Jay funny enough thinks its all a bit strange getting up again 5 seconds later and tiptoeing back downstairs but for now Emily is the critical one in the equasion as we need to stay as normal as we can for her. She's well settled at nursery and loves her time there which i say is an absolute marvel as its given us the time we need to try and get sorted while we establish our routine!

[kerrybea]

You make a great mum, your children are very lucky to have you. I have really enjoyed reading your diary. Thank you

[nembo]

huge congratulations to you. Your son is beautiful, and your daughter is gorgeous. Can I ask a silly question? how do you post pictures on here?