Joel Dennison Taylor....

Yesterday afternoon Reni (Megan's mum) bought Megan up to see her new brother....she was a little shy but very excited. We didn't get a chance to take any photos.
Darian stayed until 8pm and then went home. I think he was as tired as Joel and I.

The first night was good, the spinal was in place so I was in NO pain and Joel is a good little feeder....for now :)

Mum bought the girls and Matthew to visit after school today. They were very excited and I think Matthew was relieved that Mummy hadn't disappeared. The girls got to have a cuddle of Joel and Matthew got to touch....he is very gentle which is good.

I am sharing a room with another lady, he baby was a month prem and is in special care. I feel a little bad that I have my baby and she doesn't. I don't understand why they put me in a room with her, there are other room available. I know she is upset by it as she tells everyone that calls in to see her. Which is constantly...

Tonight Joel played up, he had a belly full of wind so the midwife and Daddy took him down to the nursery for his first bath....of course he hated it. He hates being naked and cries during nappy change that is until you start to button up his clothes and then stops.....

The Big Day has arrived

Yesterday I had my pre c-section meeting with the midwives who ran through what would happen, what time to turn up etc....I had to go have a blood test and needed to fast from midnight.

I remember eating dinner with my plate of food balanced on my huge tummy thinking that by this time tomorrow I will no longer have a big tummy but a beautiful baby boy!.....It all seemed surreal.

This morning we woke up at 5am, had a shower. I was starving but couldn't eat as our c-section was scheduled for 9 am.....we had to be on the ward at 7 am to be checked in.

By 7.15 I was gowned up ready and waiting in my room.......waiting waiting. the anesthetist came in and asked all his questions and went through the spinal and what it meant.

By 9.30 the orderly and midwife came in, gave Darian his scrubs to put on and away we went....I remember being slightly nervous but more calm than anything.
we waited in pre-op for a while while they checked name tags and paper work. I vaguely remember meeting the surgeon but don't remember her name. The next thing I know I am wheeled in and the anesthetist is putting in the drip and everyone around me was calm...Darian was able to stay by my side the whole time.
The spinal took the longest going in...and I remember getting cold and shivering. But Once the block started to work I was nice and warm...
I had a epidural with Matthew and felt nothing however with the block I could feel everything but no pain. At one stage I was giggling because It felt like I was being tickled from the inside.
The most amazing thing was that with agreement with the surgeon they pulled down the drapes and let both Darian and I see Joel being pulled out...I watched our son being born at 10.38 am...and the first thing he did was cry!....It was amazing.

They took him straight to the resus trolley but he didn't need suction or oxygen and got agpar scores of 9 and 10...
Darian then got to make his belly button and then Joel was wrapped up and given to dad for a cuddle, and then I got my first cuddle.

Joel Dennison Taylor weighs 4.28kg (9lb 7oz) and 53 cm long, his head circumference is 38cm

Once I was stitched up the 3 of us went to recovery and then finally to the ward....

The experience was so different to the emergency ......and I am so relieved that not only is our son healthy and beautiful but Darian was there to share it.

A dissapointing outcome......

As many of you know we are renting, ah the joys. However our house is perfect for our needs however it is missing something that I believe EVERY house needs....a dishwasher.

Its also one of those houses that the kitchen is so small that it doesn't even have a dishwasher recess and no where to put a dishwasher even if we had one.

However with the up coming arrival of child number 5 and knowing how much time and energy I waste on dishes now I got thinking.....

A mobile dishwasher, I have seen them before, just a normal dishwasher that you hook up to the kitchen taps and when you don't need it just wheel it away....perfect solution for a family like us....

So I hunted around, looked on eBay...lots over in the eastern states but none here in Perth. Went to Hardly Normal and Retravison and found out that there is certain models that come with a mobile unit extra......however they have be superseded, the last ones made a year ago....

So its back to the drawing board, looking on eBay and in the quokka.......Now that I want one I wont be able to get one...how frustrating

So wish me luck in my hunt......

38 Weeks....we are nearly there

Development is complete, baby's main job is to gain weight. The body continues laying on the fat stores that will help regulate his body temperature after birth. The amniotic fluid, this is approximately equal to 4 or 5 cups.

Baby may have a full head of hair now, an inch or more long, but some babies are born with only peach fuzz. Speaking of hair, most of the downy coat of lanugo that covered the baby for weeks has disappeared, but you may see some on the upper back and shoulders when he arrives. Almost gone has most of the vernix caseosa, the whitish substance that also covered baby.

The baby will swallow the lanugo and exterior coating, along with other secretions, and store them in their bowels. These will become his first bowel movement, a blackish waste called meconium. The child's intestines are accumulating lots of meconium. About 30% of babies move their bowels before birth. Usually this is a sign that the baby is under some stress and can cause pneumonia if the baby inhales any amniotic fluid with meconium in it. If there are signs of meconium in the amniotic fluid at birth the care provider will make sure that the baby's throat and lungs are suctioned thoroughly.

This week, the baby weighs around seven and a half pounds and measures about 20 inches (51cm) head to toe. until delivery.

37 weeks........

The baby is considered term now.
The baby now has a good proportion of fat on their body, increasing from only 30 grams at 30 weeks, to around 430 grams at term (approximately 16% of their total body weight).
Some physical signs that indicate the baby is born on time is having small pads of breast tissue under their nipples (in both boys and girls) and fingernails reaching the tips of the fingers, often looking manicured!
The baby's overall growth slows down considerably now.
They do not grow as much in length and put on approximately 230 grams per week (about an ounce a day). Also, the amount of amniotic fluid around the baby slightly decreases from around 37 weeks
The baby has learned to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing so it can do all three when breastfeeding after birth. babies practice shallow breathing before birth, using amniotic fluid.

36 weeks

The baby's face has filled out significantly and looks smooth and plump.
Because the baby has powerful sucking muscles and has had layers of fat forming for quite some time now, the cheeks have filled out like a newborn's.
The baby's skull is firm, but not hard. Every baby's head has the ability to give slightly so that there is room for him to fit down the birth canal during delivery.

The amount of amniotic fluid is at its maximum amount now and the baby may not be moving as much as he had been.

The placenta is now one-sixth of the fetal weight.

35 Weeks, whats happening....

• The Baby is about 47cm crown to heel and weighs almost 3 Kg.
• The body is growing round due to developing fat layers.
• The baby's reflexes are coordinated.
• Lungs are almost fully developed.
• About 90% of babies born this week survive.

Most babies gain about half pound per week in the last month of pregnancy. Fat stores accumulate in the legs and arms. These layers of fat will help them regulate their body temperature. Baby still doesn't have enough fat deposits beneath its skin to keep warm outside the womb. If born now the baby would probably be put in an incubator, about 90% of babies born this week survive.

Lungs are almost fully developed. The baby's reflexes are coordinated, they turn their head, grasp firmly, and respond to sounds, light and touch. He is about 6 pounds and growing fast, it is getting short of space in the womb.

35 Weeks

Well we are officially on the home stretch. I didn't get to update after we saw the obstetrician so I will now...
We have a plan of sorts, If all goes well and bub cooperates we will be having a c-section on the 29th April at 39 weeks. They are fully booked the week before. After talking to the OB and discussing past birth history, baby size and the meaning of life we decided that this would be the best option for the baby and us. Not a decision taken lightly as no one wants to be cut open and the 6 weeks out of action is not ideal.
So my mum is coming to stay with the kids while I am in hospital and Darian will be on holidays for 3 weeks when his sister comes over from South Africa on the 10th May. So I will have someone home with me for the full 6 week recovery.

So as of today we only have 28 more days at the most until we meet our little man.