Back at home

Just a quick update to say that Flo is now back at home. I picked her up from the hospital at lunch time, made her some lunch (think she enjoyed that since she said it was the best food she'd had in days!) and now she's in bed having a snooze.

So... I'll have to be on my toes to ensure that she does absolute nothing for the next few days and we'll see how she comes along.

Another obstacle

Two weeks ago, things were progressing nicely; Flo was glowing and her bump was growing. We took a picture at twenty-nine weeks and as you can see Flo's bump is coming along nicely now. The picture was taken just after my return from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, during which time Flo had been keeping herself active with gentle Yoga and some swimming; she's keen to maintain a degree of fitness during the pregnancy to increase the chances of a smooth pregnancy and to help her recover quicker afterwards.

Shortly after the photo was taken, Flo started suffering from flu like symptoms; nausea and vomiting, weak, tired and a bit of a temperature. Her tummy was also sore and cramping a little. After a couple of days, we were both a bit concerned and Flo called the hospital. Unusually, a midwife came 'round the house to have a look and suspected it was just a bug of some sort. The advice was to rest and if it got worse to give the hospital a call.

So Flo took it easy for a few days and the symptoms got better, but never really went away. It only took a relatively small amount of activity though and Flo would become extremely tired and her tummy would ache and cramp. We had an appointment scheduled to meet the midwife at the hospital for a check-up on Tuesday, so we despite showing symptoms, we decided to wait until then before returning to the hospital. Tuesday came and the midwife was concerned as soon as she saw Flo, since she saw that Flo looked in pain. She called the gynaecology ward and told them we were on the way. In the ward, they hooked us up to a machine to monitor the baby's heart rate and activity and to measure contractions. The good news is that the baby appears to be strong and healthy. They took a urine sample to determine if Flo had any urinary infections, but the test came back negative. An internal and external ultrasound was performed to verify that everything was fine with the baby... which it did.


Bottom line is that they didn't know what was causing the symptoms, so they sent us home, told Flo to take it easy and to call them if the symptoms got any worse.

The next day, things were no better and we were anxious. The symptoms are not normal and we were concerned as to what was causing them. So Flo managed to visit our doctor that afternoon, who shared our concerns and sent Flo straight back to the hospital after consulting with a gynaecologist there. So that was Wednesday and Flo's been there since under observation, periodically being plugged back up to the machine. It seems that the stomach aches and cramps may be mini contractions.

A swab was taken to determine whether she had any bacterial infections, but this also came back negative. The bed rest appears to have helped calm things down, but as soon as Flo starts to move around then the cramps start again.

I'm hoping that Flo will be back home tomorrow, but there's a chance that she may be bed ridden for the remainder of the pregnancy. So it's a good job I'm off work next month... I can use the time to look after her!

Where's Boris?

A view from the top (or two alternative belly pictures)

Apparently pets can sense its owner being pregnant. Although Boris and Boika probably don't understand that in a couple of months a new baby will be joining us, I am sure that cats are indeed very intuitive and can detect some changes going on.

Since the bump really started showing, the pair of them has undeniably been extra clingy. They need to be near me all the time, curled up on the sofa or just following me around the house. And at night Boika sleeps in front of our bedroom door, like a true guardian kitty.

With Jonny being away, they fight for lap time. From time to time, they like to think that they are still little kittens, but there is really no way that they both fit on my lap at the same time.

First come, first served. Most of the time, Boika gets to my lap first. In fact my bum just barely has to touch the sofa and Boika is on my lap, nuzzling into my stomach.

Just before I took this picture she had her paws on top of the bump, so she was sort of hugging my belly. A few days later, Boris did the same. Maybe they find the heartbeat from our little girl soothing! It is certainly very sweet.

Err, the pictures don't actually show my belly at all. I'll have to ask Jonny to do a new belly shot, since the bump is becoming more and more visible every day. Some people say it's got to do with being at home and relaxing. I think it has more to do with the third trimester having started and that being the time the baby grows most (in absolute terms).

An exclusive father-daughter moment

Our little girl has established a clear awake and sleep pattern by now. She is usually most active when I am less so. Some mornings I wake up a bit early and, still sleepy, I lie in bed just enjoying the little kicks inside me. Together with the little one, I listen to the world waking up and it feels very cosy and intimate.

On Monday morning I made maximum use of the snooze function on our alarm clock. I was actually falling back into a deep sleep with every snooze. And whilst I was catching an extra bit of sleep, Jonny was spooning me and with his hands on my belly, he felt her kick.

I had no recollection of feeling her move that morning, but Jonny later told about their father-daughter moment. I was momentarily swept away by the deep love I felt for the pair of them. I found the idea of them sharing a moment so utterly adorable and I can't wait to see them together in a couple of months time!

Get shorty

Before our little trip to Germany we went to a labour and delivery information evening at the local hospital. Whilst the actual event itself (labour and delivery I mean) is hopefully still mooooonths away, this was the only information evening in English. Which was really quite customer friendly of them.

The auditorium was completely packed with all Dutch couples who wanted to practise their English labour and delivery vocabulary who were due very soon, Anglo-Dutch combos like ourselves and lots of other nationalities. Irish, English, Nigerian and German at least.

We were given information about when to go to the hospital, what to take with you and what actually happens (err, birth?). I am afraid I have somehow managed to forget most of what was said and retained only the most useful facts:

- Make sure you have a two Euro coin with you for the wheelchairs. Walking can apparently be quite difficult with contractions five minutes apart and the maternity ward is far from the car park. I will start saving two Euro coins and putting them in every pocket and bag. Just in case.

- Labour can take long, so pack an apple or a Mars™ Bar for the munchies. I was rather puzzled by the actual mentioning of the brand name. Why not Twix, Crunchie or Snickers (aptly named Marathon in the UK until the early nineties)? Or maybe even something with any nutrional value all together?

- Where as we had mental images of the medical staff playing a bagpipe or a banjo at your bedside, instrumental deliveries turned out to be something completely different. It involves things placed on baby's head like a ventouse or a forceps (yuk!).

- No filming can be done until after the delivery. They did not explain why, but I suppose it is for your own protection. Who'd want their delivery all over YouTube? Meanwhile I have also forbidden Jonny to take pictures of me straight after birth. Call me superficial, but you hardly look your best after such a major physical effort.

- Take BIG knickers with you for afterwards. You loose a lot of blood for up to six (!) weeks after delivery. Those big maternity pads (yuk!) don't fit in g-strings apparently. Good job I have always been more of a shorty girl myself.

- You never pay for more than 6 hours for the car park whilst in labour and delivery. To get your money's worth I suppose you would have to draw out that five hour delivery a bit?

This last bit of information was actually the reply to a question asked by a lady who minutiously wrote down everything that was said. Now that is what I call preparation! However, I am quite sure she remembers all the really useful stuff too...

As it is, I a not really nervous about labour. Yet. Although I am not looking forward to the inevitably painful side of things, both my mother and my sister had really fast deliveries and I am hoping on a family tradition here. And a lot of pain for a short period of time seems bearable to me. Especially since we will finally get to meet our daughter!

Cycling along the Mosel

On Sunday we stuck our bikes in the back of the car and drove the three hour journey down to the Mosel valley in Germany. As soon as we unpacked our bags we were straight out on the bikes making the most of the good weather while it lasted, which was a good call since the following day it rained and was overcast and pretty cool for the remainder of the trip, but the rain held off and we did manage to enjoy the sun when it popped out occasionally.

Still, it was good to get out in the fresh air and our last opportunity to go on holiday before the big day! Despite the weather, we both managed to get colour in our cheeks and came back feeling a little bit more healthy. But it's nice to be back home to enjoy the spring weather back here and embark on our pork free diet... the choice of food during the trip was limited to say the least and we've had our fix of pork schnitzel and worst!

I've posted some choice pictures below and if you're really bored you can check out our routes (day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4 and some more day 4)! Unfortunately day one didn't work too well (the tracker got a bit rattled attached to my bike and couldn't track the last part of the ride), but the rest of the days worked OK.

Mosel Cycling Trip April 2008

I have to add that I was very impressed with Flo's cycling. Some of the off-road tracks on the first day were pretty tricky and if I'd known beforehand then I would have been reluctant for Flo to ride them, but she managed very well. We did however take it a bit easier on the remaining rides, sticking to the asphalt cycle lanes.