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!