Welcome to the world Spencer Thomas Lush Young!

Gosh, it's been 7 weeks and 2 days since my last post. So much has happened in that time.


Firstly, here is a pict of our new little man being brought into the world, Spencer Thomas Lush Young, born 4.02pm on March 13th, 2008:

What an amazing day that was! When i look at the pictures i can feel the amazing feelings that i had and wish i could have the day over and over again.

Given that it's been 7 weeks since then, i'll skim over the main bits of what's been going on just to get us back up to date. Life has just been so busy getting through this early time of parenthood that i didn't manage to blog my way through it - who would think such a little thing that supposedly just eats and sleeps can take up so much time, but i don't think i even turned the computer on for about three weeks after he was born!

34 weeks

Had another appointment yesterday with the obs. Once again all is going to plan, heart rate good, big fat tummy size good, baby generally good.
I am not feeling fantastic and am pretty sore and still struggling - but that's not new...
We have a confirmed date now - March 13th. Have to be at hospital at 1200 for the Caesarian at 1415hrs. I think that's a good time, can get up really early have some breakfast, then back to bed for a bit. Kylie will be working the night shift so will come home and then we can leave about 1100 for the hospital.

Got a little name dilemma....we had a short list for ages, then just recently came across another name - Jonah - that we both like and i think that was gonna be the one. The problem i have is that, being a sailor, Jonah carries some negotive connotations in sailing circles based on the biblical story of Jonah. So i really like it and i don't care about silly connotations, but all my friends are sailors and i can imagine what we'll hear from them. Also, what if he grows up to be a sailor like me - then not a good name to have.....bummer......anyways, will have to talk about it with Ky again.

21 Weeks

These pics are from the 19 week scan. One is normal ultrasound, other is 3D alien looking ultrasound!

Here's the tummy at 21 weeks:

Had dr appointment today. All is going well. He's active and has a good strong heart beat (the baby - not the doctor - well the doctor may as well, but i wouldn't really know - oh..you know!) and things are progressing as expected.
We had the chat about the birth and it is confirmed that i will have a caesarian at 39 weeks. Tthe dr was understanding of my concerns given my neuro condition and said that in the circumstances it was perfectly reasonable and he would make the arrangements. I really did feel a tremendous sense of relief not to have to worry about that aspect of things anymore and not to have to convince or argue in anyway. I had done a lot of reading and feel that my decision is an informed decision.
Strangely, following the appointment (just this morning) I have been feeling tremendously fat and think that Walex is growing at epic proportions and if he goes on at this rate i may just explode!

20 weeks

Had our 19 week scan last week and all was well. Definately a boy - we saw the crucial boy bits! He was about 15 cm or so from head to bum. All major organs appeared ok.

We've been playing about picking out names and have a big list of them on the whiteboard now, most have been contemplated, discussed and crossed off, until now we are left with four - Will, Patrick, Harrison and Daniel. Still plenty of time and i think we'll probably just leave it at a short list till we see him! Not too late to add other options though!

I'm still fat and sore. Amazing just how much weight i have stacked on in the last few weeks. My tummy is really a pregnant looking stomach now!! I sometimes catch a glimpse in the mirror and and think 'holy crap, look at that!'. I am not feeling as sick as much, which is wonderful, but still sore and just not feeling great alot of the time.

We bought a house, which is really, really exciting! A real family home! Can't wait to move, although feel a little bad as poor Kylie will have to do most of the work as i can't lift anything! We've been packing things up even though we've still got about 6 week so before we move, but at least it won't be a mad rush at the end! Just got to con some friends/family into helping out on the day now! I've attached a pic of the new house.

Got another appointment this week coming with Obstetrician. Gonna have to talk about the whole caesarian vs. vaginal birth thing again. I've been doing some research, but honestly, the more i read about the perineal consequences of normal birth, the more i want to go for a caesarian. Looking at the research and the stats, i'm surprised anyone wants to have a normal vaginal birth!! I swear, if men had to push babies out of their penises and were then told that their penisese were likely to not function properly for months, years or possibly ever again, all babies would be born by caesarian! What a lot of crap women have been brainwashed to believe, being told that having to bear the consequences of vaginal birth are just a part of life!

17 weeks

We're 17 weeks now and it's hard to believe those scans i put up last were only at 13 weeks! The baby is about 13 cm long now. We had an appointment yesterday with the Dr who had a little look on ultrasound, it was awesome. And.....he thinks.....it's a boy! But he wouldn't put his house on it (I asked him!!). So that's very exciting. The baby was moving around heaps and the Dr commented that he was an active little thing and growing well. So all is good.

I'm still feeling sick quite a lot and uncomfortable/sore, but the Dr seems to think my ovaries are getting smaller, so that's good. I do feel sick still but i think perhaps it's getting better....then again....i'm not sure, perhaps i'm just trying to think positive!

I'm a bit stressed out about the birth thing at the moment. Went to see the neurologist to discuss my neuropathy concerns and get her recommendation for caesarian vs vaginal delivery. We talked about it for quite some time and given the lack of research available, she pretty much said she doesn't know what could happen, but he are some possibilities....and told me about possible neuropathies that could result. Mostly, the concern for me is a pudendal nerve neuropathy, which could cause problems with urinary incontinence (or more seriously faecal incontinence...hmmm...that's not good). Also loss of sensation in the perineum affects sexual function too (hmmm...that's not good either!). Anyway, by the end of that visit i was definately leaning toward caesarian and pretty much thought she was too. When i went back to the obstetrician, however, it seems her letter to him sat on the fence, so he wants to do a normal vaginal delivery. I am confused now. I think the only way for me to feel good about it is to do some research into Vaginal delivery vs Caesarian, in terms of general pros and cons and also in terms of what sort of neuropathies can result from each option. I want to make an informed decision and am generally the sort of person who is not just happy to 'do what the dr recommends' unless i am convinced that it is the right course. After all, i'm the one wearing the consequences.

So I am now trying not to stress and instead will throw myself into some research in order to make my decision.

We have our 19 week scan in two weeks, can't wait! We get another DVD and pics and get to look at the baby moving around and all it's bits and pieces. They will probably be able to confirm whether it is in fact a boy as the Dr thinks, as it'll be a bit bigger, they'll have more time to look and probably better ultrasound gear. So that's all very exciting. Looks like we'll be able to start buying cool little blue clothes and throw out all the pink we've been given from hand me downs!!! Ah, the stereotypes!