I'm back.......

Hi all,

Yes it has been a really long time since my last post - unfortunately that was a sad post - my dad sadly passed away. he had previously been sick but the last bit was very sudden! Something quite unexpected. he was always such a fighter and I thought this time he was winning the fight too, but unfortunately the fence was too high for him to climb. He is at rest now and free of pain. I feel like he is watching over us all. I love you dad, and miss you every day. One of the most special aspects of a sad situation is that he was fortunate enough to meet his new grandson and what's more on that same day he was able to have a brief assisted hold of Essington - luckily I had the camera with me and I got a picture which I treasure. 

Onto a brighter note, little Essington is developing in leaps and bounds. He has gained plenty of weight now and is a very strong and healthy baby - a big contrast to the early and sick little man we had when he arrived. 

He is a very placid baby and has the most beautiful personality. He is now 12 weeks old - full of smiles, babbles away and is trying very hard to laugh. He does not just smile with his mouth - his whole face lights up! I am very blessed with his sleeping - he sleeps anywhere between 4 and 6 hours during the day and sleeps for 10 + hours at night. It must be all that good breast milk he is receiving. Unfortunately he does not feed off the breast - I express all my milk and feed it to him through a bottle. Initially i was a little disappointed that I could not feed him - now I focus on the positive that he is still having my milk - it does not matter how he receives it. 

Tucker is the most beautiful big brother - he could not be anymore affectionate to his little brother if he tried. He is nearing the end of his first year at school - Kindy, and is quite excited about pre-primary next year. He is now writing his name very clearly and especially loves to be able to write his own name in cards. He is doing very very well with his swimming lessons. He was very reluctant to start with but now I struggle to get him out. All my hard work of visits to the pool every day has paid off. he is very excited about our trip to Perth this weekend - we are off to see the Wiggles live in concert!

Mike is the most amazing husband and dad. He is so helpful with both of the boys and loves coming home to smiles from Essie and stories from Tucker. His PhD study is going quite well and broadly on target. Work is keeping him busy with frequent trips to Perth. 

I have returned to training at the gym - which I am loving. My weight is falling off at quite a good rate..... always helped by a good clean and natural food diet. I have been doing step, attack and rpm classes as well as treadmill running, and weights. All the pelvis problems I had in the pregnancy have disappeared - YAY! 

I better stop there otherwise you will be there reading my post for half the night. I am now aiming to post more frequently. I hope you like the pictures of two of the three beautiful boys in my life. xxx

RIP DAD

On Sunday 11th October I lost a very special friend - my Dad.

I love you so much Dad. I will always be your little girl and I will forever be your Lucy Lou and your Mary Mary.

I will never forget the last "I love you" that you said to me.

Essington Louis - the little champ!

Where do I start with the journey surrounding the arrival of our little 4 week early champion?

On Tuesday 25th August I went for my last check up with my GP - there were a few issues and she sent me for some testing at the hospital here in Karratha. When they hooked me up to the machine it was identified that i was having contractions!!!!! I was only 35 weeks and 3 days at this point so i was given medication to stop the labour progressing. The tablets sort of worked. I still had the odd contraction but not at regular intervals. I stayed on the medication and flew to Perth on the 28th August as planned. 

Once I landed it was planned that I call my specialist. I then visited him that afternoon and he said to stay on the tablets for another 24 hours and then we would see what would happen. I stopped taking the tablets on saturday night. 

Sunday morning I did not feel very well and spent alot of time sleeping. Sunday afternoon we went to Hillarys Boat Harbour for a walk. By the time we got home I was not feeling well so called the hospital expecting them to say all is okay and to just take it easy.......... but oh no they said to come in and they would see what was happening! 

We arrived at Glengarry Private Hospital at around 5 pm. I was then monitored and yes I was having more contractions. At this point i am 36 weeks pregnant! The obstetrician arrives and it is confirmed I am in labour! As I had a booked c-section planned I sent everyone running to get organised and at 6.46pm our gorgeous son was born 4 weeks early. 

When Essington was born I was able to have a very quick hug - he had some breathing difficulties so had to be rushed to the special car nursery. 
 Essington in his incubator. He needed some help with his breathing. He also has a drip in his arm for fluids. 

Tucker meeting his little brother for the first time. This was not how we had really expected them to meet. Tucker coped very very well with seeing his brother this way. Tucker also came and saw me in my room. I am so proud of the way he handled seeing two very precious people. 
Approx 12 hours after he was born I was able to go by wheel chair to meet my little boy. I had cuddles and then Tucker had a cuddle too. He was so excited. It was all quite quick because he needed to go back in the incubator. 

Out of the incubator at approx 2 days old. he still has his drip in his arm. He was too weak to suck for milk so he was fed through the nasal gastric tube. He loved to hold the tube and I really thought at times that he was going to pull it out. 

We initially spent 6 nights in hospital and then we were allowed home to our house in Perth. Unfortunately we had many trips back to hospital - for many feeding issues and for photo therapy for Jaundice. 

Tomorrow the 26th September is Essington's due date and on Sunday he will be 4 weeks old. We are still having feeding issues that we hope will be sorted very soon. He is still quite small and only at 4 weeks just over his birth weight. We are getting lots of wear out of 0000 and 00000 clothes. Thank you all for your support during my challenging pregnancy and we hope our new challenges resolve themselves soon. 

ESSINGTON LOUIS BAILEY

ESSINGTON LOUIS BAILEY

BORN 30TH AUGUST AT 6.46PM

(4 WEEKS PREMATURE)

7LB 4OZ 49 CM LONG

I will post some more pics and more details soon. There are many challenges we are facing right now and time is difficult to come by. xxx

Not long to go!

It has been ages since I posted last but have simply lost track of time - getting organised for a baby to arrive can take up a considerable amount of time!

I leave for Perth in less than 40 hours! I can not believe we are at this point already. Mind you with the headaches I have had throughout this journey, no wonder the time has gone quick. 

Shortly after my last post my pelvis stared to play games again so had to stop exercise and go back to a very quiet lifestyle. The pain has not been as bad as last time but enough to restrict me in what I want to do!

Yesterday I had what I presumed would be a straightforward appointment with my GP which ended in me staying in hospital overnight!!!! I had headaches, swollen feet and hands and protein in my urine - all signs of Pre Eclampsia - so I was sent straight to the hospital for monitoring. The Pre Ecalmpsia was not an issue, however the mild contractions I started to have at regular intervals while I was there were an issue. The end result - I am now on medication to make sure between now and Friday I do not go into labour! I have my legs crossed - everyone else keep your fingers crossed! I am really hoping this little baby plays by my rules and stays where he is at least until after 12 noon on Friday when I will safely be in Perth!!!!

I will try and post as often as I can while I am away to keep you updated but incase I can not get to an internet cafe or on my husbands lap top, I will post pics and details as soon as I get home.

Until next time, fingers crossed please and happy blogging!!!! xxx

Another great day!

Have had a great day again today. Tucker goes to occasional care on a Monday morning and it is right near the gym so I made sure i was organised and headed straight there after dropping him off. 

I rode the bike at level 3 ( seems so low but better than in bed in pain!) for 20 minutes and then walked for 20 minutes at 5.6 km/h (a little different to my normal 7.0 km/h) again for 20 minutes. I have not even needed an afternoon sleep today, but am about to go to bed soon as have just about hit the wall for today.

This afternoon Tucker and I were sitting together on the couch and little junior was been quite violent with his kicks. I took Tuckers hand and placed it on my belly and put my hand over the top. Junior kicked again - Tucker turned around and looked up to me with the most amazing expression on his face - that I will never forget and was so excited that junior had kicked him!

The things kids come out with. The other priceless moment was when we were about to wash his hair ( which he hates) in the bath tonight and he piped up with ........... "if i let you wash my hair you can give me a treat" - I DON'T THINK SO! But worth a try I suppose. 

xxx

An expanded update....

1. Mike Tucker and I all flew over to Brisbane for the July school holidays. It did cross my mind many times to cancel the trip with all the pregnancy challenges I have been facing, however decided we would go and deal with the effects while we were there. Although the flight over was a little uncomfortable, we made it safely and it was all positive from there. I had a few nasty episodes of the pain but nothing drugs and laying down could not fix. 

We saw my mum and dad (one of the main reasons why we went - my mum relies on oxygen 24 hours a day and will not be able to fly to see the new baby), Mikes mum, my two brothers, my two sisters in law and a dear family friend Carole. 

We had lots of quality family time together and enjoyed every minute of our time together. Most mornings were sleep in's and then headed out from our hotel / apartment by around 10 or 11 o'clock. 

I would have loved to catch up with the Queensland crew but it was a holiday were I did not want to be tied down to time and where we just needed family time together.

We took Tucker to Australia Zoo - he loved it all, Science works, a Ferry ride on the river, a drive down to the Gold Coast for a walk on the beach, shopping and lots of relaxing!

2. Since I have come home from holidays the pain in my hips and pelvis has almost reduced to zilch! YAY!!! It is so much easier to be mobile. I was really struggling with the isolation of been at home all the time on my own, but now am feeling so alive now that I can easily get out and about. I have had the odd twang of pain and there are still things I find hard to do but am 95% better than what I was. 

3. With the reduction in pain, I returned to the gym last week. I am doing some very gentle cycling and walking on the treadmill. Initially I was very nervous and wondered if the nasty pain may return but so far so good. I am not there to break any records ( considering I only have 7 weeks to go) but I am been active and that's what is most important. On my gym days I generally need a sleep in the afternoon but that is a  good side effect of what I am doing

4. I LOVE the new car - it is so easy to drive and park, and I do not need to climb in and out of it like I had to do with the 4WD. Fuel economy is amazing - one because it is smaller than the 4WD but also because it is a hybrid.

5. Good friends of ours, and Tuckers best friend at Kindy are leaving town to move to Broome in the next couple of weeks. Tucker, Mike and I are going to miss them a lot. Lucky it is only 800 km up the road so we will easily be able to visit. 

6. I am now down to 7 weeks and 1 day until I have little Junior. The last part of the pregnancy seems to have gone very quickly. Junior is a very active boy, but love the feeling of all the kicks and punches. Tucker is so excited. I am going to make him a calendar so he can mark the days off until his little brother is here. He is helping me get things ready........ and loving it. 

Wow - glad I got all that down. Hopefully not too much reading for you....... lol. xxx