September found Maya experiencing her festival - we went to Harvest with Shelley and Greg (who are far more baby-friendly than expected!). It was a big success, despite the fact Maya had a big poo whilst watching the celebrity chefs, and we managed to leave the raincover at home (again) when it poured with rain - but we coped with an umbrella. A fantastic day - although the fact I had to return to the car to express for half an hour took the edge of it slightly! We think Maya was the youngest festival goer.
It felt fantastic at the beginning of September to not be going back to work, no having to sit through two boring PD days, no having to analyse/discuss/defend GCSE results (sometimes it's just their fault okay!), no performance management, etc. I took Maya in for results day the week before and it was really liberating knowing that I wouldn't have to return for ages!
So what are we doing instead? Well our days now revolve around various baby activities. We have completed a term of Tinies with Lazy Daisy, and are just about to complete the first term of Wrigglers with them. I love love love these classes - originally I paid to do them more for my benefit for the social aspect, as the mums at the Treehouse and Ormiston centres are not the sort that I would want to associate with - and I don't care how snobby that sounds as it's an opinion I share with most of the new mums I meet! It's fantastic - a mixture of singing, movements to help with digestion and balance and relaxation. It's lovely to see all the babies being social and how much they are changing on a weekly basis. After each class we go for lunch which is a big treat, and I have made some good friends through the class - Hannah (who I knew anyway), Caroline, Karen and Amanda. We are all having similar experiences of motherhood (ie. trying not to be too mental about it) - and it is so much easier to talk to them instead of the mums at the children's centres who all arrive enmasse with their extended families, complaining about how hard it was to give up smoking!
We have also started swimming regularly - which is fab! Maya is a natural and doesn't even mind when James and I take her to the Arctic experience which is Felixstowe Leisure Centre - a pool which is very cold and not at all nice. We had a great time at Splash in Sheringham a few weeks ago - Maya wasn't at all bothered by the wave machine or being dunked, lots of people wanted to say hello to her, and it was warm! We do swimming lessons at Suffolk Swim School every week - which is lovely and warm and so relaxed and friendly. However the facilities are a bit crap for babies, as the changing rooms are small and not baby-friendly at all. Hannah and I have a system where we take it in turns to get changed and watch the babies - I was stuffed last week when she didn't come!
We are also embracing 'Baby Bounce' - singing at the library! So far we've tried out Kesgrave (good as is combined with the weigh-in clinic, but mega busy), Woodbridge and Felixstowe (also has weigh-in and is much quieter). I have been really impressed with the libraries and their facilities - so much nicer than I expected. I haven't braved the libraries more local to us for the same reasons I am not fond of the children's centres! The singing might be a bit crap but Maya seems to have a lovely time and we need more free activities to do as I am now on SMP only!
A few weeks back I discovered how you cannot expect to be able to drink as much as you could before giving birth. After four pints of cider at Isaacs I stumbled home completely wasted and in no fit state to look after Maya. Poor James had to deal with two night feeds (which she hadn't had for weeks), whilst I had been sick and retired to the spare room. The next morning I woke at 2am and felt hideous, and was well overdue a pumping session, but I knew I would just have to throw the milk down the sink so didn't bother. When I woke up again at 6am 14 hours had passed since I had last expressed so my boobs were rock solid and painful, which forced me out of bed. I felt such a disgrace that I have been much more sensible since then!
We have also been away twice in the last month - 2 nights in the cottage in North Norfolk, and 2 nights with Shelley and Greg in the Peak District. On both occasions Maya has been really unsettled on the first night, but excellent on the second. The only issue I have with going away with her is the way she finds it necessary to squeeze out an enormous poo just as we are about to get into the car (and all the changing stuff is packed) - our trip back from the Peaks was held up by an emergency bath!
Maya is now 4 months old and I can't believe how much she has changed. Back in July she was a tiny scrap of a thing who struggled to put on weight, hovering between the 2nd and 9th percentile for ages. She is massive now - between the 50th and 75th, although her weight gain is much more steady. She is the youngest baby at Lazy Daisy but certainly not the smallest. She now weighs almost 15lb and I can barely lift her and the car seat, even my dad complains how heavy it is with her in it - this is the man who a few years ago carried a washing machine into our house by himself! Maya is much more interesting now too - she has started to take a real interest in toys, loves her jumparoo and is always looking around taking everything in, so it is quite easy to wear her out. She sleeps through the night mostly too - and is getting a bit too big for her moses basket but I am not quite ready to put her in the nursery. We have almost got the routine sorted - regular settling time, regular feeds - fewer but bigger.
There are still days when she cries loads and James gets home to find me rocking on the stairs with the door shutting trying to block out the noise, and I find it hard to cope when she is teething as it's so hard to see her in pain and not be able to do anything. And one day I left the bottle warmer on so had to leave her at Lazy Daisy for half an hour – she didn’t care and was being used as the demonstration baby when I got back! All in all though I think we are doing a good job!
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Our first summer holiday as a proper family...
After surviving the first couple of weeks without breaking Maya we were feeling a bit more confident, so when James' mum came to visit we ventured into town and took Maya for her first trip to Isaacs. Unfortunately when we got there we realised we had left the change bag at home so James had to go back and get it - and then she didn't need it at all! You soon get used to the ridiculous amount of stuff you have to be armed with just for a quick trip out with a baby! Maya slept through brunch in Isaacs and then lunch in town - very impressive!
My 33rd birthday was a much more low-key event that normal and we just had a family BBQ rather than any meals out/drinks. We had even spent our birthday money on a roof box rather than anything interesting! But we did start to get braver with our outings and lunch out and BBQs soon became a regular fixture of the summer holidays (well we had abandoned all other parts of our social life!). At a BBQ at my parents Maya was sick all over me as soon as we got there - which made me realise how stupid it was to leave the house without a spare set of clothes! She also cried through a BBQ at Anita and Liam's, although was quiet at the pub. I felt a bad mother to be sitting with Maya on my lap whilst sipping Aspells, but after 9 months of no alcohol I deserved it! We celebrated James' birthday with lunch out and drinks in Isaacs, however we did cancel our anniversary dinner out as I wasn't ready to leave Maya with anyone else.
In the middle of August we went away (a bit mentally according to most!) for a few days to James' parents holiday cottage in Norfolk. We had to take a ridiculous amount of stuff away with us and totally filled the car and roof box. Unfortunately the first night there was horrific, Maya wouldn't sleep in her moses basket and cried all night long. I tried to get her to sleep in my arms as she normally likes this at home but even then she was hysterical, and in the tiny cottage there is nowhere to escape the crying (as poor Paddy discovered). During the 3 days there we did several walks, which Maya usually was good for. She was certainly good as a hot water bottle in her sling - normally half way through a walk I pass her to James as my back is hurting, however on the beach I kept her to heat me up! We also ate out 3 times, this was generally okay except for one lunchtime where she cried the whole way through - luckily we were at the far end of the beer garden!
Towards the end of the summer we took Maya to her first beer festival - it was good and she was considerate enough to sleep the whole way through. I struggled to choose my beers wisely as I was only allowed two, and unfortunately we left the rain cover at home and it did rain a lot - sheltering in a tent is not so easy with a huge pushchair!
One thing that has really annoyed me about being a parent is other people's opinions on the choices you make. The first one definitely was the whole breastfeeding issue - must not give up; must not express, blah blah...; more recently views on the use of soothers is doing my head in! James' mum doesn't approve of them, although she has not said anything, but James didn't want Maya to use one in front of her. His aunty also said during lunch out "I'm so glad you don't give her dummies" - this really pissed me off - why do people have such strong opinions about them? Particularly when it's none of their business? If they took time to read recent research they would learn that there is evidence that soothers can reduce the risk of SIDS, and also isn't it better to use dummies rather than thumbs which ends up with needing expensive dental treatment. And if Maya gets comfort from it and it stops her crying who cares about what other people think!!
My 33rd birthday was a much more low-key event that normal and we just had a family BBQ rather than any meals out/drinks. We had even spent our birthday money on a roof box rather than anything interesting! But we did start to get braver with our outings and lunch out and BBQs soon became a regular fixture of the summer holidays (well we had abandoned all other parts of our social life!). At a BBQ at my parents Maya was sick all over me as soon as we got there - which made me realise how stupid it was to leave the house without a spare set of clothes! She also cried through a BBQ at Anita and Liam's, although was quiet at the pub. I felt a bad mother to be sitting with Maya on my lap whilst sipping Aspells, but after 9 months of no alcohol I deserved it! We celebrated James' birthday with lunch out and drinks in Isaacs, however we did cancel our anniversary dinner out as I wasn't ready to leave Maya with anyone else.
In the middle of August we went away (a bit mentally according to most!) for a few days to James' parents holiday cottage in Norfolk. We had to take a ridiculous amount of stuff away with us and totally filled the car and roof box. Unfortunately the first night there was horrific, Maya wouldn't sleep in her moses basket and cried all night long. I tried to get her to sleep in my arms as she normally likes this at home but even then she was hysterical, and in the tiny cottage there is nowhere to escape the crying (as poor Paddy discovered). During the 3 days there we did several walks, which Maya usually was good for. She was certainly good as a hot water bottle in her sling - normally half way through a walk I pass her to James as my back is hurting, however on the beach I kept her to heat me up! We also ate out 3 times, this was generally okay except for one lunchtime where she cried the whole way through - luckily we were at the far end of the beer garden!
Towards the end of the summer we took Maya to her first beer festival - it was good and she was considerate enough to sleep the whole way through. I struggled to choose my beers wisely as I was only allowed two, and unfortunately we left the rain cover at home and it did rain a lot - sheltering in a tent is not so easy with a huge pushchair!
One thing that has really annoyed me about being a parent is other people's opinions on the choices you make. The first one definitely was the whole breastfeeding issue - must not give up; must not express, blah blah...; more recently views on the use of soothers is doing my head in! James' mum doesn't approve of them, although she has not said anything, but James didn't want Maya to use one in front of her. His aunty also said during lunch out "I'm so glad you don't give her dummies" - this really pissed me off - why do people have such strong opinions about them? Particularly when it's none of their business? If they took time to read recent research they would learn that there is evidence that soothers can reduce the risk of SIDS, and also isn't it better to use dummies rather than thumbs which ends up with needing expensive dental treatment. And if Maya gets comfort from it and it stops her crying who cares about what other people think!!
Scared of everything - the first few weeks at home....
We arrived home with Maya at 8.30pm on Saturday 9th July - and were terrified - what the hell were we supposed to do with a baby who was just 1 day old?? We struggled to get her into the car seat and once in it was far too big - was it really going to help her in an accident?? At home we set up the moses basket in the lounge and tried desperately to keep Paddy and his big long snout away from her - she was so tiny and we were really paranoid about how delicate she must be. I don't have much recollection of the first night home, I am assuming we went to bed quite early, and I imagine we checked Maya every 5 minutes to check she was still alive, but other than that it all seems a blur!
Lauren recommended Gina Ford's book to help us get into a routine, however on reading the book I just got angry. How the hell can you get newborns into a routine? Apparently you should make babies wait between feeds (which is actually damaging as it can mean they are not getting enough milk, and can decrease your milk supply), let them cry themselves to sleep. It is a ridiculous book - you can tell she's never had kids of her own. There is no way I can let Maya cry things out. She says the babies she 'cares' for never cry - probably because they know there's no point as they won't get any attention! Anyway we decided we were better on muddling through ourselves!
Our first full day at home was awash with visitors - my parents had already been to meet Maya in hospital the day before luckily but we still entertained 3 sets of visitors. Caroline arrived really early with presents for Maya and enjoyed some cuddles before heading off. James' parents and gran were next up and stayed for a couple of hours - by this time Maya was getting grizzly and my painkillers were wearing off so I could barely walk. Sharon and Richard came to see Maya after dinner and she was very good - and received some fabulous presents!
The first week whizzed past very quickly in a total blur. James took a week's paternity leave and my parents visited a few times to watch Maya or take her out for a walk whilst we tried to get some sleep. However I was pretty useless at daytime sleeping! Maya and I really struggled with breastfeeding - she didn't latch on very well and always fell asleep making nightfeeds last several hours. When she was weighted on Day 5 and had lost over 10% of her body weight I was distraught and really really worried. She appeared to be healthy and thriving but was not feeding at all well, and had colic. I was ready to give up breastfeeding at this point, especially when the maternity care assistant's helpful advice was to wake her up again during a night feed by stripping her off and changing her nappy - oh great make them last even longer - am I not allowed to sleep at all? Maya also cluster-fed in the evenings which very demanding. We had tears several times with both the mid wife and maternity care assistant, and even those unfortunate to visit when I was feeling a bit low. I broke down and sobbed for the entire length of Bea and Heidi's visit and looked like a proper mental case - fortunately it did result in them bringing us a huge meal! However we were impressively out an about by the end of the first week, despite the fact I could still barely walk!
At the end of week 2 we had clocked up a panicky visit to the Riverside Clinic, many more hours of crying, and were still not putting on weight quickly enough. One morning James went to work and I was laying in bed trying to feed Maya crying - not so good for the bonding experience. So when the health visitor came for the 2 week check I announced that I was abandoning breastfeeding as it was more important that she started to gain weight. So we started expressing all feeds instead. At first I thought this was going to be impossible and was a stupid idea, but I then discovered my friend Hannah was doing it as well so I didn't feel such a failure. I expressed 4/5 times a day and gave Maya a formula feed at night to give myself a break and suddenly everything got easier! James and I could share feeds, we got much more sleep and Maya loved the bottle and wolfed down her milk. At the end of the first week of bottles she had put on 11.5 oz!!!! We were very pleased - all of the hassle of expressing (which is uncomfortable, time consuming and dull) seemed worth it!
Lauren recommended Gina Ford's book to help us get into a routine, however on reading the book I just got angry. How the hell can you get newborns into a routine? Apparently you should make babies wait between feeds (which is actually damaging as it can mean they are not getting enough milk, and can decrease your milk supply), let them cry themselves to sleep. It is a ridiculous book - you can tell she's never had kids of her own. There is no way I can let Maya cry things out. She says the babies she 'cares' for never cry - probably because they know there's no point as they won't get any attention! Anyway we decided we were better on muddling through ourselves!
Our first full day at home was awash with visitors - my parents had already been to meet Maya in hospital the day before luckily but we still entertained 3 sets of visitors. Caroline arrived really early with presents for Maya and enjoyed some cuddles before heading off. James' parents and gran were next up and stayed for a couple of hours - by this time Maya was getting grizzly and my painkillers were wearing off so I could barely walk. Sharon and Richard came to see Maya after dinner and she was very good - and received some fabulous presents!
The first week whizzed past very quickly in a total blur. James took a week's paternity leave and my parents visited a few times to watch Maya or take her out for a walk whilst we tried to get some sleep. However I was pretty useless at daytime sleeping! Maya and I really struggled with breastfeeding - she didn't latch on very well and always fell asleep making nightfeeds last several hours. When she was weighted on Day 5 and had lost over 10% of her body weight I was distraught and really really worried. She appeared to be healthy and thriving but was not feeding at all well, and had colic. I was ready to give up breastfeeding at this point, especially when the maternity care assistant's helpful advice was to wake her up again during a night feed by stripping her off and changing her nappy - oh great make them last even longer - am I not allowed to sleep at all? Maya also cluster-fed in the evenings which very demanding. We had tears several times with both the mid wife and maternity care assistant, and even those unfortunate to visit when I was feeling a bit low. I broke down and sobbed for the entire length of Bea and Heidi's visit and looked like a proper mental case - fortunately it did result in them bringing us a huge meal! However we were impressively out an about by the end of the first week, despite the fact I could still barely walk!
At the end of week 2 we had clocked up a panicky visit to the Riverside Clinic, many more hours of crying, and were still not putting on weight quickly enough. One morning James went to work and I was laying in bed trying to feed Maya crying - not so good for the bonding experience. So when the health visitor came for the 2 week check I announced that I was abandoning breastfeeding as it was more important that she started to gain weight. So we started expressing all feeds instead. At first I thought this was going to be impossible and was a stupid idea, but I then discovered my friend Hannah was doing it as well so I didn't feel such a failure. I expressed 4/5 times a day and gave Maya a formula feed at night to give myself a break and suddenly everything got easier! James and I could share feeds, we got much more sleep and Maya loved the bottle and wolfed down her milk. At the end of the first week of bottles she had put on 11.5 oz!!!! We were very pleased - all of the hassle of expressing (which is uncomfortable, time consuming and dull) seemed worth it!
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
And so for the main event!
At 12.30am (after only being in bed for an hour) I felt my waters break - I leapt up and ran to the bathroom - catching everything. I was very pleased with this for two reasons: 1) There would be no mess to clear up when we got home; 2) It was the fastest I had moved for weeks! I was really calm despite passing lots of blood so I put on one of those lovely maternity pads I had purchased a few weeks before (which were the size of mattresses), woke James and called the hospital. We were told to come in and be checked out but probably would be sent home as my contractions were yet to start. I decided it was really important to put some make-up on to look presentable - no idea why! I then rang my Sharon to let her know - unfortunately she had been out drinking so wasn't answering the phone for ages, and also my mum to get her to come and let the dog out in the morning. James was running around like a headless chicken and was more scared than me. I don't really know why I was feeling fine about it as normally I am scared of everything so I thought I would be horrendous at this point.
We arrived at the hospital at about 1.20am - it's so much easier to park at this time of night. I had initially said there was no way I was going in the lifts whilst in labour in case it got stuck and James had to deliver the baby in there, however once we got there I really couldn't be arsed to waddle up the stairs. We quickly checked into the consultant-led ward and were put into a tiny assessment room where a midwife strapped me onto a fetal monitoring machine. My blood pressure was a bit high but the baby's heartbeat was really strong. I was told at this point I wasn't allowed to go home because of the blood loss.
At around 4am I felt a pop and my waters broke properly. I was also sick and had really bad diarrohea - which was a real treat to deal with. I got changed into my particularly lovely £4 night shirt from Primark - size 16/18 so should offer me enough room to manoeuvre. I then had an internal examination to see what was happening - it was awful and so painful. I had to have entonox to help me relax so I wasn't holding out much hope for the delivery! I was told that I would have to stay on the monitoring machine for the whole labour so my active labour class was a bit of a waste of time, although the breathing techniques were helping me relax a bit.
At around 8.30am I started to get proper contractions - they came quite quickly and I started to dilate quickly too - just as well as I was already finding tha pain hard to cope with. At this point I asked for pethadine and used that with entonox, which was quite effective. My sister arrived soon but timed her arrival while I was having another internal examination (labour is so glamorous!), and got impatient waiting to come in as she had been awake since I phoned at 1am! Just before she came in I had a room full of doctors and students who were doing their rounds - the head one pointed out that I was in a little crap room and would properly be more comfortable in a better suite. I agreed with him but was really overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people in our little room. We were also on our third set of midwives by this point - one of them was a student but was really good. Luckily these midwives stayed with me until mid afternoon.
I soon realised that my birth plan had completely gone out of the window so I didn't even bother getting it out of my bag. I was gutted as I had spent ages planning it, and although I was realistic that I had to be flexible, I didn't expect to have to abandon it altogether. I also decided that as I was in so much pain already and couldn't move around anyway I was definitely having an epidural. This part of the labour seemed to pass by quite quickly, probably due to the fact I was on pethadine - I'm sure it didn't go quickly for James and Sharon.
Early afternoon saw us moving to a much bigger and better delivery suite. I was put on an IV drip and had my epidural and a catheter fitted - which didn't hurt as much as I expected, although I did struggle to keep perfectly still through the contractions whilst this was being done. The epidural was great, very effective and the midwife could top it off whenever it started to wear off, but each time it was topped off I was sick so Sharon had that dubious honour of holding my sick bowl (I didn't remember this at all until she reminded me several weeks later!).
The second stage kicked off just as we had a new midwife who would stay with us until the baby was born. At around 4pm she topped up my epidural and we started pushing. I was far less scared than I expected to be - just excited that it would soon be over, or so I thought. At first the pushing was going well, it was really effective despite me not really feeling the contractions. My sister told me when to push by looking at the contractions on the monitor print out and James helped me with my breathing - although he got it the wrong way round! Sharon was impressed with my mood - I wasn't shouting or screaming - she claimed that I was making it look easy (what - even with all the bowls of vomit??). However the epidural made my contractions slow down so after what I thought was an hour (it was actually 2) we stopped making any progress and I was getting really tired and disheartened.
At about 7pm we had a visit from some doctors who said that as my blood pressure was going up a little bit they were treating me for suspected pre-eclampsia. This seemed really stupid as the treatment for it is to induce labour, so I wasn't at all bothered by this. I was given syntoxine to help speed up my contractions but was told that the baby was now facing the wrong way which wasn't helping, neither was the fact I hadn't been able to stand or go on all fours to give birth, where gravity would have helped. I was told that I needed to go up to theatre for an assisted delivery and may need a c-section. I was prepped, which was basically doing a really crap job of removing my make-up and nail polish, and made to read and sign something, which I couldn't read as I was so drugged up and I just got frustrated and wanted it over with. Despite all of this my baby was mega strong throughout! Sharon also had to call Mum and Dad to tell them they couldn't come to the 7pm visiting session - I wouldn't have wanted them there anyway even if I had managed to give birth beforehand - surely I'm entitled to some time to myself!
The trip up to theatre was a bit like an episode of the Chuckle Brothers, my drip was being pulled so hard it I had to hold it against my hand in order to stop it coming out, and when we got to the lift they couldn't get it in with my trolley and kept banging it into the sides! In the theatre there were so many staff - definitely in double figures. Sharon looked terrified as I was wheeled in and she wasn't allowed in so had to wait in the recovery room. James had to dress in scrubs to come in which was quite funny to see. I think I went into shock a bit at this point as I was shaking uncontrollably so the doctor in charge tried to distract me with dreadful jokes and by telling me I was expecting twins. I wanted to tell him to 'fuck off' but tried not to as I had got this far without swearing! He gave me a mega strong epidural and couldn't feel anything at all. After 3 strong pushes the baby was out and placed on me. I announced to everyone that it was a boy(!!!) - the midwife soon shouted across the room to correct me. So Maya Amelie was born - crying and perfect, although very slimey! She was wiped down a bit and handed to James whilst I was stitched up by two attractive men who were younger than me (after an episiotomy and slight tear - my second worst fear after pushing piles out!), still in stirrups - not sure whether I was covered up or not. There really is no dignity in giving birth, although I didn't scream once and offered them some tips on where to go out for dinner through this procedure! After thanking everyone about 100 times I joined James and Maya in the recovery room where they were meeting my sister.
Maya Amelie was born at 8.26pm on Friday 8th July (during the Year 11 prom which I should have been at - they always joked I would give birth during it!), weighing 6lb 13oz despite being two weeks early. She was 50cm long and perfect in every way and we were soon down on the post-natal ward to recover. After the exicitement of the day it was really nice to get down on the ward. It was completely empty, and after a couple of hours James went home and left us to get some sleep. It was so hot due to the closed windows and the heaters over the baby cots. Around midnight a hideous woman noisily arrived on the ward before shouting about wanting to go out for a cigarette. She was gross and snored like a pig all night - she was almost told to 'fuck off' the next day when she was complaining about a lack of sleep. Apparently her baby was number 7 - and she was excited as she has been told she was to be sterilised the following week - probably should have happened before, and she was induced as it wasn't growing. She was 39 weeks and the baby was 4lb!!!! Her and her horrible entourage took over the ward for most of the day, and annoyingly it was also the day of the annual charity abseil down the maternity block so every few minutes there would be a massive cheer - not great when trying to get some sleep. So within 48 hours, despite my body undergoing the most exhausting experience ever, I had only had about 2 hours sleep. Waiting to go home was really boring and I was up and showered by 7am - but we had to wait until almost 24 hours after the birth before we could be discharged. After some hospital food I was well and truly ready to go home, so we delighted at 8pm to be able to take Maya home. Once there we were totally overwhelmed, but excited at the new addition!
We arrived at the hospital at about 1.20am - it's so much easier to park at this time of night. I had initially said there was no way I was going in the lifts whilst in labour in case it got stuck and James had to deliver the baby in there, however once we got there I really couldn't be arsed to waddle up the stairs. We quickly checked into the consultant-led ward and were put into a tiny assessment room where a midwife strapped me onto a fetal monitoring machine. My blood pressure was a bit high but the baby's heartbeat was really strong. I was told at this point I wasn't allowed to go home because of the blood loss.
At around 4am I felt a pop and my waters broke properly. I was also sick and had really bad diarrohea - which was a real treat to deal with. I got changed into my particularly lovely £4 night shirt from Primark - size 16/18 so should offer me enough room to manoeuvre. I then had an internal examination to see what was happening - it was awful and so painful. I had to have entonox to help me relax so I wasn't holding out much hope for the delivery! I was told that I would have to stay on the monitoring machine for the whole labour so my active labour class was a bit of a waste of time, although the breathing techniques were helping me relax a bit.
At around 8.30am I started to get proper contractions - they came quite quickly and I started to dilate quickly too - just as well as I was already finding tha pain hard to cope with. At this point I asked for pethadine and used that with entonox, which was quite effective. My sister arrived soon but timed her arrival while I was having another internal examination (labour is so glamorous!), and got impatient waiting to come in as she had been awake since I phoned at 1am! Just before she came in I had a room full of doctors and students who were doing their rounds - the head one pointed out that I was in a little crap room and would properly be more comfortable in a better suite. I agreed with him but was really overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people in our little room. We were also on our third set of midwives by this point - one of them was a student but was really good. Luckily these midwives stayed with me until mid afternoon.
I soon realised that my birth plan had completely gone out of the window so I didn't even bother getting it out of my bag. I was gutted as I had spent ages planning it, and although I was realistic that I had to be flexible, I didn't expect to have to abandon it altogether. I also decided that as I was in so much pain already and couldn't move around anyway I was definitely having an epidural. This part of the labour seemed to pass by quite quickly, probably due to the fact I was on pethadine - I'm sure it didn't go quickly for James and Sharon.
Early afternoon saw us moving to a much bigger and better delivery suite. I was put on an IV drip and had my epidural and a catheter fitted - which didn't hurt as much as I expected, although I did struggle to keep perfectly still through the contractions whilst this was being done. The epidural was great, very effective and the midwife could top it off whenever it started to wear off, but each time it was topped off I was sick so Sharon had that dubious honour of holding my sick bowl (I didn't remember this at all until she reminded me several weeks later!).
The second stage kicked off just as we had a new midwife who would stay with us until the baby was born. At around 4pm she topped up my epidural and we started pushing. I was far less scared than I expected to be - just excited that it would soon be over, or so I thought. At first the pushing was going well, it was really effective despite me not really feeling the contractions. My sister told me when to push by looking at the contractions on the monitor print out and James helped me with my breathing - although he got it the wrong way round! Sharon was impressed with my mood - I wasn't shouting or screaming - she claimed that I was making it look easy (what - even with all the bowls of vomit??). However the epidural made my contractions slow down so after what I thought was an hour (it was actually 2) we stopped making any progress and I was getting really tired and disheartened.
At about 7pm we had a visit from some doctors who said that as my blood pressure was going up a little bit they were treating me for suspected pre-eclampsia. This seemed really stupid as the treatment for it is to induce labour, so I wasn't at all bothered by this. I was given syntoxine to help speed up my contractions but was told that the baby was now facing the wrong way which wasn't helping, neither was the fact I hadn't been able to stand or go on all fours to give birth, where gravity would have helped. I was told that I needed to go up to theatre for an assisted delivery and may need a c-section. I was prepped, which was basically doing a really crap job of removing my make-up and nail polish, and made to read and sign something, which I couldn't read as I was so drugged up and I just got frustrated and wanted it over with. Despite all of this my baby was mega strong throughout! Sharon also had to call Mum and Dad to tell them they couldn't come to the 7pm visiting session - I wouldn't have wanted them there anyway even if I had managed to give birth beforehand - surely I'm entitled to some time to myself!
The trip up to theatre was a bit like an episode of the Chuckle Brothers, my drip was being pulled so hard it I had to hold it against my hand in order to stop it coming out, and when we got to the lift they couldn't get it in with my trolley and kept banging it into the sides! In the theatre there were so many staff - definitely in double figures. Sharon looked terrified as I was wheeled in and she wasn't allowed in so had to wait in the recovery room. James had to dress in scrubs to come in which was quite funny to see. I think I went into shock a bit at this point as I was shaking uncontrollably so the doctor in charge tried to distract me with dreadful jokes and by telling me I was expecting twins. I wanted to tell him to 'fuck off' but tried not to as I had got this far without swearing! He gave me a mega strong epidural and couldn't feel anything at all. After 3 strong pushes the baby was out and placed on me. I announced to everyone that it was a boy(!!!) - the midwife soon shouted across the room to correct me. So Maya Amelie was born - crying and perfect, although very slimey! She was wiped down a bit and handed to James whilst I was stitched up by two attractive men who were younger than me (after an episiotomy and slight tear - my second worst fear after pushing piles out!), still in stirrups - not sure whether I was covered up or not. There really is no dignity in giving birth, although I didn't scream once and offered them some tips on where to go out for dinner through this procedure! After thanking everyone about 100 times I joined James and Maya in the recovery room where they were meeting my sister.
Maya Amelie was born at 8.26pm on Friday 8th July (during the Year 11 prom which I should have been at - they always joked I would give birth during it!), weighing 6lb 13oz despite being two weeks early. She was 50cm long and perfect in every way and we were soon down on the post-natal ward to recover. After the exicitement of the day it was really nice to get down on the ward. It was completely empty, and after a couple of hours James went home and left us to get some sleep. It was so hot due to the closed windows and the heaters over the baby cots. Around midnight a hideous woman noisily arrived on the ward before shouting about wanting to go out for a cigarette. She was gross and snored like a pig all night - she was almost told to 'fuck off' the next day when she was complaining about a lack of sleep. Apparently her baby was number 7 - and she was excited as she has been told she was to be sterilised the following week - probably should have happened before, and she was induced as it wasn't growing. She was 39 weeks and the baby was 4lb!!!! Her and her horrible entourage took over the ward for most of the day, and annoyingly it was also the day of the annual charity abseil down the maternity block so every few minutes there would be a massive cheer - not great when trying to get some sleep. So within 48 hours, despite my body undergoing the most exhausting experience ever, I had only had about 2 hours sleep. Waiting to go home was really boring and I was up and showered by 7am - but we had to wait until almost 24 hours after the birth before we could be discharged. After some hospital food I was well and truly ready to go home, so we delighted at 8pm to be able to take Maya home. Once there we were totally overwhelmed, but excited at the new addition!
My third trimester - and now the end is near....
I was so excited when I got into the third trimester. The baby was kicking all the time which was nice, however the occasional Braxton Hicks contractions were not. However every time I felt a bit crap I got it into my head that I was suffering with pre-eclampsia as everything I was suffering with seemed to be a symptom! My bump was growing to quickly and I was convinced that I would be giving birth to an enormous pelvis-shattering baby! Being back at work after the Easter holidays was a shock - I was really uncomfortable sitting down and knackered standing up, and my concentration span was about as good as some of our ADHD kids. However lots of people said I was looking good and glowing, and even glamorous - make-up is a miracle worker!
I was advised to have a second birth partner as a back-up as everyone was convinced that James, who is famously squeamish about everything, would faint and would miss the birth. My sister Sharon was desperate to be there, and although initially I didn't want her there as I didn't want to be on display, I thought it would be a good idea (and in the end she was amazing!). I made James read the labour parts of the birthing books, and along with the parentcraft classes I began to have a bit more faith in him. That is until we saw a 3 week old baby at a family barbecue and James didn't know whether she was a boy or girl despite the pink floral outfit and matching hat - oh dear!
I particularly enjoyed antenatal classes - and experienced two very different ones. I paid for a 6 week active birthing class with Lazy Daisy which was lovely, lots of yoga moves and breathing techniques and relaxation at the end, although the affirmations were a bit laughable..."I will be strong and proud..." - we'll see! Towards the end I did struggle with any form of exercise there though! We also did Parentcraft classes at the Ipsich Hospital, which were okay - the other people there were an odd bunch although I was entertained by the youngest expectant mother there who thought no topic was too embarrassing to discuss and was happy to share with us the news about mucus in her pants! James thought he was hilarious when he asked me in front of everyone whether I had piles!! I did also have the misfortune to sit through a dreadful breastfeeding workshop run by a biased and uninformed idiot called Petra, who had no medical evidence to back up anything she said. Apparantely breastfeeding reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke for the mother in later life - however when questioned she had no idea how or why! I particularly enjoyed filling out that course evaluation!
Late May saw Year 11 go on study leave. I was looking forward to this as it meant I had much more free time at school, although I would miss my form. I had an impressive haul of presents, including lots for the baby. My best present was the wine! I was beginning to regret saying that I would work the 2 weeks after half term as I was knackered and also had started to get cankles - which I went mental about (and my friends at school found hilarious, particularly Zoe and Charlotte). I had to teach mostly sitting down and had to waddle to the loo several times each lesson - which my Year 8s enjoyed telling the Head!
Half term was very welcome - we were far too busy though. James' sister and her kids came for the day - my niece Ella spent the day stroking my tummy and boobs, which was odd! Meeting up with Alice and Charlotte from work, who have recently given birth, was lovely but I did not enjoy their awful birth stories about piles, pooing, tearing and how a birthing pool actually looks like a shark attack film at the end! Going to weddings heavily pregnant is crap - no alcohol and very limited dancing. We had two that week - a reception which was properly rubbish although it was nice to catch up with friends, and then my sisters. Unfortunately hers was in Cyprus so I missed out on going but we did watch it on Skype which meant I could cry in the comfort of my own home! A week or so later (when I was 34 weeks) Sharon and Richard had a fab reception back here - apparently I looked very well despite my earlier (totally unnecessary) crying about my hair and dress! I managed to stay in heels all day - possibly because my feet were so swollen my feet were wedged into them. Dancing was a stupid idea and I could barely move the next day, and I did well not to punch Richard's sister who kept referring to me as 'Preggers' and grabbing my bump!
During week 34 I had to have a third scan to check my low-lying placenta - it was good to see the baby so well developed, however the placenta hadn't moved up that much so I officially had a Placenta Previa Minor. We got stuck at the hospital for over an hour to see a consultant, who was completely useless and patronising and was surprised I knew anything about the condition I had been told about 14 weeks earlier - she even asked me if I knew what the placenta was!!! Anyway I was told it wouldn't cause me any difficulties but they wanted me to give birth on the consultant-led ward, which I was happy with.
Anyway my baby arrived 2 weeks early - I was very pleased. Although I was enjoying maternity leave I was so uncomfortable all of the time, getting no sleep through a combination of needing to wee every 20 minutes and having acid reflux (I discovered that Gaviscon was so vile that I would rather keep reflux!), pooing a lot, had mega cankles and regular Braxton Hicks I had had so many signs of labour that I knew the baby would make an appearance soon. So when my waters broke at 12.30am on July 8th I was delighted...
I was advised to have a second birth partner as a back-up as everyone was convinced that James, who is famously squeamish about everything, would faint and would miss the birth. My sister Sharon was desperate to be there, and although initially I didn't want her there as I didn't want to be on display, I thought it would be a good idea (and in the end she was amazing!). I made James read the labour parts of the birthing books, and along with the parentcraft classes I began to have a bit more faith in him. That is until we saw a 3 week old baby at a family barbecue and James didn't know whether she was a boy or girl despite the pink floral outfit and matching hat - oh dear!
I particularly enjoyed antenatal classes - and experienced two very different ones. I paid for a 6 week active birthing class with Lazy Daisy which was lovely, lots of yoga moves and breathing techniques and relaxation at the end, although the affirmations were a bit laughable..."I will be strong and proud..." - we'll see! Towards the end I did struggle with any form of exercise there though! We also did Parentcraft classes at the Ipsich Hospital, which were okay - the other people there were an odd bunch although I was entertained by the youngest expectant mother there who thought no topic was too embarrassing to discuss and was happy to share with us the news about mucus in her pants! James thought he was hilarious when he asked me in front of everyone whether I had piles!! I did also have the misfortune to sit through a dreadful breastfeeding workshop run by a biased and uninformed idiot called Petra, who had no medical evidence to back up anything she said. Apparantely breastfeeding reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke for the mother in later life - however when questioned she had no idea how or why! I particularly enjoyed filling out that course evaluation!
Late May saw Year 11 go on study leave. I was looking forward to this as it meant I had much more free time at school, although I would miss my form. I had an impressive haul of presents, including lots for the baby. My best present was the wine! I was beginning to regret saying that I would work the 2 weeks after half term as I was knackered and also had started to get cankles - which I went mental about (and my friends at school found hilarious, particularly Zoe and Charlotte). I had to teach mostly sitting down and had to waddle to the loo several times each lesson - which my Year 8s enjoyed telling the Head!
Half term was very welcome - we were far too busy though. James' sister and her kids came for the day - my niece Ella spent the day stroking my tummy and boobs, which was odd! Meeting up with Alice and Charlotte from work, who have recently given birth, was lovely but I did not enjoy their awful birth stories about piles, pooing, tearing and how a birthing pool actually looks like a shark attack film at the end! Going to weddings heavily pregnant is crap - no alcohol and very limited dancing. We had two that week - a reception which was properly rubbish although it was nice to catch up with friends, and then my sisters. Unfortunately hers was in Cyprus so I missed out on going but we did watch it on Skype which meant I could cry in the comfort of my own home! A week or so later (when I was 34 weeks) Sharon and Richard had a fab reception back here - apparently I looked very well despite my earlier (totally unnecessary) crying about my hair and dress! I managed to stay in heels all day - possibly because my feet were so swollen my feet were wedged into them. Dancing was a stupid idea and I could barely move the next day, and I did well not to punch Richard's sister who kept referring to me as 'Preggers' and grabbing my bump!
During week 34 I had to have a third scan to check my low-lying placenta - it was good to see the baby so well developed, however the placenta hadn't moved up that much so I officially had a Placenta Previa Minor. We got stuck at the hospital for over an hour to see a consultant, who was completely useless and patronising and was surprised I knew anything about the condition I had been told about 14 weeks earlier - she even asked me if I knew what the placenta was!!! Anyway I was told it wouldn't cause me any difficulties but they wanted me to give birth on the consultant-led ward, which I was happy with.
Anyway my baby arrived 2 weeks early - I was very pleased. Although I was enjoying maternity leave I was so uncomfortable all of the time, getting no sleep through a combination of needing to wee every 20 minutes and having acid reflux (I discovered that Gaviscon was so vile that I would rather keep reflux!), pooing a lot, had mega cankles and regular Braxton Hicks I had had so many signs of labour that I knew the baby would make an appearance soon. So when my waters broke at 12.30am on July 8th I was delighted...
My second trimester - enough already with all the sickness!
We were still in shock about the rapid progression with the pregnancy but were so pleased we could start telling people. Straight after the scan James shared the news with his sisters - one had already guessed as my lack of alchol at Christmas had triggered alarm bells, and since then had set James' mum a series of traps to see whether her suspicions, her buying a travel cot and accepting a baby bath confirmed it! My mum spent that afternoon on the phone telling anyone that she thought would be vaguely interested, I spent that afternoon constantly running to and from the loo as my bladder was still angry about the 2 litres of water consumed before the scan. I also told my two best friends, Shelley and Beccy, straight away, they were mega shocked as I had never shown any inclination towards motherhood - and they certainly don't want kids, as were all of our other friends - it is so easy to hide a pregnancy when people think you hate kids!
I told my form group fairly early on that I was pregnant - I didn't want them to hear from others as I have had them for almost 5 years, and also didn't want them all whispering that I was getting fat! They were delighted for me - and really impressed with my timing as I will leave just after their exams therefore they won't be affected by my maternity leave - however they did say it was an extreme measure to avoid having a Year 7 form next year! By lunch time the whole of Year 11 knew but it took many weeks to trickle down through the whole school - kids are very unobservant! Luckily most kids were really considerate during my pregnancy which made teaching a bit easier, as did choosing a date for maternity leave early on! However teenagers are a little bit too interested in pregnancy and are really crap at suggesting baby names!!
I quickly realised that maternity clothes are disgusting - who honestly thinks that when someone gets pregnant they want to spend their days wearing tents and hideous curtains. Several people on ebay were selling bundles of 'maternity clothes' - which on closer inspection were actually just size 16/18 clothes being marketed towards regular size 12s - thank god for Asos! Luckily I seem to have a tidy bump - possibly because I was so sick!
Last year I stupidly bought an MX5 on an impulse - not the best car for a pregnant woman. In fact that car had been the worst purchase decision ever - I work out in the sticks and driving a rear-wheel drive car on untreated back roads in the ice and snow was no fun at all, most mornings I was impressed that I had managed to get into work without sliding into a ditch! By late February I was struggling to get in and out of it so we bit the bullet and started looking for a more sensible family car. Already having a massive dog meant our choice was estate or people carrier - we opted for the people carrier as I didn't want a wardrobe on wheels (I am perfectly aware that a people carrier is also very uncool!), and bought the first one I thought was vaguely acceptable! Researching the buggy was a much bigger job!!
At the beginning of March we had our sexing scan. I was really nervous about this and had got it into my head that it would show something was wrong, although the huge amount of sickness I was suffering with (which didn't actually stop until about 22 weeks) was a sign that the baby was thriving. The sonographer was silent for the first 5 minutes which made me think she was finding all sorts of hideous things - she wasn't - apparently she was just quiet as she was concentrating! Everything was good which was great to hear although I did have a slightly low-lying placenta which I wasn't particularly worried about. And despite my massive nosiness we didn't find out whether we were having a pink or blue baby!
The low point of my second trimester was contracting a filthy bug from a filthy child at school. I was so so sick and had horrendous cramps like nothing I have ever had before. I stupidly went into school despite not sleeping at all and crying all the way in, however it was the Year 11 photograph which I didn't want to miss. I didn't make it to the photo though as I was sent home to see the midwife. She was unhelpful - according to her I either had a urine infection or was going into labour - and rather sensitively she said that if that was the case there was nothing we could do. I was distraught and an hour or so later I was in so much pain that I was admitted to hospital. Thankfully everything was okay with the baby but I was so dehydrated that I had to spend the next 24 hours on a drip (listening to other women give birth!) and the rest of the pregnancy drinking as much water as I could. Very scary!
Throughout this stage everyone said how well I was looking, despite not feeling it. Towards the end I started to feel better though, even with weighing in at 11 stone and it being really hot! We did get the nursery sorted, the buggy purchased (the Britax B Smart 4) – which took longer to pick than the car did) and have a couple of weekends away in Norfolk and the Peak District. These trips away coincided with the return of the pea-sized bladder which was not great on the motorways or when we were trying to walk anywhere. The Peak District was a particular challenge as Shelley has no comfortable furniture, we walked too far and another friend sent me home with an array of disgusting maternity tops I would never wear but was too polite to refuse!
I told my form group fairly early on that I was pregnant - I didn't want them to hear from others as I have had them for almost 5 years, and also didn't want them all whispering that I was getting fat! They were delighted for me - and really impressed with my timing as I will leave just after their exams therefore they won't be affected by my maternity leave - however they did say it was an extreme measure to avoid having a Year 7 form next year! By lunch time the whole of Year 11 knew but it took many weeks to trickle down through the whole school - kids are very unobservant! Luckily most kids were really considerate during my pregnancy which made teaching a bit easier, as did choosing a date for maternity leave early on! However teenagers are a little bit too interested in pregnancy and are really crap at suggesting baby names!!
I quickly realised that maternity clothes are disgusting - who honestly thinks that when someone gets pregnant they want to spend their days wearing tents and hideous curtains. Several people on ebay were selling bundles of 'maternity clothes' - which on closer inspection were actually just size 16/18 clothes being marketed towards regular size 12s - thank god for Asos! Luckily I seem to have a tidy bump - possibly because I was so sick!
Last year I stupidly bought an MX5 on an impulse - not the best car for a pregnant woman. In fact that car had been the worst purchase decision ever - I work out in the sticks and driving a rear-wheel drive car on untreated back roads in the ice and snow was no fun at all, most mornings I was impressed that I had managed to get into work without sliding into a ditch! By late February I was struggling to get in and out of it so we bit the bullet and started looking for a more sensible family car. Already having a massive dog meant our choice was estate or people carrier - we opted for the people carrier as I didn't want a wardrobe on wheels (I am perfectly aware that a people carrier is also very uncool!), and bought the first one I thought was vaguely acceptable! Researching the buggy was a much bigger job!!
At the beginning of March we had our sexing scan. I was really nervous about this and had got it into my head that it would show something was wrong, although the huge amount of sickness I was suffering with (which didn't actually stop until about 22 weeks) was a sign that the baby was thriving. The sonographer was silent for the first 5 minutes which made me think she was finding all sorts of hideous things - she wasn't - apparently she was just quiet as she was concentrating! Everything was good which was great to hear although I did have a slightly low-lying placenta which I wasn't particularly worried about. And despite my massive nosiness we didn't find out whether we were having a pink or blue baby!
The low point of my second trimester was contracting a filthy bug from a filthy child at school. I was so so sick and had horrendous cramps like nothing I have ever had before. I stupidly went into school despite not sleeping at all and crying all the way in, however it was the Year 11 photograph which I didn't want to miss. I didn't make it to the photo though as I was sent home to see the midwife. She was unhelpful - according to her I either had a urine infection or was going into labour - and rather sensitively she said that if that was the case there was nothing we could do. I was distraught and an hour or so later I was in so much pain that I was admitted to hospital. Thankfully everything was okay with the baby but I was so dehydrated that I had to spend the next 24 hours on a drip (listening to other women give birth!) and the rest of the pregnancy drinking as much water as I could. Very scary!
Throughout this stage everyone said how well I was looking, despite not feeling it. Towards the end I started to feel better though, even with weighing in at 11 stone and it being really hot! We did get the nursery sorted, the buggy purchased (the Britax B Smart 4) – which took longer to pick than the car did) and have a couple of weekends away in Norfolk and the Peak District. These trips away coincided with the return of the pea-sized bladder which was not great on the motorways or when we were trying to walk anywhere. The Peak District was a particular challenge as Shelley has no comfortable furniture, we walked too far and another friend sent me home with an array of disgusting maternity tops I would never wear but was too polite to refuse!
My first trimester - it's all about the toilet!
Operation 'Let's Get Pregnant Before We Change Our Minds' had been underway since mid September when we got the blue line early December. Absolutely delighted! - with the added bonus of having a great excuse to eat loads over Christmas - although also the difficulty of making excuses for not drinking loads of gin over Christmas and the New Year.
My first trimester was exciting and very scary, however it largely focused around the toilet as I was so sick and needed a wee all of the time. I also had headaches constantly so embraced the piss-poor pain relieving properties of paracetamol.
Giving up alcohol wasn't actually too bad and I feigned a combination of migraines and taking anti-sickness medication to get me through the festive period. Giving up lovely cheese was far harder! The biggest bladder and headache challenge came in the form of a day trip to Arras just before Christmas - not fun!
Parents were told at Christmas - they were ridiculously excited!! My sister was also told - but James' had to wait until our first scan as they had made us wait for their pregnancy news. The Christmas holidays were spent mainly sleeping and watching Christmas films - which kept making my cry due to bloody pregnancy hormones!
My booking appointment gave us a due date of August 16th - perfect as I could work right up until the summer holidays and not have to start my maternity leave until I had given birth - therefore would get more money - very well planned I think!
Teaching during my first trimester was a struggle - only a couple of people knew about the pregnancy so I had to hide my sickness and lack of energy from everyone. I had to have a couple of days off as I was so sick. I did feel relieved when I ran into my pregnant friend Hannah (also a teacher) who was saying how hard she found this stage - I wanted to say me too! I did tell a friend on the school's SLT as he was worried that I was either going mental or had developed a terminal disease but he promised to keep quiet until my scan. However I felt a bit guilty when involved in discussions about the department next year and staffing - this is something I was really worried about as I am a total control freak when it comes to my department and Lauren is also trying for a baby and Lana wants to move to the West Country - what on earth will I find when I eventually return to work?!
Just before our 12 week scan I had to buy some maternity trousers for work - at this point I was really worried that I was already struggling to fit into my clothes. Had visions of being a massive weeble towards the end who put on 4 stone and never managed to lose it!
Anyway we eventually got to our 12 week scan in early February - imagine my shock and delight that we were actually 16 weeks along so had missed a whole month of the pregnancy - new due date of 21st July. Much relief was felt in terms of why I already couldn't fit into my clothes, however I was annoyed that the morning sickness hadn't disappeared as it should have done. It also meant that I would have to go on maternity leave much earlier so would get rubbish pay over the summer holidays - and obviously I had to let work know straight away.
My first trimester was exciting and very scary, however it largely focused around the toilet as I was so sick and needed a wee all of the time. I also had headaches constantly so embraced the piss-poor pain relieving properties of paracetamol.
Giving up alcohol wasn't actually too bad and I feigned a combination of migraines and taking anti-sickness medication to get me through the festive period. Giving up lovely cheese was far harder! The biggest bladder and headache challenge came in the form of a day trip to Arras just before Christmas - not fun!
Parents were told at Christmas - they were ridiculously excited!! My sister was also told - but James' had to wait until our first scan as they had made us wait for their pregnancy news. The Christmas holidays were spent mainly sleeping and watching Christmas films - which kept making my cry due to bloody pregnancy hormones!
My booking appointment gave us a due date of August 16th - perfect as I could work right up until the summer holidays and not have to start my maternity leave until I had given birth - therefore would get more money - very well planned I think!
Teaching during my first trimester was a struggle - only a couple of people knew about the pregnancy so I had to hide my sickness and lack of energy from everyone. I had to have a couple of days off as I was so sick. I did feel relieved when I ran into my pregnant friend Hannah (also a teacher) who was saying how hard she found this stage - I wanted to say me too! I did tell a friend on the school's SLT as he was worried that I was either going mental or had developed a terminal disease but he promised to keep quiet until my scan. However I felt a bit guilty when involved in discussions about the department next year and staffing - this is something I was really worried about as I am a total control freak when it comes to my department and Lauren is also trying for a baby and Lana wants to move to the West Country - what on earth will I find when I eventually return to work?!
Just before our 12 week scan I had to buy some maternity trousers for work - at this point I was really worried that I was already struggling to fit into my clothes. Had visions of being a massive weeble towards the end who put on 4 stone and never managed to lose it!
Anyway we eventually got to our 12 week scan in early February - imagine my shock and delight that we were actually 16 weeks along so had missed a whole month of the pregnancy - new due date of 21st July. Much relief was felt in terms of why I already couldn't fit into my clothes, however I was annoyed that the morning sickness hadn't disappeared as it should have done. It also meant that I would have to go on maternity leave much earlier so would get rubbish pay over the summer holidays - and obviously I had to let work know straight away.
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