A Father writes about ... BIRTH!

So you may or may not have heard that Josiah John Stevens arrived at approximately 2:25 on Saturday morning (16th January). Baby weighed in at a very healthy 8 lbs 15 oz, after about 24 hours of fun for us both!

Josiah is absolutely adorable, or so we are informed (we can't just take our word for it). Sometimes it's hard to tell what colour his eyes are, since they look blue and brown at the same time, and also because he refuses to open them most of the time. He has blond hair, which Daddy likes styling in a mohawk, and lovely chubby cheeks. He enjoys looking at the wall, Hillsong and sneezing, and doesn't like having his babygrow unbuttoned.

Mummy and Daddy are both very absolutely thrilled by every minute with Jo (or JJ, or JoJo, or obviously Josiah), and hope that he continues to be able to sleep in his moses basket.

PUPPS...

No, we are not getting a dog. Can you imagine! I just found something extremely cool and thought I'd share it.

I've had this weird itchy thing over the last week which started on my tummy. I was never worried about obstetric cholestasis because I didn't have itchy palms of my hands or bottom of my feet. So I googled 'itchiness 40 weeks pregnant' (dangerous I know) and a whole page came up with references to PUPPS. So I googled that too! It's often seen in conjunction with itchy, red bumps and larger patches of a hive-like rash on pregnant tummies and this is known as pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP) and will affect about 1% of pregnant women (I'm in 1% - wahey!). Anyway, usually it starts around the stretch marks on the stomach and breasts as small red bumps and the will grow to form larger blotches of red bumps. I thought I'd scratched so much it had all blurred into one but then I read that!

The very cool bit...

No one is certain of what may cause PUPP, as it is not associated with other complications such as preeclampsia, hormonal abnormalities or fetal abnormalities

There are however some theories, and we stress that these are just theories:

PUPP Theory Two: One study has shown that male fetal DNA can be found in skin biopsies of the rash. Since 70% of women with PUPPP give birth to boys, a new hypothesis is that male fetal DNA acts as a skin irritant.

I mean, WOW!

40 weeks...

We have finally hit the mark! Luckily I have lots of things going on to keep my mind occupied while we wait for the little one to make an appearance. Today, for instance, Debbie and I went out for coffee then popped into Mothercare to buy a baby bath and bath thermometer. The thermometer is purely because I like being baked to a crisp in baths and I'm a little worried I won't be able to gage which is too hot or cold for our baby! The bath is for us to get used to bathing the baby in a smaller environment and in a warmer room - we don't have heating in the bathroom currently so we thought it might be a bit cruel to bath a little teeny one in the depths of winter in the bathroom.

I'm feeling quite tired now and extremely annoyed: I lasted 39 weeks without getting stretchmarks on my tummy. I'd only got a few on my hips up until then. Then week 40 hits and BAM: stretchmarks galore! Not happy. They're so sore but apparently, the first baby is the one that does the damage so I shouldn't get more with a second baby. And I know they fade but that's not the point. Still, it's stupid to grumble, considering what we get in return!

While we were in Mothercare today, a very new baby started crying and I started getting slightly painful twinges in my back and tummy! I'd heard that this can happen if you're near a newborn baby that cries and you're ready for labour but I didn't really believe it. Well, I am living proof it can! It was plain weird. Exciting all the same but a bit of a strange experience!

It's been marvellous fun expecting our little wonder and we just can't wait for the second part to begin. We have so many brilliant memories of this pregnancy and are so looking forward to meeting the little one who I've been incubating for 40 weeks...

40 weeks midwife appointment...

So we went to see the midwife today at the hospital because my usual one is on holiday next week. This was just a check up and all is great health-wise although she needed to help me get up from the bed after listening to the baby's heart beat!

She did remind us that only 4% of baby's come on their due date but we know God and our little one know when that time is. So while we will continue trying to bring the baby on with all these suggestions (!) we will remember that. However hard it is! Patience is a virtue. It's a bit painful now, as the baby's head is so far engaged it's pressing on a nerve in my left leg which makes it give way sometimes. It's funny to look at when it happens but a teeny bit sore. It's all worth it.

So I have been booked in for a sweep (charming) at 40 weeks and 6 days and will then have an induction booked the same day, so if nothing happens by then - that will, though I'm not too keen on that idea. I've suddenly gone all natural!

When? Where? We know how....

So I'm really feeling heavy right now and the more movements we can feel and remembering the excitement last Thursday caused we're finding it so difficult to try and remain casual and adopt a 'it'll happen when it happens' attitude! We were chatting about the past ten months (because, really, it is ten months in total) and we discussed our decision to find out whether our wonder was a boy or a girl. A few advised against us finding out about the sex of our little one because it might ruin the 'suprise', but we're really glad we did and would, without a doubt, do it again. Aside from being able to plan, it really has helped us to bond as we've been calling the baby by their given name and it's helped with the praying thing too. It worked for us but it doesn't mean it would work for others. That's why pregnancy is so unique to each couple...we're both itching like crazy to meet our baby and am hoping if I sneeze hard, it might just fall out. Ha ha.

Wishful thinking.

We've been given so many suggestions on how to bring the baby on, not least from two of our baby's aunties who gave the baby strict instructions on how and when to arrive (sadly, the munchkin ignored Auntie Elle's instructions to arrive before she went back to university!). Friends and family have plagued us with ideas (eating pineapple, bouncing on the ball, taking a bouncy bus ride, eating curries and walking lots - among other things!) and while there have been plenty of signs over the last few days, we know the baby won't arrive until their time and God's time. But here's hoping it's sooner rather than later....!! And in the meantime, we'll try and be as prayerful as possible! I have been advised to visit Mothercare and Marks and Sparks often too, as apparently, if your waters break there you get a nice little goody bag!

39 weeks...

Only 9 days til our due date and we are more than ready to meet little one!

We thought something might start happening on New Years Eve - I woke up at 3:00am with strong contractions in my back and tummy that (when I eventually started timing) were six to seven minutes apart for an hour or so. I waited til about 5:00am and called the L&D Ward who asked me a few questions then suggested it sounded like labour and to carry on timing, which we did. By 9:00am, they'd just turned crampy and a bit achy, although I had been warned by a few people that labour can start then stop. How annoying!! The midwife asked me to call back at midday and then again about 4:00pm, which we did then we were asked to come in so they could check whether anything had happened. It hadn't really, aside from the fact that it all looks ready to go at any point! This, apparently, is called the latent phase of labour.

We did find out that membranes rupture in less than (only) 15 per cent of pregnancies and when it does happen, the baby's head tends to act like a cork at the opening of the womb. I know a few people who's waters didn't break and had to be broken for them. Not all that pleasant. It's unbelievably exciting now though, and we're just waiting patiently - or trying to! Hopefully, these crampy things will materialise into something more substantial very, very soon...

The one thing I have realised, only in the last few weeks, is that so many people (kindly) give you advice and tell you what will happen, but every pregnancy is so different - it's really amazing. For some, everything happens at once. For others, it drags on and takes a while. I've been amazed at the things I've asked my midwife and she looks like I've gone a bit mad! When all I've done is ask such and such is a normal thing in pregnancy, because I know someone it happened to etc etc. Being a first, it's easy to get caught up in lots of stories people tell you, but I'm glad that I have a unique pregnancy, and I'm really glad John is there with me to go through it together!