Okay, so you may remember that at about 12w I had a minor bleed and ended up in the emergency room in the middle of the night? Well, this evening I had another, very very very minor bleed.
It took me all of 3 seconds to argue with myself about whether or not to call my midwife. I lost that debate and texted her immediately. I knew with near certainty that everything was fine, but bleeding is literally at the top of the list of things to call her for. And last visit she had drilled all the signs of pre term labour into me. And she would have my head on a platter if I didn't call her. So. I behaved myself and called.
She was really lovely and concerned, but it is always a hyper-awkward conversation discussing the intricacies of a bleed. Look away now cos TMI coming up....
... Went to the loo and wiped, got a mixture of pale pinky brown mucus type blood and also some bright red fresh blood. But only a super teeny tiny amount. And baby was (is) moving. And I felt fine. Well, sore lower back which is kinda new, and oh shit isn't that a sign of pre term labour? Yes, txt the midwife!
She let me know that I needed to go straight up to labour and delivery. She would call ahead for me, and that I would most probably have to stay in overnight so pack a bag. I am sooo thankful that we live less than 2mins drive from the hospital. Can see it from the road out front of our house. Comfortingly close.
Hubby was out of the house with the 2 younger step kids (eldest has gone to college last week!!!!) and in characteristically he had left his phone on the armchair. So I was just about to call step-daughter to try and get hold of him when they pulled up in the car. He helped me pack, grab extra supplies for the pump and Dex, and we both kind of felt a bit of nerves about having to go up there and the enormity of maybe needing to stay overnight. Serious stuff. But we were calm.
We got up there and met with the on call midwife, S. Ours was 40mins away and didn't know whether it was serious enough to warrant her coming in. S was lovely and looked after us very well. She made up a room for us and got me to do a urine sample, then took my blood pressure and hooked up the CTG monitor to check baby's heartbeat.
Everything came back fine and normal. We got a good long look at Tiny Fish's heartbeat sitting around 120 - 140bpm. There was also heaps and heaps of fetal movement. It seemed that Tiny Fish took an instant dislike to the CTG monitors strapped to my belly as he/she kept trying to kick it off!
Hubby ducked out the room to go to the bathroom and there was drama in the corridor as a lady got wheeled in a wheelchair at top speed towards a delivery suite, right past him. She was screaming some mighty screams - arrived right in the nick of time by the sounds of it!
After S switched the monitor off cos the results were perfect, showing no contractions and a very good heartbeat for bubs, we had to wait a short while for a doctor to arrive to do the exam. We used the time to install a new Dexcom sensor since is taken the old one off that arvo, after 21 days of brave and valuable service.
Then Dr K arrived and asked a few more questions. S prepared me for the exam with a sheet overtop and it was actually quite a hilarious event as all four of us were laughing and joking about how with S doing the exam (training) that she was going to put all the doctors out of a job! Hehe
It was over quickly and the good news was my cervix showed no signs of dilation or any serious bleeding. The urine test came back negative for bacteria so that helped rule out a bladder/kidney infection. They concluded that we may never know what caused the bleed, although the low lying placenta could be a potential cause.
I am intrigued to realize that both this bleed and the previous one have been right on the cusp of a change in trimester. Maybe it's partially a hormonal fluctuation causing it? Maybe it's exhaustion, or blood sugars (had a few more lows overnight, but a bit high today, generally ok though, just done a big set of pump changes with DNE) or maybe it's a delayed reaction to having the flu shot and whooping cough vaccination last week. Who knows.
The good news is that all is well, and even if I feel a bit ridiculous traipsing up to the hospital I am very relieved to know for sure that it's all well and good. Tiny Fish is happy in it's apartment. :)
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
20w1d Anatomy Scan
Friday lunchtime we went to our anatomy scan which I had been looking forward to greatly the entire week.
Tiny Fish is measuring pretty close to perfect size and the sonographer didn't find any problems: spine is fine, heart, brain, no obvious cleft lip, kidneys, fingers, arms and legs, stomach, abdomen. All good.
It was done at a different clinic this time and although the screen was lots better we were not allowed to video it which was disappointing.
We got a couple of stills, here are some of my favs:
Above: profile of the face
Above: soles of the feet.
He/she was active the whole time squirming around but got shy towards the end so decided to hide down low and make the scan a bit harder.
Tiny Fish is about 300gms and 15cm long head to bum.
We didn't ask for the gender and I'm happy with this decision.
Today my sister took me shopping for maternity jeans and we almost didn't get any cos in one shop it was so hot that I nearly fainted. What should you not grab onto when you feel faint and nauseous? That's right: a store ladder on wheels! :-/
I had to go outside and sit down. What I desperately wanted to do was lie down with my feet up, but there was nowhere and I was wearing a short summer dress in a crowded mall. I practiced some yoga breathing to focus on something other than the horrid hot cold sweats and sickly feelings. Then my sister took me outside to try and cool down more. She wanted to get me done water but didn't want to leave me alone. I checked my blood glucose and it was falling ever so gently at about 8-9mmol so I figured a small juice wouldn't hurt and the liquid might do be good. The best thing though was when she took me to my car and put the air con on full blast then drove me home. What a sweetie.
I think it was a combination of forgetting my prenatal vitamins for two nights, being tired from the week of work, being hot and maybe slightly dehydrated. I'm better now just a bit washed out.
Sorry no bump pic today cos I'm writing this from bed before sleep!
Thank you to everyone who sent in helpful and supportive advice re my little cousin.
Tiny Fish is measuring pretty close to perfect size and the sonographer didn't find any problems: spine is fine, heart, brain, no obvious cleft lip, kidneys, fingers, arms and legs, stomach, abdomen. All good.
It was done at a different clinic this time and although the screen was lots better we were not allowed to video it which was disappointing.
We got a couple of stills, here are some of my favs:
Above: profile of the face
Above: soles of the feet.
He/she was active the whole time squirming around but got shy towards the end so decided to hide down low and make the scan a bit harder.
Tiny Fish is about 300gms and 15cm long head to bum.
We didn't ask for the gender and I'm happy with this decision.
Today my sister took me shopping for maternity jeans and we almost didn't get any cos in one shop it was so hot that I nearly fainted. What should you not grab onto when you feel faint and nauseous? That's right: a store ladder on wheels! :-/
I had to go outside and sit down. What I desperately wanted to do was lie down with my feet up, but there was nowhere and I was wearing a short summer dress in a crowded mall. I practiced some yoga breathing to focus on something other than the horrid hot cold sweats and sickly feelings. Then my sister took me outside to try and cool down more. She wanted to get me done water but didn't want to leave me alone. I checked my blood glucose and it was falling ever so gently at about 8-9mmol so I figured a small juice wouldn't hurt and the liquid might do be good. The best thing though was when she took me to my car and put the air con on full blast then drove me home. What a sweetie.
I think it was a combination of forgetting my prenatal vitamins for two nights, being tired from the week of work, being hot and maybe slightly dehydrated. I'm better now just a bit washed out.
Sorry no bump pic today cos I'm writing this from bed before sleep!
Thank you to everyone who sent in helpful and supportive advice re my little cousin.
Monday, February 17, 2014
19w3d Swimming and sore thigh
Tiny Fish is somersaulting and kicking as I type this :)
I've been swimming twice with the insulin pump infusion site and Dexcom transmitter in. At first, on the weekend, I was worried about going untethered from the pump (would I go too high without insulin? Or too low with all the exercise. Answer = too low) and what the pool water might do to the adhesives or reliability of the Dexcom.
Turns out it was fine. My Dexcom has a whopping great piece of opsite Flexifix taped over it (with a little window so the transmitter can poke through) so the adhesive was really no issue. The infusion site (inset30) was at the end of its 3 days so was already a little worse for wear.
All in all it felt marvelous to be in the water and we went again tonight after work. Even with a banana beforehand I still drop between 4 - 6mmol in 40 mins untethered. But then I do climb to about 11mmol a couple of hours later. This rise is due to the lack of basal plus the emergency juice after the swim. Must try basal reduction prior to the swim itself.
In other news: OWWWWW!!!
My right thigh is hu-uu-rting! It gets tingly then goes numb on the main muscle down the front/outside of the thigh. Then it gets achy. Then the ache gets a bit stabby. Then my hip gets achy and stabby cos it feels all left out. Long story short: standing and walking hurt. Standing to take a shower hurts. Sitting or lying down makes it better. Even though I have a job that has many hours in front of a computer, I still do a lot of traipsing around campus and it's surprising how many people think it's cool to have long-winded chats in the hallway, standing up, with no chairs ready to rescue me!
I asked my OB about this when I met him the other week and he wasn't too concerned, just said to watch if it got worse. Well, it's definitely worse.
So I gave in and texted my midwife asking her advice. She thinks it might either be a pinched nerve or maybe a torn ligament in my hip. I am going to call a physiotherapist (I can do self referral which is quicker, but it would be pay out of pocket either way) tomorrow morning hopefully.
Oh and I had a quick unexpected catchup with my pump reps T and K today up at the hospital. On Saturday night I was having a headache, exhaustion, and lows. The Dexcom and the vibe (both of which had new sites inserted that evening after the first swim) took it upon themselves to wake me up no less than 20 times with various low alarms, false low alarms, error code 0, error code 1, calibration warnings, and reminders that the calibrations were failing. Bah! By 3am I gave up and turned the CGM functionality off both devices just so I could get some sleep.
An email to my rep in the morning and she offered to meet up and bring me a replacement sensor, and explain the error codes. Since they are normally in another city it was an unexpected pleasure to get to see both of them face to face. :)
And now for some devastating news. You might want to click away now if you're not in a particularly happy spot right now as this next bit is just utterly heartbreaking :(
.
.
.
.
.
.
My little second cousin, a 10 year old boy, has just been diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer with a simply awful prognosis. He's already about to have his second surgery in a month, the first removed a strange lump and now that pathology has finally identified it he's been rushed to the children's hospital. He is not expected to out live his parents. Apart from some radical drugs in clinical trials, surgeries are the only option. Chemo and radiation don't really work well for this type. Our whole family is pretty much in shock and I would love advice from anyone about how I can best support my cousins at this time.
So, that's it for now. I don't expect to be posting many updates about my cousin as that's not really my story to tell. I'll just see how it goes and do what I can for them.
I've been swimming twice with the insulin pump infusion site and Dexcom transmitter in. At first, on the weekend, I was worried about going untethered from the pump (would I go too high without insulin? Or too low with all the exercise. Answer = too low) and what the pool water might do to the adhesives or reliability of the Dexcom.
Turns out it was fine. My Dexcom has a whopping great piece of opsite Flexifix taped over it (with a little window so the transmitter can poke through) so the adhesive was really no issue. The infusion site (inset30) was at the end of its 3 days so was already a little worse for wear.
All in all it felt marvelous to be in the water and we went again tonight after work. Even with a banana beforehand I still drop between 4 - 6mmol in 40 mins untethered. But then I do climb to about 11mmol a couple of hours later. This rise is due to the lack of basal plus the emergency juice after the swim. Must try basal reduction prior to the swim itself.
In other news: OWWWWW!!!
My right thigh is hu-uu-rting! It gets tingly then goes numb on the main muscle down the front/outside of the thigh. Then it gets achy. Then the ache gets a bit stabby. Then my hip gets achy and stabby cos it feels all left out. Long story short: standing and walking hurt. Standing to take a shower hurts. Sitting or lying down makes it better. Even though I have a job that has many hours in front of a computer, I still do a lot of traipsing around campus and it's surprising how many people think it's cool to have long-winded chats in the hallway, standing up, with no chairs ready to rescue me!
I asked my OB about this when I met him the other week and he wasn't too concerned, just said to watch if it got worse. Well, it's definitely worse.
So I gave in and texted my midwife asking her advice. She thinks it might either be a pinched nerve or maybe a torn ligament in my hip. I am going to call a physiotherapist (I can do self referral which is quicker, but it would be pay out of pocket either way) tomorrow morning hopefully.
Oh and I had a quick unexpected catchup with my pump reps T and K today up at the hospital. On Saturday night I was having a headache, exhaustion, and lows. The Dexcom and the vibe (both of which had new sites inserted that evening after the first swim) took it upon themselves to wake me up no less than 20 times with various low alarms, false low alarms, error code 0, error code 1, calibration warnings, and reminders that the calibrations were failing. Bah! By 3am I gave up and turned the CGM functionality off both devices just so I could get some sleep.
An email to my rep in the morning and she offered to meet up and bring me a replacement sensor, and explain the error codes. Since they are normally in another city it was an unexpected pleasure to get to see both of them face to face. :)
And now for some devastating news. You might want to click away now if you're not in a particularly happy spot right now as this next bit is just utterly heartbreaking :(
.
.
.
.
.
.
My little second cousin, a 10 year old boy, has just been diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer with a simply awful prognosis. He's already about to have his second surgery in a month, the first removed a strange lump and now that pathology has finally identified it he's been rushed to the children's hospital. He is not expected to out live his parents. Apart from some radical drugs in clinical trials, surgeries are the only option. Chemo and radiation don't really work well for this type. Our whole family is pretty much in shock and I would love advice from anyone about how I can best support my cousins at this time.
So, that's it for now. I don't expect to be posting many updates about my cousin as that's not really my story to tell. I'll just see how it goes and do what I can for them.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
18w4d - When space starts to become sparse
The bump has most definitely gone "pop" in the last 10 days. When I wear a dress to work everyone comments on how big it is.
Tiny Fish is kicking with regularity when I wake up and when I go to bed. TF also quite likes the sound of Hubby's voice and often starts kicking up a storm when he/she hears Daddy.
Over the weekend I experienced TF's first really big growth spurt: my belly got really tight and the skin at the sides became itchy.
I got pretty tired out on Friday night and that tired-headache came on and I couldn't shake it for the whole weekend. Boo. Even with panadol each night. I was sleeping huge amounts and barely doing anything, but scared it would turn back into a migraine with more vomiting. Thankfully, it didn't, but those growth spurt hormones really treat me badly.
My blood sugars went quite high and I was using multiple temp basal increases each day to try and keep it down. I actually thought that I might finally be getting to the second trimester insulin resistance. But no, on Monday it was back to almost "normal" including the lows.
We met the obstetrician last week. He seems nice and my aunt and cousin who have connections to healthcare both say he is very nice and very good. I've got to do a PCR urine test for protein. I asked him about this numbness and pain I'm having in my leg (like a pinched nerve when I stand too long) but he didn't seem too concerned. I'll keep an eye on it and talk to my midwife about it when I see her next.
Back to work this week and things are going well. I am managing a reasonably busy day but I have to be in bed quite early or else that headache comes back.
Had a wonderful evening tonight celebrating my Dad's birthday. I ate too much and I'm paying for it now with high blood sugars and the most incredible uncomfortableness in my tum :(
Oh, and I appear to have become lactose intolerant. All that extra yogurt and milk I was advised to eat for calcium was turning from uncomfortable guts to painful.
Belly button is starting to change shape getting wider and shallower, with a knobby bump at the top. I have also noticed some tiny veins appearing on the skin at the base of ribs on both sides. No stretch marks yet but I'm using some nice smelling body butter to prevent them (not holding my breath) but it does help with the itchy skin a bit.
Here is a belly pic for you:
That's the Dexcom sensor, and I am really reacting to the adhesive now that all the skin is stretching. Also, no, those pants are not done up. Not even close lol
Tiny Fish is kicking with regularity when I wake up and when I go to bed. TF also quite likes the sound of Hubby's voice and often starts kicking up a storm when he/she hears Daddy.
Over the weekend I experienced TF's first really big growth spurt: my belly got really tight and the skin at the sides became itchy.
I got pretty tired out on Friday night and that tired-headache came on and I couldn't shake it for the whole weekend. Boo. Even with panadol each night. I was sleeping huge amounts and barely doing anything, but scared it would turn back into a migraine with more vomiting. Thankfully, it didn't, but those growth spurt hormones really treat me badly.
My blood sugars went quite high and I was using multiple temp basal increases each day to try and keep it down. I actually thought that I might finally be getting to the second trimester insulin resistance. But no, on Monday it was back to almost "normal" including the lows.
We met the obstetrician last week. He seems nice and my aunt and cousin who have connections to healthcare both say he is very nice and very good. I've got to do a PCR urine test for protein. I asked him about this numbness and pain I'm having in my leg (like a pinched nerve when I stand too long) but he didn't seem too concerned. I'll keep an eye on it and talk to my midwife about it when I see her next.
Back to work this week and things are going well. I am managing a reasonably busy day but I have to be in bed quite early or else that headache comes back.
Had a wonderful evening tonight celebrating my Dad's birthday. I ate too much and I'm paying for it now with high blood sugars and the most incredible uncomfortableness in my tum :(
Oh, and I appear to have become lactose intolerant. All that extra yogurt and milk I was advised to eat for calcium was turning from uncomfortable guts to painful.
Belly button is starting to change shape getting wider and shallower, with a knobby bump at the top. I have also noticed some tiny veins appearing on the skin at the base of ribs on both sides. No stretch marks yet but I'm using some nice smelling body butter to prevent them (not holding my breath) but it does help with the itchy skin a bit.
Here is a belly pic for you:
That's the Dexcom sensor, and I am really reacting to the adhesive now that all the skin is stretching. Also, no, those pants are not done up. Not even close lol
Sunday, February 2, 2014
17w2d First Kicks
Our little Tiny Fish has made his/her presence felt. About 16w4d I felt what I thought might be a kick. It was not some subdued flutter or bubbles. It felt like a tapping finger, but inside. The most similar feeling I could describe would be if you tap the inside of your cheek with your finger.
A couple of days after that I was quite sure of what I was feeling and Hubby could feel it too!
Two nights ago I was doing a site change and I suddenly sneezed. I got a right strong internal thumping, and due to my excited yelping Hubby got a nice strong kick on the hand too :)
I'm now getting either kicks or rolling movements every 2+ hours or so. It gets easier to feel when I'm sitting up in bed, or in the recliner with my feet up, or wearing my pants done up (rare, now lol).
It's Sunday night and we've just had a lovely summer BBQ with my parents and the step kids. The two youngest go back to high school tomorrow, with it being the first day of secondary school for the youngest. Eldest step son has finished school and goes to college in April.
My first day of work is tomorrow and although Thursday is a holiday (Waitangi Day) I'm still not sure how I'll handle getting back into the whole work routine - I quite like being able to nap from 2 - 6pm if necessary.
Get to meet the OB on Wednesday, and Tuesday is a training day so it should be a bit of a wasted week.
I did my first ever basal test this morning. My diabetes nurse advised me just to have a carb-free breakfast I think cos she knew a complete fast would be a bit impossible for me - hungry pregnant lady raaaarrr!!! I had 2x boiled eggs, a spoon of peanut butter and a cup of tea. Looking back the peanut butter probably wasn't a good choice cos I went from 5.8mmol to sit around 10 for the entire morning. It was great to see how flat it was on the Dexcom, but I was frustrated not being able to do a correction. I think I should probably repeat this morning segment of the test just to check that the basal is fine and the pb didn't screw up the test too much. Oh well. It wasn't too much of a drama and I'm not worried to repeat it, it just too four mornings to start as I kept going low!!
In other good news, my good friend who has been trying for a baby for ages has just discovered she's pregnant. Very exciting to have someone close to me on this journey too!
I'm just so pleased that Tiny Fish is kicking away in there - it makes me feel so reassured and it just feels so, right. Before, all the weird machinations in my abdomen felt rather alien and strange. Now it finally physically feels like it has purpose.
Here is a belly shot for you. I'm tall, so I'm not sticking out much yet.
A couple of days after that I was quite sure of what I was feeling and Hubby could feel it too!
Two nights ago I was doing a site change and I suddenly sneezed. I got a right strong internal thumping, and due to my excited yelping Hubby got a nice strong kick on the hand too :)
I'm now getting either kicks or rolling movements every 2+ hours or so. It gets easier to feel when I'm sitting up in bed, or in the recliner with my feet up, or wearing my pants done up (rare, now lol).
It's Sunday night and we've just had a lovely summer BBQ with my parents and the step kids. The two youngest go back to high school tomorrow, with it being the first day of secondary school for the youngest. Eldest step son has finished school and goes to college in April.
My first day of work is tomorrow and although Thursday is a holiday (Waitangi Day) I'm still not sure how I'll handle getting back into the whole work routine - I quite like being able to nap from 2 - 6pm if necessary.
Get to meet the OB on Wednesday, and Tuesday is a training day so it should be a bit of a wasted week.
I did my first ever basal test this morning. My diabetes nurse advised me just to have a carb-free breakfast I think cos she knew a complete fast would be a bit impossible for me - hungry pregnant lady raaaarrr!!! I had 2x boiled eggs, a spoon of peanut butter and a cup of tea. Looking back the peanut butter probably wasn't a good choice cos I went from 5.8mmol to sit around 10 for the entire morning. It was great to see how flat it was on the Dexcom, but I was frustrated not being able to do a correction. I think I should probably repeat this morning segment of the test just to check that the basal is fine and the pb didn't screw up the test too much. Oh well. It wasn't too much of a drama and I'm not worried to repeat it, it just too four mornings to start as I kept going low!!
In other good news, my good friend who has been trying for a baby for ages has just discovered she's pregnant. Very exciting to have someone close to me on this journey too!
I'm just so pleased that Tiny Fish is kicking away in there - it makes me feel so reassured and it just feels so, right. Before, all the weird machinations in my abdomen felt rather alien and strange. Now it finally physically feels like it has purpose.
Here is a belly shot for you. I'm tall, so I'm not sticking out much yet.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
12w1d On holiday and doing nothing
Really. Nothing! Just mucking around the house, taking to the chooks, and dozing whenever I get tired which is often.
Went for a short bike ride yesterday and as a result could hardly wake up today. Just exhausted all the time.
And sometimes hungry. Or bloated. Or both at once. I feel like I can't fully take a deep breath sometimes. Hubby thinks I am starting to show.
I am waking up once or twice most nights to pee or fix a low. Also, I have this terrible head cold. Last night I woke up and attempted to roll over to get a tissue off my bedside table and I get an excruciating pain down my lower right side, just above my hip bone. It passes quickly but only if I straighten out again. Must be round ligament pain or something. I will be seeing the midwife on Monday (Sat today) so I'll ask her about.
Had a wonderful relaxed Christmas, managed to avoid the Boxing Day sales. Bonus! Just been relaxing and hanging out with my family :)
Went for a short bike ride yesterday and as a result could hardly wake up today. Just exhausted all the time.
And sometimes hungry. Or bloated. Or both at once. I feel like I can't fully take a deep breath sometimes. Hubby thinks I am starting to show.
I am waking up once or twice most nights to pee or fix a low. Also, I have this terrible head cold. Last night I woke up and attempted to roll over to get a tissue off my bedside table and I get an excruciating pain down my lower right side, just above my hip bone. It passes quickly but only if I straighten out again. Must be round ligament pain or something. I will be seeing the midwife on Monday (Sat today) so I'll ask her about.
Had a wonderful relaxed Christmas, managed to avoid the Boxing Day sales. Bonus! Just been relaxing and hanging out with my family :)
Monday, December 23, 2013
11w3d Christmas Eve-Eve
Christmas shopping is all finished (hooray) and this evening I put up the tree and then we wrapped all the pressies. Including the first thing ever for our one on the way:
Here is the tree, with massively oversized tinsel star that keeps threatening to tip the whole lot over:
Pregnancy symptoms at 11 weeks seem to be settling down a bit. Over the past 3 or 4 days I've gotten a lot of my energy back. A week ago I set the record at 3 naps in one day, not including the 11.30am sleep in. Then I got a horrendous head cold that featured loud sneezing with nose like a tap.
I have given my cold to Hubby and his Mum, and now I'm feeling better lol :P
Breathing is feeling a bit weird at times, kind of like the feeling you get when the cat is sleeping on your chest.
I've upped my breakfast to be one slice of gluten-free toast with lashings if crunchy peanut butter, a cup of decaf-tea with raw sugar and trim milk, a handful of prunes and a nectarine or a couple of fresh apricots.
I still haven't gained any weight (57kg) but I have reorganized what I've got: arms and face seem a bit skinnier while belly may? Seem? Rounder? we are taking photos but even though I'm frustrated at being stick with hardly any pant to wear and still being a long way away from maternity clothing, there is no obvious "popping" yet.
Getting a lot of lows at the moment, and they generally seem to take double the amount of carbs to get me back to fighting fit. So two juice boxes instead of one. I got so frustrated with juice that I've started eating glucose tablets again :-/
Getting what may be a few food aversions to beef, some chicken dishes that I normally love, and generally being slightly nauseated by awful smells. No real cravings but I do find I must snack or eat meals every 2hrs or so otherwise I feel slightly weird/ill. When I go low I go pale and get tired needing to sit down immediately.
Still having mild trouble with constipation, but can't really complain since I've been doing idiotic things like swapping my pre-natal vitamins from bedtime to morning (not cos I forgot! Honest!).
I got out in the garden for two days and tidied things up in preparation for hosting Christmas lunch for our parents. Kids will be here for breakfast and back for dinner at my parents house.
After over a month of waking at 4am for a low blood sugar that would haunt me until dawn, I finally remembered to actually so something about it. Cue messing with nighttime basal rates at 1am the other night! Result? Flat as a pancake from midnite to 8am woohoo!!! Very proud of me self on that one. Guessing it won't last too long before things all change again.
So, Merry Christmas to all you lovely readers. Have a wonderful day and I hope Santa brings you what you asked for!
P.s. Can I ask you all to say a little wish/prayer for a good friend of mine who is doing clomid treatment right now and has, 2 days before Christmas, got another negative result. She's battling on but getting a little overwhelmed and considering IVF. I really hope her next cycle works and she gets what she's been dreaming of! Thank you! :)
Here is the tree, with massively oversized tinsel star that keeps threatening to tip the whole lot over:
Pregnancy symptoms at 11 weeks seem to be settling down a bit. Over the past 3 or 4 days I've gotten a lot of my energy back. A week ago I set the record at 3 naps in one day, not including the 11.30am sleep in. Then I got a horrendous head cold that featured loud sneezing with nose like a tap.
I have given my cold to Hubby and his Mum, and now I'm feeling better lol :P
Breathing is feeling a bit weird at times, kind of like the feeling you get when the cat is sleeping on your chest.
I've upped my breakfast to be one slice of gluten-free toast with lashings if crunchy peanut butter, a cup of decaf-tea with raw sugar and trim milk, a handful of prunes and a nectarine or a couple of fresh apricots.
I still haven't gained any weight (57kg) but I have reorganized what I've got: arms and face seem a bit skinnier while belly may? Seem? Rounder? we are taking photos but even though I'm frustrated at being stick with hardly any pant to wear and still being a long way away from maternity clothing, there is no obvious "popping" yet.
Getting a lot of lows at the moment, and they generally seem to take double the amount of carbs to get me back to fighting fit. So two juice boxes instead of one. I got so frustrated with juice that I've started eating glucose tablets again :-/
Getting what may be a few food aversions to beef, some chicken dishes that I normally love, and generally being slightly nauseated by awful smells. No real cravings but I do find I must snack or eat meals every 2hrs or so otherwise I feel slightly weird/ill. When I go low I go pale and get tired needing to sit down immediately.
Still having mild trouble with constipation, but can't really complain since I've been doing idiotic things like swapping my pre-natal vitamins from bedtime to morning (not cos I forgot! Honest!).
I got out in the garden for two days and tidied things up in preparation for hosting Christmas lunch for our parents. Kids will be here for breakfast and back for dinner at my parents house.
After over a month of waking at 4am for a low blood sugar that would haunt me until dawn, I finally remembered to actually so something about it. Cue messing with nighttime basal rates at 1am the other night! Result? Flat as a pancake from midnite to 8am woohoo!!! Very proud of me self on that one. Guessing it won't last too long before things all change again.
So, Merry Christmas to all you lovely readers. Have a wonderful day and I hope Santa brings you what you asked for!
P.s. Can I ask you all to say a little wish/prayer for a good friend of mine who is doing clomid treatment right now and has, 2 days before Christmas, got another negative result. She's battling on but getting a little overwhelmed and considering IVF. I really hope her next cycle works and she gets what she's been dreaming of! Thank you! :)
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
16dp3dt (aka 4w6d) Cramping
Although I'm not super worried about it at this stage, yesterday and today I have been cramping quite a lot. It's not really bad, but it is quite localised on the right side. I have been reading that cramping by itself, as long as it's not too severe, is generally a good sign.
Still, there have definitely been occasions today where I've had to sit down and catch my breath. It's good to just take a break anyway. I've found that drinking more water lessens the cramping, and it can't hurt. Plus it helps to stabilise my blood sugars.
Which are doing absolutely great today! The new settings my DNE provided me with are working really well and I haven't gone low or high today!
After a late night last night, and heading for another one today, and with teaching 4 hr design classes 4 days a week I am quite tired. Sometimes when I relax a bit my mind just feels like it's full of cotton wool. I am feeling quite clumsy, bumping into stuff. Not sure if it's the hormones or the tiredness, but this fatigue and semi-constant cramping is starting to wear on me a little bit. But it's reassuring at the same time, as it means things are cooking.
Also - not just dull cramps, but sharp twinges. I got one just now and it started on both sides of my lower spine and came around the sides, and then sparked down my right inner-thigh. Gone in seconds, but weird nonetheless.
Feeling positive, but also aware that I should avoid bending and picking stuff up. My Mum had already told me that she had a miscarriage between my sister and I but she let me know that it happened at around 8 weeks for her, before she knew she was pregnant for sure. And that it happened after a day weeding in the garden! So I am cutting out any activity that could stress my abdominal muscles unnecessarily. I mean, why take the risk.
I phoned my Aunt this evening and let her know we're pregnant. She has been a constant loving element in my life, and the happy noises she made can only be described as super-sonic! hehe
Still, there have definitely been occasions today where I've had to sit down and catch my breath. It's good to just take a break anyway. I've found that drinking more water lessens the cramping, and it can't hurt. Plus it helps to stabilise my blood sugars.
Which are doing absolutely great today! The new settings my DNE provided me with are working really well and I haven't gone low or high today!
After a late night last night, and heading for another one today, and with teaching 4 hr design classes 4 days a week I am quite tired. Sometimes when I relax a bit my mind just feels like it's full of cotton wool. I am feeling quite clumsy, bumping into stuff. Not sure if it's the hormones or the tiredness, but this fatigue and semi-constant cramping is starting to wear on me a little bit. But it's reassuring at the same time, as it means things are cooking.
Also - not just dull cramps, but sharp twinges. I got one just now and it started on both sides of my lower spine and came around the sides, and then sparked down my right inner-thigh. Gone in seconds, but weird nonetheless.
Feeling positive, but also aware that I should avoid bending and picking stuff up. My Mum had already told me that she had a miscarriage between my sister and I but she let me know that it happened at around 8 weeks for her, before she knew she was pregnant for sure. And that it happened after a day weeding in the garden! So I am cutting out any activity that could stress my abdominal muscles unnecessarily. I mean, why take the risk.
I phoned my Aunt this evening and let her know we're pregnant. She has been a constant loving element in my life, and the happy noises she made can only be described as super-sonic! hehe
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
15dp3dt Second Beta (aka 4 weeks 5 days)
Second beta test today came back at 453! Woohoo!
This gives us a doubling time of roughly 42hrs, which is right smack bang in the middle of average.
Got a different nurse on the phone this time, but she sounded very positive and said "it's a good number". The relief I felt when I finally got the call was amazing. As you can tell from my previous post, I was getting a wee bit stressy about it. I was just so unbelievably happy that it came back positive that it was like walking on a cloud for about half an hour. After which time the adrenaline rush wore off and the fatigue set in.
They tested my progesterone too and it is 338 so the nurse said I should start weaning myself off the dreaded progresterone pessaries by dropping the dosage from 2 x 3 times daily, down to 1 x 3 times daily until they run out, or roughly 4 more days. Apparently I am making plenty of my own.
I need to go back in a week (next Tuesday) for another HCG test. The only way I found this out was by refusing to let the nurse hang up on me a la "just one more question!" haha I was determined to get the info out of her! Actually, I think the nurses' office must have been fairly busy, as I could hear other nurses talking to patients on their phones in the background.
I enquired about when is appropriate to enlist an ob/gyn and midwife. Nurse said that the fertility clinic has care of us until the 8 week mark which will be 29th November for me. At that time I should travel back up to Hamilton for my first ultrasound scan. Now, don't get me wrong, I cannot wait for this ultrasound. At about weeks today, I'm about halfway there. These milestones are incredibly important and hold great significance to me and my husband, and all those supporting us. But do I really want to travel over mountains for 3 hrs, have an over night stay, pay for a night in a motel, and book a day off work for two people?? Um, no. I asked the nurse if there was anything special about the ultrasound scan, and she thought about it for a moment, they said "well, there is a radiology place that you could ring and enquire if they would do it, but you would have to pay privately for it, just call and see if you can get an appointment for around the 29th Nov and then let us know so we can send a referral note through to you. They will then need to fax the results back to us." If it's less that the cost of all that travel and missed work, then we'll do it.
I keep thinking it would be great for the fertility clinic to provide a flowchart of procedures and appointments, just a general "what could happen" document. Rather than having to wrangle the info out whenever they choose to phone.
Once I got home Hubby suggested we book an appointment to see our GP this week to get his advice, as we may be able to get the scan for free??? I don't really care too much about paying for it, I just want to know that I won't have to travel. We have an appointment with the GP this Friday so I'm hoping I will learn heaps there!
Some more good news: I got my HbA1c result back. 16 Oct = 45 or 6.3% A slight rise, but this was taken after the transition to the pump (still learning) and before the application of copious amounts of crazy IVF hormones.
Went to the two elder step-kids senior high school prize-giving ceremony tonight and they both received awards! Very proud. It was cool with Hubby and I, their Mum and her parents, youngest step-son, and MIL. Some big cheers!
The school hall was packed for the ceremony and it got very hot. I was fanning myself with the paper programme, and started to get some really bad cramps, especially on the right side again but moving all over the place. I felt a bit faint, and figured I just needed to cool down and have some water. Which worked very well.
Thank you everyone for your lovely comments and support. It's wonderful to know you are all out there cheering us on! :D
This gives us a doubling time of roughly 42hrs, which is right smack bang in the middle of average.
Got a different nurse on the phone this time, but she sounded very positive and said "it's a good number". The relief I felt when I finally got the call was amazing. As you can tell from my previous post, I was getting a wee bit stressy about it. I was just so unbelievably happy that it came back positive that it was like walking on a cloud for about half an hour. After which time the adrenaline rush wore off and the fatigue set in.
They tested my progesterone too and it is 338 so the nurse said I should start weaning myself off the dreaded progresterone pessaries by dropping the dosage from 2 x 3 times daily, down to 1 x 3 times daily until they run out, or roughly 4 more days. Apparently I am making plenty of my own.
I need to go back in a week (next Tuesday) for another HCG test. The only way I found this out was by refusing to let the nurse hang up on me a la "just one more question!" haha I was determined to get the info out of her! Actually, I think the nurses' office must have been fairly busy, as I could hear other nurses talking to patients on their phones in the background.
I enquired about when is appropriate to enlist an ob/gyn and midwife. Nurse said that the fertility clinic has care of us until the 8 week mark which will be 29th November for me. At that time I should travel back up to Hamilton for my first ultrasound scan. Now, don't get me wrong, I cannot wait for this ultrasound. At about weeks today, I'm about halfway there. These milestones are incredibly important and hold great significance to me and my husband, and all those supporting us. But do I really want to travel over mountains for 3 hrs, have an over night stay, pay for a night in a motel, and book a day off work for two people?? Um, no. I asked the nurse if there was anything special about the ultrasound scan, and she thought about it for a moment, they said "well, there is a radiology place that you could ring and enquire if they would do it, but you would have to pay privately for it, just call and see if you can get an appointment for around the 29th Nov and then let us know so we can send a referral note through to you. They will then need to fax the results back to us." If it's less that the cost of all that travel and missed work, then we'll do it.
I keep thinking it would be great for the fertility clinic to provide a flowchart of procedures and appointments, just a general "what could happen" document. Rather than having to wrangle the info out whenever they choose to phone.
Once I got home Hubby suggested we book an appointment to see our GP this week to get his advice, as we may be able to get the scan for free??? I don't really care too much about paying for it, I just want to know that I won't have to travel. We have an appointment with the GP this Friday so I'm hoping I will learn heaps there!
Some more good news: I got my HbA1c result back. 16 Oct = 45 or 6.3% A slight rise, but this was taken after the transition to the pump (still learning) and before the application of copious amounts of crazy IVF hormones.
 |
| Not too shabby. |
The school hall was packed for the ceremony and it got very hot. I was fanning myself with the paper programme, and started to get some really bad cramps, especially on the right side again but moving all over the place. I felt a bit faint, and figured I just needed to cool down and have some water. Which worked very well.
Thank you everyone for your lovely comments and support. It's wonderful to know you are all out there cheering us on! :D
Friday, November 1, 2013
11dp3dt - 1st Beta HCG
It's good news folks. Yes! Pregnant!
We were waiting and waiting for the call. I was trying really hard to be patient, and since the nurse had said it would be around 2 - 3pm call time, when it ticked over 3pm I started to consider phoning the clinic myself!
Hubby kept me busy by handing me some work (coding, occupies the brain quite well) then we went for a drive to his new work to collect some files for a new project. My sister also works there and when she saw me she meerkat-ed up from her desk and was like "are you..., do you know?" And I had to tell her "no news".
3.45pm: We drove home, and just as we were parking the car Nurse P called! She said "I have some great news, you're pregnant congratulations!" She then went on to say that they like a number over 50 for day 14*, and my bHCG test came back as 94! She was really positive and sounded confident, which has given us confidence to start believing it, a bit.
(* day 14 = what the nurse said, as in I have been counting wrong all these days. It is actually 11dp3dt. Doh.)
The emotions are predominantly shock, relief, happiness, and OMG! We smiled a lot, and Hubby shed a tear and got all giggly! I think Hubby felt the truth of the news much sooner than me, as I am still not having a really strong emotional reaction. But, a part of that is that I have been feeling the symptoms for days now, so I would have been mighty surprised if it came back negative.
Nurse P went on to say that I would need to repeat the test on Tuesday (which will be 15dp3dt or day 18) and they will call again in the afternoon with results.
I have been looking online for beta doubling numbers, and of course Google does not have the answers I am looking for. Namely, what MY result will be!
Diabetes-wise, I had my suspicions that this IVF thing had worked when I started getting low blood sugars in amongst all that progesterone. One of the first ways that a type 1 diabetic is affected by pregnancy is by lows. So, that was actually the first hint. Plus, I am pretty sure I felt implantation, it was sharp like a really bad pulled abdominal muscle. At the time I was pretty sure it would have been too early, but on doing more research I realise it was just about the right time.
So, time to tell people. I had several stern words from family and friends yesterday who have been following and supporting us all through out journey. Mainly they wanted to tell me that I must put them out of their suspense-misery quick smart!
We drove around to my parents place (they both have the week off work which is convenient) but they were out, so I sent them a neutral-flavoured text asking when they would be home. 15 mins, right, see you then.
In the meantime we skipped over to Hubby's Mum's place and she was the first person we told. In the back garden, in the sunshine, with her neighbours looking on :) She gave us both a big hug and looked really, really happy.
Because MIL had mentioned that eldest-stepson was coming to have dinner with her, Hubby thought it would be a good idea to track him down (he works after school at his high school IT dept.) just so both he and MIL could know together for their dinner. We texted him, then went and gave him the news in the school library. He gave us both a big hug and smiled.
Next up, we tried visiting my parents again and they were home with the door wide open. We walked in and I said "We've got good news!" and my Mum just caught me in a big hug. Big hugs all round!
And lastly for the hug-a-thon, we tripped over to the kids' house to tell the two younger step kids, more smiles, hugs, and then we got to see youngest's new bike he's building.
By that time it was nearly dinner time, so Hubby suggested we go out to celebrate. Yay! We went and got Greek food. I was feeling pretty bloated, uncomfortable, crampy, sore, and I just felt so full it almost hurt to breathe. But soooooo happy. We couldn't stop smiling and saying "oh wow!"
While waiting for our meals, I texted a few of my friends who have been following our journey closely, and soon the phone was buzzing so much the waiter was giving me strange looks lol. Then one of my friends who is also TTC started asking me questions like, when does morning sickness start? and I realised I don't know. I then started thinking about all the other things I don't know.
And then, we talked about how both of us have been focusing so much on reaching this goal, that we haven't really considered pregnancy much. I know I haven't. I mean, I know it's coming, it's here, but I have had this superstitious thought that if I ponder what it would be like for me to be pregnant, count my chickens before they hatch etc etc, then I would jinx things.
All this is leading me to believe that I know embarrassingly little amount about actual pregnancy itself. Time to get reading.
And then I thought, what the hell, let's grab a couple of home pregnancy tests. And some antacids. And some more prunes. And chiiiiiiiipies!
And, as promised some days ago, here is a beautiful, beautiful picture. This is our embryo at 3 days old, 6 cells.
Thank you so much to everyone who hoped, prayed, wished us well, and crossed your fingers. All that love your sent must have helped! :D
We were waiting and waiting for the call. I was trying really hard to be patient, and since the nurse had said it would be around 2 - 3pm call time, when it ticked over 3pm I started to consider phoning the clinic myself!
Hubby kept me busy by handing me some work (coding, occupies the brain quite well) then we went for a drive to his new work to collect some files for a new project. My sister also works there and when she saw me she meerkat-ed up from her desk and was like "are you..., do you know?" And I had to tell her "no news".
3.45pm: We drove home, and just as we were parking the car Nurse P called! She said "I have some great news, you're pregnant congratulations!" She then went on to say that they like a number over 50 for day 14*, and my bHCG test came back as 94! She was really positive and sounded confident, which has given us confidence to start believing it, a bit.
(* day 14 = what the nurse said, as in I have been counting wrong all these days. It is actually 11dp3dt. Doh.)
The emotions are predominantly shock, relief, happiness, and OMG! We smiled a lot, and Hubby shed a tear and got all giggly! I think Hubby felt the truth of the news much sooner than me, as I am still not having a really strong emotional reaction. But, a part of that is that I have been feeling the symptoms for days now, so I would have been mighty surprised if it came back negative.
Nurse P went on to say that I would need to repeat the test on Tuesday (which will be 15dp3dt or day 18) and they will call again in the afternoon with results.
I have been looking online for beta doubling numbers, and of course Google does not have the answers I am looking for. Namely, what MY result will be!
Diabetes-wise, I had my suspicions that this IVF thing had worked when I started getting low blood sugars in amongst all that progesterone. One of the first ways that a type 1 diabetic is affected by pregnancy is by lows. So, that was actually the first hint. Plus, I am pretty sure I felt implantation, it was sharp like a really bad pulled abdominal muscle. At the time I was pretty sure it would have been too early, but on doing more research I realise it was just about the right time.
So, time to tell people. I had several stern words from family and friends yesterday who have been following and supporting us all through out journey. Mainly they wanted to tell me that I must put them out of their suspense-misery quick smart!
We drove around to my parents place (they both have the week off work which is convenient) but they were out, so I sent them a neutral-flavoured text asking when they would be home. 15 mins, right, see you then.
In the meantime we skipped over to Hubby's Mum's place and she was the first person we told. In the back garden, in the sunshine, with her neighbours looking on :) She gave us both a big hug and looked really, really happy.
Because MIL had mentioned that eldest-stepson was coming to have dinner with her, Hubby thought it would be a good idea to track him down (he works after school at his high school IT dept.) just so both he and MIL could know together for their dinner. We texted him, then went and gave him the news in the school library. He gave us both a big hug and smiled.
Next up, we tried visiting my parents again and they were home with the door wide open. We walked in and I said "We've got good news!" and my Mum just caught me in a big hug. Big hugs all round!
And lastly for the hug-a-thon, we tripped over to the kids' house to tell the two younger step kids, more smiles, hugs, and then we got to see youngest's new bike he's building.
By that time it was nearly dinner time, so Hubby suggested we go out to celebrate. Yay! We went and got Greek food. I was feeling pretty bloated, uncomfortable, crampy, sore, and I just felt so full it almost hurt to breathe. But soooooo happy. We couldn't stop smiling and saying "oh wow!"
While waiting for our meals, I texted a few of my friends who have been following our journey closely, and soon the phone was buzzing so much the waiter was giving me strange looks lol. Then one of my friends who is also TTC started asking me questions like, when does morning sickness start? and I realised I don't know. I then started thinking about all the other things I don't know.
And then, we talked about how both of us have been focusing so much on reaching this goal, that we haven't really considered pregnancy much. I know I haven't. I mean, I know it's coming, it's here, but I have had this superstitious thought that if I ponder what it would be like for me to be pregnant, count my chickens before they hatch etc etc, then I would jinx things.
All this is leading me to believe that I know embarrassingly little amount about actual pregnancy itself. Time to get reading.
And then I thought, what the hell, let's grab a couple of home pregnancy tests. And some antacids. And some more prunes. And chiiiiiiiipies!
 |
| My first positive home pregnancy test at 11dp3dt. The line is faint, but it's definitely there! |
 |
| Our embryo. Love. |
Sunday, October 27, 2013
5dp3dt Twinges
Saturday, and the start of the long Labour Weekend here in New Zealand. We have the step kids staying with us this weekend (they are ages 18 boy, 16 girl, and 12 boy) - they come every second weekend to stay and the first thing Hubby showed them when they arrived on Friday evening was the photo of our embryo. The younger two were quite positive, the older was more reserved. Hard to tell what they are thinking sometimes.
Today I slept in, and then got up, had a lazy shower, and helped Hubby prepare lunch for all of us. I am struggling to get enough healthy choices - I mean, pizza for lunch one weekend with the kids is fun. Pizza for lunch every weekend with the kids is too much. I need healthy choices at this moment in time if never before! Normally, our go-to Saturday lunch with kids meal is make-your-own filled rolls at MILs, with ham, salad, cheese etc. Of course, I can no longer have deli-meats, so I was going to get a little tin of salmon instead (yum!) and take that to MILs house, but she is unwell so Hubby just brought the pizza home with him. But hey, I am not one to complain when someone prepares a meal for me! It's just now I have even more nutritional restrictions (diabetes plus PUPO) and I now feel like I am spending most of my waking moments planning safe, healthy food and drink choices.
Even tea. Black tea has caffeine and I have decided to have zero caffeine intake. I am drinking Dilmah decaffeinated tea, but have also just got some raspberry leaf tea - I quite like it! This is coming from someone who thinks that green tea tastes like lawn clippings lol
So the guts of this post: perhaps the hormones have finally got to me?
Hubby and I had a really bad fight today. We hardly ever fight. And when we do, it's always over nothing. This was no exception, but it felt worse. It started when we were with the youngest at a newly opened playground for kids. It was literally teeming with toddlers and children. Although I may be pregnant, I still carry the years of being infertile with me, so that mixed with my childhood memories of the park and I was already having an internal battle. And then an incident happened that may have involved the youngest. Long story short, it felt like Hubby had instantly "sided" with his son, rather than trusting me. And he couldn't understand me, and I felt he was being irrational. Sometimes I feel really alone in this journey, afterall, he already has kids and cannot possibly have identical feelings to me about this situation, although I know he dearly wants a child with me now. It's just that after 10 years in this family, for him to say one sentence and it immediately devalues my place in the family, and makes me an outsider to the family group, and comes with the assumption that I don't want what is best for his kids. All that is just what I feel, not what I know or what is logical. But that doesn't stop if hurting me deeply and upsetting me. I know Hubby was also greatly upset, it wasn't just a one-sided thing at all!
He took the kids off to get an ice-cream while I sulked in the car - I really didn't want to be anywhere near them. Once back at home, we tried to reconcile but it just got worse. We both got really worked up and I drove off to give us both space to calm down. I went to my favourite garden centre and bought new vege plants, and while I was there Hubby phoned me and we were soon back right as rain. The thing is, while I was so angry and sad and upset, I was also getting really bad twinges in my abdomen, especially over my right hip, and right through to my lower right back. It didn't last very long, but I was concerned enough to decided to go home even before Hubby rang. I am not supposed to elevate my pulse or raise my core body temperature during my 2WW.
Once I got home, the house was empty as Hubby has to do some work, and the 2 of the kids were in town, while the youngest had gone with Dad. So I attacked the garden to work off some of my fury. It was quite overgrown as I had let if go fallow since autumn (I hate gardening in the winter - I am a fair-weather gardener) and it was great to get in there and rip out the old capsicum plants, corn stalks, and giant weeds! Bending and digging was hard, as was pulling out weeds. Every movement which activated my abdominal muscles made me acutely aware of them, and what might be behind them, and so I kept taking breaks. Soon enough, I was all hot and bothered just in time for Hubby to come home and find me covered in dirt. We had a big hug and all was good again. The world was righted on it's axis once again.
But here is the strangest part: in the overgrown garden I found: 1 chicken, 13 eggs, and a perfectly edible pumpkin that had been hiding out all winter! The chicken in question is one of our 4 pet chooks, and she has been going missing in the afternoons from the open-top fenced in area of the orchard that the chooks call home. I was digging out a particularly stubborn weed when this chicken burst out of the undergrowth, clucking like a mad thing! I went to investigate where she had come from and found a hole in the hedge, and if I stuck my whole arm in I could just reach the clutch of eggs. Unfortunately, they will all have to be thrown away cos they will be stin-ky!
Tomorrow, if the weather holds to be fine again, I will look at finishing the clearing of the garden and maybe even get it planted up. I might try and enlist some help with the heavy digging this time.
Hubby and the two youngest are out tonight playing in a band (yes, really) at a local private function, so I cooked a pasta dinner for the eldest and now we are watching another of those crappy James Bond movies. It's one with Roger Moore in it, not my favourite Bond.
So symptoms today, apart from the twinges: generally crampy feelings, they are normally small-sized and will move about every couple of hours - maybe starting quite low, perhaps below my uterus, and then moving to one side, then in the upper abdomen, then around into my lower back. This evening the cramp/heaviness is more similar with what I get prior to my period, and everything I have read suggests that these can be signs of implantation. By breasts are still a bit tender, but nowhere near as bad as 2 or 3 days ago. Blood sugars are getting more erratic unfortunately, and I am experiencing more low blood sugars after not having any during the stims and ER/ET processes. I am finding that I must keep myself well hydrated, otherwise I can start to get a headache pretty quickly.
Now officially past the halfway mark of the 2WW, and I am feeling really positive about this. I still try to maintain a realistic attitude, as the nurse said, I might feel symptoms, I might not, and in either instance anything could happen. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!
Today I slept in, and then got up, had a lazy shower, and helped Hubby prepare lunch for all of us. I am struggling to get enough healthy choices - I mean, pizza for lunch one weekend with the kids is fun. Pizza for lunch every weekend with the kids is too much. I need healthy choices at this moment in time if never before! Normally, our go-to Saturday lunch with kids meal is make-your-own filled rolls at MILs, with ham, salad, cheese etc. Of course, I can no longer have deli-meats, so I was going to get a little tin of salmon instead (yum!) and take that to MILs house, but she is unwell so Hubby just brought the pizza home with him. But hey, I am not one to complain when someone prepares a meal for me! It's just now I have even more nutritional restrictions (diabetes plus PUPO) and I now feel like I am spending most of my waking moments planning safe, healthy food and drink choices.
Even tea. Black tea has caffeine and I have decided to have zero caffeine intake. I am drinking Dilmah decaffeinated tea, but have also just got some raspberry leaf tea - I quite like it! This is coming from someone who thinks that green tea tastes like lawn clippings lol
So the guts of this post: perhaps the hormones have finally got to me?
Hubby and I had a really bad fight today. We hardly ever fight. And when we do, it's always over nothing. This was no exception, but it felt worse. It started when we were with the youngest at a newly opened playground for kids. It was literally teeming with toddlers and children. Although I may be pregnant, I still carry the years of being infertile with me, so that mixed with my childhood memories of the park and I was already having an internal battle. And then an incident happened that may have involved the youngest. Long story short, it felt like Hubby had instantly "sided" with his son, rather than trusting me. And he couldn't understand me, and I felt he was being irrational. Sometimes I feel really alone in this journey, afterall, he already has kids and cannot possibly have identical feelings to me about this situation, although I know he dearly wants a child with me now. It's just that after 10 years in this family, for him to say one sentence and it immediately devalues my place in the family, and makes me an outsider to the family group, and comes with the assumption that I don't want what is best for his kids. All that is just what I feel, not what I know or what is logical. But that doesn't stop if hurting me deeply and upsetting me. I know Hubby was also greatly upset, it wasn't just a one-sided thing at all!
He took the kids off to get an ice-cream while I sulked in the car - I really didn't want to be anywhere near them. Once back at home, we tried to reconcile but it just got worse. We both got really worked up and I drove off to give us both space to calm down. I went to my favourite garden centre and bought new vege plants, and while I was there Hubby phoned me and we were soon back right as rain. The thing is, while I was so angry and sad and upset, I was also getting really bad twinges in my abdomen, especially over my right hip, and right through to my lower right back. It didn't last very long, but I was concerned enough to decided to go home even before Hubby rang. I am not supposed to elevate my pulse or raise my core body temperature during my 2WW.
Once I got home, the house was empty as Hubby has to do some work, and the 2 of the kids were in town, while the youngest had gone with Dad. So I attacked the garden to work off some of my fury. It was quite overgrown as I had let if go fallow since autumn (I hate gardening in the winter - I am a fair-weather gardener) and it was great to get in there and rip out the old capsicum plants, corn stalks, and giant weeds! Bending and digging was hard, as was pulling out weeds. Every movement which activated my abdominal muscles made me acutely aware of them, and what might be behind them, and so I kept taking breaks. Soon enough, I was all hot and bothered just in time for Hubby to come home and find me covered in dirt. We had a big hug and all was good again. The world was righted on it's axis once again.
But here is the strangest part: in the overgrown garden I found: 1 chicken, 13 eggs, and a perfectly edible pumpkin that had been hiding out all winter! The chicken in question is one of our 4 pet chooks, and she has been going missing in the afternoons from the open-top fenced in area of the orchard that the chooks call home. I was digging out a particularly stubborn weed when this chicken burst out of the undergrowth, clucking like a mad thing! I went to investigate where she had come from and found a hole in the hedge, and if I stuck my whole arm in I could just reach the clutch of eggs. Unfortunately, they will all have to be thrown away cos they will be stin-ky!
Tomorrow, if the weather holds to be fine again, I will look at finishing the clearing of the garden and maybe even get it planted up. I might try and enlist some help with the heavy digging this time.
Hubby and the two youngest are out tonight playing in a band (yes, really) at a local private function, so I cooked a pasta dinner for the eldest and now we are watching another of those crappy James Bond movies. It's one with Roger Moore in it, not my favourite Bond.
So symptoms today, apart from the twinges: generally crampy feelings, they are normally small-sized and will move about every couple of hours - maybe starting quite low, perhaps below my uterus, and then moving to one side, then in the upper abdomen, then around into my lower back. This evening the cramp/heaviness is more similar with what I get prior to my period, and everything I have read suggests that these can be signs of implantation. By breasts are still a bit tender, but nowhere near as bad as 2 or 3 days ago. Blood sugars are getting more erratic unfortunately, and I am experiencing more low blood sugars after not having any during the stims and ER/ET processes. I am finding that I must keep myself well hydrated, otherwise I can start to get a headache pretty quickly.
Now officially past the halfway mark of the 2WW, and I am feeling really positive about this. I still try to maintain a realistic attitude, as the nurse said, I might feel symptoms, I might not, and in either instance anything could happen. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Beautiful Saturday
There is nothing quite like the first day of a mid-semester break. Ahhhh the days of freedom stretch out before me :)
Today was magical in its simplicity and I was able to forget work completely.
It started with breakfast in bed, then a nice hot shower filled by drying my hair in the sun as I watched the chickens romping around the back garden.
The morning was spent weeding the rose-bed and maybe getting a bit sun burnt. My Hubby and his youngest son started making a rabbit hutch out of a packing crate, so I made everyone tuna noodles for lunch. Again, in the sunshine.
After lunch we did some grocery shopping, I got a repeat of all my diabetic supplies, and we also visited the pet shop as the cat would not be pleased should we run out of cat-noms!
As we drove into the car wash, I realized that I had forgotten to bolus for lunch. Too much sunshine-brain. A small correction bolus later and we were off to collect the cutest rabbit, and perhaps the only one with a "holiday hutch" where he will reside with us whenever the kids do too. Our back garden looks like a petting zoo!
I cooked a delicious strut fry dinner for 6 then my MIL shared not one but 2 desserts with us. Wild berry pie and an apricot/creamed rice/meringue pie. Oh, and I tore the house apart looking for a lost clarinet.
It took me 2.5 hrs of going through boxes to find it, but when I did step-daughter played her sax, hubby played guitar and we all played together (roughly) for the evening. Very much funski :D
Let it be noted that I am exhausted and slightly redder than I should be!
Today was magical in its simplicity and I was able to forget work completely.
It started with breakfast in bed, then a nice hot shower filled by drying my hair in the sun as I watched the chickens romping around the back garden.
The morning was spent weeding the rose-bed and maybe getting a bit sun burnt. My Hubby and his youngest son started making a rabbit hutch out of a packing crate, so I made everyone tuna noodles for lunch. Again, in the sunshine.
After lunch we did some grocery shopping, I got a repeat of all my diabetic supplies, and we also visited the pet shop as the cat would not be pleased should we run out of cat-noms!
As we drove into the car wash, I realized that I had forgotten to bolus for lunch. Too much sunshine-brain. A small correction bolus later and we were off to collect the cutest rabbit, and perhaps the only one with a "holiday hutch" where he will reside with us whenever the kids do too. Our back garden looks like a petting zoo!
I cooked a delicious strut fry dinner for 6 then my MIL shared not one but 2 desserts with us. Wild berry pie and an apricot/creamed rice/meringue pie. Oh, and I tore the house apart looking for a lost clarinet.
It took me 2.5 hrs of going through boxes to find it, but when I did step-daughter played her sax, hubby played guitar and we all played together (roughly) for the evening. Very much funski :D
Let it be noted that I am exhausted and slightly redder than I should be!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Spectacularity
So I've had another big week:
1. My father-in-law has moved into a local rest home. He's looking better than I've seen him in months. MIL is another story...
2. We bought a new car. A minivan. Picked it up last Thursday.
3. Which was also the day hubby and I got on a plane and travelled to Auckland for 3 days of design conference, circus, casino, restaurants, shopping, and room service. Highly recommend!
4. I nearly electrocuted myself. I was sitting in my leather recliner in the lounge, with the footrest up. Hubby said something about a cuppa tea, so I went to put the footrest down - when BANG!! Big blue flash, lights out. Hubby asked "are u still alive?" I was thinking, oh god! I've crushed my work Macbook! Turns out the metal mechanism of the chair footrest had just sliced through the power cable, and with 240 volts here it made a nice blue flash n bang! MacBook wasn't plugged in, so it's fine. Power supply was plugged into wall and is fried. I was saved by the padding in my chair.
5. You can hate me for this next one: I won an iPad 2. Yup. Hasn't arrived yet so I'll believe it when I see it. But wowee!
6. Have just been dropped home by a kind colleague as I fainted at work. A group of us staff were out meeting a new supplier, getting the whole sales pitch. 6th floor, no air con, standing for over an hour, not enough water at lunch, low salt diet, naturally very low blood pressure, ACE inhibitors (to protect ze kidneys) = I fall down. Very embarrassing. Strange, cos my first reaction was that I was having a terrible low. Cold sweats, weakness, spinning feeling, nausea. To do a test and find I wasn't low sent me into a bit of a panic. I was normal people sick. I didn't know how to fix this! Juice wouldn't make it better!!! They gave me water and had me sit, then lie in the recovery position. Felt like a silly litte girl with the vapors. Godamit I do public speaking (teaching) for a living! I'm NOT supposed to fall down. And if I do, only diabetes has earned that right - to make me fall down :P
Currently at home in bed, mid arvo, wondering why I'm not doing something more productive.
Oh, and 7. My hubby's brother, his wife, and My First Niece EVAH are coming from Aussie to stay on Monday :) yay! I can't wait to meet my niece :) it's gonna be interesting to see how I react to having and adorable 2 yr old around the place. I know I will love her, but I sense it will also break my heart more.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
1. My father-in-law has moved into a local rest home. He's looking better than I've seen him in months. MIL is another story...
2. We bought a new car. A minivan. Picked it up last Thursday.
3. Which was also the day hubby and I got on a plane and travelled to Auckland for 3 days of design conference, circus, casino, restaurants, shopping, and room service. Highly recommend!
4. I nearly electrocuted myself. I was sitting in my leather recliner in the lounge, with the footrest up. Hubby said something about a cuppa tea, so I went to put the footrest down - when BANG!! Big blue flash, lights out. Hubby asked "are u still alive?" I was thinking, oh god! I've crushed my work Macbook! Turns out the metal mechanism of the chair footrest had just sliced through the power cable, and with 240 volts here it made a nice blue flash n bang! MacBook wasn't plugged in, so it's fine. Power supply was plugged into wall and is fried. I was saved by the padding in my chair.
5. You can hate me for this next one: I won an iPad 2. Yup. Hasn't arrived yet so I'll believe it when I see it. But wowee!
6. Have just been dropped home by a kind colleague as I fainted at work. A group of us staff were out meeting a new supplier, getting the whole sales pitch. 6th floor, no air con, standing for over an hour, not enough water at lunch, low salt diet, naturally very low blood pressure, ACE inhibitors (to protect ze kidneys) = I fall down. Very embarrassing. Strange, cos my first reaction was that I was having a terrible low. Cold sweats, weakness, spinning feeling, nausea. To do a test and find I wasn't low sent me into a bit of a panic. I was normal people sick. I didn't know how to fix this! Juice wouldn't make it better!!! They gave me water and had me sit, then lie in the recovery position. Felt like a silly litte girl with the vapors. Godamit I do public speaking (teaching) for a living! I'm NOT supposed to fall down. And if I do, only diabetes has earned that right - to make me fall down :P
Currently at home in bed, mid arvo, wondering why I'm not doing something more productive.
Oh, and 7. My hubby's brother, his wife, and My First Niece EVAH are coming from Aussie to stay on Monday :) yay! I can't wait to meet my niece :) it's gonna be interesting to see how I react to having and adorable 2 yr old around the place. I know I will love her, but I sense it will also break my heart more.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Massive week
My husband has been violently ill no less than eight times this week. The step kids are staying with us, and now eldest step son has it. :(
The big news has been that my father in law moved into a rest home on Friday. He'd been in and out of hospital, fallen twice, had 4 blood transfusions, heart failure, dysentery, and one ambulance ride in the 3 weeks leading up to the resthome. He's 83.
I'm 28.
Mother in law has not been coping well.
I've been getting sick too. I was up until 2am last night, finishing a major website. I got it launched but now I've absolutely crashed. Sore throat, ears, aches, snotty snout. Wah. :(
We have been on the look out for a new (used) car for hubby. A minivan. I honestly expected to have my own kids in my first minivan. Not just step kids. But they are aged 10, 14, and 16 now, so it's hard to fit everyone in a sedan. We found a suitable minivan today and told the carsales-dude we'd buy it. I will organize a car loan this week.
Tomorrow I will be with some of the other tutors from work at the annual careers expo. Our art dept has a booth and I will be on my feet "selling" our courses for 6+ hours. With a cold. Makes sense. Last time I was this sick I was in the welcome line to hongi at the powhiri!! For those of you who not from New Zealand, Google those 2 words :)
Anyway, I should have more time to blog now that massive web project has launched. So you should hear from me more often. Hope that suits! Lol :P
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The big news has been that my father in law moved into a rest home on Friday. He'd been in and out of hospital, fallen twice, had 4 blood transfusions, heart failure, dysentery, and one ambulance ride in the 3 weeks leading up to the resthome. He's 83.
I'm 28.
Mother in law has not been coping well.
I've been getting sick too. I was up until 2am last night, finishing a major website. I got it launched but now I've absolutely crashed. Sore throat, ears, aches, snotty snout. Wah. :(
We have been on the look out for a new (used) car for hubby. A minivan. I honestly expected to have my own kids in my first minivan. Not just step kids. But they are aged 10, 14, and 16 now, so it's hard to fit everyone in a sedan. We found a suitable minivan today and told the carsales-dude we'd buy it. I will organize a car loan this week.
Tomorrow I will be with some of the other tutors from work at the annual careers expo. Our art dept has a booth and I will be on my feet "selling" our courses for 6+ hours. With a cold. Makes sense. Last time I was this sick I was in the welcome line to hongi at the powhiri!! For those of you who not from New Zealand, Google those 2 words :)
Anyway, I should have more time to blog now that massive web project has launched. So you should hear from me more often. Hope that suits! Lol :P
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
If you are Type 1 Diabetic I urge you to watch this documentary...
...and watch it quick! You only have 4 days before it becomes unavailable online.
http://tvnz.co.nz/xeno-a-cure-for-diabetes/video-4261364
This show screened on New Zealand TV last Sunday, and you can watch it by the magic of the interwebs at the link above.
It's all about the work of Professor Bob Elliot, and the research his company LCT Global is doing into Xeno-transplantation of (pig) islet-cells into humans.
Short summary for you who are not planning to watch the video:
Work is busy, with grading, teaching extra classes, and preparing to move office in the next 3 weeks. We are getting a whole bright new shiny art facility built - can't wait to move. New digs have: duh-duh-daaaaa! Air con!!! Yay! :)
My freelance work is going nuts. I'm getting website projects coming out of my ears. This week alone I've encountered 5+ websites that need buildin' and have quoted on two of them. When I will actually find time to make them is still a question I haven't solved.
In sad news, my father-in-law has been admitted to hospital today with bad anaemia. He is 82 (I think) and has taken a hammering with health problems in the years I've known him. He's such a sweetie and he really doesn't deserve this. Please send your good thought and prayers for him to recover.
So.... go and watch that documentary. Now! (Sorry to shout, but it's like, real important eh.) And share it with your mates. Cool.
http://tvnz.co.nz/xeno-a-cure-for-diabetes/video-4261364
This show screened on New Zealand TV last Sunday, and you can watch it by the magic of the interwebs at the link above.
It's all about the work of Professor Bob Elliot, and the research his company LCT Global is doing into Xeno-transplantation of (pig) islet-cells into humans.
Short summary for you who are not planning to watch the video:
- The show follows one clinical trial patient as she goes through the work up and procedure.
- Apart from the sensationalist made-for-TV title of the documentary, this is not actually being promoted as a cure, rather, it's hoped that the encapsulated islet cells will work to remove the roller-coaster style fluctuations, and reduce hypo-unawareness. So far, so good in the trials anyway!
- I personally thought that some parts of the "living with diabetes" spiel had been ramped up a bit, but then, the candidate has many similarities with my own story. I will leave you to make up your own mind.
- LCT Global has just started more clinical trials in Argentina, to determine the best dosage. Seems like they have got the big OK on the safety issue.
- You can sign up for their email newsletter, which gives updates on where this technology is at, and how soon before it gets to "market".
- That's another thing to consider... if this treatment does become available, how expensive will it be???
- I want! Gimme gimme gimme!
Work is busy, with grading, teaching extra classes, and preparing to move office in the next 3 weeks. We are getting a whole bright new shiny art facility built - can't wait to move. New digs have: duh-duh-daaaaa! Air con!!! Yay! :)
My freelance work is going nuts. I'm getting website projects coming out of my ears. This week alone I've encountered 5+ websites that need buildin' and have quoted on two of them. When I will actually find time to make them is still a question I haven't solved.
In sad news, my father-in-law has been admitted to hospital today with bad anaemia. He is 82 (I think) and has taken a hammering with health problems in the years I've known him. He's such a sweetie and he really doesn't deserve this. Please send your good thought and prayers for him to recover.
So.... go and watch that documentary. Now! (Sorry to shout, but it's like, real important eh.) And share it with your mates. Cool.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Saturday the 12th
Today my husband was diagnosed with kidney stones.
It was also the day of my great-aunt's funeral, and it is my Dad's birthday.
Poor hubby, he's in so much pain. It started last weekend where he checked with Dr Google and decided he had prostate cancer and was dying. Then it went away. It came back with a vengeance on Thursday night when he was visiting his parents. He said he was in so much pain he couldn't get off the couch. He agreed to book in with his GP for Friday....come Friday, he was fine again so didn't get to the doctor.
Of course, today it was back again. So he duly went to the emergency clinic while I travelled with my Mum to my great-aunt's funeral. She was 82, one of my late-Nana's sisters. It was good so see the remaining 3 sisters :)
After lunch, Hubby had a nap because the painkillers were making him dozy. I popped into town to pick up a card and present for Dad (and some "sensible" shoes for work - once I start teaching classes again I will be on my feet for a good portion of the day).
Hubby perked up this afternoon so we decided it would be ok to go to my Dad's birthday dinner. After all, it was at our FAVOURITE restaurant in town! Mmmm lurve Italian food!
The restaurant was very full and service was running slow. We had waited an hour and a half for food. My sister was looking a little seedy too as she has been recovering from a tummy-bug type illness. I looked over at Hubby and he was looking ashen all of a sudden. I took him home before the food arrived, because he was in pain and not having fun. I got back in 10 mins, and the food still hadn't arrived!
Dinner was great, Mum and Dad had a great night, and overall it was fun. But then my sister started feeling unwell, so we skipped dessert and went home.
What a day!
- - - - -
Oh, I went to the pharmacy (my GP did end up granting me the script) and asked for all my stuff:
- test strips
- Lantus
- Humalog
- 2 x glucagon kits
...and the pharmacist said "our records show you still have some of this, do you need it?"
"Yes, as you can imagine, I like to hoard this sort of stuff!"
"Oh, it's just that if you get it today there is a $2 after-hours surcharge on each item, being a weekend and all. But you can still get them if you need"
After-hours surcharge = dumb
Kind pharmacist who advises me of it, and lets me know that I can just pop in on the way home from work = good
I like my pharmacy :)
It was also the day of my great-aunt's funeral, and it is my Dad's birthday.
Poor hubby, he's in so much pain. It started last weekend where he checked with Dr Google and decided he had prostate cancer and was dying. Then it went away. It came back with a vengeance on Thursday night when he was visiting his parents. He said he was in so much pain he couldn't get off the couch. He agreed to book in with his GP for Friday....come Friday, he was fine again so didn't get to the doctor.
Of course, today it was back again. So he duly went to the emergency clinic while I travelled with my Mum to my great-aunt's funeral. She was 82, one of my late-Nana's sisters. It was good so see the remaining 3 sisters :)
After lunch, Hubby had a nap because the painkillers were making him dozy. I popped into town to pick up a card and present for Dad (and some "sensible" shoes for work - once I start teaching classes again I will be on my feet for a good portion of the day).
Hubby perked up this afternoon so we decided it would be ok to go to my Dad's birthday dinner. After all, it was at our FAVOURITE restaurant in town! Mmmm lurve Italian food!
The restaurant was very full and service was running slow. We had waited an hour and a half for food. My sister was looking a little seedy too as she has been recovering from a tummy-bug type illness. I looked over at Hubby and he was looking ashen all of a sudden. I took him home before the food arrived, because he was in pain and not having fun. I got back in 10 mins, and the food still hadn't arrived!
Dinner was great, Mum and Dad had a great night, and overall it was fun. But then my sister started feeling unwell, so we skipped dessert and went home.
What a day!
- - - - -
Oh, I went to the pharmacy (my GP did end up granting me the script) and asked for all my stuff:
- test strips
- Lantus
- Humalog
- 2 x glucagon kits
...and the pharmacist said "our records show you still have some of this, do you need it?"
"Yes, as you can imagine, I like to hoard this sort of stuff!"
"Oh, it's just that if you get it today there is a $2 after-hours surcharge on each item, being a weekend and all. But you can still get them if you need"
After-hours surcharge = dumb
Kind pharmacist who advises me of it, and lets me know that I can just pop in on the way home from work = good
I like my pharmacy :)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
A sneak peek preview
Today I celebrate 100 posts and 20 followers (Hi you lovely followers you!)
I am giving you all the opportunity to help me in my mission to get funding for our IVF.
This is my letter that I am planning to send to my local Member of Parliament. If you can spare me a few minutes to read it, and comment or email me with your thoughts I will be forever in your debt. I really need to know I'm doing the right thing here, saying the right thing. This letter could win the battle for us. What do you think?
Also, in case you're curious, here is the CPAC form as mentioned in the letter.
Thank you thank you thank you for reading and helping me fight for justice!
xxx
Kaitake
I am giving you all the opportunity to help me in my mission to get funding for our IVF.
This is my letter that I am planning to send to my local Member of Parliament. If you can spare me a few minutes to read it, and comment or email me with your thoughts I will be forever in your debt. I really need to know I'm doing the right thing here, saying the right thing. This letter could win the battle for us. What do you think?
Also, in case you're curious, here is the CPAC form as mentioned in the letter.
Thank you thank you thank you for reading and helping me fight for justice!
xxx
Kaitake
Friday, January 21, 2011
So proud! :D
This is my step-daughter Olivia singing with her two friends as part of the "Busting to Busk" talent competition in the Park. The song is I'm Yours by Jason Maraz.
Every year the park is lit up with thousands of colourful lights, and there are always plenty of things to see and do. This talent comp was for 13 - 18 year olds. Olivia is 13!!! Look at her go! [She's the blond standing on the right, with guitar. Sorry about bad video quality :( ]
The girls chose the song that afternoon, so about 2 hours rehearsal and they're all ready to perform in front of 500 people. She's getting really confident now, and her pitch and timing are great, shame about the "interesting" drumming by her mate! haha
They won an award for Best Audience Participation. So cute! :D
Every year the park is lit up with thousands of colourful lights, and there are always plenty of things to see and do. This talent comp was for 13 - 18 year olds. Olivia is 13!!! Look at her go! [She's the blond standing on the right, with guitar. Sorry about bad video quality :( ]
The girls chose the song that afternoon, so about 2 hours rehearsal and they're all ready to perform in front of 500 people. She's getting really confident now, and her pitch and timing are great, shame about the "interesting" drumming by her mate! haha
They won an award for Best Audience Participation. So cute! :D
Friday, January 14, 2011
Brisbane Floods
If you're in NZ or Australia you will know about this:
My brother in law, sister in law, and my 1 year old neice (my first niece or nephew!) have just moved to Ipswich. Ipswich is one of the worst places hit by the flood. So far 12 people have died in the flood. It's been described like an inland tsunami. It's caused by the recent torrential rains (La Nina weather pattern), a king tide, and the dams upstream having to release water because otherwise they will burst. This has meant that the rivers Brisbane and Bremer have broken their banks, along with countless smaller tributaries and streams.
Fortunately, our family has contacted us and let us know that they are safe, with their house being on slightly higher ground. But now the new problems are emerging, such as the price of basic food items skyrocketing. Thousands of homes and businesses are not only underwater or damaged, but without power - they've cut the power on purpose to stop people getting electrocuted. Now there are concerns about Dengue Fever and snakes in the water!
Here are two videos showing Ipswich after the Bremer River reached it's peak of over 19m; our family are less than 3 blocks from the water now.
My brother in law, sister in law, and my 1 year old neice (my first niece or nephew!) have just moved to Ipswich. Ipswich is one of the worst places hit by the flood. So far 12 people have died in the flood. It's been described like an inland tsunami. It's caused by the recent torrential rains (La Nina weather pattern), a king tide, and the dams upstream having to release water because otherwise they will burst. This has meant that the rivers Brisbane and Bremer have broken their banks, along with countless smaller tributaries and streams.
Fortunately, our family has contacted us and let us know that they are safe, with their house being on slightly higher ground. But now the new problems are emerging, such as the price of basic food items skyrocketing. Thousands of homes and businesses are not only underwater or damaged, but without power - they've cut the power on purpose to stop people getting electrocuted. Now there are concerns about Dengue Fever and snakes in the water!
Here are two videos showing Ipswich after the Bremer River reached it's peak of over 19m; our family are less than 3 blocks from the water now.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
I spent New Year's with my family, as hubby was working in the mad throng of downtown (sound engineer for the local Irish band). We watched the royal variety show (a bit of a tradition in our house) then said our goodnights and "happy new years". Out the window of my parent's house the valley was filled with fireworks, and it was wonderful to sit back and watch out of the huge windows.
Summer is truly here, and I've spent the last couple of 2010 days biking, fishing, walking, and getting a little sunburnt! Oops! Never fear, industrial strength sunscreen is here - and I need it, what with the Roaccutane and my playstation-like-tan.
Tomorrow (I mean today, well, in the morning) we go on holiday and I can't wait. Just a week of relaxing by the beach, fishing, swimming, reading, and pretending to know how to play tennis.
Oh, and the food! The last week has been gloriously scrumptious, with THREE Christmas dinners spread over two days, and then a ten year old's birthday lunch, plus several trips to eat out when we can't be bothered cooking/have eaten the cupboard bare, and New Years Day lunch booked in with my Aunt and Uncle tomorrow. Now you see why I've been riding the bike! I think I've mentioned it before, but here we have a long coastal walkway, paved, and mostly flat. It's 7+ Km long, and it's a joy to ride along on a sunny summer's day :D
Throughout all the food and dining, I've been paying reasonably careful attention to my blood sugars. Although, I wasn't at ALL surprised when I spotted a few 20mmol/L's creeping in! Oh well, just deal with them and get on with it. It's definitely the strange, rich food, and different daily routine causing the trouble.
I have been trialling a new iPhone app over the last week, and it seems pretty swish. Diamedic is a pain in the a$s to enter details into, but it does give some nice useful graphs. And, I have to admit, I am much more likely to sit in front of the telly with the iPhone and enter the day's results out of my paper log book, than I am to use a web-based system (been there, Log for Life: Please fix your iPhone app! And stop charging a monthly fee thhhpppppppps *raspberry*!). So, for now anyway, Diamedic is a win. It's not perfect by far, but it has already enabled me to see trends such as how I am sitting too high before lunch and dinner, but doing well with the before breakfast and after lunch results, on the whole. It's a bit finicky but once you get the hang of it, you see how many features it offers. You can get it here.
Oh, and if any Diamedic folk happen to be reading, can you please figure out a way to retain all the features, but make the entry system multi-item friendly? So when I enter my morning bolus, I could also, say, enter the basal, carbs, and whatever else, all at the same time? Ta muchly. :) /end request.
The year that's just been: I would not want to repeat it, but I am glad I went through it. I "lost" my job, but got a fantastic new one which is much better. I found out we don't qualify for publicly funded IVF treatment here in NZ, but I now have some hope, and another year up my sleeve. Hubby and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. All my step-kids are now in the double-digits (wow! when I met them, the youngest was only 3!!). I had an operation which may or may not have been strictly necessary, but I'm healthy and happy now.
This new year, I am hoping to achieve a pregnancy. If not that, I want to be on the official wait-list for IVF. Sad, I know, but at the moment, just the chance to get on the wait-list would be wonderful! :S In my professional life, I will be studying for my Diploma in Tertiary Learning and Teaching which is exciting and daunting, as I've not been in formal study for 9 years now. I am also hoping to grow as a tutor and raise the standard of design in my town. Well, someone's got to! The rest of the tutors in the art dept., lovely as they are, are either fine-artists, animators, or last practiced design when the ark was a-floating and dino was a-stompin'. :P I love them, truly! And they love me too because I bring them cake and chocolate. Noms. It's all good. It actually give me a great chance to make my mark on the department. I am starting off with a website (naturally!) and some social media awareness. Only one of my colleagues has a blog, and one of them doesn't even have a FB account! Shock horror! Watch this space... :)
In my blogging, I want to continue sharing my life with the world, because I get so much back from you guys, and I really enjoy being a part of your lives too. It's a cool community online here. Thank you.
There are other goals I'm setting myself, but they are quite mundane in comparison to the ones above.
Anyway, welcome to the New Year!! As I write this it's 1.30am in New Zealand. Time for a nap :)
Summer is truly here, and I've spent the last couple of 2010 days biking, fishing, walking, and getting a little sunburnt! Oops! Never fear, industrial strength sunscreen is here - and I need it, what with the Roaccutane and my playstation-like-tan.
Tomorrow (I mean today, well, in the morning) we go on holiday and I can't wait. Just a week of relaxing by the beach, fishing, swimming, reading, and pretending to know how to play tennis.
Oh, and the food! The last week has been gloriously scrumptious, with THREE Christmas dinners spread over two days, and then a ten year old's birthday lunch, plus several trips to eat out when we can't be bothered cooking/have eaten the cupboard bare, and New Years Day lunch booked in with my Aunt and Uncle tomorrow. Now you see why I've been riding the bike! I think I've mentioned it before, but here we have a long coastal walkway, paved, and mostly flat. It's 7+ Km long, and it's a joy to ride along on a sunny summer's day :D
Throughout all the food and dining, I've been paying reasonably careful attention to my blood sugars. Although, I wasn't at ALL surprised when I spotted a few 20mmol/L's creeping in! Oh well, just deal with them and get on with it. It's definitely the strange, rich food, and different daily routine causing the trouble.
I have been trialling a new iPhone app over the last week, and it seems pretty swish. Diamedic is a pain in the a$s to enter details into, but it does give some nice useful graphs. And, I have to admit, I am much more likely to sit in front of the telly with the iPhone and enter the day's results out of my paper log book, than I am to use a web-based system (been there, Log for Life: Please fix your iPhone app! And stop charging a monthly fee thhhpppppppps *raspberry*!). So, for now anyway, Diamedic is a win. It's not perfect by far, but it has already enabled me to see trends such as how I am sitting too high before lunch and dinner, but doing well with the before breakfast and after lunch results, on the whole. It's a bit finicky but once you get the hang of it, you see how many features it offers. You can get it here.
Oh, and if any Diamedic folk happen to be reading, can you please figure out a way to retain all the features, but make the entry system multi-item friendly? So when I enter my morning bolus, I could also, say, enter the basal, carbs, and whatever else, all at the same time? Ta muchly. :) /end request.
The year that's just been: I would not want to repeat it, but I am glad I went through it. I "lost" my job, but got a fantastic new one which is much better. I found out we don't qualify for publicly funded IVF treatment here in NZ, but I now have some hope, and another year up my sleeve. Hubby and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. All my step-kids are now in the double-digits (wow! when I met them, the youngest was only 3!!). I had an operation which may or may not have been strictly necessary, but I'm healthy and happy now.
This new year, I am hoping to achieve a pregnancy. If not that, I want to be on the official wait-list for IVF. Sad, I know, but at the moment, just the chance to get on the wait-list would be wonderful! :S In my professional life, I will be studying for my Diploma in Tertiary Learning and Teaching which is exciting and daunting, as I've not been in formal study for 9 years now. I am also hoping to grow as a tutor and raise the standard of design in my town. Well, someone's got to! The rest of the tutors in the art dept., lovely as they are, are either fine-artists, animators, or last practiced design when the ark was a-floating and dino was a-stompin'. :P I love them, truly! And they love me too because I bring them cake and chocolate. Noms. It's all good. It actually give me a great chance to make my mark on the department. I am starting off with a website (naturally!) and some social media awareness. Only one of my colleagues has a blog, and one of them doesn't even have a FB account! Shock horror! Watch this space... :)
In my blogging, I want to continue sharing my life with the world, because I get so much back from you guys, and I really enjoy being a part of your lives too. It's a cool community online here. Thank you.
There are other goals I'm setting myself, but they are quite mundane in comparison to the ones above.
Anyway, welcome to the New Year!! As I write this it's 1.30am in New Zealand. Time for a nap :)
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