Grandpa Christmas & Grannyannie

Zara was lucky enough to meet my folks on Day 4! All along my Mum wanted to get organised and book flights so they could come meet their new grandchild ASAP. Not knowing for sure when she would arrive, I assured my folks that we would be able to get them on a flight to Jozi pretty smartly, and we did just that. They arrived on Thursday morning but sadly had to go back on Sunday afternoon as my Dad had to be back at work. While Grandpa helped with the cooking, some general house admin and even a nappy change, Grannyannie was set to work on my laptop. I dictated while she typed out the hundreds of text messages we received welcoming Zara to the world. These are to be put in her memory box for her to read one day!

We had a lovely weekend together and look forward to sharing plenty more happy times together!

4 Generations & an Uncle

Zara was six days old when she got to meet her great-granny Nana. She is great-grandchild number 7! It would be really fantastic if we could find a way to have all the great grandchildren together at the same time with Nana!

What a privilege for us to have my gran so close by to us and have her spend a lovely day with all of us. Chris (my uncle) and Dion very kindly agreed to fetch Nana from Pretoria. We had a delicious Saturday roast chicken and the rugby fans even got to watch the game before it was time to take Nana home again. This was the game that England beat Australia in the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter finals against all odds.

Sunshine D

Another of Dad's "duties" has been to ensure that Zara gets her daily dose of vitamin D. This is supposed to be done twice a day but with the mizzy weather we have been having its been hard to find enough light/sun in a warm enough environment to undress her. The sunshine or light rays help fight the bilirubin which causes jaundice. Sharon has told us that it needn't be direct sun but needs to be where the light rays come through a window and her treatment is over when her skin tone has changed from normal to red to pink again. By day 4 the bilirubin should be out her system and therefore the risk of jaundice over. This is not say that her sunshine time should stop. Seeing how Zara loves her time in the sun and especially the massage she gets with baby calendula massage oil while in the sun I am sure I will carry on when Chris goes back to work.

Sleeping with my Dad

"I AM THE BOSS" ~ First night home and ain't that the truth!

Having battled to get her settled into her new environment and with Zara showing no interest in being in her crib, we finally gave in and let her sleep with us. With Dad and daughter finally zonked out, I took the opportunity to watch them bonding in club duvet. I sat and watched them for quite a while ......

Coming Home

Tuesday and just shy of 48 hours old and Mom and Zara are good to go home!

First to be cleared was Mom when Dr Mseleku came by and checked that everything was in order. She was a little concerned about my haemoglobin levels and ordered a blood test. This was mainly due to the fact that I had apparently been a "bleeder" and she had battled to stop the bleeding after surgery. With that all being fine, I was good to go! Next up, Neli, the paediatrician came to check Zara. Once again her reflexes were checked, another look to see if there were any signs of jaundice setting in and plenty of questions about her bowel movements and feeding and then she too was good to go. It was then just a matter of changing the dressing on my cut, Chris checking us out and getting the car seat installed and then off we were home to where we were supposed to be all along. I think the hospital staff were pleased to see the back of me as they had kept coming in to see if we were alright. Very concerned by the fact we had never called them, one nurse even asked me what I was doing in hospital.....

Once we got home, we had look at the cake I baked while in labour. Chris was too sceptical to eat it. I think he thought I may have added salt instead of sugar or something silly. I mean, how can you bake an edible cake while dealing with contractions?

Anyway, the birth cake didn't go to waste.... it was eventually eaten when my folks came to visit and Chris had to admit it wasn't half bad!!!

Day 2 ~ a love like no other!

These photos were taken on Monday, the day after Zara was born.

Chris had to drag himself away from us during the day to run a few errands, get things back together at home (as I was chomping at the bit to get home asap) and possibly check in at work if time allowed. With Zara arriving 3 weeks earlier than expected and Edwin having been on leave the previous week, you can imagine the chaos that lay ahead.

While Chris was away, I couldn't take my eyes off Zara, I just wanted her close to me and to absorb every second with her. Look at how big her nappy was for her!

When Chris eventually managed to get back, he took her and sat with her for the entire evening. We had a few visitors and they commented on how besotted Dad was with his little girl! Adrian even said " I think Chris looked at us once the entire time we were there, he couldn't take his eyes off Zara!"

We always knew that a parents love for their child is indescribable, and now we really do understand that its a love like no other!!!

The Firsts of Zara's Life

As soon as I was all stitched up and in recovery it was time to get Zara drinking. Sharon had taught us in antenatal classes that it is important to get your baby to the breast within the first hour. A little overwhelmed by all the events of the day, and I think a little shocked too, Sharon patiently re-explained what to do and then helped me latch her. Zara took to the breast like a champion and had a good 20 min drink.

It was while we were still in recovery that we also took the time to phone all the family with our exciting news. Thinking back on it now, we were on such a high yet so exhausted after the long labour that its actually quite a blur.

Later that night it was time for another first..... this time it was Dad's turn to change the first nappy. What a champion, again Zara co-operate nicely and soon enough she was clean as whistle and ready for yet another drink. Although it looks like the middle of the day, I can assure you it was the middle of the night and we had to get Dad out of bed for the momentous occasion.

Hello World

Who would have thought….. Three weeks earlier than expected, a mere four days after seeing the doctor and Sharon, I would be writing to tell you about the birth of our baby.

It all started out as an ordinary Saturday. Chris and I had planned to get some “house admin” out the way. As usual, Chris was up earlier than me; he set Senzo (gardener) to work and left to fetch the trailer he had hired for the day. I eventually dragged myself out of bed; still feeling exhausted and got going on my filing. We had asked Senzo to work an extra day to help us clear out the junk in the garage, so imagine my surprise when Chris got home with gym equipment he had collected from Mike and Laura……

As the day progressed, my back got more and more sore but I was adamant to finish my filing.

At about 3pm it was time for Senzo to go and we had offered him a lot of stuff from the garage. Chris said he would take him to a garage near Alexander and then Senzo would have to find a way to get the goods home. I decided to go with for the drive and along the way mentioned to Chris that the baby had been rather quiet and even joked that this may be the calm before the storm.

When we got back home, I insisted on getting the pram assembled. I wanted the car seat ready just in case! Once this was done, I lay down on the sofa and had a good sleep. By 8pm, I was really feeling uncomfortable and so went up to bath. After about an hour and half the “cramps “ were not subsiding so I called Chris. He assured me that this was merely Braxton-hicks and my body practicing and preparing for labour. I started timing them and soon realized they were 5mins apart. Chris went to sleep while I called Andrea (doula) she advised me to call Sharon as I was still only 37 weeks pregnant. After a q&a Sharon said she was coming to check us out. When she arrived we realized that this was in fact labour and we were going to have our baby. Knowing that our decision to have a home birth would be met with some opposition, we had decided not to tell people. We had started preparing for our home birth, but had also thought that we still had three weeks….. so we were far from ready!

Chris and Andrea were rallying around setting the stage while Sharon monitored me. We were only due to collect the birthing pool the following week so when we called Carol the pool lady, she offered to bring the pool to us and arrived at about 1.30am. During the setting up, I was baking a chocolate cake, and washing the vests and leggings that I had gotten on Friday.

At about 4am, the contractions had become irregular so Sharon & Andrea decided they would go home. Chris and I were fine with this as we knew that any time we needed them they would come back. After they left, the contractions resumed and the intensity mounted. We called Sharon back at about 7.30am as the contractions were now 2mins apart. When she arrived and checked us out we had progressed nicely and now knew we were definitely having our baby.

Time passed and eventually at 1pm it became clear that we needed Dr Mseleku to check us out. The baby was lying posterior – hence the incredible back ache – with the chin lifted and more than likely a hand in the way. Therefore, so to say stuck and unable to progress further down the birth canal. Even though it was not ideal to be going to hospital we knew that now was the time to go so as to avert any unnecessary risks. We got to hospital at about 2pm and after being checked were told that there was no way our baby could be born naturally as he/she was stuck with the head tilted to the side, posterior, chin raised. It was now obvious that an emergency c-section was how we were going to meet our little one safely. While waiting for the theatre, my waters broke naturally and even this did not help “flush” him/her straight. I am glad they broke as this was the only other option that could have made a natural birth still possible. Earlier this had been discussed as an option to consider. Sharon had said she could break my waters artificially but only in hospital and it would then mean I would have to push like a crazy person and she was not sure I had the stamina to carry on. Now knowing that he/she was really stuck and we needed to do a search and rescue to get our baby. At no point did baby ever go into distress and we had the gentlest ceasar possible. We watched as her head, shoulders, body and legs came out. When she was out, she opened her legs to show us who she was! We were so privileged as Dr Mseleku had come in on her day off. Zara Guinevere was born to Cat Stevens playing in the background. Chris and I always played Cat Stevens when driving “home to Ficksburg” and now our daughter was “brought home” to us with the same music.

Final Scan......

Today, 26 September, we had our final check with our gynae ~ Dr Mseleku. We have not seen her since our 20 week check as Sharon has been doing all our antenatal checks. Dr Mseleku asks her patients that are with Sharon to see her between 36/38 weeks just so that she can confirm that all is well and that she as our back-up doctor is confident that both baby and mom are well. Dr Mseleku then gives you her "consent" for Sharon to birth your baby. During the check, we had a scan and it was indeed confirmed that the baby was engaged and that he/she was lying “in the perfect position” Dr Mseleku referred to the position as FLO. She estimated the baby to weigh around 3kg and to be about 3.5kg to 3.8kg at birth. The placenta is still in good condition and blood flow between baby and me is strong. She also checked to see if the umbilical cord was near the neck and with no sign of that we have been given the all clear. When asking her if there was any "letters" to be sent to Sharon, she assured us she was more than happy and we will only need to see her again for our 6 week – post birth visit. We will continue to see Sharon weekly and we just need to hang in there till our little one is ready to meet us and the rest of the world.

So here's the Dad too

The reality has most certainly sunk in that the birth of our baby is just around the corner. Being just over 36 weeks pregnant, it was time for more photos and also this time, which was more than likely to be the last, Chris agreed to join us. Linda once again kindly agreed to come to us and it was certainly a lot of fun.

I must admit that I have had to start slowing down. I am starting to feel tired and having had a busy weekend and am feeling the need to spend some quiet time at home before we meet our little one.

Over the weekend, we went to Adrian and Shannon’s wedding in Bergville. It a beautiful service and despite the heat (37 with typical berg winds) much fun was had by all. We also went to visit Nana for her birthday. Chris had been invited to Cricket with Lloyd and while taking him we realized that he in fact had two tickets. He called Lloyd to ask if the other ticket was a mistake and Lloyd announced that “it’s for your wife chom” so with great surprise and delight I got to go to the 20/20 World Cup Final. While walking to the stadium, I felt the baby drop down in my tummy. Although it’s nice to know your baby has engaged and is getting ready to be born, it makes moving around a little more difficult/uncomfortable.

Belly Masking ~ Just in time!

One of the new trends amongst my “crazy” generation of pregnant women, is to have a belly mask done of our tummies. I decided that I would like to have one made, what I am going to do with it was still to be decided. My philosophy is that if I have it done and do nothing with it, its better than not having it and then regretting the fact that I missed the opportunity and can never have it back again. Theoni, my yoga teacher, amongst all her many services, offers this too and with her baby due around three weeks before our baby, I knew that being 36 weeks was pretty much my cut off for getting the cast done. I also realized it was quite an effort physically for her at 39 weeks and was very grateful when she agreed to do it for me.

How this all works is, she comes to your home ~ it’s a very messy job ~ you cover yourself with Vaseline and then she starts applying strips of fabric & plaster of paris moistened in water to your body. She has to work fast to cover your body accurately and evenly and hopes that baby doesn’t move while she is applying the strips and they are drying. You have to keep still and the entire process takes about a half hour. Funny enough, our baby did move and there is proof in the cast of this. Chris was really skeptical when I told him that I wanted to have a belly mask done but has had to admit that he in fact does like it and it’s a nice memory to show our baby one day.

(Theoni had her little boy, Zachary, 4 days later ~ hence we got the belly mask done just in the nick of time!)

Miracles or Just Africa Time?

It was today ~ 9 months ago that I took myself off to the Dept of Home Affairs to submit my applications for my new ID, Passport, Unabridged Marriage Certificate, and both Chris and my Unabridged Birth Certificates. On the day, I thought I would just sit in the various ques and patiently wait my turn to make each application. After TWO hours and still not having made headway I decided to use the "agent" Chris had used a few months previously to get his passport. He had found the woman very efficient and assured me this was the best option!! So, with my pride in my pocket I agreed and called Daphne and did the necessary through her. These agents all have caravans outside Home Affairs and take quite a wack to "Q 4 U" I patiently waited and eventually in April decided to follow up the progress. To my horror I discovered that NONE of the applications had been made and according to her our marriage was not registered. Further investigation revealed that our marriage had in fact been registered mid January. Many unpleasant words flew between us ~ both pregnant beings and I left feeling robbed! Again, I left it to her to get her act together but have been once again disappointed. Today, miracles of all miracles, I managed to collect my passport and ID with my new name. But in the meantime have learned that she still has not even applied for the unabridged certificates. Threats are all that seem to be working and her last chance is that she has TWO weeks to get the certificates delivered to me at home or face "fraud charges" been laid against her. So, I may now be an Atkinson but still clearly have the "van G" genes deeply rooted in me. Who knows baby A may well be here before I get my certificates and have to start the whole process again to get his/her unabridged birth certificate, passport and ID........

For the times they are a changing.....

In the words of Bob Dylan "for the times they are a changing" as well as in the word of Bread "a picture paints a thousand words......." just about sums it all up

The excitement is definitely mounting as we work through the to do list

Getting Stuck In

As you can see slow progress is being made in Baby Atkinson's room.

I have got as far as sorting clothes into age piles (which will in fact have been futile once washing starts) towels in another pile, nappies and wet wipes together and then toys together.

The furniture is not set out as I intended but as I am unable to move it myself, I have been waiting for my handyman team to finalise a date to do the chores required. As luck would have it, they are due to start tomorrow (but this will be in Miriam's room first. She has patiently been waiting for her wardrobe and bathroom door and kitchen counter since she moved in 3 weeks ago).

While I was sorting the clothes etc, Chris got stuck in in the garage and finished off "sanding & sealing" the cubes that will go above the compactum. We started staining them about 6 weeks ago..... My intention is to have these hung along side the window where the wall is angled backing the lounge fireplace, but will have to see when the furniture is moved if it all fits how I want it to. I then ideally would like the cot across the other corner, with the feeding chair between them. Again we, will have to see how it all fits together. Although there are blinds in the room, we have decided to put curtains up too ~ just to "soften" the room for baby! There is a new bug light fitting to be hung as well as the bug wallpaper border to be stuck on.

So, hopefully by the end of the week our little treasure's room will be ready and waiting for his/ her imminent arrival.

Showered Again

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,
how we wonder who you are,
be you a girl or be you a boy
we know you'll bring us so much joy!!!!

With this in mind and having had an awesome baby shower last weekend we are still constantly reminded of how much this little baby is already loved and SPOILT.

Eleanor very kindly offered to organise our baby shower for us, and what a magnificent job she did!!!! Thanks Ella! We decided to host it at home and have a combined affair as this little one is our baby and we should therefore all celebrate together. With spring in the air and the start of the world cup rugby, the "fever" was set for a fabulous day. The weather was perfect and while the adults all got to have a good ol catch up, the 20+ kids ran a mock through our garden. I suppose that was a good test for what our future holds before us and luckily the our home with stood the test. (bar the surprising blocked drains I had to deal with last week)

As you can see from the pics attached, our little one looks set for the foreseeable future! Thanks to everyone for all the spoiling and for supporting us through the ever changing path of life. We look forward to introducing baby Atkinson to you all soon ~ its hard to believe that its just around the corner now!

Time to Surrender

We have now reached the 32 week mark and I have finally had to surrender to the fact that although my jeans still do up, I can no longer wear them. Too often in life, vanity triumphs over sanity but at this stage, sanity and comfort are of the essence....

The past month seems to have flown by. We are so proud of our super clever little baby. As mentioned in the previous post, he/she has finally decided to put my mind at ease by turning his/her head down. At my check up with Sharon last Thursday, she confirmed that we are still head down but has decided to go back to the RHS of my tummy which has always been the side of preference. This is no cause for concern as long as every now and again we "visit" the LHS which is the ideal position for birth. Quite honestly ~ We really cant expect this poor little one to stay in one place for the remainder of the pregnancy as that would be very uncomfortable for the little one.

As I say this pregnancy has been a constant reminder that I am not in charge here and the sooner I just let things be the better for all concerned.I have had a great time watching how my tummy changes shape while baby moves and plays around. I have also noticed how he/she reacts to Chris' voice. It can be quite uncanny how all of a sudden the whole baby is to the side where he is talking...... every now and again Dad gets an almighty kick from our little one and then asks me if it hurts? Thank goodness it is not painful just a joy to know all is well!

As far as baby's room is concerned ~ we have collected the crib and now wait for the cot and compactum to arrive. I have been assured that I will have them by the end of next week. I am looking forward to getting stuck in there and finishing off the room when I get home from my trip to Durban.

We have also been attending antenatal classes every Thursday night. This week is for "supporters only ~ no pregnant fairies allowed" Hence my trip to visit family. The classes have certainly been very informative and we are constantly amazed at how perfectly our bodies are designed to conceive, grow, protect and eventually birth our babies. Sharon has truly been a godsend in many ways and we are lucky to have her guide and prepare us through this time.

Beautiful Baby

As the Mom to Be, I feel that I am more than qualified to gush about our baby! Yesterday, we had our 3D scan at Linkwood. This is a non diagnostic scan and is merely a bonding session for the parents to see their unborn child. The only difference between the 3D and 4D scans is that the 4th dimension is movement, so once again there are no guarantees that we will get a good view of our little treasure. With Megan being the oldest local cousin, we decided to take her along and she was so excited that she was going to see her baby cousin. I had to explain to her before hand that sometimes people don't see much......

At first it looked like we were not going to get much as once again baby was squished up against our placenta. I have now been told that I have what they call an "anterior lying placenta". Basically this makes it substantially harder to get a clear view of the baby. Apparently an anterior lying placenta is less common and is also supposed to reduced the movement you feel from your baby, however I think that this has not been the case with us..... Medically there is no need to worry about the anterior placenta even though majority are posterior lying.

With that out the way we got down to business. The great news was that my gentle coxing of our baby had paid off and he/she had its head down with the spine curving round to the LHS. Perfect position for birth. I was soon reminded that even though we have such a clever baby, he/she could still turn around again though it is unlikely due to gravity and a more confined space. As for trying to see this little one's face, he/she was being a little shy and stubborn with the hands right over what was not protected by placenta. A bit of gentle persuasion and there we got it. We got a few "winks", a smile or two and then a few instances of tongue pulling as well. I think I can clearly see Chris, esp in the lips, but as we know only time will tell. Another almost certainty is that our baby does not have much hair. I gather this is also more like his/her dad than me. I can clearly see how this baby has fattened up over the past few weeks. Even the little hands have a bit of meat on them and that is definitely from my genes ~ Grannyannie will no doubt have great delight in telling you I was her baby with the most fat rolls at birth.

Nesting in baby steps

It is with baby steps that I continue to nest as we await the now imminent arrival of our baby.

Having lived in our home for 10 months we decided that we need to start finishing what we started...... When building Chris had this idea that we would buy a LCD TV, wall mount it and have all the other appliances on the opposite side. This caused many a heavy debate as to how it could/would work and then trying to convince our electricians that it was in fact possible if they just wired everything correctly. So, shortly after the wedding on bright summery Saturday morning we set out to buy a tumble drier. A couple of hours later we returned home not only having bought a tumble drier but a new washing machine as well as Chris' dream LCD TV. To say we had severe buyers remorse within a day or two is an understatement but kept justifying the extravagance with the fact that we could possibly have a baby soon and then all these luxuries would certainly be on the back burner in definitely. Reality struck home when two weeks later we found out I was indeed pregnant and with all the excitement, shock and shear exhaustion put off having it all properly installed then.

Now we have had to remind ourselves that once the baby is born things will once again be put on hold and so its best to strike while the iron is hot and get what we can done before we are no longer probationary members of the parents club . As we are still waiting for the nursery furniture, first on the list was to get the TV installed...... Thanks to Brian Gibbs we got the team of guys he used to come install the TV, Decoder, link the CCTV cameras to the TV etc. As you can see from the picture Chris' idea has worked splendidly! The bracket that has been used can swing out towards the lounge as well as to the dinning room making viewing downstairs "oh so easy". Our sideboard has been modified to hold the decoder, dvd player as well as the HIFI. We have had to move the sideboard from where it was originally in the dinning area as we are installing another fireplace along that wall as soon as the unit is approved for natural gas. To finish off the lounge, Chris and Graham got stuck in and hung the paintings (this was actually done before the TV but who's obsessing about order). The perfect wall for the awesome paintings by my father. I still get excited every time I open the front door to see how well its turned out!

Oh so swell

Its the end of July & we have now entered the Third trimester! Two thirds of the way through and still in many ways still surprised when I catch a glimpse of my profile in a mirror or reflective window. I almost want to take a second look to see if it really is me.

I have really started to enjoy having our baby bopping about. Many of you have warned me how I will miss having my bump and I am sure you are all right. I am torn between having our baby in my arms where we can kiss and cuddle him/her and yanking up the handbrake to slow the whole process down to keep him/her in my tummy where its so safe.

As I am sure will all notice, this little one has most certainly had a growth spurt. Over the past couple of weeks we have been measuring the circumference of my belly. At 26 weeks, it was a "mere" 90 cm, 27 weeks = 97 cm and by 28 weeks, the start of the third trimester = 103cm.

Although I am still able to wear my jeans, I must admit, they are most certainly not as comfy as they used to be as the button presses into my tum and by the end of the day can be rather sore..... I have therefore had to "give in" and buy some proper maternity trousers with the fold over band. Many of you would have heard me curse these earlier on but I remind you that I had also reserved the right to change my mind at any point about any point......

As far as baby's development goes, he/she is growing nicely. He/she has plenty of hiccups thoughout the day. It is a weird yet divine sensation! Our past few visits to Sharon have shown him/her to be sitting breech. So far this is not a problem but as baby grows we need to encourage him/her to turn around before it gets too cramped to turn.

There are many alternative methods that can be used :

• tea tree oil where the head is ~ they don't like the smell
• dad talking to baby at base of tum ~ follows his voice
• shining a torch through the tum at base ~ follows light
• head stands ~ which confuses gravity

There are also more "drastic" measure that could be explored if necessary:

• accupuncture
• hipnosis
• manual turning

Here's hoping the alternate methods work and we can all relax and enjoy the rest of the journey!

Oh so loved already!

Its quite a funny thing, when you are pregnant you finally realise how much your "off~spring" is loved from the moment everyone in your life finds out you going to be parents. People seem unable to help themselves spoiling babies and once again this was proved to Chris and me with a surprise baby shower when we went down to Durban for little Riley's Christening over the weekend of 27/28/29 July.

All these spoilings can lead one to question : Who is loved more? Us or our unborn child ......?

Mark and Claudia very kindly hosted the surprise get together. The Hilton Grandparents came through for the day and as you all know my parents are now "city slickers" living just a few houses away from Mark & Claudia. The Parnells came through from Umhlali. Our good ol Durban mates, the Hewisons and Hawkins were also there for the grand occassion...... Mark catered awesome lasagne, which he had made the week before whilst home with a major dose of the flu ~ they also had to prepare for the luncheon they were hosting after Riley's Christening. Thank you thank you thank you we really can't thank you enough!!!

As for all the gifts received, Boy oh boy was this little baby spoilt!!!Thank you all so much!!!! He/She will most certainly be smelling good, well dressed and well entertained.

~I must just add... as I sat in the very same arm chair surround by our friends and family I was reminded that less than a year ago I was also surprised at Mark and Claudia's with a "bridal pamper party" shortly before our wedding~

Peek-a-Boo in the womb

Yesterday, I took myself off for the much raved about 4D scan. As you all know the success rate at these scans is something like 1 in 6 chance of getting a clear view of baby's face. On my way to the appointment we "had a little chat", asking this little one to oblige by showing his/her face as well as confirm that he/she had finally turned around with head down. Little one's kicks had lead me to believe that this was in deed the case.... Right from the word go we saw that Jb was still sitting pretty much where Sharon (Midwife) had felt 3 weeks ago. Yip, right on his/her bum, head cozy under my right ribs and very much like cousin Riley with the face pressed up against the placenta. Seems like a good double sided pillow, what with the placenta on one side and mom's lung on the other side, why would we need to move our head down????

The reason I have been feeling the majority of the kicking up towards the top of my bump is because we have a little acrobat who likes to fold him/herself in half. During the scan at one point he/she had a foot right up in the face. Also at one stage, Jb must have got tired of us looking as he/she put both hands up in front of the face in a very definite attempt to hide away! So, not only are we incredibly agile but quite sly & stubborn too.

According to the measurements taken by the radiographer, our little one now weighs about 1.340 kg. This means that in the past 5 weeks has gained an average of 163 grams per week. She predicts the birth weight to be around 3.5kg and that we should be prepared for baby to be born any time from 11 weeks onwards. Apparently at this gestation, the stomach measurement is the most accurate in determining the EDD, which is how she has come to 11 weeks. Baby's foot is now 5.7cm ~ too cute! And the heart beat remains at a steady 139 beats/min.

All in all our little one is growing nicely and we will continue to encourage him/her to give up sitting like a budda sitting on its bum and turn head down....

Now for the peek-a-boo of who we will meet in the next few weeks. Anyone willing post a comment and hazard a guess as to whether baby Atkinson will be a boy or a girl (who knows we even get some betting odds going) ????

"Dommies" for Dummies

Many moons ago my brothers and father teased Melanie and me when we chose to take Domestic Science / Home Economics or as they preferred to call it "Dommies" as one of our matric subjects.

Well I must say that over the years my "dommies" has most certainly paid off in small ways around the house. From cooking to sewing to name but a few. As you may recall in the last post I threatened to get my sewing machine out to make some stuff for Jellybean's room.

With 13 weeks to go and having cleared my "in-tray" of all current work I got stuck in and have thus far managed to make:
1 x duvet cover ~ minus the buttons or press-studs
1 x pillow case
1 x curtain ~ the other in progress
All pretty basic items, I know, but its rewarding to know that I have made these for our baby


However whilst I was being so industrious my "boys" were either lying around flicking between the European F1 (which I was not too keen on as Hamilton was not going to feature to well) and the Tour de France or getting in my way by either lying on my fabric or nudging me for attention.

Eventually last night I managed to convince Chris to cook supper. The agreement was that I could carry on sewing as long as I gave him instructions on how to make a beef stroganoff. Now my multi-tasking abilities with a preggi brain were put to the test because in between my trying to sew and trying to fix my sewing machine which had been giving me a few hiccups all afternoon I still had be a vocal recipe book to our budding chef. During all this, Rum Tum insisted on lying on the fabric in a flirty kind of way.....


By the time dinner was ready, we hit gold.... I managed to fix my machine AND Chris prepared a delicious stroganoff! So the good news for me/bad news for Chris is there will be NO more excuses for my beloved hubby on the cooking front!!!! He may get out of some handyman chores now that I have "Donald Fix It" tel number but I am afraid the cooking part isn't a phone call away.

I still have a few sewing things to tackle and then I can move onto making a few other things for the baby's room ~ then I hope to use my new found contact to do the handyman chores .....

2 Thirds Through

As of today we are 24 weeks pregnant, or 6 lunar months. Most people find the month calculation quite confusing but once explained its quite easy actually. Pregnancy generally lasts approximately 40 weeks which is 10 lunar months / 9 calendar months.

I have started enjoying being pregnant, however I still find it a little strange to have this round tummy. So far I have been lucky with my tummy being rather "high". Thus I have not had to buy much in the way of maternity clothes. I have managed to keep wearing my jeans but I think that my days are rather numbered in these. As far as tops go, I finally took the plunge and went shopping last week. The fashion gods have been kind to me, a lot of the normal merchandise out there seems to be suitable for preggi girls too.....

Our baby is very active and I love feeling him/her moving around. Last weekend while lying in the bath I saw my tummy moving about as he/she kicked and punched. I am totally fascinated by seeing the movement from the outside and I can lie watching my tummy for ages. As far as the development in utero, according to the books the baby is now viable. This means that should baby be born now, with proper specialised care, he/she could survive. The baby weighs about 700 grams and is approximately 30cm long. The brain is developing and the lungs are forming. So basically we have a fully formed baby who is starting to deposit fat on his/her body. This body fat is primarily to help the baby regulate body temperature once born. The eyes are no longer fused so baby can actually blink. Apparently he/she is sensitive to light - if you were to shine a torch onto my tummy, the baby would be aware of it. He/she can also hear quite well and recognises my voice, I have been talking to our little one as well as playing music. I also think that this little one gets hiccups every now and then. Its quite a weird feeling.... almost like little jerks as opposed to the definite kicks and punches.

As far as nursery decor goes, we have finally placed the order for the crib/cot and compactum. These should be delivered in about 8 weeks time. I have also bought some fabric to make the cot bumper, duvet cover and curtains....... looks like the sewing machine I got for my 16th birthday may need to be dusted off and my sewing skills put to the test.

All in all exciting days in the Atkinson household.

Cable Thieves..... a comedy of errors?

At 3 am this morning Chris and I were woken by what first appeared to be fireworks right outside our bedroom window. We opened the blind to see the electricity pole across the road arching and then two men casually stroll up towards our house bend down and each pick up an end of electrical cable. On Saturday morning, Beatrice told us a group of cable thieves had been active in our road FOUR times during the week and that she was currently without power. The thieves seemed very aware of danger or having been spotted and we were not sure if they had noticed us so we tried to be as discreet as possible and with a huge amount of adrenalin pumping I managed to call our armed response - Chubb, who informed us they would dispatch a vehicle and call the SA Police. By this stage the men had walked onto our block and onto Beatrice (the neighbour across from our house) driveway into the shadows. Within 5 mins, Chubb was there but the men had managed to "vanish" themselves. I was most concerned that they had gotten into Beatrice's garden and were hiding in the shadows, thus putting her at danger. The Chubb guys had a look around and then decided to move onto other roads. We knew that they were still lurking around and kept a steady eye on the driveway. Every now and then one of them would peek out to check if the coast was clear and move back into the shadows. It is still unclear where they were hiding but a quick look this morning has revealed a blanket and some squashed plants behind a pillar in the driveway. Having finally spoken to Beatrice, we are sure they were hiding under the blanket as she says she noticed it this morning when walking her dogs. How convenient ..... a dark driveway, a pillar to hide behind as well as a grey blanket. No wonder the armed response were not able to see them! Eventually by 4 am the armed response team, which by this stage included ADT called it a night and moved away. Within a couple of minutes one man emerged, checked up an down the road and casually strolled away towards the other cut but uncollected cables. A few minutes later the same thing happened with the second man. While this was happening we again phoned Chubb and told them these men were not done with their thieving and had been spotted again, I also mentioned that thus far there had been NO SAP response. With this we were informed that SAPS had merely dismissed the crime in action and had said that they were to phone City Power regarding cable being stolen as this was not their juristriction. We then phoned 10111 and were given the same story. Chris then asked the person since when is City Power responsible for upholding the law? The person on the other side said true and within a few minutes there was a police patrol car. The police stopped and questioned one of the suspects (judging from his clothes we are sure it was one of the thieves) and carried on driving around the area. By about 5am all seemed to have settled so we called it a night and got back into bed to try get some sleep. At about 5.40am I woke to the same "fireworks". I jumped out of bed, phone in hand to call SAPS again whilst trying to watch out the window. I saw one man dash across the road and then all was still. I told the police that the cable thieves were still busy and that I had seen them again and they should send a car "quick quick quick". They told me they had been already..... I acknowledged this but insisted if they got there soon they would catch the brazen thieves. Again we saw the same guy the police had questioned walking up the road towards the traffic light - only this time he was carrying a bag, clearly he was done for the night and had he wares with him.TWENTY minutes after I had called the police, we heard a siren a few blocks away - well, that's clever why not warn them you coming! We still have no clue what happened to man number two but one thing was clear, they certainly didn't get all the wires they had intended to steal and City Power is at it again trying to restore power to the houses that have been affected. So once again, that's where our taxes go and seems SAP couldn't be bothered to catch a criminal in the dead of winter!

Bug Bites

A pregnant woman's prerogative is to reserve the right to change her mind at any point - and then change it back 5 mins later .....if she so wishes. In fact its any woman's prerogative!

And I am no different and have also done just that! When we first found out we were pregnant I said that I was not going to do much in the way of nursery décor ....... but as the weeks have past I have been sucked into the baby world and now cant help myself decorating Jellybean's room.

Finally 2 weeks ago at Gareth's "big walk" we took the plunge and bought our first baby toys (featured in the photo). These are on a spring so can be hung above the change mat or cot to keep baby entertained. Since then, the bug has most certainly bitten and I have been researching cots, compactums, moses baskets etc. Most of the furniture takes approx 8 weeks from ordering and I still have not finalised choice. We have however ordered a chair for the room for me to feed in! In many ways it is still early days (approx 17 weeks left) but at the same time, time is marching on!

As far as the decor is concerned, we have decided to stick to a "unisex nursery" as we will only know what the baby is when he/she is born. I really like the primary/bright colours and so will be using these in the nursery. I also realise that if baby is a girl, I will be persuaded into decorating her room in pink. So in the meantime, while I still have some level of say we will have a bright/happy baby room.

Kung Fu in Utero

Having spent a lovely weekend down in Natal with my family, I arrived back in JHB this morning in time to fetch Chris and head off to meet our new gynae.
We arrived on time to see Dr Mseleku but sadly had to wait ONE HOUR in the reception. Chris battles at the best of times with Drs being late so you can imagine how annoyed he must have been by the time we finally got to see the doctor. I think our saving grace was the fact that he had not seen me for a few days....... ;~)

Anyway, after going through our long history of nuchal folds, cvs and Prof Niccolau, we went through to see our little baby! Earlier, I had commented to Chris that baby had been very active ~ kicking and punching me ~ all day and when Dr Mseleku started the scan she commented on how "busy" baby was. I think she now understands how we managed to feel baby moving from about 17wks. Forget rugby, cricket, tennis etc this baby is already a kung fu fundi for sure!!!!

During the scan, Dr Mseleku checked baby thoroughly and was pleased to point out a very well defined stomach. Remember Prof Niccolau had been a touch concerned regarding the stomach 2 weeks ago. Baby's heart beat was a mild 125 bpm (rather calm for the amount of action that was going on inside me) and now weighs about 526 grams. This means he/she has gained 150 grams over the past 2 weeks.

Having checked baby, and me, she was very happy and has handed us over to Sharon's (midwife) care. Our next visit to Dr Mseleku will be at 36 weeks. She sees us then, to ensure all is well with baby and me for the natural active birth we would like to have at Linkwood. In the meantime, should we have any concerns we can call in and see her but Sharon will do all our checks going forward unless she (Sharon) feels there may be cause for concern in which case she refers us on to Dr Mseleku.

We have also booked our 3D scan for 13 August which will be at 30 weeks and apparently a pretty good time to see baby again. Hope that baby cooperates so we get a nice view of his/her face!!!!

Angel Messages

" I am the Angel of Peace, I bring you new tranquillity and a smoother road ahead"

The additional message for the card reads:

"You have been through turmoil, and your soul is tired. Your mind craves peace and quiet, and I am here to help you with that desire. I will give you new opportunities to spend time alone, where you can relax your mind and heart. I will bring tranquillity to your soul so that you can mirror the peace of mind that is your true Divine Nature. Like the angels, you are able to hover within the eye of any hurricanes that swirl around you right now. Through breath and intention, you can stay centered no matter what's happening in your life. This inner foundation of peace has a powerful healing effect. Your outer life soon reflects your inner peacefulness. Smooth roads are ahead for you now, and the worst is behind you now. A peaceful outcome to the situation is assured"

This is the card I drew from my pack of "Messages from your Angels" cards today when I got home from our visit to Prof Nicolaou. There is nothing sinister or evil about theses card and they are not tarot cards or life predictors. They merely intended to pass messages from our Guardian Angels to us. I have been particularly touched by this message and thus wanted to share it with all of you.

Thumbs up !!!

This afternoon we went off for our visit with Prof Nicolaou - Fetal Medicine Specialist. WOW, what a nice man!!! After catching up on the info provided by Reinette (Gynae) and making sure that Chris could not get a peak at the sex of the baby, we went through to begin the scan. He did a quick overall view of baby before starting the detailed scan.

Jellybean's heartbeat was 145 bpm and already we could see that he/she was very active. I immediately saw the 4 chambers in the heart and already felt a lot more relaxed and confident that all was going to be fine. He then went on to check everything in detail...... The brain, face, eyes, nasal bone, mouth, eyes, lungs, heart, arms, hands (10 fingers) and abdomen. To start, he was a little concerned as he could not clearly see the stomach. We could clearly see the kidneys, bladder & liver so for the balance of the scan he kept coming back to the abdomen to recheck the stomach. By the end of the appointment the stomach was definitely clearly visible and Prof felt confident all was good.

He also spent a good deal of time checking the neck fold for any jelly type tissue. This is a marker that is checked primarily due to the 12 week nuchal translucency reading. Again this was well within the normal range - YAY!!!. The spinal cord is checked for any signs of spina bifida which was clear. Prof then on to the legs and feet (with 10 toes). For the last few weeks JB has been letting me know he/she is around with feet measuring 3.5cm. Last night before we went to sleep, I could feel Jb with my hand so I grabbed Chris' hand and for the first time he got a chance to feel his baby moving around!!! I have a weakness for babies feet...... and I must say those tiny feet looked too gorgeous for words and I got all mushy. There was no sign of club foot and as usual when we first saw the feet they were crossed over each other.

At the end of the scan, Jb was lying head down and feet towards my heart and the spine curving round the right side of my body. The placenta is lying high which is good but has a few "lakes" in it which is probably due to the cells that were taken from the placenta during the CVS procedure. Jb weighs a mere 376 grams and this scan has confirmed that as of today I am 20 weeks and 1 day pregnant!

All in all the THREE of us are in good spirits and feeling a lot more relaxed!!!!

We look forward to enjoying the next 20 weeks as we prepare to meet our bundle of joy somewhere around the 21st October - the given due date. I must admit, it is incredible to know how loved and cared for our baby is already and we thank you all, for all your support, love and prayers over the past weeks.