Introducing.....

Campbell Blair D-W.

He was born at about 1am on the 25th January at home - just as planned.  He was 8lb4oz, and while the labour wasn't super quick, it wasn't slow either.  Just very painful!  Definitely the last one from me.

So far he's doing everything perfectly.

Family

Having another baby makes you think about your own upbringing in so many ways.  With this child being so late (11 days and counting......) it makes me think about my other two - one was induced 11 days late, and the other was on his due date.
Their personalities are very different, the one who was late is very stubborn and determined!!  Rushes headfirst into every situation, makes up stories, manipulates everyone around her.... She's hard work.  But I admire her spirit and her fight.  If we can keep ourselves from killing her, I think she will be a fine young woman who is very successful.
The one who was on time is my little man.  He's a squishy wee thing, and ever so clever.  He's quicker to give up than J, she can be tricked into doing jobs whereas if H isn't interested, he walks away.  He surprises us with his deep thinking, his understanding of how things work, and his patience.

I originally thought this one might be a boy, but now thats its late, I'm thinking its a girl!  And I'm petrified that its going to be another stubborn minx like #1.

So I grew up in a family of 4 kids - and we are all very different!!  This is our most recent photo together from April 2010 - its been a few years since we had one since we have at different times all lived in different countries! But we were all together at my younger brother's wedding.  My brothers are wearing the Robertson tartan - one is a family kilt from my late uncle Adam, and the other was custom made in Edinburgh.

When I think about personalities of my siblings I can summarise, but really we are all too complicated to make wide statements about.
My older brother is sensible.  He's intelligent, and he loves a good laugh.  And a good bottle of wine.  He's a family man and a career man, and I think his biggest challenge is to work the two together.  He feels responsibility heavily, but he is a good friend since he has had the same close group of mates since high school - despite them living around the world.  He misses NZ, which is good since he married a kiwi so I think they will be back to NZ eventually.
My older sister is very talented in a creative way.  She is extremely musical and a deep thinker - she probably over thinks most things truth be told.  She is very protective of her family and her way of life, and I admire her tireless pursuit of contentedness.  She's the sort of person who will be there for you if you ask her to.
My little brother was the unsettled one, but that's changed some over the last few years.  He likes his mates, his concerts and his travelling.  He is an excellent provider, and will work almost anywhere doing almost anything to make sure that the required funds are raised.  Like my older brother, he enjoys a good laugh, and a good drink, and a bloody good time.  When he is on form, he is a blast to be around.  He's married an Aussie girl, so I suspect he is there for good.
I'm the practical one.  I did the boring things (like savings, school, education, work, buying houses etc.....) when I was supposed to, and I guess I'm middle aged before my time.  Getting divorced and having illegitimate kids to a much older divorcee with tatts and a harley threw a bit of a spanner in the works in terms of my reputation, but when they all realised how incredibly sensible Shane is, I think my boring nature was just cemented in stone!

I do wonder what my kids will be like in 30 years time.  I'm pleased I'm having my third child because how nice to have siblings.
(I just wish this baby would come soon!!!!!!!!!)

January Log Cabin - 6. Layout

OK - so if you are like me, you too have sewn 18 of these blocks in January.  Crazy I know, but when I see a dead horse I like to flog it!

Here are some photos of my scrap 16 blocks.  I have to decide how to put these together now, and what sort of arrangement or effect I'm going for.  These 4 are not your only options - there are many ways you can put them together.
Let me know what you think I should go for.

RAOK that was not so random, and was more like a swap....

Two lovely ladies did something nice for me recently.  Hannah dyed up some lovely grey wool, and Julia knitted it into a gorgeous baby blanket.

 Lovely isn't it?  They are both very clever women.

I'm shocking at not returning kindness - its in my nature to repay in some way.  Whether its a box of choccies, or something I can make - I aim to do something in return.

Julia has been doing some sewing lately, so I thought I'd whip her up a little cute pincushion, and a WIP bag.  She likes brown - so this knit was dug out from the stash and matched with a cute japanese print.

Hannah apparently likes brown, but it doesn't really matter cause she was getting this anyway - LOL.
I was totally lazy - managed to change to a ball tipped needle for the knit, but didn't even bother to coordinate the thread, so its a dark navy.  Slack huh?

All four knocked up in a couple of hours, and hopefully they show my appreciation to two lovely ladies.  The link to make the mousies can be found here.

Our new life 3 months on.....

Hard to believe, but its been just over 3 months leave since Shane had a huge chunk cut out of his brain.  I don't think I posted images, so here we go.
This was the toomah from the side.  When they injected the contrast in, it really made the whole thing pretty obvious huh?

I think they cut a big chunk out, and then dissected around the light/dark boundary to ensure they only removed a very minimal amount of normal tissue.
This image still scares the crap out of me (unfortunately it doesn't have the ability to scare the baby out of me....) and I am shocked at how well he is doing.
The boy wonder (otherwise known as the neuro registrar) showed me this before I counter-signed the consent forms for surgery, as at the time Shane was only giggling, couldn't form a sentence, and couldn't really hold a pen.

Now - you would barely recognise him from that pre-surgery guy.  His hair has grown back, and the scar isn't that obvious.  So people look really weirdly at him when we are doing the shopping, and I get everything out of the trolley. I'm sure they think he is a horrible man making his 40w pregnant partner do all that bending and lifting, but it really hurts his head so I have to.

He looks pretty normal, but gets grumpy so quickly.  This is softened in that he also gets rid of his grumpiness just as quickly, so thats a bonus.

He is sleeping better at night, he pretty much goes from 10pm til 6-7am most nights, and doesn't need pain relief anymore through the night, although he is up first thing to dose up.  And he still has to nap for 3-4 hrs a day, in between taking it really easy.

His executive decision making is probably most affected.  He doesn't think through situations as well, and can't really make good decisions on the fly.  So unless we are well organised with a list, or a sequence of events, he flounders, gets frustrated, and then fatigued, and then grumpy.  So I have to step in and be the grown up which is a total PITA. 

Tiredness makes everything worse - it magnifies all the little things by 1000%, but thankfully he hasn't had any seizures (that I know about.......) since his episodes about 8w ago.  I'm hoping our impending arrival doesn't put too much pressure on his sleep.

So - really, in a diabolical situation, we have really come out OK.  I have someone I can live with until we are grumpy old people in a nursing home.  He is able to look after himself really well, and in time, when the fatigue subsides, I'm sure I'll be able to leave him at home again with the kids.  Hopefully in a year or so, but that will depend on when he is permitted to be behind the wheel.

Life has changed.  I'm a real live grown up.  The buck totally stops with me, and thats scary.  I never realised what it would be like to the only grownup in a relationship - and its exhausting.  He does help, and thank goodness for that, but I know the grey hairs I know have are well-earned.
#3 is due today, and I'm not getting any good niggles - I think its because I just really don't get a chance to relax, and the fight or flight reflex is strong in this one master.....
So everytime Baby thinks it might be time, Hamish wee's on his sister, or Jenna throws something in a tantrum, or the cat brings in a dead animal, and reality kicks back in and I know that I just can't afford the downtime - so baby doesn't make an appearance!

I don't know her, but Lori, from http://www.rrsahm.com/ has just been through a terrible ordeal involving the loss of her husband, and it makes me realise how bloody lucky I am.  I got through what she has gone through, and came out relatively unscathed (in that life is functional, and I can get used to the new normal).  My heart breaks for her, and it still sends me into a panic about how close I came to being a "widow" with 3 young kids, or worse still a mother to three with a severely brain damaged other parent.
I am lucky.  And I do believe in miracles, but I don't think Shane's health is a miracle.  I believe the strength I have been able to find through all this was really God's gift to me, and its more amazing than anything else.  Because of all the prayers for our family, I have been able to hold it together and the little men in white jackets haven't had to come and get me, and put my kids into foster care.

So 3 months on.  Life continues with just as many emotional and spiritual challenges and this is the new normal.
Now we just have to find a way for my body to let go, relax and let this new bubby come into our insane family.

Roll on baby

So it worked.
I have no idea what it was that worked, but something did, and the sweet little baby has swung around again!
PHEW :)

So roll on baby.  Spicy curry for dinner tonight, taking dog for a walk when it cools down, and pineapple for pudding.
Here we go.

Never a dull moment....

Medically speaking, this pregnancy has been non-eventful for me and baby.
Of course there has been loads going on all around me, but bubs has been pretty well behaved and my body has been quite reliable.

Well that went and changed over the last week.

I had my 39w midwife appointment today, and she commented that the bum was feeling very bony.  I went straight away for a scan (thankfully a new radiology clinic has just opened in town with ultrasound facilities!!!) and sure enough, its not a bum.
This pesky child has turned head up.

At the moment, baby is looking something like this (but no idea on genitalia of course....):

Which is not at all ideal.  Particularly when you have a planned home birth.  So I'm now heading in for an "urgent" hospital appointment on Monday.  Not sure what they think urgent means, but evidently at 39w you can wait 4 days for these things.

So from here the options are:

1. Deliver said breech baby at hospital (apparently very possibly given its my #3 and its legs are up)
2. Get baby to turn through myself between now and Monday's appointment and continue with the home birth.
3. Go to Monday's appointment, baby still breech and have a ECV which looks unpleasant, but will allow me to have the home birth.
4. C/section (least favourable option)

Shane's reaction is hilarious.  He's very serious and worried and actually wants me to have the c/s I think so its a known solution.  The risk here for me is minimal, and actually in the current position bubs is in, its risk is fairly low too - its just the inconvenience of having to make the hospital delivery happen with me as the only driver and him somewhat incapable of running the household in my absence.
But I think he is actually getting a taste of what he put me through over the last wee while! (And on that note I'm really enjoying my new diamond earrings too......)

Why did baby turn?  Well I have my own suspicions on that, and I actually think that while I have been sitting in a good position, I'm been sitting alot doing all this sewing.  I wonder if bubs got sick of being head down in a little cramped pelvis while I sewed at my machine.  Its the only thing that has changed over the last week, and I'm thinking its the most likely cause, so the sewing machine is switched off from here until delivery!  Lucky all my log cabin stuff was done for Jan :)

My Plan of attack.

• Lots of time with bum in air.  We will do pillows, crawling around on all fours, handstands at the pool, lying on a plank.  You name it, I'm going to try it!
• Acupuncture booked in for tomorrow, he may do some dry needling, but its mainly going to be moxi and heat treatment.
• NO MORE NATURAL INDUCEMENT!!  We don't want this baby to come between now and Monday's appointment otherwise I am straight into hospital. 
• Lots of talking to bubs, and I'm trying to visualise a head locked into a pelvis.
• Reduced sitting time, with no more sewing.
• ECV I think on Monday if all fails.  There is lots of fluid there, I'm nice and spongey with saggy uterine muscles, so I think it will work.

On the positive side of things, bubs is confirmed to have an expected delivery weight of between 7-8lb, and I'm measuring bang on my dates.

As I said - never a dull moment in this household!