Five Months After The Event, Here Is Tully's Birth Story

Those of you who were here for the lead up to Tullys birth would remember that, in the last few weeks before she arrived, I was well and truly over being pregnant. I loved the ' I'm having a baby! ' part of being pregnant, but by the end I wasn't so much a fan of the ' this baby is killing my back/thighs/lady bits ' part of the whole pregnancy journey. I had an appointment with the obstetrician on a Wednesday and spoke to him about the aches and pains and whatever else was happening, and he told me that, although bubs head wasn't fully engaged, because my first labour was relatively short - at a grand total of 6 hrs from first contraction to birth - that I should go straight to the hospital when I started noticing contractions. After all, he said ' Second labours are usually much shorter than firsts'.

So, when I started noticing contractions around midday on Friday, I told Flynn Mummy had to go see the nurse and off we went to the local hospital. The nurse put the monitor on and confirmed that yes, they were real contractions, though they weren't very close together yet and they were still very mild. A doctor did an examination and told me nothing was opening up down there yet despite the contractions, so the best bet was just go home ( a 5 min drive away ) and potter around for a while til they came on stronger.

Me being all kinds of bumpy about 2 weeks before Tully was born

Skip the next 16 hrs - where I had dropped Flynn to my parents for the night, walked the dog, rocked on a fitball, watched two movies, and managed a fitfull nights sleep. I headed back to the hospital at 5am, not because the contractions were stronger, but because they were still just 'there ' and I wanted to know what the hell was going on and I was beginning to get very anxious. I had a tiny bit of a show when getting a urine sample for the nurse but other than that, still no real dilation to speak of. A wonderful visiting doctor came in to see me to have a chat..... Where I promptly burst into tears and had a full scale panic attack. We discussed my anxieties and after a phone call to Mick we decided the best course of action for me and my family was to come back at 7pm that night to be induced ( even though the baby wasn't technically due for another 10 days ).

I had one lot of gels put in and was left to sleep the night. A nurse checked on me at 6am and, surprise surprise, no more dilation. The contractions were still present, just super mild. I wasn't really even noticing them anymore but the monitor could still detect them. The nurse, whom I knew through my work, seeing me on the verge of tears again, patted my leg and told me the doctor would be back soon, and to give her buzz if I needed anything else. 'Soon ' turned out to be 4 hrs later - he apologized and said that the nurse should have called for him at 6am for the second lot of gel , which he then gave and put me on the monitor, and went off on his rounds....

.... Which is when the contractions ramped up. It had been explained to me that the gels used in induction are just to soften the cervix and don't actually bring on contractions, so I was very much excited..... It was all happening! However, the nurses told me the doctor wouldn't be back for another 5 hours so I'd just have to work my way through the contractions upstairs in my room. Which I did, by pacing the hallways, rocking my hips and playing countless games of 'Words with Friends ' against random opponents. By 1:30pm I was starting to be in some serious discomfort and I was bored by myself so called my Mum to keep me company. By 3pm, half an hr before the doctor was due back, I was beginning to have to stifle my moans of pain because I didn't want to disturb all the mums and bubs on the ward. Luckily when my mum went down to the nurses desk to ask for some help the doc had just come in, so he whisked me straight down to a delivery suite.

After half an hour of monitoring and the confirmation that my cervix had opened enough, the doctor broke my waters.... And then it was really on! The contractions intensified quickly - I had barely had enough time to strip off, jump in the spa  ( and out again! ) and have my mum rub my back before I felt like I was ready to push. Mum said I couldn't possibly be ready - the same as she did with Flynn! - but called a midwife anyway. I was already back on the bed ready to push, so sure was I that my baby girl was ready... And again, like with Flynn, I was right. I started pushing before the midwife was ready, and sucked on the gas for dear life. It may have felt like ring-of-fire agony in the moment, but even so, I felt much more in control than I did birthing Flynn. The midwife had enough time to yell our for a second midwife to help and, after just 5 minutes of active pushing, there she was, our gorgeous baby girl. She had a burst blood vessel in one eye because I'd got her out of there so fast but,other than that, she was magnificently perfect.

And there you be - an epically long post for what turned out to be an epically long 'labour' .... 53 hours of contractions before Miss Tully arrived. And, seeing as today is Tuesday, this epically long post is linked up over at EssentiallyJess for ' I Blog On Tuesdays '!

Dear Tully, 3 Months Old

My gorgeous girl,
I can't believe you are 3 months old already! I know it sounds clichéd, but I really can't believe how quickly the time has flown - it seems like only a week or two ago I was willing you out of there, and now here you are, my 3 month old chunky monkey pumpkin.

You are already such a beautiful girl... Not just pretty ( although those gorgeous long eyelashes do win you lots of compliments ) but you have a beautiful temperament. You are such a cruisy little poppet, usually quite content to lie back in your swing or on your play mat, watching the world go by. Actually, its more like people watching - you are such a people person and a MAJOR snuggle bunny. If someone is happy to have you on their lap, you are happy to snuggle in for a cuddle or a snooze.

Speaking of snoozing, you are a much better sleeper than your brother was at this age, and for that I am extremely grateful. Our feeding is going well now after a bit of a rocky start, and even though people say you don't get the same connection when bottle feeding, I really enjoy the one bottle a day you have - looking down at you and having you looking back at me. I also enjoy sewing clothes for you, and having you wear all the cute things I'm attempting to make for you!

And so - happy 3 months! I can't wait to see what you start doing next - finding your hands ( you're already fascinated with your feet ), rolling, reaching out to touch things, sitting up on your own and first words. Love you my gorgeous baby girl,

Love your Mama

Our Pretty Pumpkin

Did i mention previously that Flynn calls Tully his " pumpkin " ? Just like Daddy does? My boys are so in love with her its not funny! And why wouldnt you be? Turns out our girl, even though everyone mentions how much she looks like her brother, is quite the gorgeous girl, or at least i think so. My good friend Ann Maree from Speaking One Thousand Words Photography ( find her on Facebook! ) took some photos of Tully for us and i have to say our pumpkin does ok in the " photogenic " category....

Isnt she the cutest cross-eyed thing you've ever seen?

Loving her chubba bubba baby rolls...

This is my absolute favourite!

A pretty little flower child

Sleeping soundly - which you can tell she didnt do much of, seeing as the rest of the photos she has her eyes wide open!

A Crafty Promise

So another 3 weeks have passed since my last post. I have had inspiration to write but i wont lie - i just havent had the time. Or had the time at the right time of day, as it were - that is, when Tully is asleep during the day i've been trying to really devote some quality time to playing with Flynn, or reading with him, or even just snuggling up to watch a movie ( you know, like " The Lorax ", which we've watched 7 times in the last week ). Come night time when she's settled in the last thing i'm thinking about is my blog - its more like getting our paperwork for the evening done, a child-free chat with my husband, possibly an icecream or a chocolate biscuit and then snoozeville. But today i'm making a blog post a priority ... i dont want my little space to die, or my few regualr readers to drift away. So here i am! And here is this:

Remember a few months ago, when i still pregnant and i mentioned i was busy sewing some decorations for Tullys room? And i promised i'd show you the finished product when she was born, because it had her name on it and the name was still a super secret? No? Well, here you go anyway!

This is the bunting that is, as you can see, hanging above her cot. I wanted something to be a bit of a feature along the wall, aswell as something bright that she could look at when i need to lie her in there while i go to the bathroom/make lunch/attend to Flynn/whatever. I have to say i'm pretty pleased with it and Flynn just this week told me it looks " amazing " ( which happens to be his new favourite word ). I was pretty chuffed....

And this is the matching quilt cover. The cotton material was suitable for a blanket or even really for summer sheets so i bought a cot quilt insert from Target and knocked the cover up to fit over it. It only took me a few hours one afternoon - i mean, lets face it, its pretty much a few rectangles sewed together with a length of ribbon sewn on to cover the joins and make it look pretty. Still, it looks pretty neat to have it match the bunting ( poor old Flynn never had anything matching ... )!

I also made some " wall art " by sewing together two squares of each material in a checkerboard pattern, stitching a white love heart over very middle, and then stretching it over a canvas and frame ( picked up from Spotlight ). For some reason i musnt have taken a photo of it when i mounted it on the wall and i'm not going in to disturb Tullys nap to take one now, so you'll just have to take my word for how well it turned out and imagine it for yourself :)

And there you be: a post that i promised to make as soon as my daughter was born, and only 7 weeks late!

Four Weeks

Its hard to believe that our little Tully Bee is already four weeks old - and also to believe that i havent posted here for almost three weeks! Truth be told i have wanted to post, and have had the urge to write, but my best ideas have struck at 3am when i'm breastfeeding Tully and i just dont have the patience to type out a blog post, on a tablet device, using only one hand...

But i'm here now, and i'm happy to say that its pretty much all good. Tully is proving to be a pretty chilled out, laidback little lady, certainly in comparison to how Flynn was at the same age. For one thing, she sleeps sooooooooo much better than Flynn did - i consider a " bad night " when she wakes twice, as on average she has only been waking the once, feeding for an hour, and then drifting back to sleep whilst she finishes her feed ( which means i can pop her straight back into her cot and head back to bed myself ). She's a hungry little milk pig and if there has been anything we have struggled with its been my milk supply. Tully is being mixed fed as my supply is much lower than it was with Flynn ( probably due to the extra stress of two kids and running a business ) and though at first i was reluctant to give her a bottle or two of formula a day i figured - very quickly - that " fed is best " and now my bubba girl is gaining weight and content after a feed. The majority of feeds are still breastfeeds and i'm enjoying the moments we have together, especially the one or two night feeds when its nice and quiet and un(toddler)interrupted...

Flynn is still in love with his sister - most mornings he'll greet her with a " Good morning Tully! " or my personal favourite " Hello my beautiful pumpkin! " ( which he copied from Daddy ). He constantly wants to kiss her or hug her or touch her hair, which i admit i find incredibly cute, except of course when a hug turns into him almost squeezing her to death or a pat on the head is more like a smack. He does go a bit overboard and get a bit rough sometimes, or a bit grumpy at a lack of immediate attention and he might try and bop her one, but so far he's been caught red handed everytime and told that that kind of behaviour is just not on. Speaking of behaviour, Flynn sookiness (as a way of getting attention ) continues but we're hoping if we refuse to acknowledge demands when he's being whiney, and instead wait until he can ask in a " nice " voice he might outgrow the whingeness soon. Right?!

This raising two children gig is going pretty well though, thus far. I havent had too many meltdowns yet, and though i get frusturated by one or the other of them from to time to i've found that overwhelming feeling of love and contentment far more common. Hell, i even found myself smiling away in the dark at 4am a few days ok, completely in awe of awesome my children and my husband are... and you know that isnt the pregnancy hormones talking, 4 weeks post birth!