Adventure, baby!

Kids

Eloise – Month 1 – 2

Week 5 – Sept 17 – Sept 23

Alec was sent to California for work at the last minute, so we hired a baby night nurse for the week to help me take care of E. While it was really odd to have a stranger in the house taking care of my baby, it was AMAZING to get 8 hours sleep. I felt like a new person, had more energy, and was able to deal with E’s fussiness during the day with much more patience. In return, E was a more relaxed baby. Win!

On the Sunday before Alec flew out, we had a lovely day out to the Brooklyn Book Fair and Brooklyn Heights Association dog show. Living in Brooklyn can be so much fun, there’s always so much going on all the time.

Windy day with Dad at the Brooklyn Book Fair.

Held her head up on her own for the first time! (19/9). Having more awake time, taking in her surroundings, looking cuter and cuter every day.

E still won’t sleep on her back in the crib. Even the night nurse can’t get her to do it, which makes me feel a lot better!

At her 1 month check up, E weighed in at 4.25kg (8 pounds 6 oz), measured 21 inches (length) and 37cm (head circumference). The doctor was very pleased with her weight gain and progress. She has to have a repeat sonogram of the hips next week, and if it still shows problems, she will have to go to a specialist.

I’ve been making more of an effort to get out with E now during the day, such as meeting friends for lunch or afternoon tea and taking long walks to get some exercise. When I walk with E in the sling, she’ll get in a good 3 hour sleep. Winner for everyone!

I’m happy to notice as the weeks go by that E still isn’t a vomiter. Praise be. She may not sleep on anything other than me and be the gassiest baby alive, but at least she’s not a vomiter as well 🙂

I have been reading a lot lately about silent reflux (thanks Katia for sending me the link!) and E has all of the symptoms. I went back to see the pediatrician and thankfully he agreed with me that she has silent reflux and prescribed her medication to help with it. We have to give it 10 days to see if it works.

I had a great mother’s group meet-up this week where we all had a mini-facial. I also managed to get out for a few hours with my friend Carly to have lunch and get a much needed pedicure. It’s amazing how much better that made me feel!

One more big milestone for E this week – her first real smile! On Friday (23/9/11) she had several big smiles for Mum and Grandma.

First smiles!

She’s also getting so much more aware of the world. After her doctor appointment (23/9), she refused to have her head in the sling on the way home, insisting on having her tiny head sticking out to check out the world around her the entire way home.

Week 6 – Sept 24 – Sept 30

Last week with Grandma in town.

Three generations of Knight women.

We had another sonogram of her hips and the results were completely clear. So relieved. E also was in a great mood and hardly made a peep the whole time.

We had another check up with the pediatrician regarding her reflux – not much improvement so far, so we are seeing a specialist next week.

I had my 6 wk check up as well, and was given the go-ahead to exercise. Super excited – if only I was getting enough sleep to actually go and exercise …

This week E and I started a 6 week Mom and Me Movement Class at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn. E made it through about half the class before cracking it – not too bad!

Mum and baby movement class at the Mark Morris Dance Center. 6 wks, 5 days.

Developmentally, E has started sucking on her hands. Her favourite thing to do is lie on her change table and stare at the window.

Week 7 – Oct 1 – Oct 7

This week was tough. E stopped wanting to feed and started screaming more, in five hour blocks.

We took her to see the gastro pediatric specialist this week, and she gave us some great tips on managing reflux in babies, like making her take breaks while feeding and putting her in chairs/swings that don’t crunch her tummy by being at a 90 degree angle. After the specialist we had E’s first walk through Central Park and midtown. She was really great, sleeping through most of it.

Sound asleep at the Bethesda Fountain, Central Park.

After the specialist visit, we tried her advice and put E to sleep in her Fisher Price Rainforest vibrating bouncer. She slept for 2.5 solid hours. Breakthrough!! We repeated this the next few nights, but sadly also had a night where she woke up every time we tried to put her down, bothered by the reflux.

Alec worked from home this week, and it was great for us to bond as a family. Sleep deprivation also made us snappy at each other however.

We had a great mothers group meet up this week in Cobble Hill Park. E loved sitting on my lap, checking out the light in the trees.

Week 8 – Oct 8 – Oct 14

Special visitors this week! Shelley, Eric and Isla spent Columbus weekend with us. We had a fantastic day in Prospect Park and Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, where E was an angel. No screaming, taking long peaceful feeds. Some kind of miracle occurred …

Eloise meets Shelley and Isla.

We also took E for her first trip to Tiffany & Co. She loved it and can’t wait to pick out her first diamonds at a later stage …

Milk drunk in T&C.

I had a killer stomach virus this week that totally floored me. Thank God for Alec helping me out or I couldn’t have gotten through the week.

A highlight for the week was Eloise laughing for the first time at a black and white canvas print of her and Alec that we have hanging on our wall. She loves the picture, laughing at it for a about 10 minutes. (13/10/11)

Eloise spends a lot more time awake now. We have a good 2 – 3 hour morning play time where we read her books, play on the activity mat, look at the Wimmer-Ferguson Stim-Mobile on her change table and stare at the fan. She is so alert and gets bored really quickly. The mobile over the change table is such a blessing – I can strap her down on it for up to 30 minutes at a time and she will smile at it like it’s her best friend.

The reflux doesn’t seem as bad this week in general. A few bad days, but not anywhere near as bad it was a few weeks ago. We’re not sure if this is due to the medication, the extra things we’re doing to try and help it cause her less discomfort, or just growing out of it.

Eloise has been growing like crazy this week. She has been feeding non-stop, and every day she looks bigger. She has outgrown socks that I’m pretty sure she fit into only last weekend.

The big event of the week was Eloise’s 2 month check up and immunisations. The check up went great. She now weighs 11 pounds, 1 ounce/5kgs, 22.5 inches in length, 38cm head circumference. She has put on 1.75kg, grown 2.5 inches and her head has grown 2 cm. The shots were not so much fun. She had three needles and while initially sleepy when we got home, she was cranky all afternoon and evening. Not fun at all!

Week 9 – Oct 15 – 21

Eloise had a bad few days after her shots. She was grisly and whiney and generally irritating to be around. Thankfully, on my first day home alone with her, she woke up a happy smiley baby. As the week progressed however, she became more and more difficult to be home alone with. On Friday, she refused to take naps during the day, leaving her one very cranky, exhausted little person by the time evening came around – and leaving me completely shattered. We also had an embarrassing moment at out baby movement class. I took E out of the pram, ready for class, and she opened her mouth and started wailing like she was being stabbed. Her face turned bright red and tears were streaming down her face. I was unable to calm her, so had to turn around and go straight back home again. Not fun!

I did however manage to make my first trip without Alec into the city, to meet Meg, Laura and their little babies for lunch at Madison Square Park. E was great on the subway, but had a bit of a howl in the park which resulted in me doing a few laps around the park with my screaming baby. Thankfully she did calm down, and was great for the rest of the trip, plus the subway home. Success!

Happy lady in Madison Square Park.

We had a sleep coach come visit us on Friday night to help us get some kind of sleep with the little terror. She gave us some really great tips, and we saw a vast improvement even on the first night. Hopefully this means things might start to improve in the sleep department, and we might have a less cranky baby when she is awake as a result!

Eloise is so much more alert and wake now. She loves her activity mat and is starting to notice the little animals swinging over her head. She has the cutest little blue eyes that open as wide as saucers when we are outside, trying to take in every single detail of the world around her.

Eloise – First Month

Week 1 – Aug 20 – 27

We spent most of the first week in hospital due to my recovery from the labour and surgery. Recovering from this double whammy was tough. My body felt like it has been hit by a truck, with the added exhaustion of a newborn on top. Learning to feed E was really tough – I struggled, gave in to formula a few times when my body couldn’t cope, and ended up renting a pump to take home and express when it all got too painful.

First moments of life.
It was also hard seeing Alec bond with E so easily and quickly while I was stuck in bed. For the first several days, my only interaction would be to feed her, which was excruciating, then hand her back to Alec as it was too painful for me to get in and out of bed to do anything else. Due to this, it took me a lot longer to bond with my little girl. It really helped going home, as by this stage I had recovered enough to be more mobile, and because I was expressing to give my body a chance to recover from the botched feedings, I was able to spend time with her that wasn’t just a painful experience. 
Our first week was filled with wonder that we had created such an amazing, perfect little person. Everything she did was juts amazing. “Did you see that burp?” “Awww what a cute fluff!”. Typical new parents in awe of their perfect offspring. 
Despite being a bit early, Eloise was in great health. The only drawback was a little bit of jaundice, requiring her to  be placed in the photobooth for half a day, and to have some extra follow-up doctor appointments after coming out of hospital to monitor her jaundice levels.

Home!
Week 2 – Aug 27 – Sept 3
Sleep deprivation hit in this week! Eloise started to get bad wind during the night, and hated being put on her back to sleep in her crib. She would go down peacefully, only to wake herself every 10 – 20 minutes, writhing in pain from the gas. This also equals no sleep for mum and dad … My routine this week consisted of napping from about 10:30pm – 2am, when I would get up and relieve Alec from duty, then feeding and calming the baby from 2am – 5am, where she might fall asleep on my chest for a few hours. 8am – hand over baby to my mum and go back to sleep for an hour or two, until E needed to be fed again. Gah. So exhausted. I spend the days feeding her, changing her, going back to sleep for an hour or two, then repeating. The end of week two the amazing initial feeling of awe has worn off, replaced with bone-shattering tiredness. “When will she sleep?” Will she EVER sleep?” “Will I ever sleep again?”.

Multi-tasking!

This week we had a bunch of firsts – first sponge bath, first real bath after her umbilical cord fell off, first tummy time, first go in the bouncer. She also started to notice her surroundings and try to lift her head. She also tries to roll herself over in the crib so she can be on her tummy. She is much more alert this week, looking around with her big blue eyes. She is the cutest thing I have ever seen, even when she’s working herself up into a major hissy fit.

Briefly amused by the bouncer.

Hating her sponge bath.

Exactly two weeks after she was born, we had her newborn photos taken. They were fun but exhausting for us all, particularly E, who pooped on me twice, and peed all over Alec. Babies minus nappies = disaster.

Week 3 – Sept 4 – Sept 10

This week got even harder! E suddenly turned into a fussy baby. Crying for no reason, her gas getting even worse, cluster feeds every hour for 8 hour stretches, less sleep. I think she had a growth spurt that made everything worse during this week. She also had a sonogram on her hips to make sure they were all looking ok (when she was born the pediatrician noticed she had a clicky hip that slipped in and out of its socket). The sonogram was very traumatic for us both. She screamed like she was being murdered for over an hour, and was unsettled for the rest of the day and night.

We bought a great new sling this week – a Sakura Bloom swing, that I love to take her out in. She had outings for the first time this week both in the Baby Bjorn (which Alec prefers) and the sling (which I prefer). It’s so much easier to take her out in the sling than in the pram.

First outing in the sling.

On Saturday we took her out for her first big outing – lunch and a long walk down to Brooklyn Bridge Park. I fed her outside for the first time (victory!) and she slept most of the time happily in the Baby Bjorn.

At Brooklyn Bridge Park.

We are getting no sleep at night due to E not wanting to be put on her back, so we are going to try co-sleeping instead next week. I have managed to get her to briefly sleep in a swing that our neighbours gave us, but she won’t stay in it for long periods.

We have also gotten her to stay on her back in her crib briefly while she is awake as she loves to stare at her crib gallery and black and white picture books. She will only tolerate this for 10 – 20 minutes however.

Mesmerised by the crib gallery.

E is getting more and more alert – trying to see things around her, trying to touch things already. Her eyes are still blue, but are changing already – getting lighter.

Week 4 – Sept 11 – Sept 16

She’s starting to enjoy the bath more – still screams when it’s over, but she seems to like the warm water.

Enjoying being bathed.

We had a tough week this week. Eloise started to get more and more grisly as well as the not sleeping on her back. The gas pains are bothering her a lot, and she will writhe in pain for hours sometimes trying to get the gas out.

Much of the week looked like this …

I also found out this week that she has sub luxation in her left hip, which means the leg joint is still really lose. I have to book her in to see an orthopedic specialist to be checked out further. Hopefully it will only be a minor thing she can grow out of without needing treatment.

I managed to get out on my own with E to mother’s group for the first time this week – victory!

We also visited a great place called Brooklyn Farmacy on the weekend, where we managed to eat our entire lunch while E slept. Afterwards we took her to get her passport photos taken, which made her cranky for the rest of the day. She seems to get really worked up easily into a state where she can’t easily calm down from. This leads to us being extra careful not to do things that will upset her. Unfortunately we can’t avoid things like doctors visits, which make her furious!

Brief moment of calm.

Eloise – First Month

Week 1 – Aug 20 – 27

We spent most of the first week in hospital due to my recovery from the labour and surgery. Recovering from this double whammy was tough. My body felt like it has been hit by a truck, with the added exhaustion of a newborn on top. Learning to feed E was really tough – I struggled, gave in to formula a few times when my body couldn’t cope, and ended up rending a pump to take home and express when it all got too painful. 
It was also hard seeing Alec bond with E so easily and quickly while I was stuck in bed. For the first several days, my only interaction would be to feed her, which was excruciating, then hand her back to Alec as it was too painful for me to get in and out of bed to do anything else. Due to this, it took me a lot longer to bond with my little girl. It really helped going home, as by this stage I had recovered enough to be more mobile, and because I was expressing to give my body a chance to recover from the botched feedings, I was able to spend time with her that wasn’t just a painful experience. 
Our first week was filled with wonder that we had created such an amazing, perfect little person. Everything she did was juts amazing. “Did you see that burp?” “Awww what a cute fluff!”. Typical new parents in awe of their perfect offspring. 
Despite being a bit early, Eloise was in great health. The only drawback was a little bit of jaundice, requiring her to  be placed in the photobooth for half a day, and to have some extra follow-up doctor appointments after coming out of hospital to monitor her jaundice levels. 
Week 2 – Aug 27 – Sept 3
Sleep deprivation hit in this week! Eloise started to get bad wind during the night, and hated being put on her back to sleep in her crib. She would go down peacefully, only to wake herself every 10 – 20 minutes, writhing in pain from the gas. This also equals no sleep for mum and dad … My routine this week conceited of napping from about 10:30pm – 2am, when I would get up and relieve Alec from duty, then feeding and calming the baby from 2am – 5am, where she might fall asleep on my chest for a few hours. 8am – hand over baby to my mum and go back to sleep for an hour or two, until E needed to be fed again. Gah. So exhausted. I spend the days feeding her, changing her, going back to sleep for an hour or two, then repeating. The end of week two the amazing initial feeling of awe has worn off, replaced with bone-shattering tiredness. “When will she sleep?” Will she EVER sleep?” “Will I ever sleep again?”.
This week we had a bunch of firsts – first sponge bath, first real bath after her umbilical cord fell off, first tummy time, first go in the bouncer. She also started to notice her surroundings and try to life her head. She also tries to roll herself over in the crib so she can be on her tummy. She is much more alert this week, looking around with her big blue eyes. She is the cutest thing I have ever seen, even when she’s working herself up into a major hissy fit.
Exactly two weeks after she was born, we had her newborn photos taken. They were fun but exhausting for us all, particularly E, who pooped on me twice, and peed all over Alec. Babies minus nappies = disaster.

At her doctor’s check-up this week, she’s put on an average of an ounce a day since birth instead of losing weight, which most babies do. At two weeks, she’s at 7 pounds 12 oz, up from her birth weight of 7 pounds 4 oz.

Week 3 – Sept 4 –

Things are a bit less chaotic as we all get to know each other better. Little E gets plumper and cuter every day. We still can’t get E to sleep on her back in the crib, so are looking into every other option we can. Borrowing a swing from neighbours, buying a sling to wear her around the house in. Alec and I had our first outing with her on Sunday in the Baby Bjorn carrier, going to lunch at a local French patisserie, then a walk to Cobble Hill Park.

Happy 1 Week Eloise!

I can’t believe it’s exactly a week since little Eloise came into the world. She’s had an eventful week. Birth. Earthquake. Hurricane.

Eloise has been such a great, adaptable baby, as well as being the most beautiful little person I could imagine coming into our lives.

One week old! Love you, my little girl.

Eloise’s Birth Story

On Friday, August 19, 2011, I was having dinner with my friends the Sonegos, when my water broke while I was sitting on their couch. It was around 7:30 in the evening – 10 days before my due date. At around 8:30, I experienced my first contraction – but none came after that. Alec was still at work when my waters broke, so he rushed to come to pick me up in a cab. After speaking with my doctor, we went home to Brooklyn to prepare.

After calling the doc at midnight, with no more contractions, we went to bed, hoping nature would take its course during the night. I woke up at 3am with the start of contractions, like period pain, at about 20 minute intervals. The back pain had intensified, and I noticed that she had dropped at about 4:30am. Deep breaths for the first time in months!

I wasn’t able to sleep after that, so I paced the corridor for the next hour and a half, until I could wake Alec up just before 6am, and called my doctor at 6am to let him know that I was indeed getting contractions, which by then were coming at 10 mins apart.

In labour, about to leave for the hospital. 38 wks and 4 days pregnant. Sat, Aug 20, 2011. 6am!

We called a town car and drove through Manhattan to the hospital, Mt Sinai, on the upper east side. Driving over the bridge from Brooklyn into Manhattan while the sun rose over the city was a surreal moment.

Once we arrived at the hospital, we had to wait over an hour and a half to be taken to a room. My doctor came by at around 9, at which stage my contractions were every 5 minutes. I thought this was good progress, but when the doctor examined me, he said I had only dilated 1cm. The decision was made to put me on Pictosin to speed up the contractions since it had been a while since my waters broke. Over the next few hours, my contractions went from being a little uncomfortable to absolute agony. I was screaming and crying in pain, and was given a combination spinal block and epidural. This helped my pain significantly, but my labour wouldn’t progress.

The doctor came to check on me every few hours through out the day, but even though I was getting regular contractions at around 2 mins apart, I was not dilating at a significant rate, and by 7:30pm that evening, I was only just 5cm dilated. At 24 hours exactly after my waters broke, my temperature started to rise and the baby’s heart rate started to drop. The doctor said infection was starting to set in, and we needed to have a C section straight away before my temperature spiked any further, which would result in not only me getting sick, but the baby needing to spend time in the NICU. I was feeling pretty ill at this stage, hot, queasy, headachy, and as I was rushed into surgery I started vomiting – which continued all the way through the surgery and while I was recovering. I also started to shake as I got the chills related to the fever.

The whole operation, even though I couldn’t feel anything, was horrible. I felt so ill, and when my baby girl came out, at 8:44pm, instead of elation, I felt ill. I was in some kind of shock, watching this tiny screaming creature appear out of nowhere, and being told it was my daughter.

I told Alec to leave me and see her, take photos of her first moments of life. While I was being stitched up, our little girl was wrapped up and given to him to hold. He came by my head for me to see her, but I was shaking too much to touch her. The numbness in my body continued to spread after the baby was removed, so my feet were numb, as were the bottom half of my lungs. I felt vomit rising, but was unable to get it out because I couldn’t feel anything. I was so terrified that I was going to choke on my own vomit and die right there on the operating table.

After I was stitched up and wheeled into recovery, I slowly started to feel better as the drugs in my system simultaneously wore off (narcotics) and set in (antibiotics). After a while I felt well enough to have my little girl placed next to me to touch – another surreal moment. I was so relieved that she was okay, and couldn’t believe that this was the little person I had been waiting to meet for so long. Once I started to get feeling back in my body, I felt even more relieved!

I was wheeled into my room at around 10pm, completely exhausted and unable to move. The decision was made to have the baby taken to the nursery for the evening to give my body a chance to recovery from the trauma it had been though, in hopes I would be able to sleep. Unfortunately, I was woken up every hour or so by doctors checking my vitals, giving me medication, checking my incision, etc, so morning came and I was no more rested then the night before! I felt well enough the next morning however to stand up and walk around, and was finally able to sit up and hold my beautiful baby girl for the first time. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and felt overwhelmed with love for her.

First moments of life! Welcome to the world my beautiful daughter, Eloise Elizabeth Thomas.

It took us three days to come to a decision about her name. Eloise was inspired by the classic American story of a little girl called Eloise who lived in the Plaza Hotel in New York. Elizabeth is a name that gets passed down through my family, so I wanted to honour my mother and grandmother with this name. Thomas is for her daddy’s side of the family.
At the Plaza Hotel, 35wks pregnant, with the Eloise portrait. 

Pregnancy: Third Trimester, Wks 28 – 38

Week 28: Had my seven-month check-up. My weight gain is great (now 75.9kgs, which puts me in the healthy weight gain zone), but the baby is apparently on the big side! She is a week ahead of where she should be in terms of her size. My doctor puts it down to my “strong Aussie genes”. Hmmm. The glucose test came back all normal, so no gestational diabetes, hooray! Thank you genes for my high sugar-tolerance.

Baby will be getting some color this week — eye color, that is. Pigment will fill in your baby’s irises, but it might take six months after birth for the eyes to settle into their true color. Eyelashes, eyebrows and hair are continuing to grow, and brain tissue is rapidly increasing.

28wks, Central Park.

Week 29: Back to running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. Sometimes I can feel her actually kicking me in the bladder. Alec can feel her move all the time now – we spend most nights after dinner on the couch watching TV – with Alec’s hand on my side feeling her perform a water ballet. I’m starting to get more tired – I think due to lack of sleep. I haven’t slept through the night in about three weeks. Scary to think of how long it will be before I get a full nights sleep again. I’m so thankful right now that I don’t have to work. I don’t know how women work full-time during this trimester. I can barely get out of bed some mornings at all! My belly button is also trying really hard to pop out this week.

Baby’s now the size of a squash!
Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to white fat depositing beneath his skin. And since he’s growing so fast (weight will triple by birth), things are getting kind of cramped in the womb. What all this means for you: Get ready for some more kicks and jabs to the ribs.

Week 30: I can see the baby moving now through my stomach – like a strange little alien. My feet have started to hurt a lot this week – and my right foot has been swelling up at night, just the right! During my check up this week, the baby was indeed on the right side – head pushing down on my bladder! The doctor said the baby is looking perfect, and her size is around the 50 – 75% size range. She’s been incredibly active! Head is down, feet are kicking the bottom of my ribs constantly.

While your brain might seem to be on hiatus, your baby’s brain is expanding by the day, taking on new functions like temperature regulation. This week, the brain is starting to get that wrinkly, indented look, which will help the brain tissue expand as the baby develops into adulthood. Besides the brain, your baby’s body is continuing to grow — now at just over 3 pounds and 17 inches long.

30wks, Lincoln Center.



Week 31: Alec and I went on a mini babymoon this week – to Boston over the 4th of July weekend. It was so great to have a few days holiday, particularly since Alec has been working so hard lately. It was incredibly hot in Boston however, and we didn’t really do a lot – more so a lot of walking from park bench to park bench! No baby updates this week – I can really clearly see and feel her hiccuping now though (turns out a giant slurpee will give a baby in utero a serious case of the hiccups). Her feet keep getting up under my rib cage, and a little elbow sticks out from my side occasionally. I think she recognises Alec’s voice too, as sometimes she responds vigorously to him talking when he gets home at night.

Don’t worry if you’re feeling longer periods of quiet from your little gymnast in there, as the baby is now spending longer stretches of time snoozing. Also, as baby continues to grow and the living quarters get more cramped, he/she will start making more deliberate elbow and knee jabs instead of spastic kicks and movements.

31 weeks, our apartment.



Week 32: It’s hot, hot, hot in the city. I’m trying to stay cool! We’re starting to get more prepared this week – ordering furniture and all the things we’ll need for our new arrival. Baby doctor appointment this week – the doctor tells me again that the baby “isn’t small” and thinks she currently weighs about 2.3kg. Based on expecting her to grow by a further third or double in size, she is likely to be between 3.2 and 3.8kgs. The doctor puts her size down to our genes, but also advises I eat more protein, less carbs.

This week your baby is weighing in at around 4 pounds — which means there are only a few more pounds to go! (Yes, it is possible for your belly to get bigger, believe it or not.) Your baby’s lungs are continuing to mature, producing increasing amounts of surfactant, a fatty liquid that lines the inside of the lungs and helps the sacs within expand efficiently for breathing. Your baby is also practicing sucking and swallowing (which fully coordinates between 32 and 34 weeks), but he/she would still need to be fed with a tube if born this week because suckling might not be efficient.

32wks, Boston.

Week 33: I took off my wedding and engagement rings last night – the wedding ring was so tight that I had to use oil to get it off. So sad that my fingers are puffy now too! My feet have gotten really puffy this week. I only have one pair left that fit me, and even those have my feet poking out like sausages. I went to see Paul McCartney, Memphis and King Lear this week – baby loved Memphis, was so-so about Paul McCartney, and didn’t care much for Shakespeare …
This explains why I’m so hot all the time! A 20 percent metabolic rate increase throughout pregnancy can leave you begging for a cool breeze no matter what the weather is like.
Baby’s now the size of a honeydew! Things are heating up inside as well: Baby may grow up to a full inch this week alone, and his brain is developing like crazy. Pretty soon, he’ll be able to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. Also, his bones are hardening, and he’s started to keep his eyes open when he’s awake.
Week 34: I have a friend staying with us this week, so it’s been a huuuuge week. The biggest night was seeing Mamma Mia (another hit with baby), then to a fashion event at a bar in Manhattan. Exhausting! The heat is also insane this week, so I’m trying to take it easy. I had my first Braxton Hicks contractions this week, which freaked me out a bit. Baby check up this week went well. My weight is the same, the baby is now about 6 pounds (how is this possible? Am I shrinking?). Baby seems to be quite high up and not thinking of coming any time soon (yay!).
Your cantaloupe-sized baby is a whopping 5 pounds — even though the extra belly weight probably feels like 15 to you. Her eyes are fully open now, only closing when it’s time to sleep. Even so, that doesn’t mean she can see much. It takes awhile after babies are born for them to focus clearly.

34wks, Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center).
Week 35: I’m really missing sleep. I wake up about every 2 hours on an average night, needing to go to the bathroom, with reflux, with restless legs or with a cramp. I’m completely in the nesting phase right now, and was so excited when all of the baby’s furniture and things arrived. Even though there’s still 5 weeks to go, I feel this incredible compulsion to have everything ready right now.
I had a fantastic baby shower on the weekend with my closest NY friends. It was a lovely morning tea, hosted by my friend Laura – mother of a two week old baby! Talk about amazing. I hope to be able to cope with our newborn as well as Laura is settling with her little man. We ended up having some of the husband there as well – which only made it more fun, as it seems only right that Alec should be involved in celebrations for his baby.
Your baby is about done growing length-wise (reaching around 20 inches this week), but he/she will continue to pack on the pounds until delivery. Rest assured that most of the physical development is complete, and all that’s left is for the lungs to mature and the body fat to keep piling on.

35wks, Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Week 36: Officially 9 months pregnant this week! Only four weeks to go – and I’m freaking out a bit. I’m feeling a lot more tired, and my finger and toe joints hurt – I think they feel similar to what arthritis feels like from what I’ve looked up online. Thankfully this should vanish when the baby comes. At my doctor’s appointment this week, I gain an extra 1.3kg – in a week! How is that possible? The doctor thinks everything is looking great though, very healthy little baby in there.
It’s getting so uncomfortable to do everything now. Can’t walk, sit or even lie down for too long at a time, which doesn’t leave much that I can do. My tailbone even hurts!
We still managed to have a great pre-birthday weekend, with a broadway show (Rent!) that baby just loved, a movie (Captain America), lunch at an Aussie cafe, Ruby’s, some Summer Streets fun in the Financial District, and a lovely high tea at the Plaza Hotel.
The most important thing your baby is doing now is developing the lungs and respiratory system. If you were to deliver today, there’s a slight chance the baby would need a machine, such as a ventilator, to breathe for him or her — but other than that, your baby (and you, most likely) are ready to be done with this pregnancy.

36wks, rooftop of our apartment building.

Week 37: Check in this week with the doctor – weight is the same (thank God!) baby is looking “perfect” – doctor is now downgrading his estimation to under 8 pounds (around 3.5kg). Favourite comment from this check-up: “I have great confidence in you, you have a great pelvis”. Hmmm. 
It’s also my birthday on the exact day I hit 37 weeks. We celebrate with Alec taking a half day from work, a fancy lunch at Park Avenue Summer restaurant, a movie (The Change-up – perhaps not a good choice for a pregnant woman considering the disturbingly gross scenes with kids in it), hanging out with our friends who live near the cinema, and a late dinner. 
I’m finding it harder to get up and get around – I’m really tired all the time, my feet are always hurting, and I’m thirsty non-stop. I’m hardly sleeping anymore, waking up every hour to go to the bathroom and  dying of thirst at the same time. 
The baby is still insanely active. Her movements are huge – mostly it feels like her little tushie is moving from one side to the other. I also feel her head a lot pushing downwards into the pelvis – ouuuuuuuch. I do wish she would just push harder and come out, I’m so ready to get this thing underway. I broke the last pair of shoes that fit my giant feet. Noooooooo!
We are all preparations go right now too – spending this weekend moving the furniture into our bedroom, making space for my mum, who will arrive on the 26th. We will also be packing the hospital bag in hope? fear? that the baby will come early.
I also went to my first mother’s group meeting for new mums in my local area. It was so great to meet up with women who live only footsteps from our apartment. They were all really lovely and welcoming, with one other girl due 5 days before me as well. I look forward to being able to get out of the house with bub and meet with friendly people by just strolling down the street. Taking the baby on the subway looks like a nightmare I want to avoid as much as possible.
You are officially full term, meaning there wouldn’t be much of a risk if you were to deliver this week. However, that doesn’t mean he/she is finished growing and developing.

37wks, Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, on my 32nd birthday.

Week 38: This week is all about anticipation. Waiting, waiting, and waiting some more. Extreme tiredness, a pinched nerve in my shoulder, and pain in my teeth and fingernails. I’m craving chocolate milk like mad, and drinking a litre a day, easy. I’m fetting foot rubs from Alec for my painful, swollen feet – the only time during our relationship he has agreed to touch my feet…

We still haven’t decided on a name – we have a long-ish list, and can’t decide on a first OR last name.

I’m starting to get concerned about things like “what if I go into labour on the subway? Or on the sidewalk when I’m on my own? It’s making me want to be a hermit and not leave the apartment.

At my doctor’s appointment this week, I’ve put on 2 pounds (I thought I was meant to be losing weight in the last few weeks?), and the doctor is unable to get good measurements cos she won’t stop wiggling. I’m getting another full ultrasound next week to measure her growth more accurately. The doctor did say however that he thinks she will come a week late. Oh god, I hope he’s wrong. The Braxton Hicks contractions are getting more frequent and painful every day, along with the stabbing pains in my pelvis. How can this not be leading to something soon?

We saw our last pre-baby Broadway show – Book of Mormon. It was fantastic, but baby also thought it was fantastic and wouldn’t stop moving the whole time, which made for a pretty uncomfortable few hours of sitting for me!

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she’s over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you’ll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby’s eyes will be? If she’s born with brown eyes, they’ll likely stay brown. If she’s born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she’s 9 months old.

38wks – at Book of Mormon. Two days before going into labour…

Most pregnancies continue to 40 weeks – mine however ended at 38wks and four days, when my waters broke and I went into labour early!

Pregnancy: Second Trimester, Wks 21 – 27

Week 21: Lots of movement going on this week! I usually feel her around 9 – 10am, again around 7-8pm, and then at about 11pm – 12am. Alec has been trying to feel her for the past two weeks and finally felt her moving last night for the first time (April 22 2011).

Your baby’s digestive system is maturing, now enabling the fetus to swallow amniotic fluid, absorb much of the water in it, and then pass unabsorbed matter as far as the large bowel.

21wks – Greenwich Village

Week 22: I’m looking bigger and bigger! I must definitely look pregnant now as I’m getting a lot of looks on the street. Baby clearly loves the theatre as she is really active when I’m watching a show.

During this week, your baby’s skin will make the transformation from being translucent to opaque but will still look red until enough fat builds under the skin layers. The skin will also be very wrinkly under the thick coating of vernix until the fat fills it out.

Week 23: More fun pregnancy symptoms are coming up – swelling feet (I need to buy new shoes!), reflux, back aches, pins and needles. I’ve been so tired this week – it could be a growth spurt or an iron deficiency possibly. One funny moment – Alec placing his ear on my stomach to try and hear the baby’s heartbeat. She responded by kicking him in the head.

Your baby’s brain is now starting to grow rapidly, with billions and billions of brain cells developing in the next couple of weeks. These brain cells will control every aspect of your baby — from breathing to circulation, recognising sensory stimulation to movement, and everything in between.

23wks – Central Park

Week 24: Six months milestone! I had my 6 month check up and everything is looking great. Baby is in the 75th percentile for size/weight. My weight is also looking good – I’m weighing in at 162 pounds (73.5kg). I’ve put on 5 kilos so far, which puts me smack on track. Feeling pretty good except for upper back muscle spasms which started this week. I’m going prenatal yoga twice a week, but clearly it’s not enough.

Your baby — who is almost a foot long — now has hair starting to cover his/her scalp. And while defining characteristics like cowlicks will be visible, the hairs will be short and fine until closer to the birth. As of right now, the hairs don’t have pigment, but in the next several weeks you’ll have a brunette, blonde or carrot top growing in your tummy. Her face is fully formed.

24wks – Brooklyn Bridge Park



Week 25: I can feel bigger movements now – the baby turning and twisting as well as kicking and punching. I’ve spent most of the week with excruciating back pain – I’m not sure what’s causing it, if it’s the baby pressing against nerves, or my posture changing, but it’s been really painful. I’m feeling moments of panic (I’m not ready! I don’t know how to take care of a baby!) along with feeling more organised as we start to look at furniture and book in childbirth education classes.


Hair now has colour and texture. This is a pretty big week for your baby’s nose and vocal cords. The nostrils are starting to open up now (they were plugged up before) so your baby will be taking some practice “breaths.” And since the vocal cords are officially functioning, prepare to feel a few hiccups here and there!


Week 26: This week, my face got puffy (noooo!!!) and so did my feet, and I started to need to take afternoon naps like a nanna if I go out during the day. Over the weekend we went on a gospel walking tour of Harlem. Baby loved the gospel music, kicking and turning throughout the service.

Your baby’s hearing is progressing as the network of nerves to the ears matures. And even though the sounds your baby hears are muffled, he or she may recognise both yours and your partner’s voices.


Week 27: My mental acuity has been slipping since becoming pregnant, and I’ve had some doozys this week: such as deleting my calendar in gmail (it’s not recoverable!). I’ve gotten even clumsier than usual, too. Case in point – cutting, burning, stabbing and bruising myself all in the one day … On baby updates, it’s getting easier for Alec to feel her movements.

This week, your little one weighs in at almost 2 pounds and is almost 15 inches long. Eyelashes are also starting to grow at the ends of the lids, and someone will be taking a first peek around this week, as baby’s eyelids flutter open for the first time. The eyelids won’t stay open for too long yet, but the blinking reflex will begin. More good news: Your baby probably recognises the voice behind all those lullabies now, and he/she is falling in love just as fast as you are.

27wks – Central Park

Pregnancy: Second Trimester, wks 14 – 20

Week 14 – 15: Moved to New York! What an insane idea that turned out to be. I was so sick during the flight from lack of sleep and general exhaustion from having to carry around huge suitcases and my carry on bags that had two laptops and a hard drive, plus all of my photography equipment in them … not the best idea ever. I tried to go shopping for jeans and nearly cried when none of them fit me. I thought jeans shopping while not being pregnant was tough – I had no idea it would be so traumatic while pregnant! I’m quite tired with the jetlag and finding it harder than usual to adjust to being somewhere different.

Baby is now the length of an apple, weighing about 2 1/2 ounces and measuring 4 inches. At the close of this week, all major organs will be formed (heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, lungs, and spleen), although not necessarily performing their functions yet. The organs will continue to grow and develop over the next couple of months and will be up and running in no time. Blood vessels can be seen through the baby’s thin skin, and although the eyelids are fused shut, the baby can sense light. 



Week 16: Over the jetlag and settling in to New York. I’m busy finding us an apartment and sorting out paper work that needs to be done, but have found a great pre-natel yoga class that I have been doing twice a week. I don’t seem to be any noticeably bigger or be feeling any different to the previous few weeks. I can’t wait to move into our new home so we can start putting the nursery together. We looked at baby things in FAO Swartz yesterday and they were so cute I wanted to buy everything! Met our new doctor – he was great and made us feel very comfortable in his hands. He did a quick scan to try and determine the gender, but the baby was being most inco-operative, so we will have to wait till the next scan to find out.

Baby’s now the size of an avocado! Tiny bones forming in baby’s ears mean she can now pick up my voice. A few more minuscule changes: Eyebrows, lashes, and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming.

Week 17: Just before the end of this week, I started to feel not so good – really tired and unwell. It seems the baby was going through a growth expert, and my tummy popped out a bit. It felt so weird, I could feel the baby pressing down on my organs for the first time.

Baby is about 5 to 5 1/2 inches long from top to tail and weighs a little more than five ounces, about the size of a lobster tail. This week, the bones of the ear become fully formed along with the part of her brain that processes signals from the ears. She may change positions frequently, cross her legs, recline, suck her thumb, and turn somersaults. Her retinas have become light sensitive, and she may be able to detect a glow if you shine bright lights at the belly (even though her eyelids are sealed).

Week 18: It’s getting harder to bend over in my mid-section. It feels like there is a giant waterballon in my way. I felt the baby kick for the first time tonight, while we were at the theatre watching Driving Miss Daisy on the last day of March. She has good taste in theatre already. It felt like a little punch or kick!

At five and a half inches long and five ounces in weight, she now may be large enough for you to feel her twisting, rolling, kicking, and punching her way around the womb. Plus, she’s developing yawning and hiccupping skills and her own unique set of toe and fingerprints.


Week 19: I feel her moving much more frequently this week. It feels incredible! Little pokes from her tiny arms and legs. We go to Washington DC for the weekend and I realise that I look obviously pregnant for the first time on this trip.

Baby is now about the size of a mango. Vernix is beginning to coat the skin, which is a greasy, fat-like substance that provides insulation and regulates body heat as well as protects the skin since it is submerged in amniotic fluid.

Week 20: Halfway there! I had my 20 week ultrasound and everything looks perfect. They confirmed the baby was a girl and gave me the print out to prove it. I was weighed and I’ve put on 4kgs since becoming pregnant – most of it in the last week I think. I have to cut back on the ice cream and cupcakes and get more exercise!

Baby is now the size of a banana. She is now starting to hear sounds, both from inside the uterus and on the outside. She will have no way of identifying the noises yet, but in time will come to recognise our voices over anyone else’s. The baby can now be startled by loud or sudden noises and can hear both my heartbeat and my growling stomach.

20 weeks in Washington DC.