poo watch update

Because I know you're dying to know:

He went twice today and it was very smelly.

Things you learn

Apparently breast fed babies can go up to 10 days without pooing and this is ok. I discovered this because when the health visitor came on Tuesday it had been 3 days. Well now it's been 5 and I'm really hoping it doesn't go on much longer because it can't be very comfortable. That said, he doesn't seem too bothered.

T is now 65cm and 6.6kg so still growing well.

shopping

I forgot to mention the guy at passport control stamped T's passport when we went away. You don't normally get stamps when travelling within Europe so this is really cool.

Cibele's post got me thinking so I've spent the morning reading back over my posts from my bfp onwards. I'll be honest there has been more than a few tears as I've read back and re-reading the comments has made me smile. Thank you so much for being there for me during all this.

While at home I went shopping with my parents in an attempt to get something suitable to wear at a wedding we will be going to at the end of September. Since I'm breastfeeding my boobs are huge and none of my smart clothes fit. Unfortunately I failed miserably - although I did get some nice shoes in the sale. So on Saturday I set out to try again, the plan was that S would sit in the park with T while I went shopping with my mobile so I was available if needed. What we didn't plan on was T having a growth spurt and needing feeding every hour so I kept getting called. In spite of this I managed to find a dress (this one) which fits and will allow breastfeeding without hitching the whole thing up and showing off my knickers, so I guess I'm getting more efficient at shopping. Of course today, Tis having the day of sleep which would have worked much better.

parents, sisters, vaccinations etc

We had a great time at my parents, T met 2 great aunts, 1 great uncle, my cousin and his wife and also saw both his aunts again. My little sister was very emotional about leaving but she seems to have arrived safely in Ecuador. The flights went fine, on the way over we got 3 seats to ourselves - I guess when people have a choice (on cheap airlines) they don't sit next to the baby ;-). This meant that when he fell asleep I could lay him on the other 2 seats. We weren't so lucky on the return flight as it was much busier but we sat next to a very nice couple and he didn't fuss too much. While we were there T slept well in the cot me and my sisters all used - oh yes my mum doesn't throw anything out.
We met F for lunch before heading to the airport to come back so she could get some cuddles to last until we visit her or she come back from Ecuador for a visit.

On Monday T had his first vaccinations, he did really well but cried a bit when the second needle went in. He also had a fever Monday night which lasted through Tuesday. He seems back to his normal self today but I'm not looking forward to next time he's unwell as he just does this really pathetic cry that makes me want to cry too.

It's our wedding anniversary today so we're going into town for dinner.

more on names

Oops I didn't mean to leave that last one at the top so long but after getting back from my parents last week things seem to have been a bit hectic and I haven't got around to posting.

On glow in the woods recently, tash wrote about naming those we've lost and it got me thinking. The fact is that the first time I was pregnant we had a girls name picked, one we both liked. In the end of course we didn't use it then and since baby T is a boy we didn't have to decide whether to use it this time.

The thing is in some ways that name belongs to that first baby-that-wasn't. Even though we'll never know if it was a girl, hey it was barely anything, in my head it (she) sometimes has that name. This may never be an issue, but we would like another kid and S thinks we should use that name if it's a girl. I'm not sure though, I guess we'll have to cross that bridge if/when we meet it.

An English Girl in Copenhagen part 5 - on work and miscarriage

In January 2006 we heard that my boss in Glasgow was moving to another University but he still intended to offer me a 1 year contract at the new Uni. As a result of this I spoke to the co-ordinator of the grant scheme to determine if this meant my obligation to return no longer applied. Since it was now impossible to return to my original job at the University in Glasgow he agreed that I no longer had an obligation to return to the UK and even better the company I was working for would not be penalised if they decided to extend my contract.

So I started to explore whether I could stay on in my job while keeping my options open in terms of returning to the UK. At the same time we arranged to stay with a friend from 1st April for the short term until we knew what our circumstances would be and could arrange something a little more permanent. Everything seemed to be falling into place when I landed a contract in one of the other groups at my company which was covering someone else's maternity leave and would keep me employed until I was due to give birth. In the final week before switching jobs my nuchal scan was due and I was looking forward to seeing the baby for the first time.

On the Friday before the scan we were over at some friends having dinner when I found old dark blood in my knickers. Of course I was worried but decided not to go and get it checked out before my scan as I figured old blood was either nothing to worry about or too late to be able to do anything. Also I could try and deny my gut feeling that things were not OK by putting it off for a couple of days.

At the scan the technician was very quiet and quickly switched to an internal ultrasound to try and see something - definitely not a good sign at this stage. After what seemed like an age and a second opinion by which stage I knew things were bad and was crying quietly - they explained that all they could see was an empty sack. At this stage I was informed I would need to go to a different hospital closer to my home and it was likely that a D & C would be arranged to remove the "products of conception". Everyone at the other hospital was very kind and I was told to return the next morning and not eat anything after 8pm as the procedure would be done under general anaesthetic.

My mum flew in that evening to be with me and the next morning me, S and mum went to the hospital. I was crying as I went under with the anaesthetic and still crying when I woke up. Later that day I went home again to try and get on with my life.