The Very Hungry Caterpillar

 Just a quick post to share how much Squish and I love the Very Hungry Caterpillar series of books. We read a lot, but she always comes back to these and her face lights up as she turns the pages.

I have always loved Eric Carle and no matter what year level I was teaching I would always do a unit on his books with my class during library. For the littlies it would just be from a pure story point of view, for the older classes, we looked at how his illustrations were crafted and used in the stories (Hello, Red Fox is amazing!).

There is so much vocab in the original story, from days of the week and counting, to common fruits and other foods. Throw in a bit of science with the life cycle of a butterfly and you have such a rich learning opportunity outside the fun of the story itself. Because it is so great for vocab I even had a copy in German (Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt) when I was teaching German classes.

The Touch and Feel Playbook was fabulous for tummy time. Putting the book flat on the floor in front of her gave her something to do with her hands, standing it up in front of her encouraged her to lift her head.

The Where is book and the counting book are recent additions to our collection, and Squish loves lifting the flaps on each page to look for the Caterpillar and counting the animals on each page - well, I count, she watches :)

I had planned to do a Totoro cake for her 1st birthday, to round out the Baby Shower theme, but now I am thinking it might have to be a Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Craftiness!

One of the things keeping me sane during this troubled time is my craft, I have posted about it before. I have my very first market coming up this weekend, so thought I would take the chance to share some of the creations I'll be hoping to sell =)

The Pressure of TTC

It's been a while since my last post. We had the visit from AF, then it was school holidays, and time just flies by!

Right at the moment we are in the middle of our fertile window for this cycle and it seems hubby is not really interested. Overall, we have been intimate a lot more regularly than we have previously. Whereas before TTC we averaged about once a week, we are now sticking to every 2-3 days pretty well. One problem has been that hubby is missing all the other intimate activities we usually get up to, even though I have promised him that between AF and ovulation we can do whatever he likes! He also turned me down twice yesterday, which is another story for another day, but needless to say the hurt is lingering today.

I have also been reading a bit about reactions to pregnancy news from those who are themselves TTC. I know that I am putting myself under pressure to be the first on my mum's side of the family to have a baby, and there have been a whole lot of weddings at work lately and I'm hoping to beat all the new brides to it! I know it sounds silly, but this is the pressure that I am putting on myself.

I've read about people being angry, jealous or upset that others have a relatively easy TTC journey, a couple of months or so, while they have been struggling for years. One comment I even read what directed at someone who had "finally" conceived after two months. While the commenter expressed congratulations, she also felt that the poster didn't really understand what disappointment felt like. It got me thinking.

Hubby and I have only been 'officially' TTC for two months. I have been on BC the whole time we have been married, BUT... I have been waiting since our wedding for this time to come. So while we have only really been trying for a little while, I feel like I have been waiting for 5 years already! The thought of waiting another 12 months makes me feel physically ill.

How long did you try before TTC your first? How did it make you feel to hear others announce their pregnancy while you were still trying? Any advice to share on how to cope?

Early Pregnancy Symptoms before Implantation

I have been doing a lot of reading this weekend. I had thought, on my limited medical knowledge, that there would be no way for a woman to feel any pregnancy symptoms before implantation. I thought that this was when the baby and mother started interacting, and therefore the first time for hormones to have any impact on the mother.

Then I spent the last week feeling awful.

I have had bloating, cramps and nausea every day for the last week. I have been extremely tired, to the point where I have been in bed very early the last 3 nights and actually slept for 16 hours yesterday. I have been short of breath and using my asthma puffer regularly during the day, not something I normally have to do. I developed an allergic reaction to my wedding ring and I totally lost interest in sex. The last 3 days I have had terrible headaches and an awful taste in my mouth. So I took a HPT, thinking that surely if I was feeling all this I must be pregnant.

BFN.

So I started researching. I looked for the type of EPS that women reported at 3 and 4 weeks. I looked up if it is even possible to have symptoms before implantation and although the replies from some forum members seem to be a loud "NO!" the research I saw said that maybe it isn't so crazy.

HCG, the hormone associated with the symptoms of pregnancy, isn't the only hormone that can cause these symptoms. The other culprit is progesterone. This starts to build from the moment of ovulation and some of the articles I ready suggested that this hormone increases once conception or fertilisation occurs. I also read that there are some women who are more susceptible to these types of changes in their hormone levels.

Theoretically, it is possible that I am pregnant and that would explain the terrible way I have been feeling. But because this is our first try, because I have been on BC for a few years and not ovulating, there is another theory I am starting to think is more likely.

If progesterone is only released after ovulation, and I haven't been ovulating while on BC, then it could just be that my body is not used to having this hormone in my system and I am reacting to it. The other problem is that although I am off BC I don't know when or even if I am ovulating. I think I know, based on pains and twinges I felt just over a week ago, but I don't know for sure.

So I don't really know what that BFN means. Am I pregnant but it is too early to test? Or is it a genuine BFN and I should expect a visit from dear old AF any day now?

I suppose only time will tell. The TWW continues!

Baby Sales!

As some of you may know, the Target Baby Sale is on at the moment.. and the Big W Baby Sale starts next week!

I know that it's not a good idea to get too carried away, as hubby reminded me, we have no idea how long it may take us to fall pregnant, or if it will even be possible. The worst things I can imagine is having a room ful of baby things staring accusingly at me as the months or years pass.

However...

I couldn't stay away! My very best friend who just had her first has arranged to take me shopping in the next school holidays, she told me there is a lot of stuff I think I will need that I wont, and stuff I don't think I'll need that I probably will. One things I remember her telling me is that everyone buys newborn clothes as gifts, but very few buy for the 3 months plus age.

It is a bit temptation to me to buy little boys clothes, after all, whenever hubby and I talk about babies it seems to be about baby boys. I know that is I part because of some reservations I have about raising girls in general, but there are also some other issues that I'd rather not go into here. Not yet anyway. Having said that, the little girls clothes are ADORABLE!

I tried to make sure that I didn't buy too much and that anything I did buy was more 'neutral' although I have no problem putting a baby girl in blue (not a fan of pink myself, although hubby keeps buying me pink clothes and I think I am slowly warming to the colour after 35 years).

I was also determined to find a box of some type to store things in. For one thing, it will limit what I buy - if it wont fit in the box I wont buy it. For another, it'll be easy to keep out of sight of visiting friends and family. The one thing I didn't count on  was just how hard it would be to find a nice box! I admit, I didn't look too hard. My choices were limited to Target, Big W and Kmart. I was surprised however that there was a huge lack of 'toy boxes' - I imagine kids these days must just leave their mountains of toys all over the place! (I'll save my 'kids these days' thoughts for another post!).

I also managed to pick up an Australian Edition baby book. Keep on eye out for a future post about the content, hoping that it is better than the last one.

Review: Your Pregnancy After 35, 3rd Edition

You would think I had learned my lesson after the magazine article I read last week, but apparently not. Probably the teacher in me coming out, but as we continue on this adventure, I crave information. This book jumped out at me immediately, for obvious reasons.

The one thing I didn't consider until I had the book back home was just how up to date or relevant the information might be. I already knew this was an American book, therefore very little of the information regarding healthcare would be specifically relevant, but I still found it useful. More importantly, I had failed to check the date of publication, I saw the "3rd Edition" and thought it must be ok. Checking the publishing info showed that the book was originally published in 2006 but has since been revised and the last revision was only published this year - phew!

It is important to me not to take anything I read in a book like this as gospel. Rather, I want to have some information at my disposal and use it to help me with any questions I might have for my doctor. I also hope it will help put my mind at ease when I start worrying about any of the details along the way. For example, after I got my blood tests results back, I was able to come home to this book and look up the information it contains about the role Vitamin D plays in baby's development.

Overall, I found the book a really good first read, see below for more information. The only real gripe I had were the illustrations (pretty dated) and the use of the words "healthful" or "healthfully" - made me cringe a little each time I came across them!

What's covered in the book?
This book focuses mainly on the health aspects of pregnancy after 35, rather than focusing on week-by-week development of your baby.

It begins with an introduction which focuses on the differences between a first time pregnancy after 35 compared to a repeat pregnancy, and the effects of work at this time.

There is a lot of focus on the types of tests available for mothers and babies before, during and after pregnancy and includes lots of statistics about the occurrence of different medical conditions.

There is also quite a bit of information about how to cope during pregnancy such as dealing with discomforts, effects of medications and conditions and nutrition and weight management.

Overall, I found this book to be a great overview of a lot of information which covered almost all of the common questions that a woman considering pregnancy after 35 might consider. There were some sections that I wished were longer or more detailed, but just made a not of these to ask my doctor - or look out for these when purchasing any other books in the future.

I'll finish with a quote from the book that helped to make me feel a little more positive about my "advanced maternal age" after reading that previous magazine article!

"Today, many healthcare professionals gauge pregnancy risk 

by a woman's health status, not her age."

Pre-conception Appointment Checklist

Hubby and I are scheduled for a pre-conception appointment this Friday. After talking about making babies for so long, this seems like the first momentous step in that direction! Needless to say we are both feeling a little nervous.

Most of my issues centre around my age and the fact that I am still trying to lose weight. The diet my doctor currently has me on is fairly restrictive and very low carb, so I think that may have to change. I don't smoke, never have, I don't use recreational drugs and I only drink once a month or so, easy to cut out. As for hubby, he is slightly underweight due to work demands and he smokes. Not a lot, but enough to be a concern to me for his own sake, let alone our chances of conception and whatever impact it may have on our unborn child.

I really want to get the most out of this appointment and after doing a little research, I have come up with a list of questions that I am hoping to have answered. In no particular order:

• How long after removal of my implant is it possible to fall pregnant?
• What effect will the painkillers I have been taking have on a baby?
• Do I need to consider alternative pain management while trying to conceive or when pregnant?
• How long should we ‘try’ before scheduling another appointment?
• What prenatal vitamins does she recommend? When should I begin taking them?
• What can hubby do to help? (e.g. vitamins of his own, etc)
• Am I at risk for any problems? Do I need to take any specific precautions?
• How can I safely continue weightloss? (diet, exercise, etc)
• Are all my immunisations up to date? If not, what do I need and when? Will this mean we have to wait before trying to conceive?
• Are there any health problems or conditions I should take care of before trying to conceive?
• What effect could my back injury have on trying to conceive or during pregnancy?
• Given my back injury, what impact might being pregnant have on my ability to continue working?
• What can hubby and I do to increase the chances of getting pregnant?

I have been reading a lot about women who didn’t have a pre-conception appointment for a variety of reasons. If you did, what types of questions did you ask? Did the doctor’s information regarding age associated risks put you at ease, or have the opposite effect? What questions do you wish you had asked that you didn’t?

Reading to Baby

I am a huge fan of reading to children, being a teacher and all! I believe that it is never too early to start reading to your child.

I found an old facebook post that read:

WHY READ 30 MINUTES A DAY WITH YOUR CHILD?

*If daily reading begins when they are born, by the time the child is five years old, he or she has been fed roughly 900 hours of brain food!

*Reduce that experience to just 30 minutes a week, and the child's hungry mind lose 770 hours of nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and stories.

*A kindergarten student who has not been read aloud to could enter school with less than 60 hours of literacy nutrition. No teacher, no matter how talented, can make up for those lost hours of mental nourishment.

*Therefore...30 minutes daily = 900 hours
30 minutes weekly = 130 hours
Less than 30 minutes weekly = 60 hours

I’d like to think that I will start before birth, as I am buying books for later in my baby’s life I would read to them.  I also read a lot myself, and hubby and I sometimes read together, so baby would get used to the sound of oral reading.

After baby is born I would love to read at all kinds of times. I can imagine reading the cards or messages that people have sent for the birth – “This one is from aunty Moo and says...” I love the idea of reading to baby after feeding, and getting into the habit of reading before bed at night right away. As the baby is a little older and able to focus more closely and hold things more easily, I’d love to have a whole range of cloth ‘feely’ books (I have made a few of these myself!) Books about animals, about colours, about numbers. Read through them, play with them, just have them around.

I also think is important to read stories to a child, even when they may not understand all the words or concepts being mentioned. Settling down for some quiet time with a book is a good habit to form early and the rhythm and tone of your voice along with the pictures in the book will keep interest for a start.

I have no doubt that my baby will be surrounded by books. They WILL see books as presents, as things to be treasured and valued and to be shared. I still have many of the books I received as a child and there are many favourites which I now share with my students, I look forward to sharing them with my own child.

I have two very clear images when I think of life with baby: one of me sitting in a chair with baby on my lap reading a book, I think it is a book of traditional stories or an old favourite of mine. The other is of my husband, lying on the bed next to the child, snuggled up close, reading a bed time story. It’s a funny book, about soccer or something that they both love and the child is in awe of the page, staring at what daddy is reading, while daddy is in awe of the child and this wonderful person that we have made together.