Friday, April 15, 2011

Oliver Hendric Rack

We welcomed Oliver Hendric Rack on the 12th April 2011 at 10:30am via c-section. He was born 9 pound 2 ounces (4135grams), 52 cms long and had a head measuring 37.5 cms. He's such a delight and doing so well, by day 3 he had only lost 225 grams, he's a perfect sleeper during the day but we are still trying to tackle the nights... he prefers to be held than sleep in his own bed.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Well I Did It!!!!

Not at the baby yet lol but finish Ethan's first year in my digital scrapbook. If you want to see the complete album click on the link above "Ethan's Digital Scrapbook"

Here is a sneek peek of his first and last page



So happy that I've finished this part of my own personal challenge, now just to do Hayden's from 1 - 6 years, and Ethan's 1 - 3 years... Perhaps I'll leave it for a few more months before I start... being that I only have two more sleeps before this little man arrives...

We have FIVE names on the go for this little one... final decision to be made once he arrives
Ashton Blake Rack
Blake Lucas Rack
Caelan Lewis Rack
Spencer Blake Rack
Oliver Hendric Rack

Oliver was a late addition (last week) but I've really fallen for it... Hendric is Joshs Opa's name so has a lot of meaning... but he might not look like an Oliver (Ethan didn't which is why he was not named Oliver as it was in his top three too)

Well fingers crossed next time I post it will be of news of the new arrival... until then... belly rubs all round xx

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

One Week Today...

Wow... this time next week we will be holding and feeding a little one... a little boy... who will be all mine... okay maybe he will be all ours :-)

We fitted the car seat into our car over the weekend, I've washed his new clothes that we received at his baby shower, and I'm about 80% done packing his bags, and still to start mine.

I'm sure the next week will D.....R......A.....G but it will be worth it once we are on our way to the hospital... and then even more so when we hear him cry

How Exciting :-)

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Countdown is on...

16 more days and counting... our little man will be arriving via planned c-section in 16 more days... I can hardly wait... and neither can he.

He certainly isn't making these last few weeks easy, with lots of tightens, killer headaches and a range of other issues. I seem to have made Mater Mother's Pregnancy Assessment unit my other home, with a trip there every other day, and man do I hate it... I would prefer not to go in just to be sent home but knowing that if I go into labour the more time they have to prep the better things sometimes gets confusing... especially with this "irritable uterus"

Friday afternoon I woke (after sleeping THROUGH Ethan's drop off... such a bad mummy) with a killer header and nausea that just wouldn't go away, I took panadol, but that didn't help, I rang the assessment unit and they said I could come in or I could give it another hour or so and see what happens, her advice was to get some panadol with codeine and to drink lots of water and fingers crossed things would settle down. Nope nothing worked... went to bed around 8 (such a nana) and started noticing tightens that were coming every 5 minutes, and as time wore on they got stronger, they were longer than anything else I'd had previously and the pain started to radiate into my back, they were lasting 30 - 40 seconds and after an hour I decided to ring the assessment unit again and ask them what to do... So we packed up the car, dropped Ethan off at my mums and headed in to my favourite place in the world. Only to be put on the monitor for 15 minutes, they couldn't see the tightens and decided to remove it in case he started to get excited again (see previous post). Saw the registry and she dismissed everything and sent me home. She basically said that if we can no see the contractions on the machine then I was not in labour and that it was just the irritable uterus playing up. She said to go home and take another two panadol with codeine and come back if things got stronger.

So as you can see I have lots of fun... with my last labour (Ethan) after my waters broke my contractions were 5 minutes apart and lasting for 45 seconds and didn't get closer as I was wheeled into the operating room... so HOW am I to know when to be concerned... I don't... perhaps someone should tell this little man to either wait... or give me a decent sign that he's ready :-)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Oh What A Night!

Well we had an interesting night... tightens were pretty random yesterday, 5 mins, 13 mins, 3 mins, 7 mins, 5 mins etc etc... they didn't concern me cause hey... I'm getting use to them... anyway went to bed around 8.30 and doing my normal belly rubs I notice that my scar from prior c-sections is rather tender to touch, get up use the bathroom then go and lay down again... there is a dull burning sensation on one side of my scar... get up and walk to get details to call in to pregnancy assessment just to check if I should keep an eye on it or what not and the pressure that I had been feeling all day seemed to radiate from my scar. So I give them a call and they said best to come in as with scars you never know and with my history from prior c-section they wouldn't want to risk it.

So I head in, and start with the whole what brings you in... and I go over my last few days to give them a bit of background... lots of tightens, pressure, strange headaches (when laying down & put down to the slight cough I've had last few days and perhaps fluid causing headache) and the reason for tonights visit the pain in my scar.

Go to the bathroom, test urine, go on the CTG and he looks great, midwife really happy with outcome, wait around for doctor, checks scar, comments on the excess scar tissue and she likes the fact that she can pin point where the pain is coming from along the scar line, she thinks that with the details of my tightens that I have an irritable uterus, checks cervix and nothing has changed there still long and closed, says she'll be back after checking on urine results (just to confirm no PE due to headaches). She comes back and advises results are in but she wasn't happy about a small dip on my CTG with bubs heart rate and while we wait for the results she'd like me to do another CTG just to ensure it doesn't happen again... she takes bloods and then I wait for midwife to come in, bubs goes CRAZY in tummy, midwife comes in and attaches CTG and well you can see he's pretty active (note all the little arrows on the bottom)




after 30 minutes doctor comes back in and advise that urine is clear, the pain in scar she believes is just cause of the amount and it stretching, that it won't ease but only get worse, to make sure that I come in as soon as I think I’m starting labour as they need to prevent me going into labour, and if the pain in my scar changes to also come straight in… finally she said that once we get 10 minutes of a CTG that they can actually get a base line from I'll be free to go... ... ... over an hour later they FINALLY get 10 minutes of something that they can read.

I did ask her if they will take the pain from the scar tissue into consideration when deciding on when the c-section will be booked for and she suggested that I tell them about the issues it's causing me and ask them for an early c-section... so fingers crossed I'll find out more tomorrow... I also asked her about the irritable uterus and WHEN do I actually pay attention to the tightens, and she has said that if they increase in intensity over time and are regular then I need to contact them.

So I'm operating on very little sleep, and I have Ethan at home today... a day of ABC for Kids I'm thinking!

Friday, March 11, 2011

34 Weeks... count down is on...

I can't believe I'll be 34 weeks tomorrow, which means that we only have 4 - 5 weeks left of this journey before the new one beginnings. So many friends have had babies recently and it's been hard not being able to visit them (they are all in NZ) and offer them all the support that they offered me when Hayden & Ethan were born.

I took a new picture today and have compared it against me at 12 weeks wearing the same dress... just a bit of a tummy... one to many donuts I'm thinking


This little man has been causing a few issues this last week, lots of unexplained pains and a HORRID headache so that results in 4 hours at the pregnancy assessment unit, then midwife appointment and he decided to have a party in my belly (that I didn't feel) and his heart rate was racing so back down to pregnancy assessment unit, he was pretty settled when down there so only a half hour visit. Yesterday we looked after ourselves at home but had to do kick counts due to a strange pain in my middle belly... He should learn to behave!

On the "me" front I've decided to set up my hobby as a Facebook page called Delightful Designz fingers crossed that this will take off so I don't have to take myself away from my little man when he arrives to head back into the work force.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Digital Scrapbooking...

I'm on a roll... still extremely behind in the months / years of my two boys lives I have accomplished quiet a few pages in Ethan's album, heading to my goal of his first year before number three is born... here are the pages that I completed this weekend... to see Hayden's & Ethan's Albums click on the tabs above :-)











Tuesday, February 15, 2011

30 Weeks 3 Days

Time is on a go slow... heart burn is at a MEGA high... count down in on until our growth scan which is in 6 days. Last weeks appointment with the midwife was rather surprising with a HUGE growth on his fundal height, he went from 27.5 at 27 weeks to 36 at 29.5 weeks, which is why we are going for the scan. Blood pressure was great, babies heart rate was also good and they followed up on the blood test results and have asked me to have my platelets tested again.

I'm on the hunt for a baby shower invite... I've got a few ideas in mind and fingers crossed I'll get the time over the next week or two to put something together and get them in the post. We are going to have mixed gender BBQ instead of a traditional shower. Really looking forward together with everyone in our own place, we haven't had an excuse to party yet so fingers crossed all goes ahead.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

28 weeks 3 days... and counting...

This week is coming and going so fast and this little man is not letting me forget he's in there... his kicks are soooo low and so strong!!!

We are just about ready for his arrival... yet it's still so far away

This week we got his bedding, We were lucky to get this on clearance!!! Bargain shopping :-) BONUS!

Then I had my super buy on eBay for a feeding chair... due to all my issues previously with breast feeding and our couch not being supportive enough (deep and low back) I decided if we found a second hand one on eBay that was a decent price we'd get one... this one was only $100 with no wear and tear and a RRP of over $450, I thought the ones going online for $170 were bargains... I think not!

We have some lovely friends who's princess has grown out of her bassinet and they have passed it onto us to use... isn't it beautiful! We still need to get some bedding but won't need too much as I have still got Hayden's & Ethan's sleeping bag that my mum brought over 6 years ago, just needs a good wash and a bit of TLC.

Our last bargain that we picked up a few weeks ago is this set.... it was only $50 at the Target baby sale... the mat on it's own was $39 (in the sale) and bouncers were over $50... I still can't believe it was two for the price of the mat...


We are still working on cutting down our names list to three of our favourites but this task is so much harder than expected, not only do we have to take into consideration the name, middle name, nick names, and the initials but also how it works with the other two boys...



For my baby brain I need a list to keep things in my mind... so...

... Still to Purchase ...
* 000 Singlets
* 0000 Hat & Gloves
* Capsule (on lay-by)

... Still to Sort ...
* Baby Bag - need to try and rescue Ethan's one... project for next week
* Baby Hammock - Stand still in NZ... Hammock missing in action
* Changing Table / Drawers - missing part to get sent from supplier
* Table for beside feeding chair with basket for bits and pieces
* Baby Names :-)

Saturday, January 22, 2011

3rd Trimester Today!!!

Wow where has time gone… we made a decision to hold off until the new year to purchase things for the baby and we were so lucky that Target also decided to have a baby sale just as the new year arrived. We have made some amazing purchases on eBay and things are finally becoming real!

Our little man is growing strong and is creating quite an environment for himself… I’m sure my tummy wasn’t this big with Ethan or Hayden  at this stage so we will see how much more it grows.


His kicks are extremely powerful and sometimes quite painful , Josh has a good laugh when I’m sitting here going “ow” randomly .

We purchased his cot and changing table/dresser off eBay, for an extremely low price which has been excellent and I really didn’t want a second hand cot and the cost between 2nd hand and new where basically the same if not cheaper in some cases. And we got the matching changing table with three drawers to combine the two pieces with the one price, we used Ethan’s changing table right up until the day we sold it so we knew that it was a purchase we’d really get our money’s worth out of.




When visiting Target I was able to put the capsule on layby to match the pram we have just finished paying off, and purchase this EXTREME bargain…


It was on clearance for $39… can you believe it??? and there is NOTHING wrong with it.

Unfortunately clothing is where we are a bit lost with most of the “0000” being sold out, so we have gather a nice collection of “000” all in one suits, a small collection of “0000” singlets… will have to work on this department :-)

Our current task is working on his name… we are currently working on a list and plan on bringing that list down to three names by the time he arrives with the final decision being made once we can see which name suits him… currently we have:

Ashton Blake Rack
Ashton Oliver Rack
Blake Isaac Rack
Blake Lucas Rack
Hunter Vincent Rack
Caelan Lawson Rack
Kristan Hendric Rack

I've sent up a new account for this poll to take place so everyone can vote :-) weather or not you've voted before.

Click here or you can go to the side bar on the right hand side ---->


Well that is me for today… I’m sure I have plenty more to share but my mind is blank!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Missing in Action

Well it's been a long few weeks, or has it even been a month, without the internet at home... fingers crossed in a few more days we will be connected.

It's becoming more real that a little one will be with us in the next few months with his kicks getting stronger and the need to purchase baby items slowly creeping up on us.

Went for another blood test yesterday which involved fasting, the "horrid" sugary drink and a long long two hour wait... not to mention the THREE injections to draw blood. I have an OB appointment tomorrow which I'm dreading if the scales are mentioned... so far they haven't but you never know when they will be luking around the corner.

Well I best head off once again as duty calls... fingers crossed for a more interesting update in the near future....