Diary of a Second Time Mum - And the Shenanigans Begin .....

10th July - 16 days old

Dear Diary

What can I say? Our day started out well with this .....

 Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth! She loves her baby brother so much she wants to constantly smother him in kisses and cuddles. This was our compromise ........

Things went a little south later on in the afternoon however. They were having cuddles in bed and I left them alone for literally 4 minutes while I went to make a cup of tea, talking to them both while I was in the kitchen. Big Sister did tell me that Little Brother had red paint on his forehead. (Red paint is blood in our house). I didn't think too much of it, thinking he'd scratched himself with a hooky fingernail..... I later discovered it was in fact RED PEN and Santa did it!

Naughty Santa!!

Red pen has now been confiscated and we've had a long chat about drawing on paper, not Little Brothers!

And so the shenanigans begin!

Until next we meet!!

Love

Shanelle

Diary of a Second Time Mum - Despite What the Scientists Say, Lightning Can Strike the Same Place Twice!!

Diary of a Second Time Mum is my way of staying connected with the outside world as I experience the motherhood journey for a second time in 5 years. I hope to share with you the highs, lows, fun and learnings along the way in a weekly post!

Dear Diary

We welcomed our gorgeous son into the world on Tuesday 24th June at 3.59am. Here's how it unfolded ....

Monday was spent taking it easy as I felt off-colour with an upset tummy. Early night in our house however sleep was evasive.

After experiencing some tightenings and a show just after midnight I called the hospital to see what I should do. They said to come up and get checked out. I called Mum at 1am in the morning to come and watch Miss Almost 5. Once she arrived we drove off slowly into the thick, heavy fog for what appeared to be the slowest trip to Rocky on record.

Arriving at the hospital just after 2am,  I was checked out and the Doctor said I was fully dilated  and the calmest fully dilated woman he'd seen in quite awhile. Being the middle of the night and no surgical team available he advised that I should try for a natural delivery. I freaked out a bit and he proceeded to do a scan to confirm the position of our baby.

He almost fell off his chair when he found our boy to be in the breech position. My partner and I looked at each other with relief, at least we'd found out now. Then I started asking questions..... what are the chances of having 2 undiagnosed breech births? According to some fancy numbers I've read online since there's a 1% chance for a first born being breech (higher chance for girls) and about a 7% chance of subsequent pregnancies also being breech.

Phone calls were quickly made and a surgical team called in. By 3am, we were in theatre. I managed to remain calm and relaxed, which had been the mantra of my hypnobirthing for c section audio that I had been dutifully listening to a couple of times a day.

Even though I was booked in for a c-section on Wednesday and this was unfolding before me in an unexpected way, I felt a sense of calm and being in control. Like this time around I knew what to expect and was glad that we would get to meet our guy a  little sooner; that this was the safest choice for us.

At 3.59am our little man appeared above the screen. There's nothing quite like that moment when they hold your baby up for your first look. He was taken away to be checked out and was soon laid on my chest for our first snuggles.

Back on the ward after being stitched up and spending some time in recovery, it was time to snuggle and cuddle more with the new man in my life. I fell in love instantaneously. I just can't put into words the feelings of love that came when I looked at his cute-as-a-button face.

Miss Almost 5 came for a visit with Granny & Poppy - keen to meet her new brother. After a few cuddles and kisses, she was eager to head back to kindy to tell the other kids all about him. She's been waiting so long for him to arrive.

After our visitors left for the day, the nurse came and got me out of bed for a shower. At first I was a little surprised to be up and about so soon, now I am very grateful.  I feel fantastic and my recovery this time round has been smooth sailing. Now I can advocate how important your mindset and beliefs are and how much they impact on our experiences in life.

I will sign off for now. It's my intention to post once a week in some form or another using this platform.

Until next week,

Take care, keep smiling and be grateful for all the blessings in your life right now.

Love

Shanelle

Preparing for the Impending Arrival of Our New Addition

The weeks have been steadily ticking over and all of a sudden, we've reached the 30 week mark. According to Miss 4, there are only 2 pages of the calendar left to go.

 I have no idea where that time has gone or how I got to being here!What I do know is that it's all systems go and my tummy has been steadily increasing in size and the intensity of movements felt grows by the day. If I didn't know any better I would think there's half a football team growing inside of me, but apparently there's only a sole player!

I feel pretty calm and relaxed about the journey this time. In some ways second time round is easier and yet more difficult. Having Miss 4 means I can't just crawl into bed when I feel like it, having eaten spaghetti on toast because that's all the strength I could muster in the gourmet meal department.

My back and hips have been giving me hell and for the last few weeks my ever-expanding belly has felt much larger than the first time. Yet this time I have a little girl who is excited beyond belief and ready to give a helping hand to her Mum organising baby brother things.


This time the rules have gone out the window. I am prepared and ready for any situation that may arise. Yes, I have purchased dummies, bottles, breast pump, formula, and all the other things that were on my old "not required because I will be the perfect Mum" list. We've been busy washing clothes and sorting out baby's room. I've had the best helper alongside of me and there have been times where I've been in trouble for doing things she's wanted to do.

The other week we'd taken the bassinet apart to wash all the bits and pieces and had miraculously managed to reassemble it to its former state. Upon putting it into the baby's room, I said to Miss 4 that this was for the baby and not a toy for her doll babies. I turned my back to do something and in the meantime she'd laid out a hat, a jacket and pants. When I asked her what she was doing she replied, "I'm just checking to see if he'll fit in here!".

She's so excited and cannot wait to meet her baby brother. I'm not sure how long that will last once he arrives and isn't going back into Mummy's tummy. She's constantly kissing my belly and talking to her brother, it's the sweetest thing. And yet part of me worries that that will all change. Of course things will change and will be different. As a family we have a whole lot of adjusting to do as we eagerly await the arrival of our newest member.

This time in my heart I know things will be different. I know that no matter what happens I have the strength and resilience to make it through. Even if I do fall in a heap, I know that's okay too. I know I don't have to put on a facade to show the world I am coping when I am not. I am forever grateful to have my daughter eager to lend a helping hand. She tells me I will be able to sleep and Dad will still be able to watch the football while she's taking care of the baby. I'm guessing I may need to master the art of sleeping with one eye open.

I feel we've been blessed as a family in so many ways. People often balk when they hear that there will be an almost 5-year gap between the two. What many don't realise is that just because you fell pregnant once, doesn't mean there are guarantees there will be future pregnancies or the difficulties experienced to conceive another. After the ectopic pregnancy, the odds definitely weren't in our favour.

No matter what happens from here on in, we'll make the most of what comes our way. We'll face the challenges as a family and share the laughs too, no doubt there will be plenty of both. Sending love to you and your family this week. Take a moment to appreciate what you have together. Perhaps it's time to introduce a new family ritual. Here are some of the things that have melded their way into our family:

* Family cuddles - a whole group hug with all of us, randomly
* Family day - usually on a Sunday where we spend some time together. It may be as simple as getting in the car and going for a drive
* Eating dinner at the table when we're all home together, usually we light a candle and talk about our big day

Remember - it's the littlest of things that create the greatest memories. xxx