I love my weekends, especially now that I've gone back to work full time to earn more money for when #2 comes along. Sunday's are particularly crazy for us as we start the day off early with a 9am swimming lesson with L. One parent has to be in the pool and I've been volunteering because it's been an easy way for me to get 30mins of exercise in and I just love spending time with L in the pool.
L just loves swimming. Every Sunday we say 'would you like to go swimming with mummy?' to which he nods his head vigorously and runs off to find his swimming trunks which he hands to us and claps his hands his delight. When he's at the pool he wants to get in straight away and we have to make sure we hold in to him super tight until the class before finishes so we can get it the water. So hard trying to distract an almost 2 year old when they don't understand why they can't get in the water straight away. So we cuddle in the shower at the pool for a few minutes which is getting harder and harder with my 29 week bump trying to carry him!
When L is in the pool it's nothing but squeals of pure delight, splashing and hand clapping. He kicks with such enthusiasm which has resulted in a few kicks to the belly (not so fun). He has learnt to hold his breath, swim under water and reach out to me. He can monkey walk across the side of the pool (whilst making monkey sounds!) and can turn around and swim to me if he is holding on to the edge. Super super cool.
He is no where near swimming by himself yet but he has improved so much since we started back in November. I am so proud of him :)
And we get to do this all over again when #2 comes along! There will probably be a time when both hubs and I are in the pool with both kids for swimming lessons! Hope that doesn't last too long.
Thanks for reading!
LBG xx
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
My son's birth day story
I wrote this down just after my little man was born. I wanted to get it down so that I didn't forget it.. it's the story of the arrival of my son. I hope you enjoy it!
I'd woken up with contractions on 22nd June 2010 but then went back to sleep around 4:30am so they had obviously stopped. I had a 39 week OB appointment on 22nd June where he did an internal and told me I was already 3cm dialated. Said I wouldn't make it to the weekend (Baby was due on Monday 28th June)... so I was excited. Because of the internal exam, I had alot of bleeding/mucus plug stuff during the afternoon and lost my mucus plug (or what was left of it).. and just felt out of sorts in the evening. Had a lovely relaxing bath and went to bed early.
4:30am on 23rd June I woke up with contractions, kinda like the morning before, except that I couldn't go back to sleep. Got my iPhone out with a contraction timer application I had downloaded and started timing the contractions. 5 mins apart and about 3/10. Woke DH up and told him that I thought I was in learly abour. Told him to go back to bed... and I got up and had a long hot shower. Phone the hossy at around 6:30am and told them what was going on. They encouraged me to stay at home until things got a little more intense. DH ran a bath and I hopped in around 7am... every contraction was still 5 mins apart but getting more ouch. Every time I had a contraction I would roll over in the bath so that my belly was downwards, and DH would massage my back... this happened for 4.5hours!! DH kept on refilling the bath with hot water and brought me powerades and lollies! What a champ!
Got out of the bath at 11:30am and thought that I probably should go to the hossy now. Jumped in the car, had two contractions on the way (now they were 8 mins apart)... got to the hossy around midday.. MW put the monitors on me and could only get a contraction once every 10 mins!! Said that I might have to go home which I was not happy about because I was in a little more pain now. She did an internal check and I was 5cm dialated... waters hadn't broken, but I wasn't going home. She asked me what I wanted to do for pain relief. I said I wanted a pethidine shot. Got the shot, felt like I had drunk 4 G&Ts! Felt awesome! Really calm and relaxed. Still felt the contracts but didn't really care too much about the pain. hehehe
Got back in the bath again and rocked out to Michael Jackson and the like for another 4 hours... DH continuing to massage my back for each contraction (what a trooper!).
At around 4:30pm the pethidine had well and truely worn off.. I'd been contracting every 4-5mins for 12 hours and I was TIRED. The contractions were very ouchy at this stage and I asked for the epi. Got back on the bed to have an internal check again, was at 9cm! YAY! Waters still hadn't broken and was bulging. MW said that I could still have the epi OR I could have my waters broken and his head would help me dialate completely and then I would have to push straight away. I opted for the epi because I was SO TIRED by this stage.. I just wanted a break. had the epi and rested for around an hour. Could still feel the contractions through the epi but it was no where near as painful (they must have been ripper contractions at this stage!).
Mum also arrived by this stage.. giving my DH a much needed break. She held my hand and helped me through the contractions while I was getting the epi... My mum is a midwife as well so I felt in good hands.
Epi wore off around 6:30pm and I started sucking back on the gas. I also felt so nauseous. I kept on saying "I need to vomit" and they had a kidney dish available just in case. 10cm dialated by this stage so MW went ahead and broke my water. Whammo... I needed to push.
7pm I started pushing. Mum was holding one leg, MW at the other side, OB down the business end and DH giving me the gas, water bottle and wiping my brow. The pushing felt GREAT! So much better than those pesky contractions.
1hr 5 mins of pushing and our son arrived! No tearing with the crowning, but a nice shoulder charge on that second push that resulted in 2nd degree tearing.. OUCH! Instead of panting through the contractions after the head was out, I just pushed again.. He was placed directly on my chest for a cuddle and he automatically went for the boobie! I asked to see the placenta when it came out. What an amazing organ.
DH got a cuddle afterwards and I have AMAZING video of L and Daddy meeting for the first time. So precious.
I got up after an hour or so and (very shakily) had a shower. A nurse had to be in there helping me because I was so light headed. Felt good to be in the shower. I couldn't walk because my legs were so shaky, so I was wheeled in to the maternity ward with DH wheeling our little guy along. So surreal!
DH stayed until 11:00pm, he was dog tired.. and there I was.. just left in a room with me and my son. I was so tired, but I was afraid to go to sleep. Because I had GD the nurses had to take him for a heel prick test to test his blood sugars around 12:30pm. I fell asleep when they took him, but the next time I woke up I had this scary old man looking over me! It was L's paediatrician and he was telling me that L had really low BSLs to had to be formula fed through a tube going from his nose into his belly. When I went to see my little man I nearly cried cos he looked poorly (even though the nurses kept assuring me that he was OK). I would still continue to BF every 3 hours or so, but in addition he would have around 20-30mL formula in his belly to help keep his BSLs up. He had his naso-gastric tube removed after 2 days but my milk hadn't come in.
So on the evening of the 2nd night he basically latched on to me and wouldn't stop sucking. But I didn't realise that he was hungry (being used to having a full tummy) so I didn't know why he was so fussy and wanting to nurse all the time. By around 3am, I was so exhausted, my nipples felt like razor blades had sliced them open, I called the nurses and asked if they had a pacifier or something because I couldn't take him nursing any more.
I was in tears and the nurses couldn't give me a paci cos it was hospital policy. I managed to side nurse and "sleep" for a couple of hours in the wee hours of the early morning. My mum came in to visit the next day and I told her about my horrible night. She said that he was probably hungry from having a full tummy the past couple of days and my milk hadn't come in. Why didn't I think of that?? Well, by this stage, from the CONSTANT suckling, my milk had come in with vengence... OMG! He had a nice full tummy from then on.
Still waddling about in the hospital we did a few "parenting classes" We tried to bath L for the first time but he screamed his little head off so that wasn't very successful. My va-jay-jay was very swollen after birth. I wore the maxiest of maxi pads they had available and was changing them every 2-3 hours. I was also peeing a hell of alot. The best thing at the hospital was the ice bricks shaped like mini iceblocks that you could put down your undies to provide some cooling relief down there. It was HEAVEN. I even took some home and froze them to use for the first few days at home.
The nurse would check L and me every morning. Me, they would check my uterus to make sure it was going down, the stitches to make sure all was good down there. I felt like I looked like I had a baboons bottom down there it felt so swollen! The paediatrician visited L every day, his poor little heels looked so terrible with all the prick marks but he didn't cry when he had them done! I found also that when I BF for the first few days that I would get these aweful contractions like labour pain and I would have to breath through them.. nobody told me about THOSE!
On the evening before we left hospital we were able to leave L with the nurses and go out for a meal. They put on a lovely candlelit dinner for two at the downstairs hosptail cafeteria... I was dead tired, but we went down anyway and just enjoyed some time the two of us, talking about our experiences over the past few days. There were a few other couples there... all of who looked tired and all the new mamas were waddling just as I was. We all looked like we had nappies on cos we were all wearing such bulky pads in our knickers! haha
On the morning we left, L had his circumcision. We opted not to watch, so he was given some panadol and taken away for an hour or so and then brought back to me. Then, we were given our marching orders and I couldn't wait to bring our new baby home! We went to mum and dad's first on the way home so we could show him off to some more family and neighbours. We had dinner there and got home around 8pm.
Stats:
Birth Date: 23rd June 2010,
BirthTime: 8:05pm
Time in Labour: 15.5hours
Weight: 8pd 4oz or 3.72kg
Length: 20.5 inches
Head Circ: 35.5cm
APGAR: 10/10 at 1 and 5 mins
It was an AMAZING WONDERFUL JOYOUS birth experience... my husband was FANTASTIC, having my mum there helping me was TERRIFIC. I would do it all over again in a heart beat...
Thanks for reading!
I'd woken up with contractions on 22nd June 2010 but then went back to sleep around 4:30am so they had obviously stopped. I had a 39 week OB appointment on 22nd June where he did an internal and told me I was already 3cm dialated. Said I wouldn't make it to the weekend (Baby was due on Monday 28th June)... so I was excited. Because of the internal exam, I had alot of bleeding/mucus plug stuff during the afternoon and lost my mucus plug (or what was left of it).. and just felt out of sorts in the evening. Had a lovely relaxing bath and went to bed early.
4:30am on 23rd June I woke up with contractions, kinda like the morning before, except that I couldn't go back to sleep. Got my iPhone out with a contraction timer application I had downloaded and started timing the contractions. 5 mins apart and about 3/10. Woke DH up and told him that I thought I was in learly abour. Told him to go back to bed... and I got up and had a long hot shower. Phone the hossy at around 6:30am and told them what was going on. They encouraged me to stay at home until things got a little more intense. DH ran a bath and I hopped in around 7am... every contraction was still 5 mins apart but getting more ouch. Every time I had a contraction I would roll over in the bath so that my belly was downwards, and DH would massage my back... this happened for 4.5hours!! DH kept on refilling the bath with hot water and brought me powerades and lollies! What a champ!
Got out of the bath at 11:30am and thought that I probably should go to the hossy now. Jumped in the car, had two contractions on the way (now they were 8 mins apart)... got to the hossy around midday.. MW put the monitors on me and could only get a contraction once every 10 mins!! Said that I might have to go home which I was not happy about because I was in a little more pain now. She did an internal check and I was 5cm dialated... waters hadn't broken, but I wasn't going home. She asked me what I wanted to do for pain relief. I said I wanted a pethidine shot. Got the shot, felt like I had drunk 4 G&Ts! Felt awesome! Really calm and relaxed. Still felt the contracts but didn't really care too much about the pain. hehehe
Got back in the bath again and rocked out to Michael Jackson and the like for another 4 hours... DH continuing to massage my back for each contraction (what a trooper!).
At around 4:30pm the pethidine had well and truely worn off.. I'd been contracting every 4-5mins for 12 hours and I was TIRED. The contractions were very ouchy at this stage and I asked for the epi. Got back on the bed to have an internal check again, was at 9cm! YAY! Waters still hadn't broken and was bulging. MW said that I could still have the epi OR I could have my waters broken and his head would help me dialate completely and then I would have to push straight away. I opted for the epi because I was SO TIRED by this stage.. I just wanted a break. had the epi and rested for around an hour. Could still feel the contractions through the epi but it was no where near as painful (they must have been ripper contractions at this stage!).
Mum also arrived by this stage.. giving my DH a much needed break. She held my hand and helped me through the contractions while I was getting the epi... My mum is a midwife as well so I felt in good hands.
Epi wore off around 6:30pm and I started sucking back on the gas. I also felt so nauseous. I kept on saying "I need to vomit" and they had a kidney dish available just in case. 10cm dialated by this stage so MW went ahead and broke my water. Whammo... I needed to push.
7pm I started pushing. Mum was holding one leg, MW at the other side, OB down the business end and DH giving me the gas, water bottle and wiping my brow. The pushing felt GREAT! So much better than those pesky contractions.
1hr 5 mins of pushing and our son arrived! No tearing with the crowning, but a nice shoulder charge on that second push that resulted in 2nd degree tearing.. OUCH! Instead of panting through the contractions after the head was out, I just pushed again.. He was placed directly on my chest for a cuddle and he automatically went for the boobie! I asked to see the placenta when it came out. What an amazing organ.
DH got a cuddle afterwards and I have AMAZING video of L and Daddy meeting for the first time. So precious.
I got up after an hour or so and (very shakily) had a shower. A nurse had to be in there helping me because I was so light headed. Felt good to be in the shower. I couldn't walk because my legs were so shaky, so I was wheeled in to the maternity ward with DH wheeling our little guy along. So surreal!
DH stayed until 11:00pm, he was dog tired.. and there I was.. just left in a room with me and my son. I was so tired, but I was afraid to go to sleep. Because I had GD the nurses had to take him for a heel prick test to test his blood sugars around 12:30pm. I fell asleep when they took him, but the next time I woke up I had this scary old man looking over me! It was L's paediatrician and he was telling me that L had really low BSLs to had to be formula fed through a tube going from his nose into his belly. When I went to see my little man I nearly cried cos he looked poorly (even though the nurses kept assuring me that he was OK). I would still continue to BF every 3 hours or so, but in addition he would have around 20-30mL formula in his belly to help keep his BSLs up. He had his naso-gastric tube removed after 2 days but my milk hadn't come in.
So on the evening of the 2nd night he basically latched on to me and wouldn't stop sucking. But I didn't realise that he was hungry (being used to having a full tummy) so I didn't know why he was so fussy and wanting to nurse all the time. By around 3am, I was so exhausted, my nipples felt like razor blades had sliced them open, I called the nurses and asked if they had a pacifier or something because I couldn't take him nursing any more.
I was in tears and the nurses couldn't give me a paci cos it was hospital policy. I managed to side nurse and "sleep" for a couple of hours in the wee hours of the early morning. My mum came in to visit the next day and I told her about my horrible night. She said that he was probably hungry from having a full tummy the past couple of days and my milk hadn't come in. Why didn't I think of that?? Well, by this stage, from the CONSTANT suckling, my milk had come in with vengence... OMG! He had a nice full tummy from then on.
Still waddling about in the hospital we did a few "parenting classes" We tried to bath L for the first time but he screamed his little head off so that wasn't very successful. My va-jay-jay was very swollen after birth. I wore the maxiest of maxi pads they had available and was changing them every 2-3 hours. I was also peeing a hell of alot. The best thing at the hospital was the ice bricks shaped like mini iceblocks that you could put down your undies to provide some cooling relief down there. It was HEAVEN. I even took some home and froze them to use for the first few days at home.
The nurse would check L and me every morning. Me, they would check my uterus to make sure it was going down, the stitches to make sure all was good down there. I felt like I looked like I had a baboons bottom down there it felt so swollen! The paediatrician visited L every day, his poor little heels looked so terrible with all the prick marks but he didn't cry when he had them done! I found also that when I BF for the first few days that I would get these aweful contractions like labour pain and I would have to breath through them.. nobody told me about THOSE!
On the evening before we left hospital we were able to leave L with the nurses and go out for a meal. They put on a lovely candlelit dinner for two at the downstairs hosptail cafeteria... I was dead tired, but we went down anyway and just enjoyed some time the two of us, talking about our experiences over the past few days. There were a few other couples there... all of who looked tired and all the new mamas were waddling just as I was. We all looked like we had nappies on cos we were all wearing such bulky pads in our knickers! haha
On the morning we left, L had his circumcision. We opted not to watch, so he was given some panadol and taken away for an hour or so and then brought back to me. Then, we were given our marching orders and I couldn't wait to bring our new baby home! We went to mum and dad's first on the way home so we could show him off to some more family and neighbours. We had dinner there and got home around 8pm.
Stats:
Birth Date: 23rd June 2010,
BirthTime: 8:05pm
Time in Labour: 15.5hours
Weight: 8pd 4oz or 3.72kg
Length: 20.5 inches
Head Circ: 35.5cm
APGAR: 10/10 at 1 and 5 mins
It was an AMAZING WONDERFUL JOYOUS birth experience... my husband was FANTASTIC, having my mum there helping me was TERRIFIC. I would do it all over again in a heart beat...
Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaack!
Hello Blogland!
It has been a while.. Things got busy.. Life, ya know, gets in the way sometimes. I've been meaning to blog for a while.
So here I am, I have a 21 month old boy who is just a-freaking-dorable and the apple of my eye.... I can't believe how lucky I have been as a mother to this kid. He is just the coolest little guy on the face of the planet. He is running everywhere.. has as much energy as a nuclear power plant, he can count to 10 (with help), knows shapes and is starting to sound out letters of the alphabet. He sleeps 12 hours a night, a fucking BRILLIANT sleeper, and gives me the bestest kisses and cuddles. He says "mama" and "dada", knows the actions to "heads, shoulders, knees and toes", loves being tickled by the "tickle monster" and is just an all round cool little boy.
PCOS update
Since I last posted, I went on metformin to help regulate my cycles and give me a better chance of falling pregnant. I started the Metformin and started having regular cycles. Well, regular for me.. 31-46 day cycles is NORMAL compared to the 100 day cycle it took for me to conceive my son. I had my gall bladder out August 29th 2011.. it needed to be done, I was getting intermittent pain and I didn't want to be pregnant and have my gall bladder flare up and have surgery... so out it came. An overnight visit to hospital and was back at work the next week. Easy peasy! For the operation I had to have fill taken out... I had been tracking at around 90kg for a while.. which is comfortable for me. But, with the fill taken out, I noticed the weight gain and was getting a bit down about it...
But the weight gain was for a different reason... a month after my gall bladder op I started to feel sick, in the mornings, and so very very tired... so I decided to pee on a Home Pregnancy test (I had some internet cheapies left over from my first pregnancy, out of date I am sure!).
Well much to my surprise... I saw two lines..
PREGNANT!
We had fallen pregnant, naturally (with the help of Metformin), AGAIN.
Shocked.. yep. Excited... hell yes! I wasn't expecting it to happen this quickly, but 3 cycles after I started the metformin and with less BD than I would have liked, we managed to catch the egg and are now expecting another baby, due early June 2012.
So here I am, 28 weeks and 5 days pregnant today. I sailed through the 1st trimester with very few complaints. The morning sickness and overwhelming tireness was incredible, but alot of it was due to the fact that I couldn't rest when I wanted to because of my active little boy. The 2nd trimester passed with the blink of an eye... I only remembered I was pregnant when, at the end of a long day, I would be sitting on the couch and feeling the baby move and kick I would remember that I was indeed pregnant.
Now, as I've started the third trimester, I've started not sleeping properly, I'm breathless, the heartburn is back and my back is started to get sore. I've gained 8kg since falling pregnant, normal but so not cool for a person with a lapband!
The gender remains a mystery to us. We will find out on the day of JuneBug's birth. Mama's intuition thinks it's another boy. The pregnancy has been exactly the same. We shall see.
Also, this time round I DIDN'T develop Gestational Diabetes like I did for my first pregnancy. WooHoo!!
OK, that's about it from me for now. I'll promise to post more often.
It has been a while.. Things got busy.. Life, ya know, gets in the way sometimes. I've been meaning to blog for a while.
So here I am, I have a 21 month old boy who is just a-freaking-dorable and the apple of my eye.... I can't believe how lucky I have been as a mother to this kid. He is just the coolest little guy on the face of the planet. He is running everywhere.. has as much energy as a nuclear power plant, he can count to 10 (with help), knows shapes and is starting to sound out letters of the alphabet. He sleeps 12 hours a night, a fucking BRILLIANT sleeper, and gives me the bestest kisses and cuddles. He says "mama" and "dada", knows the actions to "heads, shoulders, knees and toes", loves being tickled by the "tickle monster" and is just an all round cool little boy.
PCOS update
Since I last posted, I went on metformin to help regulate my cycles and give me a better chance of falling pregnant. I started the Metformin and started having regular cycles. Well, regular for me.. 31-46 day cycles is NORMAL compared to the 100 day cycle it took for me to conceive my son. I had my gall bladder out August 29th 2011.. it needed to be done, I was getting intermittent pain and I didn't want to be pregnant and have my gall bladder flare up and have surgery... so out it came. An overnight visit to hospital and was back at work the next week. Easy peasy! For the operation I had to have fill taken out... I had been tracking at around 90kg for a while.. which is comfortable for me. But, with the fill taken out, I noticed the weight gain and was getting a bit down about it...
But the weight gain was for a different reason... a month after my gall bladder op I started to feel sick, in the mornings, and so very very tired... so I decided to pee on a Home Pregnancy test (I had some internet cheapies left over from my first pregnancy, out of date I am sure!).
Well much to my surprise... I saw two lines..
PREGNANT!
We had fallen pregnant, naturally (with the help of Metformin), AGAIN.
Shocked.. yep. Excited... hell yes! I wasn't expecting it to happen this quickly, but 3 cycles after I started the metformin and with less BD than I would have liked, we managed to catch the egg and are now expecting another baby, due early June 2012.
So here I am, 28 weeks and 5 days pregnant today. I sailed through the 1st trimester with very few complaints. The morning sickness and overwhelming tireness was incredible, but alot of it was due to the fact that I couldn't rest when I wanted to because of my active little boy. The 2nd trimester passed with the blink of an eye... I only remembered I was pregnant when, at the end of a long day, I would be sitting on the couch and feeling the baby move and kick I would remember that I was indeed pregnant.
Now, as I've started the third trimester, I've started not sleeping properly, I'm breathless, the heartburn is back and my back is started to get sore. I've gained 8kg since falling pregnant, normal but so not cool for a person with a lapband!
The gender remains a mystery to us. We will find out on the day of JuneBug's birth. Mama's intuition thinks it's another boy. The pregnancy has been exactly the same. We shall see.
Also, this time round I DIDN'T develop Gestational Diabetes like I did for my first pregnancy. WooHoo!!
OK, that's about it from me for now. I'll promise to post more often.
Thanks for Reading!!
LBG x
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
PCOS Update
Hey all,
Lots has happened since the last time I posted.
My baby turned 1... OMG, he's getting so big. He is WALKING now, says simple words and is just a joy and a delightful little boy. I love being his mama! :)
I went to my doctor to discuss my options with my PCOS. He put me on metformin 1000mg. 2 days after my last post, Aunt Flo arrived.. So that cycle was 47 days long. I started another cycle on 17th June and started temperature charting. Very very interesting! I ovulated on CD 23 and my cycle shortened by 11 days to CD 36! Hooray!
Here is a link to my fertility friend chart if you're interested - here.
Most likely means the metformin is working. Also, I have lost 3kg, without doing anything different other than taking the metformin. WooHoo! My hunch was right, I am insulin resistant and the metformin is what I need to get my ovaries working again!
So, currently on CD3 of my next cycle. If my cycle is the same as last month, I should be ovulating mid-August. I reaaaaaaaaaally hope I do ovulate mid August (and fall PG) cos I would LOVE to surprise DH for father's day this year (4th September)... it would be perfect.
Other than that, my lapband is giving me the shits... big time. I REALLY don't want to go and get fill out, but I can't physically eat til after lunch and drinking is a struggle until lunchtime. Dinner time seems to be OK... but if I've had a bad day with food and lots of PB'ing then I'm stuffed for dinner. I don't know if it's TTOM but it's been particularly bad over the past couple of days. So bad that I PB'd in my sleep last night! (and I had soup for dinner... like.. WTF??). 4.5 years on and I am still struggling.
Anyhoo, thanks for reading. Sorry I don't post as often as I would like. I'm just so busy being a mummy and working and having a life that I neglet this little blog..
LBG xx
Lots has happened since the last time I posted.
My baby turned 1... OMG, he's getting so big. He is WALKING now, says simple words and is just a joy and a delightful little boy. I love being his mama! :)
I went to my doctor to discuss my options with my PCOS. He put me on metformin 1000mg. 2 days after my last post, Aunt Flo arrived.. So that cycle was 47 days long. I started another cycle on 17th June and started temperature charting. Very very interesting! I ovulated on CD 23 and my cycle shortened by 11 days to CD 36! Hooray!
Here is a link to my fertility friend chart if you're interested - here.
Most likely means the metformin is working. Also, I have lost 3kg, without doing anything different other than taking the metformin. WooHoo! My hunch was right, I am insulin resistant and the metformin is what I need to get my ovaries working again!
So, currently on CD3 of my next cycle. If my cycle is the same as last month, I should be ovulating mid-August. I reaaaaaaaaaally hope I do ovulate mid August (and fall PG) cos I would LOVE to surprise DH for father's day this year (4th September)... it would be perfect.
Other than that, my lapband is giving me the shits... big time. I REALLY don't want to go and get fill out, but I can't physically eat til after lunch and drinking is a struggle until lunchtime. Dinner time seems to be OK... but if I've had a bad day with food and lots of PB'ing then I'm stuffed for dinner. I don't know if it's TTOM but it's been particularly bad over the past couple of days. So bad that I PB'd in my sleep last night! (and I had soup for dinner... like.. WTF??). 4.5 years on and I am still struggling.
Anyhoo, thanks for reading. Sorry I don't post as often as I would like. I'm just so busy being a mummy and working and having a life that I neglet this little blog..
LBG xx
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
CD46 - Ugh!
Cycle Day 46 and still no sign of Aunt Flo. So frustrated that my body doesn't do what it's supposed to do.. Yet, I carried a baby to term. Why did my body work when pregnant but doesn't work now?
and No, I'm not pregnant..
So what now? Visit to my doctor next week to get a hormone panel taken so we can see what my hormone levels are doing. Maybe another ultrasound to see if I have cysts on my ovaries and then we'll discuss the next steps... Metformin? Fertility Specialist for Clomid/Provera etc.
In other news, my baby boy turns 1 next week. OMG, seriously... he is going to be 1!!! I can't believe how time has flown. He is so close to walking it's not funny. He cruises all over the furniture but when he stands by himself he isn't confident enough to take any steps forward and just plonks on his butt. Super cute. He'll be walking in the next few weeks, I just know it!
He babbles and squeals... I wish I could bottle his giggles and laughter because they ALWAYS make me smile.
I am so lucky to be this little boy's mama. I am truely blessed.
Speaking of blessings - my very very good friend has found out she's having TWINS after thinking she'd miscarried. So so thrilled for her, and looking forward to seeing her belly and excitement grow. I would LOVE to have twins... that would be AMAZING.
LBG xx
and No, I'm not pregnant..
So what now? Visit to my doctor next week to get a hormone panel taken so we can see what my hormone levels are doing. Maybe another ultrasound to see if I have cysts on my ovaries and then we'll discuss the next steps... Metformin? Fertility Specialist for Clomid/Provera etc.
In other news, my baby boy turns 1 next week. OMG, seriously... he is going to be 1!!! I can't believe how time has flown. He is so close to walking it's not funny. He cruises all over the furniture but when he stands by himself he isn't confident enough to take any steps forward and just plonks on his butt. Super cute. He'll be walking in the next few weeks, I just know it!
He babbles and squeals... I wish I could bottle his giggles and laughter because they ALWAYS make me smile.
I am so lucky to be this little boy's mama. I am truely blessed.
Speaking of blessings - my very very good friend has found out she's having TWINS after thinking she'd miscarried. So so thrilled for her, and looking forward to seeing her belly and excitement grow. I would LOVE to have twins... that would be AMAZING.
LBG xx
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Liver Rocks!
Tried makeing this Chicken Liver Pate Recipe from Balanced Bites website today and it turned out AWESOME. The thought of eating any organ meat turns my stomach, but I pushed past it and gave it a go. OMG, so good. AND... PERFECT bandit food! It is so rich in nutrition it is AMAZING to think what this little organ has in it. Folate through the roof.. important for all your trying or already pregnant ladies!
Seriously, have it on crackers, dipped in with veges or as your "meat" part of your meal if you're having a particularly hard lapband day.
I substituted the wine for balsamic vinegar and it turned out just fine - sweet and sour... such a richness to it.
And the best part... 500g of chicken livers cost me $2... yep... SO CHEAP. I made probably 10 times the amount of pate that I would get if I store bought some for $5 and I swear it tastes a million times better. It took me 30mins to make..
I'm even gonna give it to my one year old for dinner tonight with some smooshed up broccoli.
I will never buy store bought pate again...
LBG x
Seriously, have it on crackers, dipped in with veges or as your "meat" part of your meal if you're having a particularly hard lapband day.
I substituted the wine for balsamic vinegar and it turned out just fine - sweet and sour... such a richness to it.
And the best part... 500g of chicken livers cost me $2... yep... SO CHEAP. I made probably 10 times the amount of pate that I would get if I store bought some for $5 and I swear it tastes a million times better. It took me 30mins to make..
I'm even gonna give it to my one year old for dinner tonight with some smooshed up broccoli.
I will never buy store bought pate again...
LBG x
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Struggling..
Howdy peeps!
So from the title of this blog post you might have guessed that that I have been struggling the past few weeks. Well, awesome guess.. you are correct! I'm struggling with a number of things at the moment:
1. My lapband is playing up. I can't even drink coffee in the morning most days... I struggle all day with food and then miraculously I'm fine for dinner. As a result, I snack during the day.. not bad stuff, but carby stuff cos it seems to be the only foods that will go down with a minimal amount of stuckage... so crackers, cheese, dip, eggs, cup-a-soups, biscuits etc. I know I'm not eating any more than 1500 cals per day, so my head is saying that I surely should be losing weight, but I'm not. it just does my head in!
2. I haven't exercised in around 2 months. So terrible. I am so ashamed about this. I can't use my baby, the move, work, winter etc as an excuse.. Now that I'm settled with the move, I've figured out where my closest gym is and I'm gonna start going more regularly.
3. My PCOS is still here - on cycle day 34 with no sign of AF at the moment. I know, CD 34 isn't an abnormal cycle, but if I want to start trying for number two I'd really like my cycles to be more regular.
I need to have an action plan to address my above "struggles"
1. Should I have more fill out? No, I need to make better food choices, eat slower, take smaller mouthfuls and when i'm full, stop eating. Basic bandit stuff here.
2. I'm gonna start going to the gym early in the morning again. Now that L is sleeping from 7pm-7am I have no excuse to get my work-out over and done with before he wakes so that DH doesn't get stuck with him in the morning with no help from me. Also, my travel for work has calmed down, so I have no excuse with work..
3. I'm going to visit my doctor at the end of this month to discuss an action plan regarding my PCOS. I've been researching the effect of metformin on PCOS and insulin resistance and the more I read the more I think this might be an option for me. I want to discuss this with my lovely GP and see what he says, if he thinks I should be managed by an Endocrinologist or by at fertility specialist (even though technically I'm not infertile I still have a fertility issue that could prevent another pregnancy) or just by him. I also need to discuss my ongoing heartburn issues. I'm popping zantac like they are tic tacs so going to ask if I need to go onto a prescription drug or something stronger. Also, I've started getting gall bladder pain during the night again. It gets super painful and I'm always afraid it's going to get to the stage that i'm going to end up in emergency. At the moment the pain wakes me up and keeps me away for around an hour then it fades and I go back to sleep, but each episode is a little more painful than the last.. it happens once every couple of weeks. I really need to get my gallbladder out - both my parents and both sets of grandparents had their GB out, so gall stones are hereidary in my family. It's only a matter of time and I'd prefer to have it out electively rather than wait until I end up in emergency, or worse, having a full blow GB attack while I'm away from home for work.
Other than that, things are going fine. My baby boy is turning 1 in 3 weeks time. I can't believe the time is going so fast and he will be one soon! I miss my squishy newborn but I am loving this stage of his life... he's my stubborn cheeky happy little explorer !
Peace out
LBG xx
So from the title of this blog post you might have guessed that that I have been struggling the past few weeks. Well, awesome guess.. you are correct! I'm struggling with a number of things at the moment:
1. My lapband is playing up. I can't even drink coffee in the morning most days... I struggle all day with food and then miraculously I'm fine for dinner. As a result, I snack during the day.. not bad stuff, but carby stuff cos it seems to be the only foods that will go down with a minimal amount of stuckage... so crackers, cheese, dip, eggs, cup-a-soups, biscuits etc. I know I'm not eating any more than 1500 cals per day, so my head is saying that I surely should be losing weight, but I'm not. it just does my head in!
2. I haven't exercised in around 2 months. So terrible. I am so ashamed about this. I can't use my baby, the move, work, winter etc as an excuse.. Now that I'm settled with the move, I've figured out where my closest gym is and I'm gonna start going more regularly.
3. My PCOS is still here - on cycle day 34 with no sign of AF at the moment. I know, CD 34 isn't an abnormal cycle, but if I want to start trying for number two I'd really like my cycles to be more regular.
I need to have an action plan to address my above "struggles"
1. Should I have more fill out? No, I need to make better food choices, eat slower, take smaller mouthfuls and when i'm full, stop eating. Basic bandit stuff here.
2. I'm gonna start going to the gym early in the morning again. Now that L is sleeping from 7pm-7am I have no excuse to get my work-out over and done with before he wakes so that DH doesn't get stuck with him in the morning with no help from me. Also, my travel for work has calmed down, so I have no excuse with work..
3. I'm going to visit my doctor at the end of this month to discuss an action plan regarding my PCOS. I've been researching the effect of metformin on PCOS and insulin resistance and the more I read the more I think this might be an option for me. I want to discuss this with my lovely GP and see what he says, if he thinks I should be managed by an Endocrinologist or by at fertility specialist (even though technically I'm not infertile I still have a fertility issue that could prevent another pregnancy) or just by him. I also need to discuss my ongoing heartburn issues. I'm popping zantac like they are tic tacs so going to ask if I need to go onto a prescription drug or something stronger. Also, I've started getting gall bladder pain during the night again. It gets super painful and I'm always afraid it's going to get to the stage that i'm going to end up in emergency. At the moment the pain wakes me up and keeps me away for around an hour then it fades and I go back to sleep, but each episode is a little more painful than the last.. it happens once every couple of weeks. I really need to get my gallbladder out - both my parents and both sets of grandparents had their GB out, so gall stones are hereidary in my family. It's only a matter of time and I'd prefer to have it out electively rather than wait until I end up in emergency, or worse, having a full blow GB attack while I'm away from home for work.
Other than that, things are going fine. My baby boy is turning 1 in 3 weeks time. I can't believe the time is going so fast and he will be one soon! I miss my squishy newborn but I am loving this stage of his life... he's my stubborn cheeky happy little explorer !
Peace out
LBG xx
Saturday, May 14, 2011
I hate my scales
My scales and I have never had a good relationship. We did.. once.. when I was 16kg lighter.. but my scales now taunt me by flashing the same number (or close to) every time I hop on. Sadly, my scales are dying.. I have the upper hand. Batteries! I was going to let my scales die (good riddance) but I like to know how my little monkey man is measuring each month, so the scales must stay (damn you scales!). I am, however, going to take a stand and NOT weigh myself. I'm so sick of my mood being determined by a little (or not so little) number. I don't weigh daily for that very reason.
I've been low carbing since 30th April, so now 2 weeks later. I feel really great, less bloated, more energetic, I don't get those spikes of extreme - I have to eat right now or I'm going to kill someone - hunger attacks and I am sure my body is loving all the protein I am having right now. I must admit, I do miss the sweet stuff, but I am getting used to splenda (hardly ever use it) and those sugar free lollies when I must have something sweet. I am still succumbing to the "mouthful of chips" here, and .. "a couple of easter eggs" there habit.. but that junk is all out of the house now, so I don't have that temptation any more!
PCOS update: thanks to my anonymous commenter who suggested that Endocrinologist in Sydney. I'm going to keep up this low carb high protein thing for a few months and see what happens with my cycles before I go down the medical route. Will be interesting to see if my cycle is 26 days as it was the last time. If it is, that will be 2 months in a row with a NORMAL cycle. Completely unheard of with me, fingers firmly crossed. If I do get another normal cycle I'm going to start temperature charting again to see if I can work out when I ovulate.
So, what am I eating? On a typical day, breakfast is general 2 boiled eggs, mashed with some full fat mayo, with a coffee (full cream milk, no sugar or sweetener). I'm totally full til lunch. Lunch is generally some vegetables of some kind (raw, roasted etc), with a low sugar high fat dressing (cue ceasar or ranch.. nom nom) and around 100g of protein (in the form of ham, turkey, chicken from the deli, or chicken breast). Mid afternoon snack will be a couple of slices of cheese, or half an avocado or some more veg with low sugar dressing to dip in or some nuts. Dinner is a 120g portion of protein and either a salad or some steamed or baked vegetables. I use a generous serving of olive oil on my pasta, or put a nob of butter on my vegetables. Dessert (after dinner is when I feel like something sweet) has been a low joule jelly with a generous dollop of heavy thick cream. I also enjoy low joule cordial or Coke Zero to curb those sweet cravings
My nutrient ratio has been around 60% fat (mostly mono and polyunsaturated fats), 35% protein and 5% carbohydrates. Perfect Atkins Induction ratios. However, there have been a few sneaky carbs that have worked there way in...
Exercise.. I'm working on it, really I am. I have a tonne of reason as to why I haven't been able to get to the gym... none of them mention the word "dying" "dead" "broken" or "hospital" so I really don't have an excuse..
Thanks for reading!
LBG xx
I've been low carbing since 30th April, so now 2 weeks later. I feel really great, less bloated, more energetic, I don't get those spikes of extreme - I have to eat right now or I'm going to kill someone - hunger attacks and I am sure my body is loving all the protein I am having right now. I must admit, I do miss the sweet stuff, but I am getting used to splenda (hardly ever use it) and those sugar free lollies when I must have something sweet. I am still succumbing to the "mouthful of chips" here, and .. "a couple of easter eggs" there habit.. but that junk is all out of the house now, so I don't have that temptation any more!
PCOS update: thanks to my anonymous commenter who suggested that Endocrinologist in Sydney. I'm going to keep up this low carb high protein thing for a few months and see what happens with my cycles before I go down the medical route. Will be interesting to see if my cycle is 26 days as it was the last time. If it is, that will be 2 months in a row with a NORMAL cycle. Completely unheard of with me, fingers firmly crossed. If I do get another normal cycle I'm going to start temperature charting again to see if I can work out when I ovulate.
So, what am I eating? On a typical day, breakfast is general 2 boiled eggs, mashed with some full fat mayo, with a coffee (full cream milk, no sugar or sweetener). I'm totally full til lunch. Lunch is generally some vegetables of some kind (raw, roasted etc), with a low sugar high fat dressing (cue ceasar or ranch.. nom nom) and around 100g of protein (in the form of ham, turkey, chicken from the deli, or chicken breast). Mid afternoon snack will be a couple of slices of cheese, or half an avocado or some more veg with low sugar dressing to dip in or some nuts. Dinner is a 120g portion of protein and either a salad or some steamed or baked vegetables. I use a generous serving of olive oil on my pasta, or put a nob of butter on my vegetables. Dessert (after dinner is when I feel like something sweet) has been a low joule jelly with a generous dollop of heavy thick cream. I also enjoy low joule cordial or Coke Zero to curb those sweet cravings
My nutrient ratio has been around 60% fat (mostly mono and polyunsaturated fats), 35% protein and 5% carbohydrates. Perfect Atkins Induction ratios. However, there have been a few sneaky carbs that have worked there way in...
Exercise.. I'm working on it, really I am. I have a tonne of reason as to why I haven't been able to get to the gym... none of them mention the word "dying" "dead" "broken" or "hospital" so I really don't have an excuse..
Thanks for reading!
LBG xx
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Long time no post!
I am such a slack blogger... !
Life, it gets in the way sometimes and you get busy... and, as I'm sure I've said before, my lapband isn't a huge part of my life anymore... it's just there.
So I'm going to take my blog in a slightly new direction.
I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). I didn't think I could conceive without help. I was wrong (thankfully... so thankfully..)
The research on diets for PCOS I've done so far suggests that the low carbohydrate and whole food diet is the way to go. PCOS is associated with insulin resistance. I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy so I naturally am assuming that I have PCOS/obesity related insulin resistance.
So my blog will start to focus on my PCOS, following a low-carb, whole food life style, exercise (of course) and my journey to hopefully falling pregnant with baby number 2 by the end of the year.
I would love to be able to refresh my blog and make it look cool, but I don't know how to do that... any tips would be greatly appreciated.
And a little update on my monkey boy... he is now 10.5 months and has his first birthday next month!! OMG the time has just flown. He is a little cutie patootie.. and I love love love being his mama. My DH is an awesome daddy... he amazes me with the love he has for our son.
A photo of my monkey boy for your viewing pleasure!
LBG xx
Friday, February 18, 2011
The BIG picture..
A few of my WLS blogging buddies are struggling with their lack of weight loss at the moment. I am hearing you loud and clear. I GAINED a kilo this week... WTF.. I got a fill and I gained? I didn't eat alot, I exercised 4 times during the week... and I gained.. fuckety fuck fuck.. I had chocolate tonight after dinner cos I was just thinking fuck the world, I might as well eat some fucking chocolate..
But I gotta keep reminding myself that there is a bigger picture. Yes, I would LOVE to be a size 12... but I'm not... Yes, I would love to be able to look at myself naked in the mirror and not cringe at what I see... but I don't...
The bigger picture for me:
1. I have an awesome loving husband, that doens't see me as fat.. he loves me for me.
2. I am a mummy to a wonderful little boy who continues to amaze me and melt my heart at every little thing he does.
3. I am still 20kg lighter than my heaviest weight
4. I exercise, and I exercise HARD. I love to sweat... I'm so glad exercise isn't a chore for me. because I exercise, I know I am improving how my body functions.
5. I eat well... I am slowing down or even stopping the chance of getting heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis. I will be around to see my grand babies grow up!
So yeah, big picture... when the scales aren't moving... look at the big picture. Sometimes it's the only thing that keeps me focused.
Thanks for reading!
LBG xx
But I gotta keep reminding myself that there is a bigger picture. Yes, I would LOVE to be a size 12... but I'm not... Yes, I would love to be able to look at myself naked in the mirror and not cringe at what I see... but I don't...
The bigger picture for me:
1. I have an awesome loving husband, that doens't see me as fat.. he loves me for me.
2. I am a mummy to a wonderful little boy who continues to amaze me and melt my heart at every little thing he does.
3. I am still 20kg lighter than my heaviest weight
4. I exercise, and I exercise HARD. I love to sweat... I'm so glad exercise isn't a chore for me. because I exercise, I know I am improving how my body functions.
5. I eat well... I am slowing down or even stopping the chance of getting heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis. I will be around to see my grand babies grow up!
So yeah, big picture... when the scales aren't moving... look at the big picture. Sometimes it's the only thing that keeps me focused.
Thanks for reading!
LBG xx
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