A Matter of Choice

This time 8 years ago, I was still in England,  very heavily pregnant in fact I was almost 2 weeks past my due date.  I was impatient although I tried to appreciate the last few days before the baby's arrival like everyone kept telling me to.  It was a strange in-between time,  not yet dealing with a newborn, but not able to do much else in the meantime, too uncomfortable to drive, to sit still for long,  or to stand for too long.   Very tired  (or so I thought at the time!)  but unable to sleep well. At 35 weeks We were living with my parents in between selling our own house and moving to Cyprus,  so I was enjoying not having to do much around the house other than arrange myself between tons of cushions with snacks and a DVD box set,  yet also wanting to not live out of boxes and to settle in our own place.    It was a really strange, wanting to get on with so many things but also unable to quite imagine how everything ...

Sunday 26th August 2012 This photo was taken on Loukas first full day in the world,from the balcony of my hospital room. It would have been about 5.30am and I was awake in the hospital enjoying the coolness and the peace and quiet when I looked out the window and realised the sun was just coming up. I had been initially so worried about giving birth here in Cyprus but by the end of my pregnancy I was confident in the help that my doula Claire would provide (and so ready to not be pregnant anymore!)  Loukas birth had been brilliant, something I never thought I'd say.  Before then I'd been all about the drugs and would never have chosen to have a natural birth in a million years - as I always used to say 'you wouldn't have your appendix out without drugs'  which does seem like a very daft comment now - as its hardly the same thing! I only managed it without, as gas and air is not available here (had it have been I would have been on it without a se...

After the hugely painful but overall brilliant birth of Loukas I was taken back to the ward. It had two beds but at that point I had it all to myself, with TV and free wi-fi plus a great view I was very comfortable. The midwives took Louka for a few hours so I could rest which was most appreciate. They loved this 'big baby' with his head of gorgeous blonde hair, something which must be very unusual for them. They often popped in for no apparent reason during my stay just to see him! I was quite happy in the hospital unlike when I had Leo where I couldn't wait to get out, although this time I was appreciating the time to rest before starting the new chapter of my life with two children.  Aaron came to see me after work and to meet his second son. He stayed just a short while so he could get home relive my parents and put Leo to bed.  My parents then popped in afterwards as I had not felt up to seeing Leo right away, preferring to be able to greet him properl...

Loukas is now 6 weeks old and I've finally finished writing my birth story - it's quite long so I've split it into several posts, the rest will be coming up over the next few days. Although I didn't have a terrible birth with Leo it wasn't the best fun I'd ever had (you can read the story here)   12 hours of labour with gas & air, pethidine  ventouse delivery followed by stitches. I felt like I'd been run over by a truck afterwards and was very uncomfortable for weeks. My second birth was very different, It's taken me an age to write but here is my story, I tried (and failed) to keep it short and sweet so will split it into several posts just in case I accidentally break the interweb or something! I was very nervous at first about giving birth again, especially as I was to be doing it here in Cyprus. I'd heard that they don't really 'do' pain relief - no gas and air, no mentions of epidural (although the thought of those make...

It's hard to believe that Loukas is over 2 weeks old already! The time has passed so fast despite the lack of sleep and huge change of routine.  I've not been online as much as usual as I've been quite a bit busy so although it's quite high on my list of things to do, writing my birth story hasn't been something I've felt up to doing yet. Fortunately,  I received an email from Claire, my Doula who very kindly wrote the story as she saw it, and sent me some lovely photos from the day. I'll still be writing my own story but I really enjoyed reading this so wanted to share it here too. "Emmas and Loukas Birth Story, through the eyes of their doula…" On Friday night I prepared my doula bag, took out the clothes I would wear for the next day and set my alarm. Usually a doula doesn’t have much notice when she is heading out to a birth but this one was different, you were scheduled for an induction on Saturday the 25 th August 2012 at 9am . ...

On Saturday 25th August our second gorgeous baby boy made his appearance in the world! Loukas Alexander,   born at 3.56pm weighing 4.25kg    /  9lb 4oz Several people say he looks just like Aaron, but he certainly looks just like his brother when he was born.

I honestly didn't think I'd be writing a 39 week bump update but I'm still here so here we go! I would have put good money on the fact they had got my dates wrong and I'd worked out my due date to be 8th August. I suppose I could still be right and be overdue like I was with Leo who only came after my waters were broken in hospital.   I'm still hoping this is the case as they only let you go a week over here and I'd rather avoid induction if possible.  I swore when pregnant the first time that if it ever happened again I'd pretend my due date was actually later than it was as I spent the last few weeks expecting him to show up any moment, I can't believe I've gone and done the opposite this time and brought it forward!    Although I'm trying (and sometimes succeeding!) to make the most of the last few days, it does seem to be turning into the longest pregnancy in the world! Even Leo agrees...... I've had so many on and off p...

Officially 38 weeks now, and giving up on the fact I thought I had my dates wrong as it doesn't really matter any more, it just means I'm more likely to get this baby out whilst avoiding induction as they only let you go 7 days over here.  (Leo was 15 days overdue when they took me in). Yesterday was my latest hospital appointment, it was surprisingly one of the quickest so far. They did the usual wee sample test and blood pressure and a (very quick!) ultrasound, I was a little disappointed that I couldn't see the screen as the nurse was standing in the way but it was over in just a few seconds anyway, just long enough for them to hear the heartbeat I think. Only once here have they used a doppler to check the heartbeat, unlike in the UK I've had I think 5 or 6 scans in total. That seems to be the way they check for the heartbeat. In the UK the midwife used a doppler each time but I would see her in the local health centre rather than the hospital where...

August is finally upon us and this means that this month we will be welcoming a new arrival into our family! The next couple of months are going to be interesting to say the least,  baby will be here soon, Leo will be changing school and Aaron will still be working a 7 day week, (I think at the moment he is on day 76 or something like that!) and we still have to peak of the temperatures to come! We'll survive I'm sure,  I'm not actually complaining (believe it or not!) I'm just enjoying the calm before the storm.  I'm excited, nervous, calm and apprehensive about the whole thing all at once! I look at Leo at the moment and wonder how he will react to all the changes that are approaching.... We started Leo at nursery school back in June to get him used to going somewhere without us.  It's been a mixed success to be honest, most mornings he plays up a little and asks not to go, and every day when you pick him up he and ask him what he had done he says ...

When I was pregnant with Leo, although nervous about the pain of labour,  I was quite relaxed about how it all might turn out,  I had a vague birth plan -  avoid an epidural or c-section if possible, would quite like a water birth, but failing that gas and air or pethidine.  The main aim was to have a baby and I wasn't planning to beat myself up about how that might happen.   The same applied when it came to feeding him, I planned to breast feed as 'that's what you do' but I had brought a steriliser and bottles before birth just in case (No formula though - really didn't think that one through as I realised at midnight on the first day home!)  I also had a breast pump as I was going to express so Aaron could feed him too.  I said many times while pregnant when asked if I was going to breast feed (Why do people insist on keep asking that anyway, what's it got to do with anything?!)  that I would if I could, I never said a definite ye...

Along with sharing my experience of pregnancy and birth in Cyprus, I thought it might be interesting to hear some other peoples experiences too. Unlike the UK there is very little information on-line about birth here in Cyprus and it can be very daunting when you are doing it all in a new country so I wanted to gather together some birth stories for part of my 'Birth in Cyprus' series. Sarah had her baby in a private clinc after IVF treatment  in 2005, here is her story.... The clinic that my Gyny/Ob worked from (He rented half of it) was not good.  During 2005 when I was having IVF and went for hormone injections, I would go to a small nurses room (3mx2m) and up on the high windowsill there were ashtrays where obviously the nurses/doctors smoked.  I once saw my Anaesthetist come out from there and it was all smoky when I went in.  Also from the outside you could see Dads smoking on the balcony of the rooms!  I knew then ...

Some of the things I had heard about giving birth in Cyprus.... No pain relief available during labour You have to stay in hospital for 5 days after birth (even standard 'easy' birth) Babies are not kept with Mother but cared for by midwives They are very quick to perform caesareans  Babies often bottle fed by midwives without asking the Mum So I decided to see if I could gather together a collection of 'real birth stories'  It seemed that everyone had their babies in a private clinic, and paid thousands of euros for the privilege but not always having a good experience. This did not fill me with confidence as I wondered how bad the general hospitals were when people paid so much money to go private instead. My first birth story comes from Kelly, who was the very first person I met in Cyprus. We met online while I was still in England while she was pregnant with her fourth baby and I was expecting Leo. Kelly had 3 babies in...

Today is my birthday so I thought it would be a good idea to ask my Mum to share her memories of my arrival while I turn the computer off and go and eat a lot of cake :) Our daughter, Emma Joanne was born on Tuesday 11 th October 1977, at 11.10 am. (which was a coincidence) weighing 8 lbs .9 ¾ oz. (3.9 kilos). Being born on a Tuesday was apt, as Tuesday's Child if full of Grace - my Mum's name. Emma was delivered by Dr. Barnard, nephew of the heart surgeon, Christian Barnard, by Caesarean Section. I had undertaken fertility treatment, so we were extra lucky to have Emma. As proud parents Nick and I left the hospital on Thursday 20 th October, it was like stepping out into a different world, autumn had definitely arrived, golden leaves were everywhere, there had been none when I first arrived. Emma was wrapped in a shawl and I cradled her in my arms. Nick took us home to where her Grandparents (Nick's side)  were waiting for us, it was so good to get home....

You can read the first part here.. Leo was due on May 16th 2009, for some reason I was convinced he would be on time if not early. as we don't do late!  It turned out he was quite happy where he was and was waiting until the last moment,  I was booked to be induced on the evening of the 28th, in fact by then I was having mild contractions so on arrival at the hospital after monitoring me for a short time they broke my waters just before midnight.  Now looking back most of the night is a bit of a blur and I look back and think it was not THAT bad - I think this is some clever trick or nature though designed not to put you off having more than one!  After my waters were broken we moved to the delivery suite, Aaron nipped out for a cigarette and I can remember being stood bent over the back of a chair thinking' Oh bugger, this actually quite hurts!'   I can't really remember time scales but after a while I asked for gas and air, I thought it wasn't w...

Yesterday I joined in with Tara's Gallery , and said how I'd never blogged about Leo's birth. As I started to give it some thought and begin to write I realised I could never fit it into one (or two!) posts.... so to stop your bums going numb or your laptop batteries dying here goes with the first instalment and a bit of the conversations that led up to it. Many years ago way before we were even thinking we'd be together long term, let alone get married and think about babies Aaron and I were having a conversation about births and he said there was NO way he would be present at the birth of his child. I was a bit taken aback by this as I thought most Dads these days probably would be but I didn't think too much about it, I was only 19 after all and babies were not yet on my mind. As my pregnancy progressed we discussed it, or more accurately I mentioned it and was met with the same answer - no way was he going to be in the room.  Being pregnant and hormon...

Considering the amount of time I spend online, reading different blogs or randomly wasting time it does come as a surprise to me that I have never got round to writing Leo's 'birth story'.  I suppose as time went on it seemed a bit late and then when he was 5 months old we emigrated and it kind of distracted me! This week's Gallery theme is Birth,   and reading the many other birth stories and lovely photos entered into it prompted me to think about writing my own. It was, I think a reasonably straight forward birth but in writing it I had to think about more than just the actual birth. I've not blogged about it before as Aaron and I had different thoughts on what we wanted - me being the pregnant one ended up getting my own way and I think I maybe still feel bad about it! I've never blogged about my birth story but feel that it is something that should be in this ongoing record of mine so have started giving it some thought. I had no det...

I really don't want to forget Leo's first few weeks but already they are hazy, saying that I think they were probably hazy at the time! Yet again I listened to the advice of people telling me to savour the early days and just like my wedding day, and last weeks of pregnancy I am glad that I did. I do feel that I need to record them in some way so here goes.... Leo was born at 11.30am on May 29th, AJ was reluctantly at the birth, a fact that I thought he would be grateful for afterwards...NOPE! If we ever have any more then I know there is absolutely no chance of Daddy being present! In the end it was an assisted delivery with Leo needing some encouragement in the form of ventouse, not that it was Leo's fault - I only really got the hang of how to push very close to the end and by then it was 12 hours in and they needed to help. Looking back now it seems almost like it all happened to someone else, as he was born the midwife took him to be cleaned up, something I had asked ...