Photos

I've been really slack lately at posting any photos on my blog. It's been a combination of reasons. We are still renovating our house at the moment so we don't have a proper office yet. I was waiting to set up our computer until we got the office sorted and was making do with the laptop. Unfortunately though the laptop doesn't have any of my picture programs on it. I've been waiting 6 months already though for an office and it doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon, so I finally bit the bullet and set it up anyway. The other reason, is that I have no idea where my camera cord is to upload my photos. I do however have the cord for my phone, so here are all the pictures from my phone from the past few months. Enjoy!

Ashleigh Update

Some of you may know that since Ashleigh has born she has had quite a few problems. Problems that range from digestive problems to skin irritations. I am now happy to tell you that she is now on the mend. 

From the day she was born she had problems keeping any feeds down (or up). We then found out that she was lactose intolerant and had to go on lactose free formula. She was still having problems wit that though so it was suggested that she may be allergic to the milk protein. The doctor agreed and so we changed her over to soy formula. She was STILL having problems when I found out she had reflux. She seemed to outgrow the reflux at around 12 weeks but was still having digestive problems. The doctor put her on a prescription hypo-allergenic formula (costing $90.00 a week!!). This formula was so thin and watery though that her reflux started again and she was never full. This is when I really started to struggle. She was waking 8 times a night before finally waking at 6.00am and screaming in pain until 10.00am until she was so exhausted that she would fall asleep. I didn't really know what to do but I just knew we couldn't go on like that. I knew that this formula was doing more harm that good but I also knew that the soy formula wasn't really helping either.

That Sunday we were at church and Ashleigh cried the entire way through the service. There was absolutely nothing I could do to console her. I was exhausted both physically and emotionally. Thank goodness for a Bishop that is in tune with The Spirit. He gave me a great big hug and some invaluable advice. He said, "I've got 6 kids and if there is one thing I've learnt is that a mother's intuition is usually right. You have been trusted with this child and your Heavenly Father wouldn't leave you without the means to know how to take care of her." 

That small piece of advice gave me the confidence put into action what I thought was best for her. I KNEW this formula wasn't working so I put her back on the soy. She was better on the soy but she was still having stomach problems. I got on the internet and did some research. I found that the symptoms of reflux were similar to the symptoms of a milk protein allergy. Had I mistaken her reflux for the protein allergy? Since she had outgrown the reflux, the only way to find out was to put her back on the lactose free formula. I was still unsure until I also researched the side-effects of soy formula......wind, vomiting, intestinal discomfort - all of the things that were bothering her on the soy formula. So I did it, I put her back on the lactose free formula. And.......a happy, healthy, content baby!!!

The next obstacle was her skin. One of the signs that made me think she had a milk allergy was a rash she had developed. By this stage it was covering her entire body and scalp and she was constantly scratching like crazy. The itching alone would wake her up in the night. The rash didn't improve on the soy formula either, so I took her to see a dermatologist. The source of the rash and cradle cap was a severe dermatitis. She is ow on a regime of steroid cream, moisturisers and oils but it has cleared it up. We are hoping that is something that will improve as she gets older and her skin thickens, but we'll have to wait and see with that one.    

Even though having a body has been pretty rough on Ashleigh's sweet little spirit, through it all she has still been so happy. It warms my heart whenever she flashes me her great big gummy smile. We couldn't love her any more if we tried.  

Picture of the Day

I LOVE this gorgeous girl!!! It occurred to me today that she only has 2 more days before she turns 2. She is just growing up too quickly.

Is That My Child?

Julianna just always seems to do something every day that just cracks us up. Yesterday when she woke up she said to me, "Mum, it's stuck." When I asked her what was stuck she pointed to her pyjamas and sure enough something was stuck. During the night she had gotten up and shoved toys down her pyjamas.

This morning she didn't fail to deliver either but this was one I could have done without. After having her breakfast she came in to me while I was loading the dishwasher and she was completely stark naked. She had taken her pyjamas off including her nappy. She handed me her nappy and announced to me it had poos in it. Sure enough there were. Then she reached between her bum cheeks, pulled out another nugget, handed it to me and said, "there" and then went back to the table to finish her breakfast.    

Easy Come, Easy Go

Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to our sweet little puppy. When we got him the breeder forgot to mention how incredibly territorial Dingoes are. Dingoes only ever have one mate for life (or in the case of a domestic Dingo - one master for life) and they only ever have one territory for life ie only one backyard. Which means, with a Dingo you can never move house, go on holiday and leave them with someone else or put them in a boarding kennel. Apparently the experience of a new master or new backyard changes a Dingo so much that they often end up getting put down. When I enrolled him in puppy class the trainer said that she had worked with a lot of Dingoes who had moved house and it isn't always successful. So, after a lot of heartache we took our little Indy back. We just can't make the commitment to him that he needs and would hate for the worst to happen further down the track. It's been a pretty sad last couple of days in our house, so the hunt is on for another puppy.

Introducing.....

Well we haven't got a name for him yet, but this is our new puppy in his litter. He is an Alpine Dingo pup. He is getting his vaccinations today and we pick him up tomorrow. And before anyone leaves and comments regarding "the dingo and my baby" - I've heard them all already. Yes, we were a bit skeptical about a dingo as a pet but everything we researched about them indicated that, although they have had a bad rap over the years thanks to Lindie Chamberlin and her disappearing baby, they are actually very shy, timid, gentle animals. They also don't bark, which we considered to be a huge plus. When we went to have a look at them we also go to view both the parents. They were so gentle and nice with Julianna that we were sold.

Just an Idea

Sleep has become something of the past in our house lately.

Im considering applying this concept..... 

to this scenario.

Some Good Advice

I found this the other day and LOVED it.

"First, recognise that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there will be shining moments of joy and satisfaction.

Second, don't over schedule yourselves or your children. Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can can take place. Take time to listen, to laugh and to play together. 

Third, even as you try to cut out the extra commitments, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children."

 M. Russell Ballard

What a Weekend

This past weekend was completely unforgettable. About 6 months ago I found out that Time Out for Women was coming to Australia. Unfortunately though it was only coming to Sydney, which is of course on the other side of the country. I have previously been to two other TOFW events (one in Boise and one in Vegas) and LOVED every second of it so I really wanted to go to this one. We have just had so much going on lately that we haven't really had time to catch our breaths, so Jonathan and I talked about it and decided that for my push present/Mother's Day present I should go to Sydney, have a breather and attend TOFW (I love my husband!!!). I have been looking forward to it for so long. I have had the plane tickets and accommodation booked for months and this weekend it finally came!! My Mum and a friend of hers were also attending so the plan was that they would fly over at Friday lunchtime, I would wait for Jonathan to get home from work, take Ashleigh with me and leave him with Julianna and I would catch the midnight flight and meet up with my mum on the Saturday morning.

I spent all day Friday getting myself and Ashleigh organised. I put Julianna in bed that night (had a little cry because I already missed her) and left for the airport around 10.45pm. When I got to the airport I didn't quite realise how far away the long term parking was away from the terminal so by the time I parked, got myself, Ashleigh and our things together and made it to the terminal I was running a little late. I still managed to make it though and got onto the plane without any dramas. When I got onto the plane I was a bit nervous about how Ashleigh would be during the flight but she actually settled right away and was fast asleep before we even taxied out of the terminal. I settled in for the long flight and away we went.

We taxied out of the terminal and then went to the end of the runway. We waited there while the plane started up it's engines and got ready to take off. Just as we were about to leave the engines died down and the announcement came over the speaker, "I'm sorry but unfortunately there is too much fog around the airport for us to leave the ground, we are going to have to go back to the terminal." The plane parked and we were all asked to gather up our belongings and disembark the plane. After hours of waiting for the fog to clear our flight was cancelled. I then had to wait in line for hours to get credit for my flight. I left the airport the next morning, the same time that I should have been landing in Sydney. After being up all night I went home and got into bed. I couldn't believe what had happened!!

I was so bitter about the whole thing until I thought about it the next day. I remember a scene from the movie "The Other Side of Heaven", where they are in a small sail boat in the middle of the ocean and suddenly the wind dies and they are left stranded. I remembered what someone on the boat said about how although they were praying for wind to carry them in one direction, someone else in the world may also be praying for wind to be blowing in the other direction. It made me think that although I really hated the fog that night, maybe it was a Godsend for someone else and maybe they needed it a little more than I did. 

The Story - As Promised

These last couple of months have been such a whirlwind, that I haven't really had time to catch my breath. Already Ashleigh will be six weeks old on Monday but with everything that has been going on it feels like I had her just yesterday. Luckily her birth was the only thing that has run completely smoothly, which made the whole experience so enjoyable.

For a couple of weeks before she was born I would start getting contractions, they would get quite strong and then suddenly stop. The only thing that worried me about this was the fact that Jonathan was away. I knew that he was only a couple of hours away, but I was really conflicted about calling him prematurely and having him come home or leaving it too late and having him miss the whole thing. This went on for a couple of weeks. I was due on the 23rd May (Monday) and had my doctor's appointment on the Thursday before (the 19th). I talked to my doctor about my concerns and he said he would examine me to get a better idea of what was going on. When he examined me he said that I was in the early stages of labour, and had been for a while. Jonathan was coming home the next day anyway, so he offered to break my water to hurry things along a bit. He tried to but unfortunately he couldn't. He did a scan, which showed that the baby had her head back and was stuck, so she had not dropped into position. He said that it didn't matter how many contractions I had, and how long I was in labour for I would not be able to have the baby naturally. It was history repeating itself, as I had had the same problem with Julianna. He scheduled me in for a c section on Monday morning.

Monday morning came and we had to be at  the hospital for 6.00am. When we got there they gave me a quick pre-op and then I was the first one scheduled in for the morning. Although I had a c section with Julianna I was a lot more nervous this time around. When I had Julianna my c section was an emergency c section at the end of a very long labour and I was more than ready for it. After pushing for three hours with Julianna, I was too tired to even remember anything that went on. This time around was completely different and I was fully aware of everything that was happening to me. My biggest fear was that I would feel the epidural going in. Fortunately I had a fantastic anesthetist, who talked me through the whole procedure and gave me a local before he did the epidural, so I didn't feel a thing. They started the operation and Ashleigh was born just a couple of minutes later. I got a look at her before they took her and Jonathan to the other side of the room so she could be examined and Jonathan could cut the cord. Everything ran smoothly up until that point and I though we were on the home stretch. As they started to clean me up though I started to feel a little off and Jonathan was back at my side with an extremely worried look on his face. I turned to the anesthetist and told him that I didn't feel well. I didn't think anything of it until he replied with, "I know". I suddenly felt the urge to pass out so I closed my eyes and hoped the feeling would pass. A few moments later the anesthetist asked me to open my eyes. When I did I felt fine again. It turned out that my blood pressure had suddenly crashed and they had to give me some more blood, luckily I was completely unaware of what was going on. Other than that the whole thing went off without any problems. 

I had to spend 24 hours still hooked up to the epidural and morphine, but the next morning they got me up out of bed and moving around. My that afternoon I was feeling 100% better and bored out of my mind. The next morning (the Wednesday) I couldn't bear the thought of spending another night in hospital so I begged the midwife to discharge me. The doctor came and examined me, and with his blessing and the promise that I would take it easy at home, I was out by 10.00 that morning. 

       

More Pictures....

......and Teresa, I promise I will get around to writing the story soon :)