A close call

We had a scary day yesterday - it started out normally, with a home visit from my lovely midwife. Everything was normal until we got to the doppler ultrasound of the heartbeat, which was very unusual, out of rhythm - a strange irregular three beat sound rather than the normal two beats I'd heard so many times before.

The midwife still wasn't too worried, but suggested that I go into the hospital to have it checked out, so Thomas and I drove in there, and we went into one of the delivery suites to be strapped up to the heart monitor. From there things got scary very quickly, the baby's heartbeat was reading as being very slow, something called brachycardia, and the registrar came in and suddenly I was being prepared for an emergency caesar. This was awfully familiar, as it was also week 34 when I had the caesar with Thomas after an abruption, so I knew all the routine of putting in canulas and drips, the gown and strange socks and signing the consent forms etc.

Poor Thomas had no idea what was going on but was extremely good, and just played quietly while all this was happening until Warren arrived.

Anyway, just when we thought it was all happening, they decided to confirm the problem with the more sophisticated ultrasound in the fetal medicine unit, which showed that the baby's heartbeat was arrhythmic but not as slow as it was reading upstairs. All very confusing to me. So all of a sudden everyone relaxed, and said we could go home, just come back for a scan next week.

Very strange indeed to come so close to another emergency premmie delivery, being treated like an invalid, and then to be getting dressed and driving home again minutes later! Of course we were hugely relieved not to be having the baby early, knowing how stressful it is to have a baby struggling in those early days in the NICU.

So now we're back home, just keeping an anxious eye on those foetal movements, but hoping everything will get back to normal and it will go to term.

So back to life as usual - it is Thomas' second birthday this weekend, so I am now madly planning a bananas in pyjamas cake, food and decorations. Hoping for some more good weather - it has been lovely here lately. Here is Thomas at the animal nursery at Floriade - we got there late in the afternoon and had it almost all to ourselves.

Thanks for the very helpful comments about the courses, I'm still pondering, but will have to make a decision before the end of October.

Lots of thinking, not much else!

Another unintended blogging break. Sorry I have been out of touch - the pregnancy is going pretty well (33 weeks now I think), baby is exceptionally active, but I have been getting bad back pain every evening which has slowed me down, I think because I have become so enormous in every dimension - no cute designer bump here!



My only creative activity lately has been slowly working on my knitted asymetric vest, which is coming along, but still has 3 balls left to go. I've still got a few more weeks at work, and have been a bit frantic trying to tie up many many loose ends there.

The impending arrival has brought on lots of thinking about the future, and what I will do when my maternity leave finishes. My contract at the uni comes to an end pretty much at the same time. I am really, really longing to do something more creative as a career rather than just in my spare time (which there won't be much of at all, once bub 2 arrives). I've always wanted to go back to art school and study art or graphic design. I wish I'd paid more attention to my misgivings which surfaced fairly early in law school, but instead I went on to finish an honours degree, and just kept going after that.

Financially, and with two little ones, it won't be an option to study full time, so I've been researching part time and correspondence courses. Unfortunately the options are pretty limited in Canberra. Now I'm tossing up between a graphic design degree program by distance education through Charles Sturt Uni which would take 6 years part time (help - I'll be 40!) or a commercial correspondence course in desktop publishing (using InDesign) which is only 6 months but is not accredited. Hard decisions to make - perhaps it is crazy to be thinking of taking on something like this right now, but having another baby has made me feel like if I don't do something soon, it might never happen.



Meanwhile, Thomas is becoming more of a little person every day, and constantly delights me - learning new words and concepts all the time. He talks a lot about himself in the third person now, which is quite funny. His favourite phrase is 'Tommy do it' (often followed by 'oh, bit hard, mummy do it?') and he tells himself to 'try again' or says 'good boy Thomas!' We have been telling him about the baby in my tummy, and the other day he was asking about it and said 'baby - mummy pouch - kangaroo?' It must be very confusing for him!



Here he is at a little friend's birthday party, sporting a birthday cake moustache and his new very short first haircut. I think it will look better in a few weeks! His 2nd birthday is coming up in early October, and he is very interested in cakes and candles - I think he will love it this time around.



And here he is with the most beautiful hand knitted jumper and hat which arrived in the post from my mum.

That's all from me, off to lie down again and think some more - hope everyone is well in blogland.