Mikes Story
Congratulations!
Sal gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Tyler Christopher, in November 2007. Weighing in at 7lb 8oz. To read Mike's diary in full just scroll down the page. Mike's Diary of a Dad-to-Be14th June 2007 - Week 19 Into the 20th week - still no visable sign of baby.....strange really! The baby moved/kicked for the first time last tuesday and by the thursday I had felt my first and only kick so far. A little disappointed I haven't felt more and every time Sal says the baby is awake and moving I try and feel for it but to no avail. I'm told its been very active this week. Although a bit miffed the books we've read say I'm not suppose to feel anything until week 26 so I guess I'm privilaged to have felt something at this stage. Really excited about next thursdays 20 week scan - we aren't wanting to know the sex but it will be fascinating to see the difference between this and the last scan at 12 weeks. I will be buying the photo's again!! I also opened a savings account this week, it has frightened the life out of me from a financial point of view, I mean I earn good money and so does Sal and yet we're still thinking we'll struggle if Sal takes 9 months maternity and I'm not sure at the moment wether Sal will be able to go back to a job share afterwards like we'd planned simply due to the difference in pay. Scary times......! 22nd June 2007 - 20 weeks and a day.... Had the 20 week scan yesterday, WOW..... after the aprehension and nervousness leading up to the day, not knowing if everything would be fine - worrying what they may find wrong etc. It was such a relief when after a few minutes we heard the words 'everything seems to be fine'and we were shown the screen. We decided not to find out the sex of the baby but straight after Sally seemed to have been a little dissapointed that we didn't. I, however, am glad we never. Just seeing it on the screen made me proud, to actually see hands and legs and the curve of its spine. Its kinda kneeling at the moment in a breach position but we were told thats normal at this stage. Seemed to be a little perturbed by the prodding of the scanner and had a few minutes of constant kicking - of which I can feel the stronger ones!!!The photo isn't great but my heart melted when it moved its little hand up and stroked its face....half way there....no names yet! 2nd July 2007- Week 21 Baby is moving lots now and I can feel it virtually all the time, Sal gets concerned every time a few hours pass without a kick....Now my wife is a worrier, pure and simply, and if she worries and I can't allay her fears I then worry. This being our first child we know nothing - the problem is, we are not being told anything. Its now been a week and a half since the 20 week scan and we've heard nothing from the midwife for 7 weeks now - is this normal? I'm reading books, magazines and Internet pieces left right an centre and thinking surely the midwife should have done that or told us this - its getting a concern. For example - now 21 weeks pregnant my wife has never been weighed? She was ill in Egypt and had to take medication from a local pharmacy yet when we told the midwife she didn't even ask what she took or how much she took of it. And then there's the scan - I read that the scanner will look thoroughly at the babies face checking for cleft lips etc but at our scan baby was in a position the face couldn't been seen so do we need to be scanned again for this check? I don't wish to be too critical of our midwife because I don't know normal procedures and Im sure she does a fantastic job yet all I know is we are feeling very much alone in this pregnancy and I don't like that in the slightest.......Nearly week 22, no names yet, house move imminent and I wish to God it would stop raining!!!
Mike and Sal's baby at 20 week scan 7th July 2007 - Week 22 Visited the midwife this week, am now feeling much more comfortable with proceedings. It's hard for me as I always need to know everything that's happening, when's it's supposed to happen and to a degree, how its supposed to happen. We got to hear babies heartbeat which is always a very emotional thing and really brings home the fact that between us we have created a life, I started thinking wether I'd like a boy or a girl and to be honest I don't think I mind either way, Sal's height and looks would be a good gene to inherit tho.. god help it if it has mine. Luckily Sally's cousin has a 9 month old little girl so we've inherited a lot of the essentials this week which eases my mind about our expenditure. We've ended up with a moses basket and stand, a complete travel system type pram, mobiles and this awesome machine I'm thinking of keeping for myself that replicates the sounds of mum's heartbeat, falling rain, birds etc thats really cool. We also inherit loads of reusable nappies with eco friendly liners, Sal would like to use a mixture of them and disposable, I'm not keen on them and think disposables will be far more hygienic and simpler but have been accused of snobbery!! Nearly 6 months gone, a couple of names are arriving but my suggestion of 'Nicodemus' has been poo poo'd!
13th July 2007 - Week 23 Not overly a great amount has happened this week, the baby seems to be constantly on the move and if I'm honest a very welcome assurance of it's health. Stupidly we watched a programme on BBC this week called fighting for life and it left me a little peturbed thinking of the things that could happen when your thinking your on the home stretch....not to worry - I've had a word with myself and am refusing to entertain negative thoughts anymore....Aside from baby matters we are in the process of moving house which seems to be dragging and dragging when we really wanted to be moved long before the 6 month point! On the name front things aren't going well...I've requested we choose a strong welsh name for a boy but 'Ieuan' seems to have been dismissed as have (and going off on a tangent from the welsh names) Sebastian, Ethan, Heath and Feliks.... for girls we are really struggling for any names we both like but I like Taylor, which again has been discarded without question and Sal likes Sophie, but Im not sold on that either... July 20th - Week 24 6 Months!! After waiting 3 months before telling anybody we were expecting, it actually feels like the second trimester(look at me all technical sounding) has flown by. Sal's just starting to look a little pregnant and I feel a lot better as she has had her risk assesment done at work and ironed out a few issues. She's also given a provisional date for starting her maternity leave which makes everything feel a little more real!Now thats a subject I'd like to broach, when should maternity leave actually start! I mean we agonised over this, I didn't want her waddling off to work whereas Sal didn't want to waste time she felt she'd need after the baby arrives.....we reached a compromise where we did what Sal wanted to do....I'm trying to keep as much leave back as possible so I can take a chunk of time off, Im not sure of company policy regarding paternity leave and I'll need at least a week off when we finally move house. My mind is a whirl....am currently making my way thru 'Youre Pregnant Too Mate...!' which is delivering a fascinating insight from a male point of view...Lots of stuff to think about, finances, leave, house move, work, golf, football and BABY NAMES!!! July 27th - Week 25 There's been lots of movement this week some of it fairly strange in my eyes.....I'll set the scene....There I am quietly watching Top Gear's trek thru the polars when I get a nudge and a 'quick Mike,the baby is moving' I look over to find Sal has lifted her top to show off her little bump when next thing it was like a scene from the movie Alien with lumps appearing thru her stomach at all strange and various angles. Now Im not sure if it was babies head,shoulders,knees or toes,knees or toes but after the initial shock it was hillarious and I missed a big chunk of Jeremy Clarkson and the gang's epic adventure (not to worry - gave me an excuse to watch the repeat) Once I'd explained to baby that it can't come out that way and had to wait a further 15 weeks and exit the normal way it seemed to settle down. Now my biggest question this week is hiccups... I've always believed that hiccups are due to trapped air under the diaphragm, I checked on the interweb thingy and confirmed that I wasn't too far wrong so how on God's Green Earth can my baby be hiccuping inside my wife's womb!!!! We've FINALLY a date for the house move (aug 10th) so hopefully thats a little of the stress gone once that's completed. I've now stopped suggesting names for the time being after my latest offerings didn't even merit consideration,alledgedly Padraig and Tiger aren't real names..... August 3rd - Week 26 Thought I'd write this entry a)on time and b)right after our latest trip to the midwife.... August 10th - Week 27 Well this weeks insert is late, but thankfully Im still writing which is a good sign.... I gonna keep this entry short and sweet, We moved house on friday and too be frank it has been a traumatic weekend. Firstly the dog managed to slice her paw open and was in a bad way friday evening after the vet had to put in 5 stiches and knock her out to do this. Then saturday morning Sally woke up and found she was bleeding, after frantically ringing around numbers on her pregnancy notes we spoke to someone in the delivery suite at the RLI and were advised to take her there to be monitored. After monitoring her and the baby for what seemed like an eternity we were told everythng seemed ok and we could go home. In all honesty I have never felt so scared or bloody useless in my whole life!! We have to go back friday for another scan and an appointment with the consultant as they could tell where the blood was from. Sal seems back to normal today and we've had loads of movement from the baby but it brought it screaming home how fragile they both are and how much they mean to me. If anyone from the delivery suite of the RLI is reading - thanks for putting our minds at ease so effortlessly and quickly dealing with our situation. August 17th - Week 28 After an initially anxious start the week ended on a good note with another scan and chance to see the baby in person. My ultrasound scan knowledge was exposed fully when asking Pam the scanner if it was the babies face I was looking at to which she replied no thats actually its leg!!!! I swear I could see eyes and a nose! Because they feared baby was a little small the took all sorts of dimensions and plotted these on a 3 line chart. The head was spot on the middle line, the leg too, the belly however was way above the middle line and I believe baby is gonna be a little porker - just like its dad.... We've n got a series of appointments with anethetists and doctors who want to make sure if Sal needs anesthetic or an epidural she's safe to have one due to her heart operation 5 years ago. Baby seems to have turned as well which is a pleasing sight. Spent all weekend decorating the new house and will be starting the nursery soon.....I swear I only go to work for a rest....and thats 12 weeks before the babies due too...God Help Me!! August 24th - Week 29 Before I start I'd just like to say 'I Hate Decorating!!!' there,rant over! We seemed to have agreed that Tiegan is a pretty name albeit a bit silly for a boy....silent treatment was applied for a few moments....Nearly time for ante natal... I've never met her....one of sal's mum's sisters I think? August 31st - Week 30..... This week I have been over loaded with 'How to be a Dad' info. Now I like a good read as much as anyone, put an Ian Rankin or Patricia Cornwell in my grubby little mitts and there I'll be glued until I've worked out the ending, read the book cover to cover and digested thoroughly.However! Books that tell me how to be a good dad have the same effect as the latest installment of Prime Ministers Question Time and despite my best efforts I cant tune into this clap trap! I not adverse to taking advice on things I know little or nothing about, but these books really do take the proverbial and Im sure are solely designed to scare the bejesus out of first time dad's to be..... moving away from this quickly before that little vein in my forehead begins to pulse uncontrollably, my body quadruples in size and turns green ripping my clothing in the process.... Music...it seems baby is a fan off the soundtrack to Black Beauty especially the beginning. Slightly random so I'll explain in depth - my wife's ringtone is that of Black Beauty and whilst reading another book on how to be a parenting legend it suggested playing music thru the bump, not overly sure of why but in for a penny....Now picture the scene....being a bloke I've rigged up some super duper 1 million watt speakers to my stereo and am holding above bump ready to indulge in some heavy duty Metallica...wife wakes up and demands to know what I think Im playing at..... stereo unplugged and retired and mobile phone placed gently on bump with the only musical accompniment available Black Beauty.... cue kicks galore and once again a cameo appearance from Badger.... 9 weeks to go.....Im sure I should pack a bag or something...wanted to try the route to hospital and time it...told to stop being silly it's the same as my route to work....retorted with 'I cant wait for the baby to be born so life can go back to normal' silent treatment applied..... No names, no bag packed,no front opening nighties and no newborn stuff in neutral colours in matalan.....plenty of carpets in carpet right but NONE of them suitable? September 7th - Week 31 Again slightly late and I apologise profusely to anyone awaiting this insertion (oo er matron) .....week 31 and a trip to the anethetist this week, she asked a few questions in relation to Sal's health and give us a leaflet on pain relief during labour. Are these booklets designed to be a scary as possible or was the writer one of those peple who lacks any medicome of tact... They could have saved themselves a few million quid on printing and a few hours of time by simply writing in big bold black capital letters 'This is gonna bloody hurt!!!' Aside from this visit we had a trip to Matalan in Blackpool seeing as the one in Morecambe was useless and the neighbouring Tesco's and got some more newborn stuff with Pooh and Tigger on it, call me old fashioned but even as a rough,tough ex soldier even I thought they were a little cute unlike the contraption designed to well pump the milk from the breast if Im to read into the title of breast pump correctly! I also had the pleasure of chauffeurring the radiant other half to Warrington to peruse IKEA..... and then the stress of shoe horning her and her purchases back into the car! Things are taking shape at home now (famous last words) Bedroom furniture is ordered to be delivered saturday,carpets ordered and arriving friday night, big pot of paint left in utility for Sal as she is adamant she will paint the skirtings boards up the stairs before the carpets goes down, and at this point I feel I must say thanks to my family and friends who are all doing thier best to help me get thru this with both ears still in tact (as the wife seems to be doing her best to chew them off, allegedly thats due to hormones or something....)She's really feeling the weight of the baby now and it's disturbing her sleep with its squirming but she looks fantastic and has the most gorgeous little bump to boot. So week 31, 8 weeks or so to go, do all front opening nighties have to be so damn granny-fied? Do all workmen have to suck air in thru their teeth before quoting? Why don't sheep go fluffy when it rains? My quest for the holy grail continues...... September 14th - Week 32 Week 32 started and ended with another little bit of trauma for us with Sal experiencing another small bleed, when it first started we decided the symptoms were exactly the same as last time so we thought we'd monitor the situation carefully. Friday came and we have a routine appointment with the midwife, we brought it up and because the bleeding had ceased again she put our minds at rest and we went merrily on our way, again that night Sal was bleeding but this time bright pink again we waited until the morning and the bleeding stopped....Saturday night 10 mins before Match of the Day starts and I get a shout from the bathroom and Sally was bleeding again. This time we decided enough was enough and called the delivery suite for some advice. September 21st - Week 33 Week 33 and Sal's work hours have been cut to help the last few weeks of the pregnancy. Instead of 10 hour shifts she's down to 6 hours and wont finish after midnight. It's a weight off my my mind as I think its her shifts and work ethic thats causing these bleeds. The house is starting to take shape, the carpets are looking great and I've now managed to paint the walls and ceiling in the bedroom. We've now access to our loft thanks to Chris,my father in law. He's working every day to help us an I think today he's started building our wardrobes..... After that we'll start on the Nursery!! Weeks 35 & 36 OH MY GOD! How quickly are the weeks flying by, I was going to commence by once again apologising for my tardiness in writing but once self analysis was complete I realised that unless I morphed a clone of myself I'd still have had no time to write my diatribes to my adoring public.... I actually wonder if anybody actually reads the drivel I write and if so I truly am sorry I put you through this week after week....so weeks 35 and 36 flew by so quckly I hadn't even realised I'd not written last week. We've now been to 3 Antenatal classes and to be honest I've learnt a little but not as much as I thought I would. So much so that when I think of going next week it feels like more of a chore than a pleasure and Im not comfortable with that feeling. I suppose a lot has to do with the timing of the sessions. 1830 isn't a great time as I've finished work at half 5 and have to kill and hour, I cant go home and back as that'd kill more than an hour and because of this the dog doesn't get walked so there's a grumpy puppy in the house when we get home...then there's the 2 hours of the class and the drive home and then having to do something for tea at 2130. The in laws have been bloody fantastic with Sal's busting himself to finish the bedroom and her Mum the gardening as well as feeding and watering us basically every evening. We moved as we wanted to be nearer when the baby arrived and they have been so supportive throughout the move and since. We are lucky kids! Week 37 It's kinda dawned on me this week that the babies arrival is imminent, this may have been due to the few practise contractions we thought we'd had over the weekend I'm not sure..... Week 37 again went quicker than Richard Hammond in a rocket propelled dragster and fortunatley finished with a routine midwifes' appointment not a high speed crash.... Everything seems to be progressing nicely with the pregnancy and now I've finally managed to start the nursery decorating it's all starting to become very real. I spent the weekend stripping, calm down ladies, the wallpaper off and the ever fantastic in laws have ordered the new paper too. My whinge of the week is directed at those sweedish imbeciles widely known as IKEA and the fact that despite buying the rest of the range and being assured the cot would be in stock in a week, 7 weeks later we are cotless and the next delivery of them aren't due for 4 weeks and even then we can't reserve one for the few hours it would take us to drive there and pick the damn thing up! So, here we are, nearly there..... almost ready....I even bought Sal a bag to pack.....not packed yet tho..... but the pilates ball is getting some use....who'd have known! Week 38 & 39 Weeks 38 and 39 have come and gone and by now I'm kinda thinking something should possibly be happening, surely the wife should be waddling by now, babies head firmly wedged in her pelvis ready to make it daring final push for freedom so it came as a little suprise when we visited the midwife at the beginning of week 39 to find the baby isn't even nearly ready to make it's way into the pelvis, nevermind charge down the birth canal, headbutt open the cervix and burst thru the finishing line like Paula Radcliffe finishing a marathon. Alas Sal's now feeling she's been pregnant forever and just wants to see the very same finishing line. It has however given us ample time to finish the nursery and re arrange the furniture in there many many times... names all sorted, bag packed, I know how to get to the hospital, bring it on mother nature.... due date was today (8th Nov) so I can safely say I need to start playing things like Queen's I want to break free at top volume for a while... Weeks 40,41 and low and behold a day of Week 42! Now call me old fashioned but being an ex military man I'm a little bit of a stickler for punctuality. Over the last few years I have relaxed a little on this respect, albeit frced by my wife's ability to believe she can get ready for a night out/appointment/party/dinner or anyother eventuality in half an hour when in reality half an hour is only ever going to be long enough to wash her long flowing golden locks....I digress, being a now semi punctual type I still believed our unborn child would take some of its daddies principals and at least come on time! So imagine my mock disgust when the due date came and went as well as another 192 hours before the heir to my throne would even begin its journey down my good lady wifes' birth canal into her pelvis and so on and so forth. So T-5 and we go and see the midwife, no baby and 4/5ths engaged which I learn is actually backwards and some sort of midwifey code for 'really not engaged at all mate'. Now at this point I'm thinking ah well, give it a few days and nature will take its course - bring it on - Im ready! Fast Forward another week T+1 and once again perched in the midwife's room I hear the words - ah Mrs Clark, 3/5ths engaged now... 3 bloody 5ths! THREE! COME ON FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Sal was duly booked in to see the midwife the following Weds (T+6) for something delightfully going by the name of a membrane sweep, after enquiring as to wether we needed to arrive carrying our own broom or not we headed off home to contemplate wether baby was a little too happy in Sal's obviously welcoming innards and would ever grace us with its appearance. Weds came and still no sign of junior despite an 8 hour period beginning early hours of Monday of what we thought could have been contractions. We saw the midwife and the sweep was conducted swiftly and t'was announced we were 3cm's dialated!! This was at 9am and by christ I'm glad we didn't know what the 48 hours following would contain. I headed off to work at 10am and almost immediatley Sally's contractions started. I got a text letting me know but as we weren't really sure they were contractions we decided to monitor the situation. 6pm and I announced my arrival home from work and was greeted with a wife who to be honest had had less painful days. We read a few of our books about labour and early signs etc and set about timing the contractions over the next hour. So 1900 - 2000 Sal shouted out every time she had a contraction starting,when it ended and so on and so forth and we were already at 45 second contractions at 4 minute intervals . We waited another hour and called the delivery suite when the pain became unbearable and described to them what was happening,they asked us to go in so we got ourselves together and headed off the 14 miles to the RLI...Now at this point I feel obliged to tell you a little about my wife's pain threshold. |
.JPG)
I proposed to Sally in August 2004 and we were married in the July of 2005, to this day it still rates as the best day of my life. We have always talked about having children and personally I feel I have been ready to be a father from the moment I met Sal. By chance the doctor at the family planning centre noticed Sally had as an adolescent suffered from focal migranes and deemed the combined pill she'd taken for the last 10 years was unsafe. Sal was put on various other pills but each had side effects that we were not happy with. We talked it through and decided it best for Sally to stop taking contraceptives and give her body a well needed break. Thinking after 12 years of continous contraception it would take a few years for her body to get back to normal we decided to leave the fact we may conceive very much to fate. That was in January 2007 and Sal fell pregnant in February 2007. Slightly shocked but over the moon our first born is due November 8th 2007 - 16 days before my 30th birthday.
After charting the progress of Sal's pregnancy from her husband Mike's point of view The Baby Maze is pleased to announce the birth of their baby..JPG)
 |
 Are you pregnant? Would you like to be a healthier weight?Is your Body Mass Index over 30?(If you are not sure, ask your midwife). If you answer YES to all of the above, the following Aquanatal sessions are especially for you!... View Full Story >> Happy BirthdayThe Baby Maze is one this month! Yes it's a whole year since the launch of this website. Thanks to everyone who has contributed and to those who have emailed in to show their support.... View Full Story >> RLI Breastfeeding Support Group infoThe Breastfeeding Support Group at the Women’s Unit, RLI, will NOT be held on Thursday 7th and 14th August ’08.... View Full Story >> Rhythm Time is on the move!From September you'll find Rhythm Time classes for babies and toddlers on a Wednesday morning at new venue St Pauls Church, Scotforth Rd, Lancaster. Ring now to book a place.... View Full Story >> |
 |