2009: the big year that brought us a big baby

2009 has been a big year for Bryan and I, most obviously with the arrival of Liam.


Liam is now a little over 4 months old, and growing like a weed. He's doubled his birth weight now, at 7.2 kg and 67 cm in length. This puts him in the 75th percentile for height and 90th percentile for height among baby boys his age. I suppose this is to be expected though, given his Daddy's stature. He's still got his gorgeous big blue eyes, with lashes that any girl would kill for.

For Christmas and New Year this year we came to my parent's house on the south coast of NSW. A very relaxing place to be, which is just what we need. Not much to do other than read books on the balcony and walk on the beach. Here's a photo of Liam in his beach gear.


2010 will see me return to work, part time at least. And no doubt it will be a big year of changes in Liam. I can't wait.

Welcome baby Liam

Better late than never. Bryan and I welcomed Liam Robert Coad into the world at 6.02 a.m. on Tuesday August 18th 2009. The labour had to be induced since he was 13 days late, showing no signs of wanting to leave my comfy womb. Other than that though, the whole birth process went well (as well as you can expect with all that pain and stuff) with no complications.

Liam weighed 3.68 kg (8 lb 2 oz), measuring 52 cm in length, and (most importantly) a head circumference of 34 cm. This is really quite moderate when you consider that I met a girl in the hospital who gave birth naturally to a 4.5 kg baby - poor thing!


We chose the name Liam because it was pretty much the only name that Bryan and I both agreed on. And we chose Robert because its a strong name on both sides of the family. Robert is my father's and great grandfather's name, the name of both Bryan's grandfathers, as well as being Bryan's middle name. Bryan likes the idea of sharing a middle name with his son.

Overdue

It's August 11th, and baby has not yet arrived. I will have words with the courier about this. Tomorrow I will be 41 weeks pregnant, which is intolerable. I've been on maternity leave for almost 6 weeks now and am bored out of my brain. However, I lack the energy to do anything with my time other than take showers and naps. Tomorrow we are going to the doctor to talk about getting me induced.

I did manage to get out of the house today to waddle around Toys R Us for a bit (note that I said this was Toys R Us, purveyor of quality products for kids and babies - not some cheapo dollar store full of crap made in Taiwan). And I saw this:


Surely they are implying that any "little angle" that wears these booties is acute baby!!

Sorry. The 41 week old bump where my flat stomach used to be has done strange things to my sense of humour.

A change of pace

I started my maternity leave yesterday, four weeks before the Coadlet is expected to arrive. That means 4 weeks (hopefully) of doing nothing. I feel a bit guilty, but people keep telling m to make the most of it, and to get as much sleep as possible.
To ease the guilt, yesterday I cleaned the house from top to bottom, filed away the stack of paperwork that's been building up for months, bought some groceries, and did a bit of work that can't wait until I go back in January. By the end of the day I was pretty exhausted and I let Bryan (who had been at work all day) do the washing up after dinner while I lazed on the couch.
Today has been a bit more leisurely. A Preggi Bellies class in the morning, followed by a grilled cheese sandwich while watching Desperate Housewives that I recorded last night. It's a lovely day outside so I might take a gentle stroll (waddle) this afternoon.

Preparations

We have 6 weeks to go until the baby arrives. Yikes! Here's a photo of me taken this morning.


But we are surprisingly prepared. Prepared in the sense that the nursery is ready and the 'go-bag' is packed. Unprepared in the sense that this is going to hurt more than ripping off a band-aid! We've been going to antenatal classes, which have advocated the benefits of whale music, aromatherapy and massage as pain relief. I'm thinking more along the lines of a general anaesthetic. Wake me up when its over!

Anyway, here are some photos of the nursery. Please don't inundate me with comments about what the decor might mean in terms of the baby's gender. I'm not telling (because I'll get in trouble from Bryan if I do). We've tried hard to go for fairly gender neutral decor anyway, if for no other reason than to save redecorating in the future if a baby of a different type comes along.

The cot was given to us by my boss, who's 3 children are all grown up now. I painted it white, to make it look as good as new. The sheets have a Noah's Ark theme, and we've used an animal theme throughout the room with the mobile and various other bits and pieces. Above all else, we intend for this baby to grow up loving animals.


I made the animal pictures on the wall by stretching some fabric across a wooden frame. I think they look great.

Apparently hanging a mobile above the changing table will distract the baby for long enough that it won't try to put its hands into the contents of a dirty nappy. We'll find out if this theory is true soon enough.

A nappy stacker, containing 109 tiny nappies.


And that's just a cute little storage unit from IKEA, to keep baby's tiny clothes in.

My, haven't you grown

Its been more than 8 weeks since I last posted. Work has been crazy, and I have submitted two research grants. But things are a bit more relaxed now.

You just wouldn't believe how much my belly has grown since I last posted. From this:
To this:We had our 20 week scan a couple of days ago, which was quite exciting. And I couldn't help but exclaim (in the manner of a someone's Aunt) "My, haven't you grown!"

The little Coadlet has gone from this:
About 5 cm long from head to bum, weighing about 14 grams - about the size of a lime apparently,

To this:
About 16.5 cm long head to bum, and weighing about 300 grams. This is about the length and weight of a banana. Its now far too big to fit on a single scan image. I was very relieved to see that the Coadlet has really grown into it's facial features - I was worried about that enormous nose and forehead at the first scan, but now it looks all lovely and cute. We found out what sex it is, but Bryan and I have decided to keep it a little secret between us.

In the last couple of weeks I've been feeling some kicking, which is nice. Bryan is a bit frustrated that he can't feel anything when he puts his hand on my tummy yet, but I think that will happen soon.

So far I'm feeling good. The very mild waves of nausea that I had in the beginning are completely gone now. I do have the occasional dizzy spell, one of which left me plummeting to the floor recently while attempting to stand on a train. This is caused by low blood pressure, and according to my doctor its completely normal. "Greeeeeaaaattttt", I groaned in response. On the bright side though, its a great way of getting someone to offer you their seat.

We're expecting!

Goodness me, I can hardly believe it. There's a Coadlet on its way, due to arrive by Express Stork Delivery in early August. Do you think it looks like me?

Its a boy!

Congratulations to my sister and her hubby, who welcomed their first baby last night.

Benjamin Thomas Khuu weighed in at 7 lb 6 oz (3.3 kg) and measured 49 cm.

I'm still waiting to receive photos of the little guy but I have no doubt he's the cutest little thing in all of Hong Kong.

I'm such a proud aunt!


Update: Photos reveal that he is the cutest thing in all of Hong Kong, and maybe even all of China.