Friday, August 31, 2007

We're Home...

That's right, Dylan and I are home now. Technically I should have stayed in hospital another day, but I was so tired of being in the hospital and just wanted to go home. We were OK'd to go by the doctor and the pediatrician, and we high tailed it out of there as fast as possible. Of course, we had to wait for Dylan to eat first, and that took absolutely ages! He is breast feeding every 1 1/2 to 3 hours, and he takes about 45 minutes each time.

It is so good to be home!

I will try to post the details of my birth experience later, but it's nearly feeding time at the zoo (and bed time for tired mommies). Tomorrow maybe--depending on how Dylan and I are doing!
Dylan in his big boy clothes.
The little piglet all dressed up and ready for his first drive with daddy at the wheel.
Mommy in real clothes for the first time all week! Ready to get out of the hospital!
Late Night bleariness...and the baby isn't even home yet!

OK so it is 1.30 in the morning and i really should be in bed, but i realised if I didn't do this now, then I would probably forget and you would all be mad at me so here we have a little picture gallery so we have plenty of pictures of the man of the hour.


EXTREME CLOSE UP!!! Actually, possibly the cutest little boy ever, and you get to see him really close

".....Yes doctor, this is the cutest baby in the world, and his gorgeous mother!"

Here we have evidence that I do have one tender bone in my body, and my son put it there.
Just about the most awake he has been ever!


Grandma and of course, Dylan

Presenting FOUR generations of the Gilbert family.

Big tough Dad softened up by a tiny bundle of joy

And now we have the fall collection, as modelled by a dashing new addition to the modelling world....
Slightly risque shot, but i thought it was actually quite touching, and I think they are both very happy right here.

So that is our little exhibition over, and now I really must retire. Hope you enjoy!



Wednesday, August 29, 2007

It's a GIANT boy!!!

Huzzah! We're parents! After an eventful and emotional day, our son arrived at 1am Wednesday 29th august weighing in at a staggering 9ib 5.5oz! What was she feeding him on! Unfortunately Jamie had to have a Cesarean section so she will be in hospital for a few days, hence me posting the pictures but i have a feeling she may post to you all from her hospital bed (which she can do due to the wonders of modern technology)

Thought i would let you guys see a picture of Jamie whilst happy and having contractions - she didn't want any later on for some strange reason!

Now the part I am sure you all wanted to see; Our boy, Dylan John!


Isn't he fabulous! He was pretty quiet, which I hope he keeps up. He has all toes and fingers, plus no Loughley toe, and there are no abnormalities. All we have to do now is raise him right. Easy, right?!

Rest assured there will be many more photos to follow in the next few days

Ciao

Sunday, August 26, 2007

AT Last, a sighting of the lesser spotted gilbert.....

..... right, can't actually remember the last I put in an appearance, but I thought that as we approach our momentous occasion a few words from one of the contributors might be appreciated.

To be honest I am not quite sure why I don't provide more insights into our wonderful little world. Maybe because Jamie has a better way with words or I am just ever slightly lazy! So here I am and you are all hopefully eager to hear my sagely words?!

As Jamie has mentioned, I am now off work for a week, and I am so glad that that is the case, for many reasons. Obviously i am glad to be home as we are having a bouncing baby ...? (this is reason numero uno) But to be honest, I am just glad to not be working! Not that I don't like working, because I do, but sometimes you just need some time off. So hopefully, Jamie has the baby tonight so we can both enjoy the rest of the week together with he/she/it.

I do think that it will be a little odd to have an extra person around, especially one i can't blame for doing stupid stuff, liking leaving cupboard doors open or forgetting to turn off lights. How irritating and quite rude. However I am looking forward to having someone else to talk to, to share time with, to teach cool things to, like how to hawk a good loogie, and i am particularly looking forward to making up answers to questions that children ask parents that they don't know the answer to (see current thirst pockets advert on British TV)

so hopefully you are ridiculously ecstatic to hear from me again and will eagerly anticipate future postings. If not, bleh!
The Midwife's visit...

So yeah, had my home visit today. Let me just say that it was a little bit surreal to have an internal exam in my bedroom. It really felt like a violation of my privacy. I think I actually would have preferred to drive to the Scunthorpe hospital.

At any rate, it was a good visit. The baby's heart beat was good, as was my blood pressure. The midwife said that she could feel the baby's head, and though she couldn't tell how dilated I am, she did say that it seemed things were on their way. I am scheduled for an induction on Wednesday at 9 am, so we'll see how it goes.

The neighbor, Joanne, had her baby on Tuesday. We went and met little Marley this evening, and he is a VERY cute baby. Even Martin thinks so. I was hoping that holding a newborn baby would stimulate some movement, but so far no dice.

Martin and I may be going to Cleethorpes beach tomorrow with the Mundays and the Enderby-Whalls. I'm looking forward to it. Of course, it would be better if we can't go because we're at the hospital. Either way, I'll have some good pictures to post tomorrow.

Martin is starting his leave on Tuesday. If we have the baby, great! If not, his dad is coming over Tuesday morning and they are going to work on our entrance hallway. Once the door is moved across and Martin has built the stud walls for the hallway, our home teacher Nathan is going to get the work men back in to finish that space off as well. My living room and entrance hallway should be done before mom and dad get here (although without the bamboo flooring).

That's the update.

More tomorrow. I'll keep everyone posted!
My living room--painted, with (temporary) carpet and some of the furniture. We are moving the sofa in tomorrow, and then we'll actually need to buy some furniture!


This is what 1 week over due looks like!!! Thankfully, no bigger than full term looked!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Babywatch continues...

Still pregnant. 'Nough said.!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

My freshly painted living room. The ceiling color is Edwardian Lemon. The wall color is Pale Cream. I have to post another picture soon with the skirting board painted. It is Slate Gray and looks very classy (Martin just finished painting it this evening. The living room is nearly there. Who knew that it would be done before the baby was???
Look at that GIANT baby bump!
40 Weeks and counting--and proof that black really IS slimming...

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

YES, I AM STILL PREGNANT! NOW STOP CALLING ME TO ASK!!!

Ok, now that's out of the way I can get on with the rest of this post.

Sorry about the rant--I am just so tired of people calling me to ask if I've had the baby yet. You all would have heard by now if I had. This is people in England mostly, but people back home as well. Think about how quickly everyone found out I was pregnant once Martin and I told mom and dad they could spread the word!

I had my 40 week midwife appointment yesterday, and it was just the same as all the rest of them. Except I walked over because I hadn't come straight from work. It was Rose again, and I've decided that she's a much nicer person if you don't bring your husband along for the appointment. She was lovely and sympathetic and helpful. And I found out some good news. They are going to be coming to my house for my next appointment (if I don't have the baby first) to do a membrane sweep. I was worried that I would have to wait since it's a bank holiday on Monday, but they are still working and are actually going to see me on Sunday. The only bad thing is that they could come any time between 9 am and 5 pm. At any rate, if that doesn't work then I will go into the hospital on Wednesday to be induced.

On a happy note, I was actually able to get comfortable in bed today and so I got a little extra sleep. Wow, what a difference that has made! I stayed in bed until 10 am, and I actually got around 6 hours of sleep--heaven! Of course, I'm still exhausted and don't really feel like doing anything, but that sleep was still amazing.

Martin is getting anxious for me to have the baby, too. Every day he says "I wish you'd have the baby. I don't want to go to work today." Maybe not the best motive, but I guess I should just be happy that he's into it. He really doesn't ever show any emotions, so if he actually expresses something, you know he's REALLY emotional or passionate about it.

I have belly pictures and also pics of the painted front room, but my USB cable for the camera is upstairs and I honestly can't be bothered to go up and get it. Next time I'm up there anyway (let's face it--probably to take a nap) I will bring it down with me. If I get really bored this afternoon I will pop a few pictures on the blog. Otherwise, you'll probably see them tomorrow.

Well, I'm off to do some laundry and drink some pineapple juice (that's supposed to help?). Wish me a few labor vibes!!!

Friday, August 17, 2007

The living room after dry-lining the walls and ceiling with plasterboard.

The room tonight--post skirting board, pre-painting, with slightly damp plaster.

We've got a de-humidifier going right now to finish drying out the plaster. Tomorrow morning Nathan and his wife Natalie and the missionaries are coming to paint. Martin will be at work all day, so the front room will be nearly done by the time he gets home. I bought the paint tonight (It was expensive--wow--but I remember Angie telling me that it doesn't do any good to buy the cheap stuff and you should always spend a little bit more on paint because it makes such a big difference).

Anyway, I'm exhausted and am going to go to sleep now. I just wanted to get these pictures posted so everyone could see how gorgeous my house is starting to look!!!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Like a broken record...

I am STILL pregnant! Only 3 days until my due date, and man am I ever feeling it. I'm really tired, and getting anxious to have the whole labour thing over and done with, but other than that, things are fine. I feel great--healthy and all, I just get tired really quickly.

My maternity leave has officially started, and I can't even begin to express how nice it is to not have to get up and go to work every morning. I have got a lot of stuff done this week (though not as much as I need to), and the 2 hour nap I took today was BLISS!

The most exciting stuff that's been going on is the work on our house though--forget the pregnancy! Our living room is practically livable now. We had plasterers in on Tuesday and Wednesday and are having a joiner come in tomorrow to fit the skirting board and trim around the doorways. Our home teacher, Nathan Whall, set it all up. His family own a local building company, and he was really concerned about the state of our front room with this baby on the way. He is a saint! Our walls are plastered and smooth and beautiful. We have a ceiling! And some members in the Elder's Quorum are coming to help paint on Saturday. We actually bought paint for the living room--I thought we'd never get to this point. We are so blessed!

I took a few pictures while Dave and Steve were plastering, and I'll post them when I get a chance. Right now I need to go downstairs and help Martin prime the skirting board so it's ready for the joiner in the morning. He wants to get it done before it goes up since it will be much easier that way.

Pictures are coming. My living room is the most glorious thing I have ever seen.

Oh yeah, and I have started having contractions. They were pretty strong last night and coming around every 20-45 minutes, but they stopped while I was sleeping and I've only had a few today. But, for all the folks who crave the dirty details, I've also had a "show" (at least I think I have, and the midwife said that's what it sounds like to her) so expect to have the baby quite close to my due date, if not a little bit before. But now that I'm not working, I'm content to get cat naps during the day when I need them and tuck in for the long haul. They will induce me on the 29th if I haven't had the baby by then.

Saturday, August 11, 2007


Emma helped me do a belly cast--it was quite an adventure. From slathering myself with petroleum jelly to applying strips of plaster of paris infused gauze to looking at the huge finished product. She did a great job though, and now I will have a permanent reminder of how huge my baby belly was. I can go into labor any time now and be perfectly happy.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Midwife Appointment (hopefully the last one)...

I saw the midwife yesterday. It was Rose, the not too friendly but very efficient one. Amazingly enough, she was very friendly with me yesterday. It was a pretty good appointment.

I asked her if she could tell how far down the baby had dropped, and she was feeling around for me to check it out. She said that little baby G's head is pretty well engaged. Apparently, she could only feel a little bit of his/her head above my pubic bone. This explains the PAIN in my hips and pelvis, and also the head butting I've been receiving during bouts of baby hiccups. So obviously this means that the baby is still head down :)

The baby's heart beat is still strong and steady, and my blood pressure and urine are fine. We did discuss my anxiety about the baby being really big, and she told me that the consultant at Scunthorpe hospital doesn't do anything about big babies anyway--no early inductions, no extra ultrasounds, nothing. He basically just lets you go to term and does a c-section if the baby is too big to be born the "real" way. So even if my pregnancy WERE being more carefully monitered, I would still be pregnant, huge, and (patiently?) waiting for some signs of labor.

The next scheduled appointment with the midwife is August 20--one day AFTER my due date. I really hope I don't see them again! It would be great if I could give birth right before my due date or on it. Every day after August 19th will go so slowly!

In great news, Martin has all of the wiring completely done and cleaned up in the front room. AND, in even better news, we have some plasterers coming in on Tuesday. They are going to do the ceiling and then skim the room. On Tuesday night or Wednesday I will have finished walls and ceiling in my living room. I thought this day would never come. Of course, it hasn't come yet, but I am still so excited I can hardly stand it.

This weekend should be pretty good. The weather is glorious--about 80-85 degrees F and DRY! It has been over a week since it last rained. I have been line drying all of our laundry and have actually had to water my nasturtiums, my tomatoes, and my french beans. I am planning on having Martin take our old dining set outside so I can paint it. Then we'll use it for dining al fresco in the garden. Lovely!

I am also planning on doing a belly cast--hopefully tonight. I want to go over to Emma's house if she is available to help me. If Emma can't, Deanna has offered to help me with it instead. If I go to Emma's house I can use her sewing machine to make the curtains for the nursery though--I bought some cute fabric last weekend.

This is my last post from work--my maternity leave starts as of Monday. I will be updating from home from now on. I am sad to be leaving Alan Dick UK, but I am so happy that I'll be able to get a little rest and get some work done on the nursery. Maybe now that I won't be at work all day long that whole "nesting" thing will happen and my house will be immaculate by the time the baby gets here.

Martin's baseball team won their last game, and they are league champions. This means that they are going to the playoffs, so now he is rooting for an early birth as well. If I can have the baby early, he can go to the playoffs (depending on how I am feeling). He's pretty excited about that!

Sorry--this is a really rambling post. Lots of information and really no direction to it at all!

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

ROLL CALL...

I'm curious--who is reading this blog? So if you are reading this post, take a few minutes from your busy day and let me know about it. I expect replies on this one, or else . . .

Monday, August 06, 2007


How low can you go? This baby is low riding now! Here I am at 38 weeks (and counting)
STILL Pregnant...

Yes, I was 38 weeks yesterday, and I am still pregnant. The baby doesn't seem to be growing too much any more, but he/she has dropped a LOT in the past few days. I totally have that characteristic pregnant lady waddle now, and with each passing day I get more and more tired.

I miss being able to sleep comfortably. Even when I don't have to get up more than once in the night to pee, I still don't get good sleep. The pelvic pain that I started experiencing about a month ago has only gotten worse, and where I used to be able to sleep about 3 hours at a time, I am now waking up every 45 minutes to 1 hour. I'm so tired!

On a positive note, this is my last week at work. AND I will have a short day on Thursday since I have a midwife appointment. I only have to get up and come to work 4 more times! I am so proud of myself for sticking it out this long.

Martin took some new belly pics of me last night. I'll try to get them posted tonight or tomorrow. Seriously, I don't look much bigger, but the baby is gathered into a much smaller space. I caved over the weekend and bought two new tops so that I'd have something to wear for the last two weeks of my pregnancy. But they should be OK for after the baby is born as well--they'll just fit me very differently!

It was a good weekend, though, all things considered. On Friday I went over to Deanna's house and had dinner with her and the girls. Then we just sat around talking for ages. Martin got home from work before I got home. And then we went swimming on Saturday morning. It was Deanna's daughter Evie's first time EVER swimming (she's 5) and she was so amazing--absolutely fearless. I can't believe how brave little children are. We all had a good time--especially me. Going out in a swimming suit was a little bit embarrassing, but it felt so great to be nearly weightless after carrying around this big ol' baby for so long. My hips and pelvis didn't hurt after about 1/2 hour in the water. And the water was nice and cool, which was great since it was HOT this weekend.

It seems that summer is finally putting in an appearance in England. It got up to around 85 yesterday, which is QUITE warm for England. It feels hotter than that because of the humidity. It's always funny when the sun comes out, because you have all the little chavs running around with their shirts off getting horrific sunburns.

We got a whole bunch of the rubble and rubbish in our front room hauled to the tip over the weekend as well. I say we, but it was all Martin. I carried a few bags up to the skips, but that was pretty much it. At any rate, it got done and the front room looks that much better for it.

We went to the Munday's house last night. Martin and Lewis played cribbage (just like two old men) and Emma and Rachel and I just chatted. It was great to see them--it felt like we hadn't seen them in ages.

So yeah, all in all it was a good weekend. The only way it could have been any better is if I'd had a baby. I'm still hoping I go early, but nothing's happening so far. I'll keep you all posted!

Friday, August 03, 2007

We met the neighbors...

Well, technically, we had already met the neighbors. Their names are Simon and Joanne, and they are lovely people. But Joanne is heavily pregnant and spends most of her time resting, so we had mostly talked to Simon over the garden fance. But last night I walked over with Martin to return some tools he'd borrowed from Simon, and we stood and talked to both of them for absolutely ages. I really like them a lot. I suppose that's a good thing, since their house shares a wall with ours and we can hear all sorts of things.

Simon grew up in Scunthorpe, and Joanne is from Hull. They aren't married, but are planning to tie the knot after the baby is born. Simon is 28 and Joanne is either 33 or 34, and she has a 13 year old daughter, Lucy, from a previous relationship. They have a gorgeous white dog that looks like a Husky named Dora.

They're having a boy, and are going to name him Marley. We thought that was kind of cool, because if he have a boy we are leaning towards Dylan, and then we would have the two "Bob" babies living next door to each other.

It's so nice to have people that we know and like in Barton, especially now that I am about to stop working. My life at the weekend tends to be pretty isolated because Martin is at work the whole time, and I was a little bit concerned that I would be lonely after the baby is born. But now I have my new MySpace friend, Deanna, and my next door neighbor, Joanne. Plus we have Nathan and Natalie Whall (the newlyweds) from church living in Barton, and the Mundays in Wootton. Our little circle of friends is expanding, and I love it!

Deanna and Simon came over on Tuesday night with their daughters, Sam and Evie. Simon is pretty handy and took a look at our boilers (They haven't been working since Martin and his dad did the electrics). He was able to tell us what was wrong, but not able to fix it. But I got to visit with Deanna and the girls, and it was fun. I'm going over to their house tonight as Simon is in Wales on business and then going to Stockport for a stag weekend. We figured we'd be work widows together.

We haven't done hardly anything with the Mundays lately, and I miss them! I hadn't realized just how much until I started hanging out with other people. We used to go over there a couple of times a week, then they had a new baby and I got pregnant and we were all so tired all the time. Hopefully once our baby is born and settled into a routine we will see more of them again. They really are some of my favorite people in the whole world, and I love going over to their house. They're a great couple, and a lovely family!

Friends are so important!