Loopy froots live here

And Then There Was Silence

Anya loving

Much happier than before

Hello all,

So, what's going on with us? How has the move been? How are we adjusting? All good questions, thanks for asking ;)

Finding a place to rent has been a major drag. We've been offering more than asking prices ($10-20+), we've been offering months of rent upfront, but people just don't want rentors for only 6 months (plus a bit). Boo. So we're seeking out the housesitting options. It kinda sucks because we don't have our stuff. But it also rocks because no rent!! We're still with James' family, which is actually going very well and I am super relieved about that! We're paying some to cover our utilities, I'm trying to be useful around the house and I'm making dinner many times a week. Karen (MIL) quite likes that because "it's like I've got my own personal chef". So hooray! We have a 3 month house sitting gig linned up at the start of August and are trying to make additional arrangements until then.

Having Tully in our room has been the biggest challenge. Having people always wanting to pick up Tully when he cries is another challenge as it means he's regressed on his self-settling. Why go to sleep when I can just cry and get picked up by one of the MANY people in this house who think I'm the greatest and cutest?? I've cracked down on that recently though and it's getting a bit better. Having James be the stay at home Dad was amazing because HE was the one to get up at night and feed Tully. I don't like getting up at night.

Personal aside: usually I pray for Tully to sleep well and then I get cranky when that doesn't happen. Last night I prayed for patience (because I am seriously wearing thin on patience) and... I got more patience!! Tully still woke up heaps and refused to sleep easily. But I dealt with it way better and am way less cranky today. I even had a very fun play with my gorgeous little man as I was in a much better mood to hang out with him. Right now he's asleep - praise the Lord!!

Being a stay at home Mum is weird. Of course, there's always housework to do. And right now I'm painting a bunch of second hand photo frames blue for a friend's belated birthday present so she has a colourful gallery wall in her otherwise very neutral home. (Obviously not *right now*, but I just finished a second coat before coming on to blog).

It's nice being part of a mother's group. It's weird to think it may be another decade before I return to work. I've been working so hard to be a good teacher that it's odd to not be concerned with that any more. I tend to get a bit jelly of James going off to work at a fancy private school (with an AMAZING staff room that has 3 sides of windows overlooking the river!!) and his students do what he tells them and he can ACTUALLY TEACH as opposed to run crowd control all day. SO JELLY!!

But it's also quite nice just being at home with Tully. Making sure we have dinner and clean clothes. And that Tully grows up well. Speaking of being busy at home, I need to call our internet provider to cancel our services, someone to service our car... and I'm sure there's another job I'm meant to get on top of. I love my family. I getting on way better with my in laws and they are growing dearer to me every day. I am so much happier than I was before! Yay!



I went in and comforted him.
I sat on my glider and rocked him.
His head was over my shoulder and his breathing gradually slowed.
He gave me a big smile.
He fell asleep as we rocked together.


kitty upside down

Too long for a FB update

When it's too long for a FB update, do a blog post!

Right now I'm feeling pretty good. I just had a glass f wine, followed by a delicious banana smoothie! So I'm also feeling a little happy. Tonight, Tully only took 45mins to go to sleep, instead of 1hr+ yay! I'm quite certain that that's because I fed Tully for like, an hour and a half prior to his bedtime! So there's no way he was crying tonight because he was hungry. Gosh I feel like a cow sometimes. So that's what I'm feeling good about tonight, and why I deserve a glass of wine :D

Today was my first day back at school. Teachers are back today and tomorrow for meetings and PD. I'm doing primary science, society and environment, and literacy intervention (ATAS). That'll be way less work than last year, so I'm quite happy about that and feeling good about getting home early to be with Tully. I also managed to score a desk with a computer to work from this year - whoo hoo! That was literally the highlight of my work day.

So anyway, today was pretty ok. It was really nice catching up with everyone who's stuck around and it was nice to start making new friends. 


Tully's Birth Story


So, this post is all about my labour. It's Tully's Birth Story. Consider yourself warned if you don't like talking or thinking about things such as uteri, babies squishing through cervix's, etc.

I had expected to go into labour early. This did not happen. But because I was expecting it, I was very carefully monitoring myself for signs of early labour from 35 weeks onwards. Particularly because it would mean 8+ hours of travelling for James to get down to Perth from Halls Creek. This was stressing me out a fair bit. I talked to the OB in charge of me at the hospital, who got a letter written to excuse James from his last week of work. This was a huge relief. And when James got down to Perth, I was super happy! And he was just in time to take care of me through a nasty cold.

So then we settled in to wait. We were pretty much ready for Sprout to come at any point in time. READY! I'm ready now damnit! But no-show. Pa travelled from Melbourne for Christmas, but no Sprout. Pa caught his plane back home. In the week before I went into labour, I was experiencing braxton hicks daily. I had to make a huge effort to go to bed expecting to not be in labour the next morning, else I'd get all morose about not being in labour. We also made tonnes of plans! Plans for lunch, for movies, for dinners, for hanging out with friends. We went out most evenings to play board games with good friends. This was super important in giving me something to look forward to each day.

At 40 (weeks) + 8 (days) I started getting strong, but sporadic contractions Sunday evening just before we went to a friend's house. Determined to not be a slave to pseudo-contractions, we went anyway and I just gritted my teeth through them. They continued being irregular, but strong throughout the night and into Monday (40 +9) morning. Although they hadn't abated, I was still determined to get on with my day. So we went to see Frozen at the cinema. Pretty much as soon as we sat down, I started getting contractions every 5 minutes for about 30 seconds. By the time Frozen finished, the contractions were getting stronger. We left AS SOON as the credits started to roll, hopped in the car and drove to the hospital (we had been taking my hospital bag with us everywhere, just in case). When I was admitted, I was 4cm, hurrah!

They strapped monitors to me and the very first contraction it picked up also showed a dip in Sprout's heartbeat. This required them to continue to monitor me in case it happened again. I was monitored for half an hour in the assessment room, then for another half hour in the labour room. When I was in the labour room, the monitors were wireless, so I changed into my bathers and laboured in the shower for a while. I had the hot water pointed at a painful spot on my belly. James was in his boardies pointing the shower head while I vocalised, swayed and clapped my hands. This was pretty effective at managing my pain. Once it was established that Sprout's heartbeat was stable, they started filling up a pool for me to labour in.

This took about half an hour. At the time it felt like hours and in hindsight it felt like 5 minutes. But soon enough, I was in and that was nice. The pool was definitely an improvement. But not for long; the pain soon became unmanageable again, so I requested gas. Gas was hella funny, but I didn't do well with it. I was HIGH AS A KITE! And that affected my ability to perceive pain and make rational decisions. For example, breathing in an orderly and mannered way; taking breaks from the gas to breath in oxygen, etc. It was pretty clear that I was still not coping with the pain, so I requested an epidural.

The anaesthetist was with another woman, and then had a second woman to give epidurals to before getting to me. AND I needed to be assessed to see how far along I was. So I stayed in the pool with the gas for a little bit longer, before I had to get out for an assessment. I was 7cm dilated. Epidural time plz!! I sat on the edge of the bed, James was in front of me, being supportive. I had to stay very very still, which was super hard to do. The doctor put in some local anaesthetic to numb the area, then put the epidural in. I didn't feel it go in because of the anaesthetic, yay! It took about 10-15mins to kick in and once it did... it was wonderful! I was able to chat with James, eat a sandwich and generally look forward to meeting Sprout. I still felt contractions in this spot that the epidural didn't get to, I was able to walk around and change position on the bed. I was quite surprised that I wasn't belted down the whole time!

Labour continued in this fashion until we figured that given the time, I should be ready yet, shouldn't I? The midwife checked me out, and I was dilated to 10cm, so surely I should be ready to push? After an hour of waiting for my body's push to kick in, the midwife decided we should bring it on anyway. So she set me up in pushing position and I started to push. She also let the epidural wear off. I changed position to make pushing better, but I much preferred sitting up, so I went back to doing that. After 45mins of unsuccessful and painful pushing, I requested the vacuum, but the midwife was all "but you just gave a great push! Keep going" and wouldn't get the doctor.

So at this stage, the epidural has worn off, I'm PUSHING DAMNIT!! And it's damn painful! A couple of times I was like "screw this! I'm over it!" and stopped pushing, which was like jumping from the pot into the fire. PAAAAIIIN!!!! As painful as pushing was, it was better than enduring the agony of feeling the contraction racking my body. So much pain! PAINPAINPAIN!!! The very brief respite in between contractions was half spent with me pleading for an assisted delivery and panting. After another 45mins, the midwife FINALLY got the doctor. I almost cried!

They popped my legs up into thingers, the doctor popped the vacuum cap on and in 3-5 pushes, Sprout was out! It wasn't as easy as it sounds though.
Half way through, Dr White was like, "your contraction is over right now, we need to pause so you can stretch."
And in the back of my brain I was like, "yes, this sounds like a good plan. Stretching = good!"
So I pushed and consequently got a 2nd degree tear. When I say that, my legs cross together and I wince. But I didn't feel myself tear at the time. EVERYTHING was just so painful, what's more pain on top of pain??

But anyway, at 2:23am, out he came and they put Sprout straight on my belly with towels and I'm like "omg, this is my baby?? How did this happen? That all happened so quickly!" I used my hand to feel around, felt out-y bits and told James we had a boy! I feel a bit tear-y recounting it now because it's so amazing and special, but at the time I was just astounded! A lot happened in those brief moments. The cord had stopped pulsating very early, so James cut the cord. I (had requested and) received an injection so my placenta would be delivered quickly, so that came out. After a few minutes of holding him, the doctor needing to stitch me up and generally tidy up a bit, so I passed Tully over to James who got about 20 solid minutes holding Tully, which is really special too. Stitches, assembling the bed again, cleaning up all the blood, then Tully was passed back to me to feed. The instructional videos I watched in our antenatal classes were super helpful for that though, so I kinda fumbled my through remembering what to do and spent the next 90mins with Tully feeding.

In the midst of all the bustle, I turned to James and said, "Tertullian Brian??" to which he agreed, and that's how Tully got his name! I sent James home because he was falling asleep on the couch (that the hospital had in each of the delivery rooms, yay!) and continued feeding. Then the midwife took Tully for weighing, shots, etc and I had a shower, then off we hobbled to my bed in the maternity ward.

There's way more I could continue on with, but this is long enough. In summary, pregnancy and labour were damn hard! I do not particularly like pregnancy because of my excessive nausea and horrific back pain (though my chiropractor was super amazingly wonderful and made that aspect so much better). I did not like labour because it was the most painful experience in my life, full of painful pain!!!!!! But I love having Tully with us. I love him so much! He is the cutest baby in the entire world! (said every mother ever). I don't mind the crying. I don't mind being weed and pooed upon. I don't mind that my boobs are sore because breastfeeding is still new. Having Tully with us is just the best of all!!


Kitty doesn&#39;t approve

Squatter Bother










V far away

31 weeks

I am in my 3rd Trimester, hurrah! I have 9 weeks to go, though I'm crossing my fingers and toes that Sprout is ready earlier than that. So, how am I coping?

Bad Things

  • Regular back aches. Depending on what I'm doing, can start as early as midday, or maybe even late afternoon. Every day my back is sore. All day is it uncomfortable. Lying down or standing up prevents it for a long time. When I sit down I make sure my back is properly supported with cushions.

  • Lower rib pain. As my uterus grows and pushes things out of place, all my internal organs move up. This means more things are squished up just under my lungs, stretching my lower ribs. This is uncomfortable all day but painful by sunset.

  • Shortness of breath. See previous point about internal organs up under my lungs.

  • Sprout's growth makes me feel all stretched out.

  • Irritability

Good things

  • Things could be a lot worse. I haven't (yet) experienced swelling in my hands and feet. I don't feel sick all the time. I haven't gained loads of weight (just normal weight gain). I don't suffer from gestational diabetes. Or high blood pressure. Sprout is growing.

  • I'm not currently working. This is such a blessing! I don't have to deal with naughty students AND back pain. One of my colleagues quit at the end of the term and our classes have been combined. They average about 17 each day and the teacher in charge is having a bit of trouble with them. I am SO THANKFUL that they're not MY trouble to deal with. Don't get me wrong. I love my students heaps! I made lots of positive gains with them and I love teaching. I would love the challenge of continuing to work with them and others. But with the back pain, discomfort, shortness of breath, etc, I just wouldn't be able to cope with it.

  • Sprout moves around several times a day. This is both comforting (still alive!) and exciting (s/he exists! And is a person! And we'll get to meet her/him soon!). James can see and feel Sprout kick. Sometimes when we snuggle before going to sleep, we'll lay there with his hand on my belly just feeling Sprout wiggle. This is the most important good thing because it makes all the bad things worthwhile. I am super excited about meeting Sprout and holding him/her.

  • 9 weeks to go. Hopefully sooner. Given Mum delivered all her children early, I'm hoping that'll be the case for me too. Though not *too* early. I want James to be there and for Sprout to not be in NICU or anything. Apparently from 37-38 weeks, a baby is considered full term, so that'd be totes fine with me! :D

Other Things

  • I am super scared about going into labour. Painful! Unpredictable! Tearing! Stretching! Moar pain! D: I want Sprout out! But I don't want Sprout to go *that* way. Nor do I want a Caesarean. Maybe Star Trek technology could localise a "beam me out, Scotty" event...? There is NO way this is going to not-painful. Scared :(

  • I'm going to Perth in less than a month! YAY!!! I'm so excited to see my friends! And go shopping! And see my friends! FRIENDS!!!! YAY!! So. Excited. *squeeeeeee*

  • OMG, I'm going to Perth in less than a month and I might need a pram. Can I take a pram on the plane? What if Sprout comes early and needs a cot thing to sleep in. I have one in HC, but not in Perth. And I'll need nappies and ... other baby stuff that I don't have *freaks out*. So yeah, I try not to think about it too much. There is SO MUCH I cannot control that I'm just trying to rest in God's timing and providence. I'll be staying with family and we know plenty of people who've had children who could temporarily loan us things... it's gonna be fine *breath* God's timing *breaths more*

  • Generally, lists of things that babies need and what I'll need for hospital and NEEDS are freaking me out a bit. But so is not currently being prepared for Sprout right this moment. There's next to nothing we can do about it up here. We already have a bunch of stuff from very generous friends, which is a load off my mind. But I'm sure there's still more stuff to get! Eeeep!

  • We've made some really awesome friends up here who won't be here next year and I only have less than a month left until I leave and then they leave forever and that's sad. We're praying that things work out so that we can remain in contact next year. But that's all up to God too. I try not to think about that too. God's providence.

Our lack of control over things is really bearing on my mind. Especially as I go through mini-freak-outs and mood swings. We're going to spending money on providing for Sprout's needs and that's a source of communication issues between James and myself (money!). I want to be prepared for labour, but at the same time, I'm like "WHY BOTHER!?" because I just don't know what it's going to be like!!! In an ideal world where I can control things, I'd like a water birth with no pain medication. BUT I can't control that. If Sprout is too early, I'll be strapped to monitors on a bed the whole time and will probably have an epidural. Or maybe there'll be serious complications that'll mean a caesarean. I don't know! I can't see into the future and I can't control it. There's a whole stack of fears and what ifs and maybes. Maybe James won't be there at all! Maybe Sprout will die during labour. Maybe I'll die! Maybe Sprout will be fine and then die of SIDS 2 months later.

But God is there. God is in control. If I walk through the Valley of Death, God's rod and staff will comfort me. God will use these circumstances to make me more like Jesus. To bring glory to himself. God gave us Sprout, God can take him away, God's name be praised! I really cannot stress how comforting all this is to me. It might sound trite, naive, ignorant, weak, brain-washed, whatever. But these words and promises from Scripture assure me that even if the worst (whatever that is) should happen, my Joy and Delight is before me. That one day I will gaze on the beautiful face of the Lord in his holy temple forever. I cannot comprehend what pain and suffering I would go through if Sprout were to die. But I do know that I have experienced some pain and suffering in my life (not much, but it's not a competition) and God was faithful then. He was with me then. He is comforting my worries and anxieties now. He has been with other faithful Christians through pain and sorrow. He will be with me always. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is our in Christ Jesus.

Anya loving

23 Weeks and some thoughts going on


First up, Pregnancy


Self Reflection

Claire young smile

21 weeks

So I just had a looky look over at my eljay to see what I'd posted last and it was the turn of the trimester. How are things now?

Lemme start with the educational.
Although pregnancy is 9 months, everyone is mostly aware that a month is a little bit longer than 4 weeks. So even though it's been 2 months since I got into this trimester, I've got just under 2 months to go until I'm in the third trimester. It's just easier to measure things by weeks. I'm 21 weeks, which is just over half way.

My belly feels so stretched and pulled. It's starting to get in the way and is mostly uncomfortable. Also, extra weight in front takes a bit to get used to.
I get muscle cramps pretty badly (just a pregnancy thing that can happen). The first time I got 1 was when I was stretching as I woke up. What a hell of a way to wake up!! I've had cramps in my calves and right now in the front-thigh muscles. Turns walking into hobbling.
I've had some pretty horrific, very localised back pack that requires a heat pack at the end of each school day. Given I have a baby belly now, lying on my front is mightily uncomfortable, but lying on top of the heat pack is too hot. So I kinda end up on my side, but on my front, with the heat pack precariously perched on top of me. Which would be funny if I weren't in pain.

I have a belly and it's a bit exciting to see it grow!
I have waaaaay more energy than I did back in Trimester 1 and the early weeks of Trimester 2. That was horrid, this is good! :D
I can feel movement and kicks! Pretty special. James hasn't felt anything yet. When I start to feel things, I call him over to where I'm at and he's all "What!? I'm coming! ... Yeah, just wait a bit... etc" and so he kinda misses out. If he hurried up, he'd get some baby-kick action.
We had our 20 week scan last weekend and it was pretty cool. Sprout looks a lot like an alien! He* turned around nicely for the ultrasound technician and yawned, which was cute.

Other things
I cleared out all my non-stretchy clothes last weekend. For school this week I wore one of my favourite tops, and that'll be the last time I could wear it as it's meant to be flow-y and loose, but instead was tight across my middle by the end of the day. Very unflattering. I've inherited a bunch of maternity clothes from a very generous Mum in town, so I'm not without options! But it's sad to see all my things packed up, wondering if I'll ever be able to wear them ever again.
All these body changes makes me feel weird. I wonder what I'm going to end up looking like in 5 months time and if I'll ever look like I did 5 months ago. This weird feeling makes me want to get an elliptical machine and start exercising so I feel some some modicum of control over what's happening. My achy back and muscle cramps are not helping in the exercise department. Though some twisted logical tells me that exercise would help them. :P Typical!
School has been horrific for reasons I cannot go into, but it just adds unwelcome stress into my life. I've been working hard at praying about it, ensuring I'm relaxing every day, eating right, etc. Last weekend was terrible and I took a stress day because I wasn't coping. But this week has been hedged in prayer and petition for rest, and God has delivered.
All this stress and these changes are not helping my relationship with James. We're going all right, but it's been difficult, y'know?
This weekend I've been spending a lot of time going through pinterest to get ideas for what I want in our future house. It's all very fanciful and catalogue-worthy: unrealistic. But it's been a very welcome distraction from my mind always turning back to school drama.

So anyway, I think that's all for now. :)

*"he" is a better alternative to "it". It is not intended to mark the sex/gender of Sprout. We don't know, we asked not to be told. The technician didn't even look!

Dawnie excited

Trimester 2!

I'm 12 weeks and a few days along in my pregnancy, which means I'm officially in Trimester 2!! Yay!!! How is pregnancy progressing so far?
Well, last week seemed to mark a change in my daily routine. But before I explain that, I want to make a distinction in vomit-y feels for you mob. Ready to get into the grossness?

There's a nausea scale, and an about-to-vomit (atv) scale. There is a subtle, but very important difference. The past 6 weeks have been a 7-9/10 on the nausea scale. Feel terrible, must lie down at all times, stomach is very upset with me all the time. I also oscillated between a 3/10 and an 8/10 depending on my horizontal/vertical positioning on the atv scale. Medication took both of those down to a 1/10. On bad days my nausea would be 10/10 with the atv at a 9/10. Nowadays, I am a 2/10 on the nausea scale, but first thing in the morning a 7/10 on the atv scale. Which is really a much pleasanter experience because the nausea is heavily reduced and I don't terribly care about vomiting or not. And once I eat something/take my time getting up/have medication, the atv scale goes right down to a 0-1/10. Hurrah!!

Last week was the first week in a few that my nausea and atv rating were right down. The weak, ineffective antiemetic became effective for the weak nausea I was experiencing. My mornings were quite alright. Not, Up And At 'Em, but alright! About midday though, my body would totally crash from all the exerting tv watching I was doing and I would need to nap for about 3hrs. Upon waking, I would still be very tired until I eventually went to sleep at night. Much much better than nausea, still pretty useless at everything.

Then about mid-way through last week, I thought maybe some iron would help me out. So I cooked up a delicious marinaded butterfly steak thingo on the BBQ, sliced it up and had at it for dinner. It was SOOOO delicious. And the next day I only napped for 1hr. I also ate some left overs for lunch and continued to snack at it until we ran out Saturday lunch (it was a big steak thingo). On Friday, I didn't need a nap. And on Saturday, my birthday, I didn't need to nap either! On Sunday, I had leftover pizza for lunch and, surprise surprise, needed to nap! I'm also drinking like, a litre of OJ a day. Preferably a little bit frozen so it's like an OJ smoothie. YUM!

I quite like steak. And I quite like orange juice, so this eating pattern suits me just fine! It's SOOO not high in vegetables though, so I have plans to make this lentil/spinach/lemon soup that I've made before and enjoyed, which, due to the lentils and spinach, should be enough iron. We'll see how I go after I have it for lunch and subsequently need to nap or not that afternoon.

So to sum up, nausea is mostly gone (hurrah!!), tiredness is on it's way up, but my super preggo cravings of steak and OJ are managing the tiredness well.

In other Trimester 2 news, my lower abdomen is getting firmer, but not sticking out yet. Pregnancy as a whole is getting pretty exciting and I'm waaaay more happy about it in general. The nausea was a real joy-sucker!!! Also, I totally vaccuumed and mopped the floors today. I am useful once more! YAY!

Kitty doesn&#39;t approve

Why I Hate Talking About Modesty. Hate It. Passionately


What do I affirm?
I affirm modesty as an attitude.
I affirm showing love to others by actions.
I affirm obedience and submission to God by men and women.

What do I detest?
Women being held responsible for men's sin.

What is the modesty movement?

Why is this a bad thing??







What's the alternative?







But Kat, what can I teach my Youth Group??

My Experience




Further Reading


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