Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Our First Day

Today was perfect. It was a very special moment. I knew tonight I had to sit down and write. I've been wondering when I would start? When would the time come that I would feel that pull to write? Tonight it came...I want to remember today forever.

Our baby boy is now 3! 3 beautiful years with this crazy beautiful soul. I feel quite lucky because for me...our time hasn't flown. I've felt every moment of those 3 years and it feels like he's been here forever. I've been very blessed with a hard working husband who has given me the greatest gift of staying home with our babies. I am also very lucky that I started a beautiful business, before having my babies, which allowed me to work at my home with my boy every day once he was a bit older. So working and not working, he's been by my side...just us 2, with the whole world at our feet. We played, we learned, we laughed, we cried, we slept and we didn't sleep...and we did it together. I am one lucky Mumma!

After the birth of our second son we wanted to make a plan for 2018. Should we send our boy off to daycare? Is that what you do? They move on from their toddler years and are in that limbo year of not quite preschool ready, but too old to be a toddler. A new baby was coming. Should he be given the chance to go and make friends and experience another environment? Should he be given all of the attention and activities that he might miss at home because "mums busy with the baby'? We went back and forth with what we should do but our final decision was that we would keep our boy home 1 more year. He will be at school for 13 years...there's no rush. We are lucky and don't need 'childcare' so I made the choice not to go back to work and not to send our boy to a center. I wanted to give him my commitment of a fun filled year full of activities that will foster his cognitive, social and physical development. I can do this. I was born to do this. I was excited for our year of fun!

We then got a little email explaining to us that his Kindy for next year were continuing with a program called Pre-Kindy. This is where the 3 year olds, who are set to start Kindy the following year, would all come to the center for a few hours, 1 day a week, to 'experience Kindy life'. Ummmmm can you say perfect? I jumped at the chance and thought this would be perfect for our little star. He gets to have his 'year of fun' with Mummy and still get a 'taste' of Kindy life in this amazing program.



Today was our orientation day. I had no idea what to expect from him, which made me extremely anxious about the whole experience. We have never had to deal with him going with people he doesn't know and the thought of it almost made me stop breathing. I know he will be ok...but my mother heart was pounding and it was a massive step for us all. Lucky today was only orientation day so parents could stay for the few hours which allowed all of us to have a transition day. And boy oh boy did our little star shine.

I've been planning for this day for a few weeks now. H is 3...and well that should be enough description for you to know that 3 is a testing year. They are pushing boundaries and finding themselves in their little world. If H doesn't want to do anything...he wont. He is stubborn strong willed like that. So I knew I had to play my cards perfectly this morning to ensure it all ran smoothly so that we could leave the house happy and calm and go to Kindy in a peaceful state. I have found that he likes structure and routines and LISTS haha who would have thought. So last night I put all of his clothes and kindy items out for him to see and I made a list of everything he had to do in the morning to 'get ready for kindy' I even lined up all of his toiletries in the bathroom so he just had to walk in and it was all sitting there waiting for him to use. Let me tell you now....it worked. It 100% worked and was such a beautiful calm morning. We made it to Kindy with no arguments or refusals and we were all happy and excited.



When we drove in the driveway Hunter called out...is this my Kindy Mummy? Is that the playground? ohhhhhhhhhh thank you thank you thank you. Big tick...he was excited! We got out of the car, he put on his back pack and waited at the gate patiently for me to get his brother. We were ready...he was ready...It was time.

As he walked, he was taking it all in...I was just watching him...walking so confidently like he had done this before. Like starting Kindy was a walk in the park and he had been doing it for years. I was proud of his confidence. When he saw someone he would say hello and keep walking. I couldn't stop smiling. When we walked out the back he walked straight to the shelves and put his backpack there, I mean, it was the wrong spot, but he just knew he had to go in and put his bag away. When we walked in the room his eyes absolutely LIT UP and he just said woooooooow. He didn't once look at me or need encouragement, he walked straight in and found the first activity table. BUGS! Well played Kindy...well played. They had him hook, line and sinker. This was the best place ever. From that moment on it was a breeze. He played and played and not once looked up for me worried. He was busy...super busy, and I was relieved...super relieved.


He played with play dough, puzzles, bugs, insects, dinosaurs, wooden blocks and cars. He was in his element. He counted all the toilets and was very excited to tell me that there are 3. He was talking to another mum telling her that we had brought 2 pieces of fruit to share. He was just simply having fun. When the parents were having their information session with the teacher the children just played around us. I kept watching our boy out of the corner of my eye and caught the most beautiful moment. He had gathered all of the cups and the jug from the home corner and put them on a tray and took it around to all of the children playing and gave them a 'drink'. He then went back and got the muffin tray and put the plastic fruit in the holes and went back to each child and gave them a piece of food. My heart literally exploded. My eyes welled up and it took all self control to fight them. That was my boy. My beautiful kind, caring, thoughtful boy. I have never seen him in a situation quite like this and he just blew me away.

From that single moment I knew...I had done my job...and I had done it bloody well. This was such a pivotal moment in my motherhood journey and it was the perfect sign to show me that he will be ok! It was all that I needed. This is his first step in his transition to kindy and then into school and today and this beautiful special moment just showed me that he is going to rock it. We still have our 'first day' coming up next week and the reality of me actually leaving might be hard to handle but I have such a good feeling about his group and his teachers and I have a lot of confidence in H and his self confidence and security that I know we will get through it.

We did it. Big breath. Its time to let go a little and let my boy shine.

S.K.K

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Special Gems


I love going on beautiful adventures with my boy. We are so lucky to have an amazing son who seeks out adventure just like us. He thrives on the fresh air, the wide open spaces, the thrill of 4wding, the excitement of finding new places and discovering new spaces. My greatest memories will be of my family out on the road! It's our escape from reality, our recharge, our time to be together, cherish each other and really BE together! It's my favourite moments! 


Now H is older and 'eating what we eat' I have discovered a new found love of cooking! I love being in my kitchen, in our home creating wholesome, fresh food for our family. We have started to eat as a family at the dinner table and this has brought me so much happiness! I realise that during this time we laugh and connect more then we do at any other time. In the last few weeks something has clicked and cooking, baking and creating is now one of my favourite time of day. I've learnt to be prepared in the morning and prepare our meals during the day with love and devotion instead of being rushed and stressed in the evenings! A favourite meal of our families is this gorgeous one pot wonder which is filled with delicious vegetables and kangaroo meat. Two words ~ Soul food! 


I put my heart and soul into raising our son and looking after my family but one thing that always gets put at the bottom of the list is looking after myself. I realise I should be at the top. The best thing I can do for my son and husband is to look after their Mummy and Wife so I've been making sure that this starts to move up on my list. It will be a journey but I'm consciously trying to make it climb spaces each day. My first step was to see my GP for an all round wellness check. A good chat about my life and my goals, papsmear, breast check, skin check and full bloods were done to ensure this Mumma is healthy and happy for her family. I was very brave and got a Mickey bandaid after my bloods were drawn. 


A little bit of extra greens is good on so many levels so I try to incorporate them into all of our meals. Green smoothies allow us all to get some added goodness into our diets in a delicious and easy way! These yummy spinach, frozen berries and banana smoothies are now part of our daily routine and I love them! I mix them up with different fruits and make them either water based or dairy based! Yum Yum! 


We are so lucky to have such beautiful spaces right here in our community! Every time we have a break in our days we escape to a park or our local forest! We love playing, running and being free! 


Most of our meals are made with clean and fresh ingredients. I use as many ingredients as I can from our garden! I love the freshness and knowing that it is grown organically and untouched. I love making turkey meatloaf. It's a winner in our household. I stuff the meatloaf with boiled eggs, capsicum, garlic and cheddar cheese and it's a nice little surprise when cutting open the finished product! 


Wrinkly toes in the pool makes me smile. Our summers are hot and the evenings are such a beautiful time to spend in the pool with my boys! The temperature is dropping, a cool breeze whispers over us and the sun starts its journey into another day. Sometimes we throw routine out the window and just spend the entire afternoon and evening in the pool swimming and having fun! These summer nights won't last forever and we are making the most out of every second.

These are the moments that make me happy! 

x S.K.K x

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Starting Again

I'm finding it very hard to start sharing again. It's been a long time since I have written publicly or shared photos publicly. 18 months to be exact. The minute I had my son I completely shut it down. I weaned myself off social media, I made my accounts private, I stopped posting on my Special Moments Facebook page and eventually stopped writing. I even went one step further and stopped posting photos on my private Facebook page and limited my photos on my Instagram page. I didn't want to share. Plain and simple. I finally had my son in my arms and I didn't want to share him. Instincts set in and this Mumma Bear became protective, for a few reasons. 

Social Media and blogging were a huge part of my life. A huge part. I loved sharing my life, my thoughts, my feelings, my adventures and my memories. If I saw a beautiful sunset, a pretty flower, a beautiful meal, I would snap that up and share it. I was motivated and inspired by beautiful things and I wanted to share this with the world. My life was online and I loved every minute of it. All of a sudden my eyes started to open to a few things that made me sad. I realised that because my life was online it meant that everyone in my life could just read and watch from a far. They didn't need to ask me about my day because they saw it right there on the internet. They didn't need to ask me how I am feeling because I wrote it all out in a blogpost for everyone to read. I guess you have to take the good with the bad but this started to niggle away at me. 

As soon as my son was born I knew this 'online world' had to stop. I wanted this to be a special time. I wanted to be in the moment and experience this amazing time through my eyes and not a camera. I wanted to spend my nights looking Into my sons eyes and not into a screen. I wanted the people in my life to make an effort with me and our beautiful new family and not just catch up on the internet by looking at my photos and reading my words. I still shared randomly and wrote a couple of blogposts in the beginning but it just didn't sit well with me and it slowly faded away. I knew that this was my time to live and not record. I would never ever get this time back and I didn't want to waste a second behind a screen or camera. My family knew the rules, much to their sadness, but I didn't want anyone posting about our boy online unless I had shared it first or I gave them permission. I wanted to celebrate all of our milestones and special moments in 'real life' before worrying about status' and picture sharing with the outside world. 

This was my time. I deserved every second with this precious little baby and I didn't want anyone else to get that privilege just by sitting back and watching a screen. Our son is special. Oh so very special. He deserves the entire world and more. I was protective of him and I wanted only people in his life who made the effort and would move mountains for him. Call me selfish, call me irrational but dam right I'm selfish and irrational because at the time I was in a bubble of pure bliss and I wanted to ensure my son was surrounded by people who genuinely loved and cared for him. 

It freaked me out that total strangers were watching every photo and my every move. The whole concept of social media just became weird for me. People posting their highlights while strangers watched, Weird. So I cut down my Instagram account from 1000 people to 100 people. I cut everyone out that wasn't an important part of my life. 

This got me through the first 18 months of motherhood. It was both good and bad. Good because I got the chance to be present with my son. He got to see my eyes and my face every day and not a camera. I'm not saying I didn't take photos because I sure did, but my phone and camera didn't live in my hand like it used to. I got to celebrate all the special moments with my little family and best friends and truly appreciate every second of these. Days or weeks later I would share with my friends and family on Facebook and Instagram but only once I had truly celebrated them. The bad side...I became lonely. Very very lonely. I truly found out who my real friends were and let me tell you I can't count them on one hand. I guess this isn't bad but a blessing in disguise. Some people just didn't care. I honestly don't think people realise, but reading about my life online and watching our journey unfold doesn't count as being a friend. I needed people to be present and to make an effort for me just like I had for them for years and years before having my son. When I realised it wasn't a two way street I had to let go. It was hard but I had to do it. I also realised that those 'strangers' that I deleted from my social media were actually more important to me than I thought. They had become my friends. Yes we connected over Instagram but those people truly loved, cared and supported me and my family. Even more than my 'real life' friends. Even typing this just seems weird to me but it's the honest truth. When I deleted these people I got message after message asking me if I was ok and if there was anything they could do. They genuinely cared. For this I apologise. 

In 2015 when my son was 6 months old I decided to start a photo journal. Starting on January 1st 2015 I used my Instagram account to document my sons first full year of life. I took 1 photo every single day, I wrote a memory or diary entry for that day and posted it online. I loved it. I loved every single minute. I will cherish that forever!  It ignited a tiny little fire inside of me and made me miss sharing my moments and thoughts publicly and on my blog. It has taken me a year but I think I'm ready. It still scares me to take the leap and start sharing again. I don't know why but I'll start slow. I need to write again. It's my therapy, my passion, my outlet and my one true love. 

To my readers, followers, FRIENDS I am sorry for not being present the last 18 months. My son was my number 1 and I think I needed the time to just 'BE' with him. I did a lot of soul searching, and I needed to rise, fall, fail and succeed and find my new place in my life. I'm here now, ready to share...slowly, but I'm ready to share. 

x S.K.K x

Friday, February 12, 2016

Mums The Word

For a very long time, my entire life actually, I dreamed of becoming a mother. Children were my one passion in life. They inspired me and brought me so much happiness. They taught me how to live, they helped shape my values and beliefs, they allowed me to see the true beauty of the world and made my world beautiful and special. I couldn't wait for the day that I would be blessed with my very own child. Unfortunately (fortunately) I was given a long journey to motherhood and in this time I had many dreams of my child and what our lives would be like. In my heart  I yearned for long nights of cuddles, days in the sunshine with my baby, years of love and laughter with my little mini me. In my head I channelled my longing, hopes and dreams of a baby to other aspects in my life. Without even knowing it my difficult infertility journey allowed me to achieve dreams that I never even knew I had. I created a life that was full of passion, drive, gratitude and unexplainable happiness. I was strong, powerful and completely in control. I was self aware, positive and found complete peace and acceptance for who I was and what I stood for. My focus was on myself and creating a peaceful, happy life for my family. 

Then I became a mother.

I can not even begin to explain to you how much this turned my world upside down. In one tiny moment, everything that I knew, everything that I dreamed about became an absolutely blur and this little boy in my arms changed my entire life. My whole being was shut down and the second he was placed in my arms my sole reason for living was for this baby. The passion, drive and control went out the window and I could only see him. I didn't matter anymore. My goals, my interests, my moments, they didn't matter because he was here and I wanted to devote every last second of my time and every inch of my life to him. He was so perfect. Breath taking-ly perfect! My dreams came true and I wanted to dedicate my whole life to him.

That's exactly what I did. I dedicated my full, entire and whole self to him. I put to the side friendships, loved ones, my health and in some ways my sanity for my son and I would never ever change a single thing. I have given up a lot in the last 18 months...a lot of my passions and interests just didn't feel important to me anymore. My son was my world and his calmness and happiness was my number one. I know a happy baby needs a happy mum but in my heart of hearts I knew I needed...and wanted...to give him my full attention and dedication. When I look into his eyes and see his big beautiful smile, watch him run around with joy beaming from his face and hear the endless giggles from his belly I absolutely know that I have done the right thing.

Deep down, deep deep down, I know I miss those things that made me...me. Finally I am seeing a little bit of light in our tunnel and I see my son growing and flourishing and expanding his wings. I look at him and I know that he is becoming his own little being. He is not as reliant on me as he used to be and he is beautifully independent. I feel it is time to let go a little and take that little bit of me time and bring my past and my present together to form a beautiful new future for us all. I want to write, I want to lift weights, I want to create, I want to read, I want to connect, I want to practise yoga, I want to take baths, I want to inspire. Everything I used to do but with my son by my side. I want to record our special moments and rejoice in his beautiful life.

Its time for me to take a big deep breath, exhale and celebrate the amazing job I have done so far in raising my boy. Take another deep breath, exhale and begin a beautiful new journey of living my life to the absolute fullest as a wife, mother and 30 year old ME.



x S.K.K x

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

1st of December 2015

Happy 1st of December and Happy 1st day of Summer! What an exciting time of year! My most favourite time of year! We have a very busy, fun and exciting month coming up and today we started the party and we celebrated hard! 


Like most days our morning started early and in darkness at 4.30am! Lucky for us Daddy was still home so we got to spend a bit of time with him before he left for work. As the sun started to rise I knew it was the perfect time to put on the Christmas carols and give our baby boy his December box! 

A special little box with a few little pieces to kick of the festive season! 

A pair of Christmas pyjamas to keep us warm and snug at night while we dream of bright red noses on reindeers, twinkling lights on Christmas trees and red rosey cheeks on Santa Clause.

A little red Santa Clause drink bottle to keep us hydrated throughout the day during our super hot summer! 

A special book about the story of Christmas. A book that we can read together each night as a family and teach our son about the birth of Jesus. 

A little fun shape sorter activity to keep our little minds busy and active throughout the season! This is one of our boys favourite games to play and I knew that it would be a fun part of the December box! 


As soon as he saw the box he went straight for the drink bottle (mummy fail: I should have pre filled it with water) and then grabbed the book! We sat together and read the book and looked at all the pretty pictures! 

He then moved on to the shape sorter and this kept him busy for the rest of the morning. He seriously has the most amazing concentration and loves this activity! It will keep him occupied for such a long time. I'm glad I added this little extra game to our box. I know December will bring lots of family dinners, birthday parties and festive gatherings and this little beauty will be coming with us so H always has something to keep him busy and happy! 


Summer has hit and summer has hit hard! Our days are very hot and muggy already! We spent the first offical day of summer swimming and playing in the pool! My favourite time spent is with my boy in the water! We are so lucky to have a little water boy! Our pool, the beach, swimming lessons, he loves it all! Thank goodness we can cool off in our own backyard! 


3 cheers for December and 3 cheers for Summer! I have a feeling it's going to be an amazing month! 

'Tis the season to the jolly fa la la la la la la la la' 

Peace, Hope and Faith 

x S.K.K x

Monday, February 2, 2015

Lung Leavin Day

Infertility scars you. There is no denying it. Through my years of trying to conceive our baby I did not once let it directly effect my life. The whole journey became a positive influence on my life and shaped me into the person I am today. However, deep down, there is that little piece of my heart that was broken off and a tiny tiny piece that was taken away by the awful process. This hole in my heart left me with fear and the big question of 'what if'. I never understood why I was cursed (?) blessed (?) with infertility. Was God punishing me? Why us? Why did we have to wait? Why did we have to go through month after month of negatives and then go through injections and surgery to conceive our baby boy. There is no answer. We will never know. I thought about this every so often but the blessing of infertility far outweighed these feelings.

When I gave birth to our son that little hole in my heart became very evident and effected me on a daily basis. I was being trusted with the life of a precious baby and this brought up this new found fear and that awful question of 'what if'. For weeks I was scared. So scared of my baby. So scared for my baby. I didn't want anyone near me or our home or our baby because I didn't want anything to happen. I had the most unbelievably perfect baby. Why was I blessed with such perfection. I was scared that this would be taken away from me just like having a baby naturally was. I remember asking one night how I would know if my baby has brain cancer. This seems like the most ridiculous and very drastic question but these are the games my mind was playing. When we were trying for our baby everyone told us to 'relax' 'our time will come' 'it will happen' But it didn't. I said I will probably have to do IVF but everyone shrugged it off. It didn't happen and we had to use science to help us. My 'what if' question actually became my reality and when I became a mother I was scared that my 'what if' questions about my baby...that I am sure all new mothers have...would came true. 

Then I met Heather. Heather reached out to me through this blog and shared with me her beautiful story. A story of courage, determination, trust and complete faith. 

Heather was given the fight of her life and was diagnosed with 'Mesothelioma'. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer caused by the exposure to asbestos. As a little girl Heather would dress in her Daddy's work coat which was covered in asbestos. At just 36 after giving birth to her baby girl she was diagnosed with this cancer and was given 15 months to live. 15 precious months left with her family and her baby. This diagnoses lit a fire inside and a willingness to fight. On February 2nd 2006 she went in for life saving surgery and they took 1 of her lungs. To make light of the situation her sister named the 2nd of February 'Lung Leaving Day' and they have celebrated it ever since. 9 years later and Heather is still fighting and still celebrating. Today is a special day. A day to overcome your fears. Today Heather and I ask you to be true to yourself, acknowledge your fears and then throw them away into the universe and hold nothing but faith and trust in your heart. 

In comparison, my fears are nothing. However in life we must not compare. In my life these fears are important but Heather has given me the strength and courage to stand up and take back the joy and excitement of motherhood. Tonight I acknowledge that it is ok to be scared but tonight I will also make a promise to be kind to myself, be positive and let go of my fears. I can't change the future. I do not know what cards we will be dealt with. But I do know that I trust God. I trust that he will look after us no matter what journey he takes us on. I don't need to fear the worst for my baby but rejoice in his perfection and be proud of the beautiful strong soul he is. Thank You Heather! Thank You for being you and for inspiring us all! 


Love, Peace and Hope

x S.K.K x

Tonight I ask you to write down your fears, cut them up and throw them away! Let go of the past and the negative and have faith! You can learn more about Heather and join in the movement at http://www.mesothelioma.com/heather/lungleavinday

Sunday, January 11, 2015

My Mother Heart

I have been a mother for 5 months now. I am the mother to the sweetest boy in the world. He has so much character and brings a smile to my face all day, every day. 
This boy captures the heart of every one he meets. 
Our boy, our son, our love bug. 

Motherhood has been an eventful roller coaster. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. This may come as a surprise to most, because of my highly respected career with children, however mothering is different. Completely different. I dreamed of becoming a mother. I knew exactly how I would be, how I would think, how I would love and how I would raise my children. It is nothing like how I care for other mothers children. For them I was their support...I loved their children with everything I had but I cared for them under their guidelines. Now it is different. Now it is me. After years of watching mothers from the sidelines and learning how I do and don't want to parent, it is now up to me. God has trusted me with the special job of raising the most precious soul.

For 5 months I have been challenged with an internal battle. A battle between my mother heart and my head. I am having a major issue with trust. I have been blessed with the most perfect child. So perfect I just can not even begin to explain. This scares me and for the first few months of his life I questioned myself. I have never questioned myself. I have a lot of confidence in myself as a person. I know what I want and how I want it and I never ever have had to ask for validation. Until I became a mother. The love for him overwhelmed me. My heart skips a beat and I lose my breath every time I think of him and my love for him. I prayed and wished and waited for so long and here he is...and he's perfect. Here I am with the most important person in the world who my heart longed for and I am instantly hit with nerves. A giant bundle of nerves. First time mothering nerves.

Here is my battle. My mother heart knows I can do this. I was born for this. Yet my head questions it all. 10 times over. Why do I question what I know? They say it's normal but for me questioning myself is not normal. I need to learn to trust myself as a mother. This has been my main focus over the past few months. Learning to trust myself. I have good days and bad days. I know I am a good mum...actually I am a brilliant mum. I need to let go of the doubt. I have a beautifully thriving young boy who every one adores so I have to be doing something right!

I am not your average mum. I don't fit into a stereotype group. I am not a modern mum. I want to mother how my grandmother, my own mother, the African mother, heck I even want to mother like the gorilla mothers. They didn't have books or internet or courses to teach them how to be a good mother. I don't want to read books, read articles or google. I want to take my time, follow my mother heart and parent my son the way I feel is right. Unfortunately the battle of my head comes into play and I feel this is frowned upon. In this day and age there is a lot of focus on 'learning to parent' by reading what other people have written. Why do we need to gain knowledge on how to raise our children by "experts"? How are these people experts on my child? Why can't we just watch our children grow and learn together? These are the questions I ask myself daily when I find myself doubting my decisions on how I want to raise my son. I want to speak to people, mothers, and learn from them. I want to parent with my friends and help each other and support each other. I want to mother my beautiful son the way I know how and by trusting that this is ok. Yes I will research, yes I will read, yes I will listen but in the end I need to make the decision for myself and our family and trust that it is ok to make these decisions without validation from a book or the latest research.

It has been hard for me to write and publish these first few months about my mothering, for fear of judgement. I haven't read the latest book or the newest findings, so the way I parent and make decisions may not be right for everyone and I feel I would be judged as a 'bad mother' for not doing my research. I had to pull my head in. I am this boys mother and I know in my core that I am the best person for this job. I also had to remind myself why I write and why I share my journey. I write for me, I write for my husband and now I will write for my son. As much as I love the people who share my journey, I am so very sorry to say, but I am not writing for you. I feel this is the best for me, and for you, as what you get is the raw and honest truth. I won't paint a picture for you to gain your attention. I simply write to remember. I write for my family so that we have our memories forever. I want to remember how we grew up together, how I navigated my way through parenting and all the special moments we share. You, my readers, are just a beautiful added bonus.



This is my story. The story of my life with my husband, our journey to becoming pregnant through IVF and the exciting new beginning of our new lives as parents to the most beautiful boy in the world. I will share our story with you. I am a mother and I am proud of how I have raised my son these past few months. I know the worrying will never go, the questioning will always be there, but in the end I know, deep down, that I must always and forever trust my mother heart.

Peace, Love and Hope

x S.K.K x

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Our Birth Story

I had the most beautiful birth. it was more than I ever could of imagined and more. Everyone I spoke to, doctors, midwives, family, all told me it was horrific and traumatic but I have nothing but beautiful sweet and powerful memories. Everything I wanted happened. It went smoothly and it was very empowering. It was the perfect ending to my pregnancy and the perfect beginning to our new life together.

After going into preterm labour, it was always in the back of my mind that I could go any day. However I felt that it wasn't my time at 32 weeks and even though my body was showing signs, I knew deep down I was going to make it to the end. I had just celebrated turning 38 weeks. A massive goal of ours. I knew I had done everything I could to keep our baby safe and keep him growing inside of me for as long as possible.

We had a massive weekend planned. 2 parties Saturday night and 2 parties on Sunday. I attended both parties on Saturday night but I was experiencing pain. Just dull period pain like before but it was coming around more often. Nothing to speak about and it didn't stop me from having fun but I felt 'different'. I slept through 1 of our parties on Sunday and woke at lunch time. I knew I should of stayed home but it was my beautiful nieces birthday and it meant a lot to me that I was there for her. Before we left I told Rob to put our hospital bag in the boot. I wasn't in pain but something was telling me that it had to be in there. We attended our darlings girls birthday and half way through I knew I was in labour. I could feel it happening. I was withdrawn and feeling exhausted yet inside I was quietly excited thinking holy crap this could be it. The party went all afternoon and we went straight to Mum and Dads for our weekly family dinner. 


As soon as we got there I acted like nothing was wrong but then randomly blurted out...think I'm in labour. Mum had cooked a beautiful roast but I couldn't eat it. All I could think was that if I was in labour and about to have my baby then I needed to carb load it up. Mum and Dad had pasta in the cupboard so I cooked it up and ate the entire packet with tomato sauce and herbs.....WHAT! Gross but I needed that carb fest as an hour later it all started.

8.00pm on the 20th of July 2014 I was lying on my parents couch and I felt a pull inside my belly. I pushed and water came. Did I pee? Did my water break? Everyone said it is like a pop but mine was definitely a pull. I went to the toilet and had a tiny show. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't in pain but I knew it was starting. As we had been on preterm labour watch all the way through until 38 weeks I wasn't sure whether to wait it out or call and go in. Because I was strep B positive I knew I didn't have time to play with so we called and they said to come in. So off we went. That was the last time I would be at home pregnant. This was it. It was all about to happen.

By the time we got to the hospital we still weren't sure what was happening. I was having random contractions. They felt like period pain...coming and going...but no real pattern or intensity. A few tests and obs and they decided to let me stay in the birthing suites and see how it all progressed over night. We had a beautiful midwife who looked after us. She talked and talked the entire time. At some points I just wanted to say 'please stop talking' but looking back it was seriously the best thing she could have done. My mind was at ease. I wasn't stressed or worried. The pain came and went and we all just sat around and talked. oh and ate. Did I mention that I had eaten an ENTIRE packet of pasta only 2 hours previously however there I was eating a 3 layer toasted ham and cheese sandwich. Carb loading it up baby. I was about to go through the biggest event in my life and I needed that energy. A few hours in it was very clear that my waters had broken and we were on our way. I couldn't believe it. I had done it. I had successfully gone into labour on my own. My waters had broken, at home, stress free and all on my own. I was pumped and ready. I wasn't scared. I was nervous but I wasn't worried at all. We tried to sleep but who the hell can sleep when you are about to meet your baby. Um not this gal. We literally stayed up all night. I laboured away just in bed and on my chair. Nothing major was happening so I handled it all pretty well.

The next morning we still hadn't progressed. My contractions were not in the time frame they were needing to be and I was already 12 hours into my labour after my waters had broken. We only had 12 more hours before risk came into play. My OB Dr A was due in at 8 and I was ready to let go and put it all in his hands. I had done my part. I had no other wishes. All I wanted to do was go into labour naturally, have my waters break on their own and feel the contractions. I had achieved my goal so I was happy. I trusted my doctor with my life, and clearly my babies life, so I was ready for him to take lead. He saw me at 9.00am and I was 4cm dilated. I was pretty happy that I had got to 4 throughout the night as we were questioning whether anything was happening. He wasn't happy with my progression however and wanted to get things moving. He recommended I start the drugs to help my contractions come closer together. Rob and I discussed. I knew that the minute we started the drugs the pain was going to go from 0-10 in no time and the pain would hit hard. Ultimately we trusted our doctor and went with his decision. I didn't want to take any risks, not now.

They started me on a small dose and the pain hit immediately. Holy crap balls. It was period pain but 1 millions times worse. I knew that I didn't want to be in bed laying down so I got straight on the fit ball and that is where I stayed. I laboured for 2 hours on my own with no medication. Through every contraction I sang "let it go" from the movie frozen (It seemed fitting) and I would focus on the laugh of a a gorgeous little boy I used to look after. I was trying to stay calm, breath through them and let my body do the work. It hurt though. Oh man it hurt and I turned quite primal moaning and breathing heavily through each contraction! They got more intense as they increased the drugs and it got a little overwhelming. I started to lose my focus. I was singing through every contraction but I could not pull my head together. I remember shouting the words to the American National Anthem (what the??) every time they came around and I was focusing on my finger nail (again...what the??) I knew I was losing it. I wasn't completely in desperate pain but my mind was playing around. I knew I had to make a decision on how I wanted my labour to go. Did I want to keep going and do anything I could to have this baby naturally but have no control or focus or get the epidural and have a peaceful pain free birth. I had 2 options, I talked it over with Rob, my midwives and even called my mum into the room to ask for her help. I knew I wanted to be calm. I most probably could have kept labouring on my own but it would have been hard and stressful and possibly not a good experience. It wasn't my goal to do it medication free. I wanted calm and peace. I made the decision and got the epidural.


I'm not going to lie. Getting the epidural was tough. Holy crap it hurt and it took a while to kick in. I was having the most painful contractions while it was kicking in and I was losing my mind. I was swearing at the anesthetist and asking why on earth it wasn't working (sorry doctor) He assured me it would work soon. That wait was excruciating. On top of the pain I could not relax because I was imagining the needle and the cord in my back and I felt that if I lay down on my back that it would touch it and hurt so I was stiff as a board and couldn't relax! Silly Me! Eventually it all kicked in and life was amazing hahah Seriously getting the epidural was the best decision I ever made. Completely no pain! Side note...how hilarious are your legs with the epi. Being completely numb was the craziest feeling I have ever experienced. I just kept laughing and they kept asking me to move but I literally couldn't. Best and weirdest feeling ever. Once everything had kicked in and I was completely pain free I fell asleep. 


I slept for 2 hours until my OB came in to check me. He saw me at 1.00pm and I was fully dilated and ready to go. I remember thinking holy crap what...now?? For some reason I don't think it actually kicked in that Baby was coming today. So it was on. 1.00pm and I was ready to push. Gahhhh I was so dam excited. I had worked so dam hard for this moment. 3 years of training and pushing my body to it's absolute limits was all for this moment. I was about to birth my baby.

OH MY GOSH. Pushing a baby is insane. It was so freaking awesome. I was all over it. Midwife on one leg, Rob on the other and I was just pushing my brains out...literally I thought I was pushing my brains out. Man you need some stamina for that. Kudos to Mummas who do it for hours and drug free. I pushed for an hour. He wasn't budging. He was posterior and face first. Cheeky baby was looking where he was going. Dr A wanted to pull with the vacuum. I agreed with no hesitation. I was on a high. Do whatever you need to for baby's safety. I was living the dream. I was here pushing my baby. I had waited a lifetime for this. I didn't care what happened. I just wanted to meet him. Dr tried for 3 contractions, 12 pushes but nothing. Baby was getting distressed and he was not fitting through my pelvis. By 2.00pm he called it. He wanted to do a c-section. Let's do this. I was ready. Maybe I knew all along I was going to have a c-section and that is why I opted for the epi so early.? Who knows? Rob was 'scrubbed up' and we were off to theater.

Later I found out that Rob had gone into the waiting room and cried with my Mum and Sister. He was overwhelmed and emotional for me. He was scared that we had to go in for a c-section. I look back with sadness thinking I wish I could of held him and consoled him. I will never know what it is like to be on the other side. Watching the one you love in so much pain and not being able to do anything about it. He seriously rocked during our birth. No words can describe what an amazing support he was through the whole process. I guess it all got a little too much and he had to have his moment. But he regrouped and was back by my side. He did a dam good job at hiding his fears because I had no idea this was going on!

As soon as I was on the operating table I was sick. Literally throwing up for minutes and minutes. Once again horrible at the time but hey at least it took my mind off what was actually happening. By the time I stopped they had hooked me up and were ready to go. Rob was there by my side and we were ready to meet our baby. Once they were in that's when it all started to go a little down hill. Baby was stuck...really stuck. They couldn't get him out. They told me to hold tight and that I would feel some pulling. Holy Moly I felt like they were attacking me. They were pushing right up on my chest and 3 of them were pushing on me to try get him out. One lady was up on the table body slamming down on me with full force. I remember just looking at Rob and saying...shit I'm going to be sore tomorrow. A massive push and a shove and he was here! 


My doctor held him up for me to see him and my heart skipped a beat. ROB! Literally he looked exactly like his daddy. Bright orange curly hair under the bright lights and his gorgeous little button nose. OMG we had done it. Our baby was here. Rob and I just cried together. He was perfect and he was here. They took him away and he wasn't breathing properly but as quickly as they took him he was straight back into my arms. I had my baby in my arms and my husband by my side. Life was perfect. We had done it. We were parents to our son.


Our beautiful boy still wasn't breathing properly so he had to be taken to special care straight away. Rob went with him and I felt calm as I knew Daddy would be by his side. I was taken into recovery and I knew that soon we would be reunited again. Recovery took FOREVER. I started to really panic and get anxious. I wasn't passing the 'ice test' but I really really needed to be with my boy. I started getting upset and kept saying I've waited so long for my son and now you are making me wait longer. I knew Rob was with him but I also knew my Mum and Sister were waiting to meet him and I didn't want them meeting him without me there. I wanted to show them! I wanted to introduce my son to my mum and sister and I thought I wouldn't get this chance so I panicked. I finally convinced the nurse to let me go and they took me up to my room.

Once settled there was a knock on the door and a midwife walked in and said "I have somebody who wants his Mumma" That was me. Mumma. My new name. My calling. For so long I waited and waited and I was finally someones Mumma. In walked my amazing husband.  He had the biggest smile I have ever seen and he was wheeling our son. They passed him to me and I just held him close and cried. My husband cuddled and kissed me and I knew life was complete. 


Peace, Love and Hope

x S.K.K x

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Our Little Angel


I am so excited to share with you that 
our beautiful son has been born.
21st of July 2014 at 2.20pm
3.27kg and 51cm tall

We are totally overwhelmed with love for our little angel.


Peace, Love and Hope

x S.K.K x

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Pregnancy Weeks 38

A Letter to my Son

Pregnancy Weeks 35-37


35 Weeks We made it through the week! I am officially on Maternity Leave! Now to train my body and mind to rest! Our OB app on Monday went well; baby is engaged and still growing at a consistent rate. Baby weighs 2kg and Mummy weighs 78.5kg I literally put on 1 kg a week! This week I have been ridiculously hungry! I'm eating every hour and constantly starving! I'm on medication morning and night to relax my uterus to stop it from contracting! The medication has bad side effects but I'm getting used to them. I started getting a cold but kicked it in the butt before it turned into anything! Love love love my growing belly and cherish every day with him with me!! I feel he still has a couple more weeks with Mumma before he's ready to come but we'll just take it day by day.



36 Weeks Another milestone hit!!! Go Team Kirkpatrick! This week was my first week of maternity leave and I literally slept the entire week! It was like I finished work and my body just shut down! I got a cold sore which is my body's way of saying 'I'm done and need rest' I was quite nauseas and shaky and had vaginal pain towards the end of the week and ended up back in hospital but all was ok with both me and the baby! This week I have been STARVING! Like literally eating every half hour and dreaming of food the rest of the time! I've never experienced this my entire pregnancy so I ate and ate and ate! My boy needs food to grow big and strong! So basically my 36th week I ate and slept haha what an update I only put on .5 of a kilo so still only 79kg! Waiting waiting to hit the big 80! I now have 'pregnancy face' as my face is ballooning up! It's so funny to look in the mirror! All in all an up and down week but baby is still snuggled so this Mumma is happy!


37 Weeks WE MADE IT I'm so excited to get here! I literally have been in bed the last 4 weeks and have had some down moments but it was all worth it to keep him safe and growing! I'm excited to reach this goal because now I can labour at home and don't have to race to the hospital at any sign of pain! My face gets rounder by the day and belly is reaaaally stretching! First few faint stretch marks appeared today so I know I'm getting bigger and bigger! Bring it all on I say! About time! Baby has given me severe pain in my pelvis the last few days and I could not get out of bed but he seems to have eased off a bit today which has been a great relief! I'm up all night and sleep during the day but that's ok oh and I finally packed my bag...celebrations all round! Bring on week 38 We are ready!! 

Peace, Love and Hope

x S.K.K x

 

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Maternity Leave


Our Birth Wish List


Pregnancy Weeks 32-34


32 Weeks! Pregnancy has hit me!! I did well to get this far! Hopefully it's just this week! We went to a breast feeding class on Saturday and it was totally worth it! I learned a lot! I am so happy we went! We had our maternity shoot on Sunday in Byron Bay and it was so much fun! Something I always dreamed and envisioned when we were TTC. Monday I had a pregnancy massage after the big weekend and it was very much needed!!! I didn't do any formal exercise this week as I felt my body was telling me to have a break! Wednesday I had my first official set of Braxton hicks and I lost a bit of plug! All normal! Body prep 😉 nothing a shower and walk couldn't stop. But we are now on close watch! Feeling good and happy and still floating on cloud 9


33 Weeks We have had an awesome week this week which has been very informative. We had our birthing classes and hospital tour on the weekend and I love our hospital and all of their practices, beliefs and procedures! It's exactly how we would love our birth to go so I'm over the moon! I've finally hit the big 10 kilo weight gain and I'm excited! We are now 77.5kg I love that I've put on my weight healthily and steady! Feeling awesome and loving the changes in my body, even the extra layer that's coming with the bump. OB app yesterday went perfectly and baby is growing and he is very happy! I'm having cramps under my bump and they have come and gone over the week! Not bad but enough for me to think about! I'm thinking Braxton hicks but who knows! Apart from those pains everything else is going perfect!! Happy Mummy and Happy Baby
 

34 Weeks We made it! 1 week down...6 to go...please! Haha Well starting from the start I got to celebrate my beautiful baby shower with my family and friends! It turned out perfectly and was exactly what I wanted! Monday saw us admitted to hospital with our FFN testing positive and we got steroid shots for baby's lungs! The rest of the week ran smoothly as I went back to work and got mine and baby's hospital bags organised. I still get cramps and this week I'm really struggling to breath! This could be from all that's happened though! I am obsessed with my bump this week and I can't stop taking photos just incase it's the last! It's very very tight and sore and baby feels like he's trying to come out my belly button haha! I've learned through my journey that you can't control what happens! You have to trust and have hope! All I can control is how I deal with the situation! I haven't let myself get worked up over anything yet and I'm taking things day by day! My mind is powerful and I can control how I feel and deal with this! I feel calm and happy and ready for whatever happens. Let's pray we get through to next weeks update

Peace, Love and Hope

x S.K.K x

Early Labour


A Baby Shower


A Dream Come True