She's Here!

After my last whinging blog post, I decided too get over myself and made lots of plans for the week with friends along the lines of "Assuming I'm not otherwise occupied by then, would you like to meet up?" and the last few days of pregnancy were actually quite nice despite the effect of hormones which I'm sure were to blame for making me grumpy.

Then, with perfect timing, another series of contractions started just as I was putting SCT to bed. I kept an eye on the timings while reading her bedtime story,  UFM came home from work, and as soon as SCT fell asleep we made our way to the hospital.

Everyone tells you that second babies often come more quickly, so I was fearing a fast and dramatic birth, but in fact this labour was if anything slightly longer than the first. But although I wouldn't go so far as to say it was pleasant (and having resisted an epidural for as long as possible, I'm in awe of anyone who gives birth without one) everything went as well as could be expected and we were enjoying newborn cuddles by the middle of the morning.

SCT has been to meet her little sister. She looked at her, said, "Fait dodo," very matter-of-factly, then got busy climbing on the hospital furniture and playing with the controls on the bed.

So all is well chez nous for the moment!

Why Are We Waiting ...

... this is so frustrating!

If I were in the UK, today would be my due date. Because in France le terme is counted as 41 weeks, here I still have another 7 days to go, but none of that really matters because I feel as if my body has seriously tricked me at the end of this pregnancy. With SCT, I had a lovely second trimester, then felt progressively more tired throughout the third. During the 39th week I had a few signs that her arrival might be imminent (with hindsight - I didn't recognise them all at the time). I was due to be induced at 39 weeks so I didn't stress too much about when she might arrive, then on the due date, we went to the hospital, my contractions started and she was born the same day.

This time around, I started to feel as if things might be happening just before 38 weeks too and was expecting Baby 2 to arrive around the same time as SCT. Then at 38 weeks I had an episode of really strong contractions and started to think we might need to go to the hospital. (This would have been very inconvenient, as SCT was ill at the time.) Then nothing.

Then I had a day when I felt full of energy and ready to go, just like the day before SCT was born.

Then nothing.

And the pattern has continued for 2 weeks now - a few signs and symptoms that just disappear as soon as I start to think it really could be now. It's driving me nuts, because I don't want to make too many plans, and also, I'm just tired enough to not really have the energy to do much, but not so tired that I'm not frustrated by just waiting for the time to pass.

At the beginning it was made worse by the fact that all the symptom spotting and planning was kind of necessary, as we had to make sure everything was in place for SCT if UFM and I needed to leave, but now my mum is here to look after her and we're all organised, so there's nothing to worry about.

On the plus side:
- it's been lovely having a bit of extra time to spend 1:1 with SCT on the days when she's been at home with me
- I've been able to make the most of my mum's visit. If the baby had decided to come straight after she arrived, I'd have spent 4 days at the hospital while she was back at home with SCT and UFM.
- We've had time to move SCT into her new bedroom, so everybody is now sleeping in the right place for when Baby 2 arrives and needs to be in our room.
- The midwife who did my ante-natal classes recommended making a little book for SCT explaining what will happen when the baby is born, to be read to her after I leave for the hospital. I'm really pleased I actually had time to do this, because leaving her behind is the thing I'm looking forward to the least about Baby 2's arrival.

Well, that and going through childbirth again, I suppose!

Bicultural Aspects of Child Rearing

Last night we had the somewhat stressful experience of taking SCT to the paediatric emergency unit after an episode of intestinal flu left her dehydrated. After the drama of deciding at 9pm that this situation really did merit emergency treatment and the drive in the dark to the hospital, we sat in the waiting room and watched as other children were called up to register to be seen.

Each time they were handed a small thermometer and disappeared into the toilets.

UFM, who had twigged more quickly than I did, turned to me with fear in his eyes and said, "What do we do if they ask us to take her rectal temperature?" (At home we have an electronic thermometer that we use in SCT's ears. We've only once been asked by a doctor if we've taken her temperature in  the "correct" (because apparently more accurate) way.)

In what was probably not my proudest moment as either a mother or a loyal wife, I replied, "This is your culture. You'll have to do it."

And he did ... this time round. I have a nasty feeling, though, that this is a skill I am going to have to learn.