Uscados

The made-up currency "uscados" from the Swedish sitcom Solsidan (Sunny Side - posh sticks outside Stockholm) has already spread beyond Sweden and beyond the fictive world even though the episode aired just 8 days ago.

But make sure you're in a long-term, committed relationship because otherwise your uscados can suddenly become useless as they are not transferable to a new relationship :)

Isolde's New Blog Buddy

Marie had a little Alfred on Friday (my birthday!) - he's very cute!

Congratulations to Marie and Engelsmannen &Welcome to the world, Alfred!

Wish our hallway was a bit bigger...

(Sold at Åhléns)



Via Anna's iPhone

Thank You Bejla!

Isolde thanks Bejla for the cool gift from Greenland, a rattle ball in sealskin (right?)! Isolde must be one of few children in Sweden with one! I expressed a liking to it a while back (before I was pregnant and had a friend in mind then) but never got around to ordering one via Bejla but evidently she remembered! :)



Via Anna's iPhone

The Birth

At home
I woke up around 6 or 7 in the morning of Saturday 8 January and felt something was going on. I had menstrual type pains maybe 10 minutes apart. I went back to sleep and when I woke up again around 9am the pain was stronger and coming every 5-6 minutes. I woke Peter with a "don't get scared but I think I'm in labour", to which he responded "but I haven't finished packing yet!" and jumped out of bed :)

We ate breakfast, I took a shower and we finished packing that bag. By 11:30am my contractions were still a bit irregular; some 5-6 minutes apart but most 3-4 minutes apart, so we called the hospital. They said they were currently full and that since my contractions were iregular and I seemed to be managing (thanks to the breathing classes), I should stay at home a bit longer.

So we, or I, endured for another few hours. We had lunch. But by 3pm my contractions were at least 3-4 minutes apart and sometimes only 1-2 minutes apart. So we called again, twice. The first time they said that they would have a room free soon and could we hold on a bit longer. The second time, around 15:45, they said we could come in for a check-up (to see how much dilated I was) and then they'd see what they could do (when they are full they call around to other hospitals to find you a space, you don't need to do it yourself). We decided to take our time so that the room would definitely be ready by the time we arrived. And once we were ready to leave I wasn't that fast, as moving about, putting my jacket on, getting into the car, etc. was a bit arduous with regular oncoming contractions. Hence we didn't get to the hospital until some time after 5pm, by which time there was indeed a vacant room for us.

At the hospital
17:30 - We arrived to the hospital and I was greeted by midwife Gunilla. She examined me and found that I was 4 cm dilated and that the baby's head was still adjustable and could be pushed upwards. My water had not broken yet but they could feel that the amniotic sac was bulging. They hooked me up to a fetal monitor to measure the baby's heart rate a well as my contractions.



18:30 - The baby's CTG was normal so the equipment was removed for the time being. I was managing by using breathing technique at this stage.

19:00 - I started taking a shower for pain alleviation and stayed there for two hours...

21:15 - I started using the laughing gas. First I didn't think it helped much but then I learned the technique I guess because suddenly I felt a rush and realised what it was all about! However, as it takes 20 seconds before the gas has effect, which means you have to inhale the gas early when you first start feeling a contraction coming, timing is difficult. Thus sometimes I was either too late or the opposite, overdosed a bit.

This photo shows almost how it feels to be a bit high on laughing gas :)

21:20 - The midwife decided to give me a glucose drip (through a hep-lock) as I had vomited several times over the last few hours due to, I think, the baby still being high up; every time I was positioned (either because they wanted to examine me or because I shifted position for pain management) with my legs bent up towards my stomach, I became sick.

22:00 - Shift change, new midwife team (midwife + nurse) headed by Emma

Around midnight - I was dilated 8 cm. So far so good. I continued using the laughing gas (with the occasional overdose - one time I told Peter and the midwife it was like "having an orgasm" *cough* *red cheeks*) and shifted positions (sometimes standing with the help of a walking chair, sometimes seated on chair, sometimes in bed - but lying in bed was just painful) regularly.

02:30 - I had difficulties urinating so I got a little help with that, since a full bladder can prevent the baby from moving down. I was still dilated 8, maybe 9 cm and the baby's head was still "bouncing" above spinae. The midwife consulted the doctor about breaking my water to move things along.

03:00 - The doctor broke my water (so-called amniotomy). Afterwards she placed a scalp electrode against the baby's head to monitor the heartbeat internally (this electrode was kept throughout until she was born). After the procedure I was only dilated 7 cm, as it is normal for the cervix to narrow following amniotomy.

04:30 - Next we tried sterile water injections against pain in my lower back from the contractions. This is a really painful method but the pain is short and supposed to release the body's own pain relief hormones and thus help with the contractions. Didn't work on me though! And Peter said it was the worst thing he'd experienced (as in witnessed) in his life. Even if it was short, I was in extreme pain for those 30 seconds and it's never fun to see someone you love in pain (obviously he felt like this from time to time throughout labour but the sterile water injections were probably the worst for him). I was already a bit "removed" in a way, as I was already living or internalising the pain, if that makes sense.

Afterwards we have read up a little on sterile water and it seems like there are mixed reviews on its benefits. What is clear is that while epidurals is an evidence-based method, the scientific evidence on sterile water is so-so.

05:20 - Since the sterile water didn't help against the pain and there had not been any progress for a while, the midwife recommended an epidural both to give me some pain relief after hours of intense contractions and to move things along. They prepare me (local anathesia) and also placed a new scalp electrode on the baby's head. Someone asked me afterwards if it wasn't difficult to lie still for the epidural when having intense contractions but I can't really remember; I'm sure it was but I must have wanted it so bad that maybe the contractions slowed down for a while??

The epidural gives me some time to eat (toast and another smoothie - I had been drinking smoothies throughout the night even if I got sick from time to time) and sleep (Peter also took a nap on the couch).

07:00 - At 7am there was another shift change and midwife Yvonne took over

07:30 - A new examination revealed status quo. The baby was not pushing downwards. The midwife decided to administer a contraction-stimulating drip. I still had had contractions while I rested (I was still hooked up to a monitor and could see the strength of the contractions there) but mine weren't strong or effective enough.

The drip started working but since the epidural hadn't been 100% effective - sometimes the case with epidurals - I felt stronger and stronger pain in my back on the right side so after a while the drip had to be turned down a little. During this time I also continued to change positions but the bed was still unpopular; it just hurt too much to lie down or even stand on my knees and lean towards the back of the bed.

11:00 - Finally some progress as the midwife could feel the baby's eyebrows when examining me. Another midwife was called in to do an ultrasound to see how the baby's head was positioned. The head was still not all the way down and was face-up instead of face-down (and had not moved despite me constantly changing positions and moving about throughout the night). While she had me in the bed (because of the exam) the midwife asked me to push through a few contractions even though we weren't at the pushing stage yet while she was massaging my cervix; this to try to help move things along. At this point I started using the laughing gas again (had stopped when I got the epidural). This seemed to do the trick.

11:38 - At 11:38 it was finally pushing time. I had decided earlier that I wanted to sit on a birthing stool while giving birth. Peter sat behind me on a chair, holding my shoulders and helping me through each contraction and push. The midwife sat in front of me guiding me when to push and when not to, and a nurse provided her with extra support.

The stool is recommended because it's a better position than lying down on a bed as it allows gravity to help and also is supposed to prevent tearing. It also allows the father to provide more effective support and to be almost as close as the mother once the baby is born and is placed on the mother's chest. The midwife had told me that once the baby was out they would help me up on the bed immediately as lying down helps stop bleeding.

12:04 - Our baby girl was born! Finally! The feeling when she* was in my arms was just amazing and I get tears in my eyes when I think about it. It's also amazing how the pain immediately disappears as soon as the baby is out! And how you forget the hardship immediately - minutes after she was born I said to Peter "next time I don't want that sterile water!"; evidently I was already thinking of having another one! :)

They helped me to the bed and a couple minutes later the placenta came out without me having to push. It was intact and I also lost very little blood, 2oo ml compared to the normal (average) 1 l. The umbilical cord was quite short and tore a little when she was born so they put extra staples to make sure Isolde got the last of all the good stuff. Peter then cut the cord as per new fathers' first duty :)

I was fortunate and didn't suffer any tearing, only small contusions - maybe because she wasn't a huge baby or because of the birthing stool or because I used that special oil in the last four weeks of pregnancy or maybe just because I was lucky! - hence didn't need any stitches.

It was first after Peter had cut the cord and they had examined me that we checked if it was a boy or a girl. I was just so happy that our baby was finally here and that s/he seemed healthy (ten fingers and ten toes, etc.) that the sex was secondary. But once we found out it felt like "of course it was a girl in there all this time!".

Isolde** was pretty quick at finding the breast - the feeling when she suckled for the first time was just so cool!

After that the midwife team left us alone for a while and then arrived with the "famous" tray with sandwiches, (non-alcoholic) cider and a Swedish flag. Later a new midwife came (new shift) to weigh and measure Isolde and checked that she was able to nurse and that she had pooped (the black poop, meconium) - I stayed in bed while Peter "supervised" the examination and dressed her for the first time***. After a few hours we were asked to pack up our stuff and move down to the ward as they needed the delivery room for another duo of parents-to-be.

The verdict
Giving birth is tough! But so worth it! Even if it took 30 hours from the first contraction and 19 hours from when we arrived in the hospital and the pain was sometimes almost unbearable. I managed pretty well though, thanks to the breathing (and relaxation) classes and of course some medical assistance, especially the epidural. I only broke down once really and it was just a short cry in the middle of the night/early morning when I felt "will it never end" and started talking about a caesarean section (which the midwife ignored). The rational side of me knew it would end at some point of course.

Peter was just amazing through it all and I couldn't have managed without him! He was that support I could count on and I knew he was on top of all the medical stuff and that I didn't need to be in full control all the time. It's funny though how exhausted he was the next day - he slept like a baby (no pun intended) the first night while I had had a flow of hormones keeping me awake - even though I was the one who had been running a marathon. But that's how it works - women are programmed to take care of the new arrival, get the breast-feeding going, etc. The second night I was "allowed" to relax a little.

* Though we didn't know she was a she yet then
** We didn't decide on the name until later
*** The vernix is left and they only dry off the worst of the blood, so her first clothes were pretty dirty afterwards :)

4 Centimetres

...is what Isolde has grown since birth*. At our second visit to BVC on Monday she was 52 cm long and weighed 3,680 gr. The nurse didn't check that much else this time except did a general check that she looked healthy (skin colour, etc.) and was alert. Isolde spotted the mobile over the examining/changing table, which was hanging much higher than I thought she could see, so that was fun! Maybe she has inherited my fighter pilot vision! And she peed on the scale; that must be from Peter! ;) Next appointment is Thursday next week.

* Measuring babies are not an exact science though so give or take a centimetre.

Walk in the Sun

Via Anna's iPhone

Home Alone

Peter went back to work today after his ten "daddy days*" and Isolde and I were on our own for the first time (except last Saturday when Peter was away as well and a few hours here and there when he's been running errands). It went pretty well actually. This is what our day looked like:

(~7am: Peter got up and went to work)
~9am: I got up and managed to eat breakfast and read the paper while Isolde kept on sleeping
~10am: I took a shower (I needed to wash my hair but didn't want to take a long shower in case Isolde woke up so just took a quick shower), got dressed and put some make-up on
~11am: Isolde woke up. We spent around two hours nursing and cuddling. I talked to my friend Maria on the phone.
~13am: I ate lunch (left over pancakes, yoghurt and müsli) in 10 minutes while Isolde was seated in the bouncer. She almost fell asleep but then quickly changed her mood to "I don't want to sit here".
~13:30: I talked to Peter's god mother on the phone while Isolde fell asleep in my arms. I let her power nap on our bed.
~14: We left for our 14:30 appointment with the children's health centre (BVC). We finished the visit with breast-feeding, as Isolde wasn't happy with being weighed and measured in the nude.
~15:30: Walked through the shopping centre to look for more nursing tops on sale (didn't find any though) and buy dinner (made Ceasar salad)
~16:30: (back home) Isolde woke up after sleeping in the pram for a while and wanted to be fed.
~17:30: Peter got home and we took the car to go to three flat viewings (one is maybe interesting).
~18:30-21:30: Peter and I ate dinner and I took a shower to wash my hair while Isolde was sleeping in her car seat
~21:30: Isolde woke up and I have spent until now (23:30) nursing her on and off and in between she had cuddled with me or Peter (or so far it's more us cuddling her)
~23:30/now: Time for bed for all three of us!

* He will take his share of the parental leave from when Isolde is 9-10 months old

Another Set of Lessons

• - Babies can get smelly feet (tåbira)
• - We're trying to accustom Isolde to noise and it seems to be working; today she slept through me baking banana bread with the help of the KitchenAid
• - Isolde has had a strong neck since she was born. She can't hold her head up properly yet of course but we make her practice on the floor for a few minutes every day. She usually starts with her right cheek on the floor, lifts her head and keeps it up for a while before turning her head to the right and putting it down. We think she's so advanced! :)
• - Mummy shouldn't climb a high stool to reach the flour on the top shelf when she's still healing "down under"...
• - Babies are cute even when they poop until their little faces turn red

Last night there was a really interesting (American) documentary about babies' development on SVT (Swedish Television). You can watch it here (until 26 January).

On a Spiritual Note

Note found in the letterbox this morning (my translation from the original Swedish):

Mr Omarou

Fortune teller, international marabout

Born with spiritual power. I am famous around the world. I can solve all Your problems e.g. love, health, family problems, business, legal issues, financial transactions, weight loss. You will be told how to protect yourself and your family from the enemy and how you can bring your loved ones back into your life. Guaranteed result.

Speaks English, interpreter in Swedish.

Call and book a meeting!

Three at the Dinner Table

Stokke has added a baby seat to their Tripp Trapp series, so now the chair suits newborns too. We like it because it allows her to be at the same level as us compared to a standard bouncer. Isolde was a bit sceptical and felt five minutes was enough but hopefully she will want to sit a bit longer in it eventually.



Via Anna's iPhone

Fashion à la Lisa

Today's outfit: stylish sweater knitted by (Isolde's) grandmother.



Via Anna's iPhone

First Pediatrician* Visit

We took Isolde for her first visit to the Children's Health Centre (Barnavårdscentralen, BVC) yesterday. As this was our first visit they asked if we parents (and members of the extended family) have now or have had any allergies, diseases or other issues such as vision or hearing problems, useful for Isolde's file. The nurse also measured and weighed Isolde - she's now 50 cm tall and weighs 3,470 grams (which is actually less than Friday's weighing but we're not worried as she's been eating well and 28 grams difference isn't much; she did grow 2 cm since birth and another explanation could be differently calibrated scales). The nurse also did a full check of Isolde's body (spine, skin, fontanelle, etc.) and told us about skincare (how and where to wash, which creams are good, etc.) and how to avoid friction injuries on the nails that I wrote about yesterday. She spotted that Isolde has a little blister in the middle of her upper lip - this was apparently a so-called breast-feeding blister and a sign that feeding is going really well. BVC also provides D vitamin that we will need to give Isolde daily starting in a couple of weeks' time. Our next visit will be on Monday - in the beginning we will go every week, which is good I think so that we know she's gaining weight and staying healthy.

First bath - six days old

I'm so cute when I'm sleeping!

* We didn't actually see the doctor, we'll only see him/her if necessary. Instead our main contact is a nurse specialised in child healthcare.

More Baby Lessons

- I'm getting pretty good at typing with one hand, and using the iPhone with one hand too

- A breast-feeding pillow is really useful, both for the exercise itself but also for making a little safe nest on the sofa where Isolde can sleep afterwards (though we're putting her in her basket as much as possible so she gets used to it)

- Co-sleeping with a baby (in the same bed) is not as scary as I thought it would be, though we try to get her to sleep in the basket as much as possible

- Babies who had hiccups while in the belly are also the ones who hiccup once out-of-womb; Isolde is one of those

- One-week-olds can smile as a response to your baby talk, contrary to what they say (okay, maybe not completely consciously but still)

- It's amazing how she's her own little person already, even though that personality of course changes, or develops rather, every day

- She's much more awake from one day to the other, it's amazing how much difference a day makes

- Babies have a goldfish memory - sometimes when I'm feeding Isolde and she loses her grip of my breast to take a two second-long break she then turns her head around tries finding the nipple in the air

- We learned at the child health centre today that babies can get friction injuries on their finger and toe nails just from their fingers and toes rubbing against mittens or socks - not something Isolde suffes from yet but the nurse told us to check her nails regularly just in case

Lessons So Far

- Day time TV is so bad I'm bound to read more books this year

- I'm so grateful I waited to have children until the iPhone had been invented

- Registering Isolde for schools from 2017 onwards felt very wrong but unfortunately something you have to do nowadays to make sure she has options in the future

- Booking a flight for a one-day old baby was an equally surreal experience (we're planning to spend a week at Peter's parents flatshare in Nice in April)

- A baby's first bath doesn't have to be a screaming experience; a future swimmer?

- A brand new baby can actually sleep 3-4 hours in one go and let her parents have a nice sit-down dinner three nights in a row!

- Babies' drying cord stumps smell so bad! I hope Isolde's falls off soon (looks like it will anytime now)!

- The amount of nappies we go through in one day...

- There are cute mother-child flower bouquets with one big bouquet and a tiny one attached with a ribbon

- Being home alone with Isolde goes well but we miss daddy a lot! (He's at his friend's stag do today so we're practising being just the two of us ahead of when Peter goes back to work on the 24th.)

- Thermos cups come in very hand when you fancy a cup of coffee or tea but are stuck on the couch for hours breast-feeding

- My maternity jeans are slightly big and my regular jeans slightly tight; so guess I'm stuck with the maternity ones for a bit longer

Some Newer Photos

Home for the first time - two days old

Sleeping on the sofa (turning into her favourite place) - two days old

Three days old

First Walk

To the midwife and back. Both the walk and the visit went well. The midwife weighed Isolde - she has gained 138 grams (now 3,498 gr) - and took a blood test (so-called PKU that tests for around 25 different metabolic and other diseases). Isolde only got cranky on the way home when her hat kept sliding down over her eyes (most clothes are too big).




Via Anna's iPhone

Introducing Isolde

We came home from the hospital yesterday and are settling into a routine (though there's no routine really!) of breast-feeding, changing nappies and sleeping - that's about it! :)

Thank you so much for all your congratulations and best wishes!

A few hours old


One day old

More and newer photos coming soon (once we have had a chance to upload them from the camera)!

It's a Girl!

Born on her due date 9 January at 12:04. 3,365 gr and 48 cm.

Photo coming soon!


Via Anna's iPhone

Two Days Left??

Two days to the due date and no signs yet. A friend's friend who was due on the 5th or 7th (can't remember exactly) gave birth to a baby boy yesterday (their second child) and we had a three-month old here visiting the day before yesterday but it didn't make this one feel like coming out. Maybe going to the cinema tonight will do the trick, loud sound or maybe just sitting down and relaxing!

31 December - my brother (boy)
1 January - my mum (girl, early hours of the morning)
2 January - Annika (girl), Helena L.
3 January - Anne (girl), Ingela (girl, 3.6 kg)
4 January - Pettas (girl, 03:50)
5 January - Skolfröken (girl)
6 January - Marianne (boy), Nana (boy, 3-6 January)
7 January - Anna (boy), Mrs Clapper (girl, 04:35), Elin (boy)
8 January - James
9 January - my dad (boy), Emma (girl)
10 January - Jessica (girl), Francesco (boy)
11 January - Marie (girl), Miranda (girl), Tales of a young momma (girl)
12 January - Annika (boy, middle of the night)
13 January - Bicke (girl), Helen (19:45), Taina (boy, 03:50, 3850 gr, 53 cm)
14 January - Katarina, Charlott (boy, 10:05), Saltistjejen (boy), Ingela S (girl)
15 January - Malin (boy, around 15:00), Marina (girl, midnight, 3.4 kg), Sandra (girl), Désirée (girl), Lotta (girl, 3,25 kg)
16 January - Irina (boy), Åsa (girl)
17 January - Beverly (boy)
18 January - Alexandra (boy)
19 January - Jenny H.
20 January - Edina (girl)
21 January -
22 January -
23 January -
24 January -
25 January -