Emily Rose Turns 16!

Given the dodgy experience I'd had with my last baby, Sarah, in the public hospital system, and the subsequent outcome (her death), when we got pregnant with Emily I wanted something different, more focused on the pregnancy as a natural occurrence, not something to be medically managed.  That is when we approached the Camden Birth Centre, not really thinking they'd take us on, this was my sixth baby and I would be 36 when she was born.  But when they heard our story, about Sarah and about how we'd been treated by Campbelltown Hospital where I was originally booked in, they were more than happy to take us on, and so began the wonderful and empowering relationship with the midwives at the Birth Centre.

They were all about natural childbirth and that is what I wanted.  But when I was 9 days overdue they decided a little intervention was required lest a medically induced labour was needed, something none of us wanted (that would have meant giving birth upstairs in the hospital labour ward).  The midwives did their thing, short of rupturing the membranes, and sent us off to have a hot curry which we did at the local Thai restaurant.  1996 was a leap year though and I did hope she wouldn't be born on the 29th.

The morning of March 1st dawned and I took Katy off to school as usual.  I was feeling pains but didn't take much notice and went about my usual routine.  I had an appointment at Camden for an ultrasound and by the time I got in the car, I knew I was in early labour, but drove the fifteen minutes or so down there on my own.

I still remember seeing Emily's face on the screen, squashed up in there poor thing, she looked like an alien.  By the time I got back home I knew it was on and rang Phill at work, and my sisters who were coming to the birth to look after Kate and also be there for their niece's arrival into the world.

We got in the car and got halfway there when Phill decided he needed petrol.  I was in the front of the car trying not to push and he LINES UP.  If ever there was a time to politely go to the front of the queue it was then.  But no.

We got there in plenty of time and soon, with only a bit of gas and air for her mother's pain, Emily Rose arrived at 3.54pm weighing 9lb 4oz.  I delivered her standing up leaning over the back of an armchair, and it was so much easier than all of my others who I delivered flat on my back as was the norm then.

It was one of the happiest days of our lives, after what we had gone through losing Sarah.  Four hours after the birth we took Emily home.  My sisters had taken Kate for the night so it was just the three of us, and we sat in our bed until the small hours, just watching our beautiful baby sleep.  We felt like the luckiest parents in the world.     Little did we know we were in for the parental ride of our lives.

Emily Fairy aged 6

One of my favourite photos of Em.  Aged 7, Seignor Street Junee.

Emily out the front of Lisgar Street with her Autumn hat on.

Emily, Lisgar Street, Junee, Mothers Day 2003.  That's Barry in the background.

So today I got up at 5.30 am and made her cake, and set the table for breakfast with some roses from the garden.

  Last night Josh and I made up some pancake batter to surprise her this morning.  First Em opened her presents.

Josh made her a card and she loved it.

And she loved the gold initial pendant we gave her.

And REALLY loved her Ipad.  Spoiled girl.

This is pretty much what we drove through all the way to Wagga.  It rained and rained all day.  I got to my meeting and was pleased to find I'd lost 1.6kg.  I stayed for the talk and really enjoyed it again.  So I am on the right track, there were a few things I did this week that I won't do again.  I probably went overboard on the fruit, especially the grapes.  I need to step up the exercise and get more organised with that, and focus more on weight training as well, apparently it's important for women my age.  (35 heh heh).

We had lunch at Subway and I made a healthy choice.

While we were eating Emily's eyes went red and started to hurt, it got worse and then our eyes started to hurt as well and when I looked around lots of other people were rubbing their eyes and remarking on it.  We were finished anyway so we got up to get out of there and Phill went to say something to the staff.  I was thinking terrorist attack (of course).  The explanation was that someone

was cutting up onions out the back and it was coming through the vents!  Okaaay.

We got some groceries and drove the long, wet drive back home

Muttama Creek here is way up from this morning, Jubliee Park is a swimming pool and the foot bridge at the bottom of our street is under water, and still the rain falls....

The causeway at the bottom of our street with the footbridge in the background.

The road bridge from the RSL car park, this creek is usually a tiny trickle.

Jubilee Park doesn't usually have a lake as part of the landscape.

I decorated the cake and then made the party food.  We bought some sushi on the way home from a new sushi bar in Wagga that we saw as we drove through, so that was good I didn't have to make it, and it was great.  I did some fresh seafood spring rolls, with prawns and crab and salad, Russian eggs (sliced boiled eggs, low fat lime/garlic aioli on crackers topped with caviar), some canapes with the leftover prawn and crab, Emily made low fat French onion dip, and I made a dipping sauce for the rolls (sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, grated carrot and chopped roasted peanuts.  And some "traffic lights", cheese and pickled onions on toothpicks (Em loves them).

The sushi was wonderful, better than ours, why would you make it at home?

We sang Happy Birthday before Phill had to go to work and she thanked us and said she had a lovely birthday.