Tye Ferré's Registration at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall.
He was due on the 6th of December 2007, and came into the world at 17:27 on Wednesday the 5th. He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces at birth.
If you'd like to contact us, please either send an email to Belinda at beli...@needanother.co.uk or Simon at sim...@needanother.co.uk (click the dots and follow instructions in order to reveal the full email address).
Tye's finally out of hospital after we stayed for the best part of three days to establish breast feeding. He arrived home this evening around 7:30pm.
Tye Ferré's Registration at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall.
Tye's Xmas Clothes as Xmas is soon.
Tye's New toys playing with Daddy, Grabbing toy and then letting go.
Tye's all clean again for now anyway with spikey hair and really loves splashing about.
Tye's all clean, umm smells nice. Quick get a photo (he's always like this, our Tye never smells).
Tye's in his chair sitting up and blowing bubbles for daddy to clean his face yet again.
Tye's nappy is full causing a builders bum but breast feeding so got other things on his mind than his bum showing.
Tye's all wrapped up for sleeping. Something's up as mum and dad keep whispering. I'll get some sleep now.
Tye's first Xmas. Mum and Dad came to my place for opening pressents this year.
Tye's card to mummy and daddy. I wonder why there's nothing in this cup. A cuppa would be nice as I'm getting sick of milk
Tye's getting kisses and yet more kisses from daddy passed on from all the messages to give a kiss to Tye. Oh another kiss, this one from Daddy
Tye's found his fingers after doing exercises to show where his mouth is. Um, nearly got them in my mouth.
Tye's hedgehog that has sensory material and the nose squeaks. Daddy you're getting loud again. I know Tye, we might have to take it away from Daddy.
Tye's back in his cot after opening pressies and doing what he does best - blowing bubbles. Oh where's the cotton wool.
Tye's first taste of freedom. He has just been transferred to a cot from the incubator.
Belinda just showing off the bump before going in to the hospital to be induced.
Simon showing his sympathy bump. It's not like him to be so fat.
First cuddles with Tye.
Second cuddles with Tye.
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Well, the little wriggler came out on the 5th at just before half past five in the afternoon. We went back to the Hospital at about haft seven on Monday the 3rd, and were immediately placed in a private room on the labour ward. As it was late, they wouldn't do anything until the following morning (and as Belinda hates hospitals anyway, we'd have preferred to be at home). Being a full time carer as well as a husband is hard work, and trying to convince the hospital to feed me was equally daunting. In the end they relented and made us some breakfast Tuesday morning. At around half ten, they came and advised Belinda that a tablet would be inserted to start the procedure going. They said they would start internal investigations and check progress regularly. By Tuesday evening, not a lot had happened, but the 'early contractions' were coming now and then. Belinda was coping with these well and the tens machine was doing a good job at a low setting. Tuesday evening was, for the both of us the best night's sleep we'd ever had (in a hospital of course) and we woke up Wednesday morning full of energy. Luckily the tens machine had been kept on all night and Belinda didn't have disturbed sleep. Wednesday morning the waters broke at about 7:00 am and the contractions were getting more frequent but by about 10:30 an internal investigation revealed Belinda was still only about 1 and a half centimeters dilated. By two o'clock this had progressed to about 8 centimeters and by half past two she was fully dilated.
The second stage took just under three hours and this could have been a lot less if they'd noticed that one bit wasn't stretching and hadn't increased in size enough for baby's head to pass through. A small cut (episiotomy if that's the right spelling) and two pushes later, our wee lad was in the world *pictures taken at this stage have been censored*. The next few minutes appeared to go quickly but he was not left on mummy's skin for long before having to be checked out and daddy was able to cut the cord. The third stage took only 13 minutes (after a small injection in mummy's leg). Unfortunately for mummy, the pushing had made down below very sore (apparently piles are very common) and the small cut had to be sewn up, so daddy went to the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) with Tye for a close monitoring while mummy had to wait for a surgeon to come and sew her up.
It was fairly apparent to us that Tye has Downs Syndrome and he had low sats for a few days. Most Downs babies have heart problems and it was decided he would go to Birmingham Children's Hospital for the day to be checked out in greater detail. It was noticed that there is a slight 'hole' at the top chamber and one at the bottom chamber of the heart, but these might sort themselves out in the next few weeks or so. More information will be added in due course.
After a mammoth session at the Ante-Natal Clinic this morning (the appointment was at 10:00 AM and we left there at 3:30 PM), it has been suggested by the Consultant that they would like to induce slightly early. Belinda is 40 and he said that the placenta doesn't work as well in someone who's 40 years old, and at this late stage there may have been some hind waters which broke about ten days ago. This all means that we've had a slight respite from the clutches of the hospital (to come home and pack all the labour stuff) into the car, not to mention clothes etc (as I'm Belinda's full time carer, I have to stay in the room with Belinda). The good news is that all being well, we should have a new life in the world by about Wednesday or Thursday one way or another (whatever that means). Considering this time last week we weren't even booked into the Ante-Natal clinic and it was only our Community Midwife who 'had a feeling' who thought we should go in to the hospital today, we're fairly glad we did. As they say, "Better to be safe then sorry". Obviously, we'll keep everyone informed when we know more (if I get the chance to update the website).
Well, it's all been a bit quiet over the last 9 weeks or so, except a couple of fun incidents which I have to share with you. Firstly, Belinda was in her powered wheelchair, when she thought it was rolling down the hill in the middle of a weekday in the centre of Birmingham. She furiously grabbed at the car door handle (which promptly opened the door), then the wing mirror to stop herself from rolling (which was probably the worst thing she could have done) and promptly ended up laying on the road bump up in the air in the chair with nothing but a bag hanging on the back of the chair to break the fall. Needless to say everything was OK with bump and mum, but it took two very kind guys and myself to bring the chair back up to normal position. Thanks to them from both of us. After that for about 8 hours, there was no movement from the bump, so in the end we went to Good Hope around 9:00pm to check everything was fine. There was a strong heartbeat which they monitored for about 20 minutes, and asked Belinda many questions about her slight pain by the ribs (which was probably caused by something a few days previously).
We also went to a NCT Nearly New Sale yesterday (10th November). Apart from finding the wrong church thanks to Google Maps, we got there eventually. The funny thing was that there was hardly anything there that we wanted (mostly toys and prams) despite the NCT website stating that there would be equipment there. Still, we did pick up a small sling thing for 2 pounds. There's one of these sales almost every week so we'll go along to another one to see what they have there.
Aside from our outings, there's not a lot else going on. Have been given loads of stuff already. James and Wendy across the road gave us some newborn clothes which are lovely, our friend Louise gave us some blankets and bedding in a big binliner, and family have given more clothes and bibs etc. We're still on the lookout for a baby monitor - they all seem to do some of what we want, but not all of what we want. Needless to say that being a computer nerd, I'm looking for something Nerdy that will do the job.
We're going to collect the travel system tomorrow (Monday) from KiddiSave in Walsall. We got a really good deal from them as we'd prefer to go and support local business rather than faceless internet entities.
Have just finished a four week ante-natal course at Castle Vale, with the last day (yesterday) as a tour around the delivery suite at Good Hope hospital. It was really good and our midwife is lovely, as are all the other people who attended. It was really nice to see other people who are pregnant, and find out the latest from them each week. We decided to do the course early (most of the ladies are about 10 weeks further on) as Belinda has been feeling really well. We have also purchased a baby listening device (about £30) which allows us to hear all the kicks and noises. It's been quite good listening, but so far have not heard a heartbeat. Maybe in another few weeks time we will. There's another scan and a glucose tolerance test to come in the next few weeks, so we'll update again then.
No scan pictures to show you today, but baby was in a good position to have most of the measurements taken. Everything is looking normal, and there are "no soft markers for Downe's Syndrome" indicated. Now, we're taking it one day at a time and will see what happens from this point forward.
We also took part in our first antenatal class (it's a four week course) today. Discussed the stages of labour and options etc. Good to see other pregnant people (who all appear to be much further on then we are) and hear of their concerns too. As Belinda is feeling strong at the moment, we decided it was the best time to be on the classes, and we were squeezed in at the last minute. Tomorrow is scheduled for a routine check-up with the midwife (it's only the second time we've seen the midwife for a check-up, including the booking at around 13 weeks) so we can get Belinda weighed, listen to baby's heart and have a urine sample checked for keytones etc. More will get added after that I would suggest.
MUMS (Midlands Ultrasound and Medical Services) have had another look at the baby as a follow-up to their previous scan at 16 weeks. The latest news is that (and I quote from the report we were send home with) "all features of the scan today are entirely normal. The cardiac structures are well seen with no signs of any problems seen. There are no soft markers for Down's Syndrome. This does not entirely rule out a problem with Down's Syndrome, but the risk is becoming less with these normal findings today". Here are the seven (we were amazed that there were this many) extra scan pictures we were given today.
Picture 1 - Belly sticking up in the air with head to the right.
Picture 2 - Another profile of the head showing some of the features of the face.
Picture 3 - Another similar profile with a darker area which we think shows the location of the heart.
Picture 4 - An amazing 4D scan showing the right hand in front of the (not very well defined) face.
Picture 5 - Another 4D scan showing the face in more detail, along with the hands and arms. Either the baby is camera shy or (s)he is an early recruit for the Castle Vale Air Cadets.
Picture 6 - A further 4D scan of the face, arms and hands. If you squint slightly you can see the features of the face better. At least there's no problem with cleft lip or similar condition.
Picture 7 - I'd like to tell you what this view shows but I think it looks like the face of a puppy. When I mentioned this to the consultant, he assured me it wasn't. If it was, it would have to be a mongrel as Belinda is Scottish and Simon is English.
The news is that the baby is still growing and was, for the first time, seen from outside the (ever expanding) belly instead of the scanner having to perform a vaginal scan. The baby was in another awkward position (the usual!) and they were only able to check certain things. We're not concerned by this, as they have given us an appointment for a couple of weeks time to have another look. There were five scans printed for us to bring home. These follow below. Next scan is tomorrow with the MUMS clinic in Solihul (the place we had the 12 and 16 week scans) for a follow-up. More pictures, videos or whatever will no doubt follow shortly.
Picture 1 - Belly sticking up in the air with arms and the head to the right.
Picture 2 - Head is bottom-right, and you can see the spine going towards the baby's bum as it goes up and to the left.
Picture 3 - Feet this time. Top is almost a footprint, bottom one is on it's side slightly with toes going to the right.
Picture 4 - This one looks like a dinosaur fossil, but I can assure you it's not.
Picture 5 - Not sure where everything is on this scan, but it could almost be a rabbit (ok, I'm getting bored typing now...)
We went for our booking appointment this morning. Woke up late - either didn't hear the alarm clock or it didn't even go off. Rushed to the hospital with a pop tart in one hand, the steering wheel in another and a mug of fruit juice in another (don't ask!). Might as well have not rushed around though - finally got out of the hospital three hours after going in. Have finally imported the video of the 16 week scan. The format is DIVX (so you might need to download something from the divx website in order to play it) and there are two versions available: High quality version (around 185Mb)
Low quality version (around 28Mb)
. Here is a picture taken from the video showing the young thing standing on it's head (or at least that's what it looks like it's doing).
The specialist has offered another scan at 22 weeks to continue with examinations on the heart, just to make sure that the heart is still fine - the increased size due to an extra 6 weeks growth should be enough to get extremely clear images and results. Might also by then be able to tell what sex the child will be, but for fun, it was suggested by examining a Chinese calendar on the internet that we will have a girl - we'll wait to see how accurate that one is won't we!
Well, we thought that another scan image would be available after the 16 week scan took place on the 20th June, but they didn't give us one to scan into the computer. We have got a video containing a recording of the same ultrasound images that the specialist was looking at, but I have not got around to importing it into the computer yet. This will be done in due course, so you all will get the chance to look at it in the not to distant future.
The latest news is that any possible cardiac problem has not been seen during this scan. Everything appears to be fine. As you can imagine, this has been a great weight off our minds. Both Mother and Father are doing fine apart from Belinda being in hospital for the third time in three weeks with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (she's back home now). We thought that there could be a problem with growth due to the severe malnutrition that this caused, but this was not so as baby is the right size.
Here's the little one at the six week scan. Not much to see here as it's only 2.1mm long!
Here's the second image. Notice how one was clearer than the other. Wonder why that was?
Here's the little one at the twelve week scan. Now 53mm long (about 2 inches) but already well defined.
The news that came from this scan (which was undertaken privately) is that there is a very high risk of Down's Syndrome (1 in 2 chance). This has not altered our decision to continue the pregnancy and we will not be taking any further tests. There was also a high chance of cardiac problems, but due to the size of the baby (53mm), it was not possible to be certain of this. It has been suggested to have another scan at 16 weeks to examine the heart in greater detail.
If you'd like to contact us, please either send an email to Belinda at beli...@needanother.co.uk or Simon at sim...@needanother.co.uk (click the dots and follow instructions in order to reveal the full email address).