Just Nicky

Putting the puzzle pieces together September 26, 2006

When I saw Matt the chiropractor yesterday he explained that the spot right at the top of my neck where it goes out of alignment is not only responsible for the headaches and migraines I get, but also affects a bundle of nerves to do with balance, spacial sense, etc. and would be having a lot to do with the dizziness and nausea I’ve been feeling. We agreed that I should come in and see him as soon as I feel bad, rather than waiting a couple of days as I tend to do to see if it will resolve itself, because it won’t. I’m also moving my regular appointments from monthly to 3 weekly - not a huge difference but it will help.

There was also a letter waiting for me from the Royal Women’s when we got home today explaining that the blood test they did last week showed that my iron level is low. The same thing happened around this time last year and was resolved by taking some iron tablets. I’d been putting my tiredness down to the pregnancy but, once I take that out of the equation, it’s obvious that my iron levels have dropped. The letter recommended taking iron tablets for the next 3 months or until I stop breast feeding. I think I’ll opt for the latter. They only cost $3 or $4 a month and you can’t overdose on iron (what you don’t use is passed), so I prefer to go for safe, rather than sorry on this one.

While it’s a bit disappointing to see that I need iron supplements again (and a little worrying since one of my sisters has been dealing with chronic iron deficiency for the last 12 months), it’s really good to know that there is a solution for my tiredness. I had started to wonder whether I was going to feel this way for the next 6 months and it wasn’t a pleasant prospect.

With these pieces of the puzzle in place I’m feeling much more positive about keeping myself going and being in a good state by the time the baby is born.

Sick of feeling sick September 25, 2006

I’ve felt pretty crappy over the last few days and, although I’m starting to feel better, I’ve had enough of feeling under the weather. I had a migraine Thursday/Friday and enough dizziness and nausea on Saturday to keep me in bed for most of the day.

I was a bit better yesterday and I’m better again today, but it still shits me. None of it is necessarily pregnancy-related - it could be hayfever, my neck being out of alignment or the takeaway I ate for dinner on Friday night - but because of the pregnancy I can’t treat it and soldier on as I normally would and that’s a bit frustrating.

On Thursday night it had me in tears and wanting to spend the next 6 months in bed, but today, probably because I am feeling better, I’m prepared to have a crack at managing it all. I’m going to the chiropractor again this afternoon (I only saw him on Wednesday) to get him to fix my neck up and I think I’ll suggest that maybe I should be coming in more regularly. I’m also going to ring the pharmaceutical advice line at the Royal Women’s and see if they can recommend anything better for managing the hayfever and migraines than what I’ve been using. I’m considering a visit to the doctor too, to get her to check out my ears - fluid in them would be contributing to the dizziness, etc. and these days I find it difficult to tell what’s going on with them because I don’t notice the difference in my hearing and balance (they’re both pretty bad anyway).

I figure it’s also time that I started to take exercise more seriously. I say this regularly and I always mean it, but there’s a bit more on the line this time. I’m going to commit to going for a walk (with or without a dog) every day. The key, I think, is to do it early in the day when my energy levels are highest and not to push it too hard. This morning I took Em out and, rather than battle with her on lead, I took her to a spot where I can let her run loose reasonably safely. She got some good exercise, we did a little bit of training stuff and I got to stroll along at a comfortable pace. The only flaw in the plan was coming back across the creek via the stepping stones, rather than walking back to the bridge. As a pregnant woman with crappy balance, I came rather close to getting wet when one of the stones wasn’t quite where my foot was aiming.

Coloured Girl September 20, 2006

When I found out I was pregnant one of the many things I looked up to refresh my memory on was hair colour. I had a vague memory that it was not recommended during pregnancy and I was right. This was a bit of a worry since I have become very grey in the last couple of years and I don’t feel quite ready to let it show yet.

I’ve been watching the grey coming through over the last couple of months and trying to think of ways of, not so much hiding it, but reducing its appearance. I had heard that highlights or other ways of colouring where the chemical doesn’t touch the skin were ok, but frankly I have too much grey across the front to be adequately covered by foils.

In amongst the huge volume of information we were given by the midwife yesterday I noticed a reference to hair colour. Apparently after the first trimester is considered alright to colour your hair, as long as your careful about breathing in fumes, etc.

In the next couple of days I’m going to make an appointment for a cut and colour and I intend to come out with something a bit different and bright. I’m going to have some fun since I don’t have to think about looking suitable for work - or anything else for that matter.

Stripes September 19, 2006

I finished Finn’s jumper yesterday afternoon/evening. I avoided the neck pain and headache, I think, by knitting in small bursts of 40 minutes (the length of an ER episode) and making sure I was moving around in between. I cast off too tightly on the neck, so I pulled out the last couple of rows this morning and redid them on slightly larger needles.

I intended the jumper to look kind of rough and ready and I think I’ve succeeded on that front, although the holey bits around the neck are just a result of my poor work knitting up the stitches. It’s huge on Finn because it’s a size 5/6. I’m hoping this will give him years of wear out of it.

Finn seems to like it, although it’s a bit hard to tell through his obsession with the ‘wobot game’ - the new Star Wars Lego Playstation game - that he and Mark are playing at the moment.

I’ve got the knitting blues September 18, 2006

I seem to have lost the knit thing in the last couple of months. Since I chucked a little tanty over my sister’s socks I’ve barely attempted anything other than a couple of dishcloths and a simple jumper for Finn.

The jumper is in Anchor Magicline in blues. I’m using the same pattern I used for this jumper but without the triangle design across the top. I’ve done the body and one sleeve, so there’s probably 2 evenings work left in it.

The problem is that every time I spend an evening knitting I wake up with a sore neck and a headache the next morning. This has only been happening in the last few weeks as I’ve been trying to get back into knitting. I must be tensing up or sitting strangely when I knit, but I can’t for the life of me work out how or why. The prospect of pain and discomfort the next day is really putting me off finishing the jumper and starting any other project.

I hate sitting in front of the telly without a project to work on and it’s particularly frustrating with the new baby coming. Being born in late March the little one will be just the right size for cute jackets and hats through winter, not to mention little socks/booties. I also would like to get onto knitting some Christmas gift ideas I have, but it will have to wait until I have this issue sorted out. Meanwhile my stash is giving me dirty looks - all that yarn just sitting getting dusty, it’s a crime.

Overdoing it September 14, 2006

Yesterday I took Finn into the city for a hearing test. Today I am stuffed.

Finn thought we were going to take the train, but instead we drove, parked near Jeff’s Shed, walked to a tram stop and took a tram to the corner of Collins & Elizabeth Sts. Finn loved it, so there are more tram trips planned. Coming home involved the reverse procedure.

I’ve not done that stuff with Finn before. Mark always did it while I was working. This was my first time having to muscle a pusher through city streets and deal with the logistics of getting on and off public transport. I need more practise.

When we got home Finn took ages to eat lunch and go down for a sleep. I should have gone to bed when he did, but like the fool that I am I didn’t and I was a wreck by the time Mark got home. I really need to learn about daytime naps.

Today I feel like crap. I think it’s in part a result of yesterday and in part a combination of my cold giving me a kick as it leaves and hayfever caused by whatever smelly, flowery thing it is that I can smell everywhere (it’s not in my garden, it must be in one of the neighbours). Emmylou also seems to think that today is the day to bark at EVERYTHING. I may have to kill her before the day is out.

We have news September 12, 2006

There are some who already know this and some who have been observant enough to notice the new ticker on Mark’s blog. For the rest of you, here’s the news.

Finn is not going to be an only child. And this is not just speculation.

I am pregnant (currently 13 weeks) and baby # 2 is due on the 19th of March next year.

I did feel fairly crappy with morning sickness up until 2 or 3 weeks ago, but that’s pretty much passed and I’m now feeling OK, as long as I eat regularly (like 6 times a day). My energy levels aren’t too bad, but they’re very finite. Once I’m done, I’m done and I just have to stop. I’ve had a couple of days here and there where I’ve paid for overdoing things, but most of the time it’s quite managable.

On the subject of age-related testing (Down’s Syndrome, etc.) I have had the combined screening test (blood test and ultrasound), but don’t have the results just yet. The ultrasound was on Monday and looked very positive which is why we’ve decided to let everyone know about the baby. That and the fact that I can’t keep hiding out at home most of the time and holding my stomach in the rest of the time forever.

We are excited, relieved and apprehensive all at the same time. Excited to be having another munchkin in our lives. Relieved that, having decided we wanted another one, it came to pass easily. Apprehensive because this time we know what we’re letting ourselves in for.

Oh dear… September 10, 2006

My Personality

I don’t like the top value, but on reading the full explanation, it does sound quite a bit like me.

It’s not what she said, it’s when she said it September 7, 2006

I just read Germaine Greer’s article about Steve Irwin and I really didn’t see anything offensive in it, other than the timing.

All she has said is really what a lot of people were saying about Irwin before he died. That he was presenting an Australian caricature for the overseas market. That his wildlife handling practices were dodgy. That taking his son into the croc enclosure was pretty stupid.

If the article had been published a week ago no one would have batted an eyelid. It would just have been Greer doing what she does and sticking the boot into a countryman. And lots of people would have openly agreed with her.

Because it was published in the last few days, though, it smells of opportunism and headline grabbing (and haven’t they given her the headlines) and that’s what is offensive about it. I don’t doubt that the piece was requested and paid for. I don’t know how hard up Greer is for a pound, but regardless she should have said no.

While the ridiculous outpouring of national and international grief is annoying and cringeworthy (I can guarantee you that I will not remember where I was when I heard the news - I was in the car on the way to the supermarket incidentally), rushing in to have a peck at the dead man is pretty tacky and a little sick.

Maybe it was seen as a necessary antidote to all the overblown tributes. Maybe, as has been suggested, it’s just Greer unable to keep her mouth shut. Either way it’s hopelessly out of place and it’s unsurprising that it has drawn the kind of vitriol that it has.

Welcome to Snot Manor September 6, 2006

We’re a jolly little family at the moment. I have a cold. Finn has a cold. Mark has a cold. We’re all varying degrees of snotty and miserable.

I’m most snotty. Finn comes next. Mark’s biggest issue is a sore throat and is probably exacerbated by having to yell at feral teenagers each day.

In a way I’m glad the weather’s going to be crappy today. It’ll be a good excuse for Finn & I to cocoon indoors with telly, puzzles and stories. He’s in good spirits but looking a bit worn out, so a slow day before going back to childcare tomorrow will do him good. And I’m feeling too crappy to be much use for anything else.