The New Addition:
Baby Azalea Lotus Rose arrived 29th of December at 11:44am. She was 3.480kg, Head 33cm, Length 49.5cm. To sum it up with approx times:
4:00am Was that a contraction? Couldn't be, it's too early, and I am hosting a murder mystery party tonight.
5:00am Definitely contractions (confirmed on Google, not Braxton Hicks). Started timing.
5:30am Contraction timer app says contractions are 3-4 minutes apart and should go to the hospital. Began packing for the hospital and getting ready. Called Jennis to have her come watch Sakura and provided unfortunate news that I can't host - still offered the house)
6:00am Woke up Matt, who then slowly preceded to get breakfast before we left.
7:30am Confirmed 5cm dilated, baby in the ideal position.
8:30am Contractions A LOT more painful - received gas machine for pain. This resulted in getting really lightheaded and vomiting.
9:00am Asked for epidural and waited, and waited, and waited. They needed blood test results before moving forward because I had low platelets.
10:00am All good and received epidural. Finally, some rest and pains were bearable again.
11:40am Midwife came to check on me and my water broke. I was asked to push to get any excess out, and the baby started to come! One more big push and out came baby!
I was able to happily hold and feed her for nearly three hours before they even weighed her. After she came, I had a lot of energy. I was doing so well they discharged me by 7pm so I could go home.
Since birth, we had a week of a happy, sleepy baby. Now she is a fussy baby with allergic reactions to my milk, will take 2 hours to go to sleep, had a bad nappy rash (whoops!), and has eczema on her face. I'm ok but finding it a challenge to work and do things with Azalea constantly strapped to me. I could use more baby-free time on occasion, but I lack practical support without having family here, and my friends are too busy. On the bright side, Sakura loves Azalea and will often help get me things I can't reach for. She also understands if I can't do something because I am feeding or holding the baby. Matt has also been helpful by being the regular cook and will hold Azalea when I need a break.
We Are Building a House:
Around November we suddenly decided to buy a house and, after much research, settled on a land/house package. Here's a summary of that:
1. Found support to help us navigate the process: Shaun and Jasi with EasyPropertySolutions (mutual friends) and a fantastic mortgage broker Gayle Stapleton with Stapleton Finance
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| Please don't judge! It's not perfect, but we are happy with what we came up with as it meets our needs, many wants, and suits the land. |
2. Needed Matt's citizenship to qualify for builder's grant. E-mails pleading to expedite the process were unsuccessful - had Matt randomly attend the last citizenship ceremony of the year that I found out about. SUCCESS!!
3. Found a plot of land in Burpengary big enough to actually have some yard space! I signed the contract the same day we heard it opened up.
4. After vetting four different builders and trying to sort the perfect floorplan - finally went with the recommended builder from Shaun and Jasi - Thomas Paul Constructions. Many e-mails later, Matt drafted what he wanted, and the draftsmen recreated Matt's floorplan with a few adjustments.
5. Oh wait... need tax returns to apply for the loan. Lots of waiting, and some odd complications later, we finally received the documents just in time.
6. Concerns over the inclusions and building contract created more delays. All sorted just before the holidays! Whew!
7. Loan was approved the beginning of January!
8. Land settlement occurred 4th of February. Just now working on build approval and details.
It was a ROUGH couple of months sorting this all out in time to get all the government grants, but against all odds, we managed to get Matt's citizenship, qualify for the grants, find a plot of land that wasn't tiny, create a suitable floorplan, and get approved for the loan. I couldn't have done ANY of this without my awesome support team: Shaun, Jasi, and Gayle! Not to mention TPC Constructions and their staff have gone above and beyond to help us sort this in such a short timeframe.
Christmas Time:
Before Christmas, we spent a few days hitting all the theme parks: Wet N Wild, Sea World, Movie World, and Paradise Country. We stayed at an Airbnb nearby and had four days of fun. Sea World and Wet N Wild were the best because it was HOT!
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| Movie World |
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| Paradise Country |
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| Paradise Country |
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| Wet N Wild |
Christmas was wonderful as we went and visited some friends we hadn't seen in ages! Sakura got to play Mary in a nativity re-enactment and was a bit too distracted playing with a doll. She also refused to let anyone touch or hold baby Jesus (played by a stuffed teddy bear). We spent the day eating lots of yummy food, including roast lamb, lots of salads, and more. I was grateful I was still eating gluten and dairy at the time. The majority of the time we spent enjoying the pool and Sakura had a blast! I just enjoyed spending time with a good friend and relaxing in a pool where my large belly wasn't weighing me down.
After Christmas, we had some enjoyable times at home before Matt went back to work. We set up the pool, our new hammock, and a swingset I got for Sakura's birthday.
Pool Parties:
On Australia Day we went to a fun public pool party, and Sakura enjoyed swimming and getting tossed in the water. I was bummed the indoor pool was closed, but luckily a friend held Azalea, so I could enjoy some swimming time too.
Another public pool party was a week ago, and this one was even better! They had an inflatable slide into the water, jumping castles, water hockey, lawn games, dancing contests, ice cream food trucks and more. It was mostly better though because they had a big outdoor pool covered that was deep enough for Sakura to swim in without me assisting her. So I held Azalea in a sling and could get in the water partially while monitoring Sakura. I will definitely revisit both these pools.
Last weekend we went to a different pool - Warringa pool in Springbrook National Park. It is supposedly a 5km round trip hike. I strapped Azalea to me and a large bag with our lunch, swimmers, and other necessities. Sakura happily trekked alongside me, and we joined a small group of friends (I only knew a couple) and their kids. It was a beautiful scenic trail with two gorgeous waterfalls. Purlingbrook falls is amazing, but you can't swim in that water because the local frogs are endangered. We continued on to Warringa pool with a fun little waterfall to jump off into the cold water below. After my girls had both been fully fed, I got some help to watch them so I could jump in. It was too cold for Sakura, but that didn't stop her from wading in the more shallow water above the waterfall. Sakura especially loved climbing the rocks which posed a bit of a challenge for me while holding Azalea. According to a companion's Strava records, it was a 9km trip. All things considered, Sakura did exceptionally well. Hayden, one of the group, was an awesome support and eventually convinced Sakura to let him carry her over some mud that was bothering her. Later she had a few more quiet tantrums, and he kept her energy going or carried her, so we didn't get too far behind the group. It was a wonderful way to spend the day, and I'm just sad Matt had to miss it. It was probably too long to do by myself with Sakura, but definitely doable in a group. I felt bad that we split into two groups because Sakura's little legs just can't go as fast as older kids.
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| Purlingbrook Falls |
I am so thankful to have wonderful friends that have varied interests, so I can get out and about! Australia is a wonderful and beautiful place to live in!
