From where I should be.

I’m home!

But before I could shower and curl up with my baby bear, I had a buffet of breast milk to sort and put in the freezer. 

I’ll definitely dedicate a future entry to pumping, breast pumps and storage of milk; especially while travelling. How does that sound?

So after stripping my makeup off and showering the remnants of the flight off me, I snuck into bed with my boys.

Ahhhhh. Finally. 5 days craving for this very moment. I hugged my son gently, not wanting to wake him. But half hoping he would.

One of my breast pump’s batteries didn’t survive the mid-flight pump (I swear I charged it!), so I had one side in need of a good emptying and hormonal wakeup. 

Why? Because considering the amount of hours passed since properly pumping, it wasn’t bursting like it usually would. I’m not surprised, after so many days of artificially stimulating breastmilk secretion with a pump.

Without getting stuck into this (because it also deserves a dedicated entry,) it goes to show the impact of our sensory impulses on the physiological basis of our breastfeeding journeys. No stimulation = no milk production. 

My little love tossed and turned. And ever so naturally, curled in towards me. Latching like a pro. Dream feeding. The tears just fell from my eyes. Finally. Right where I needed to be.

Ok. So let’s rewind a couple of entries ago. When I was pregnant. Back to that fancy list of antenatal appointments.

In general, this is what it might look like:

WHAT	WHEN
Confirmation & Viability Scan, Blood & Urine Tests	7-8 weeks
Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT)	Anytime from 10 weeks
Nuchal Translucency Scan & Blood Test	11-14 weeks
Morphology/Fetal Anomaly Scan & Cervical Assessment	18-22 weeks
Fetal Heart Echocardiography	22-24 weeks
Growth/Doppler Scan, Glucose Tolerance Test, Full Blood Count & Whooping Cough Vaccine (Anti-D injection if Rh negative)	28 weeks
Check Up	30 weeks
Check Up	32 weeks
Vaginal Swap for Group B Strep & Assessment of baby’s position and engagement (Anti-D injection if Rh negative	34-36 weeks
Check up	37-39 weeks
Check up	40-41 weeks

At every appointment there may also be a routine check for your weight and blood pressure, measurement of your tummy to see baby’s growth, as well as checking baby’s heartbeat and movement. I had to give a pee sample at every single one of mine!

Overwhelming much? I know. Wait till you need to start sorting out your birth preferences. That’s when I got my reality check.

It wasn’t until I started researching to choose them, that I learned what I absolutely did not want to happen leading up to (and on) the big day.

This opened up a Pandora’s box of unnecessary interventions, obstetric abuse and medicalised birth findings. 

And a profound curiosity about the natural processes that take place in our incredible bodies during this time - when left alone and uninterrupted.

Talk soon x