“A 31-year-old woman has given birth to sextuplets at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxfordshire.

The four girls and two boys, ranging in weight from 1.3 to 2lb, were born 14 weeks early on 14 May.

The mother, from Oxfordshire, is said to be recovering well and all of the babies are in the hospital’s specialist Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.”

[Source: BBC News website - accessed 21 May 2010.]

Congratulations to the family!  I wish them all well! 

You can read more of this article on the BBC News Website here.

I also have another amzing multiple birth story via my friend, Jennifer Miller of Twin Happy.  It’s the story of a family who had twins – one via IVF and the other naturally – and the family will never know which one is which!  Watch this video of the lucky family here.

“Many new fathers experience post-natal depression, yet most cases go undetected and untreated, experts warn.

One in 10 new fathers may have the baby blues, US researchers believe – based on their trawl of medical literature.

While this rate is lower than in new mothers, it is more than currently recognised, they told the Journal of the American Medical Association.”

[Source: BBC News Website accessed 19 May 2010]

You can read more of this article on the BBC News website here.

Did you have any complications in your twin pregnancy?

I was told from the outset that my twin pregnancy was “high risk”, but I never really gave it much thought.  Fortunately my twins were in separate sacks with their own placenta, which presented less risks than identical twins who share the same sack and/or placenta.

Thankfully, my pregnancy went very well (apart from common minor complaints such as heartburn, restless legs, back ache, pelvic ache and swollen hands and feet) until my waters broke at 34 weeks.

I was in bed and had just heaved my huge bump from left to right when I heard a loud pop, and a torrent of water was released onto the bed.  I was shocked at the amount of water.  I had no idea that there would be that much!  I was soaked, my jammies were soaked and the mattress was drenched!!

Hubby missed out on this surreal experience because he was working away from home at the time!  (In fact, he was working away through much of my pregnancy and during the first few months of the twins’ lives!)

I did not panic, but immediately went into auto-pilot.  I waddled and squelched my way to the bathroom.  As my waters were still trickling out, I skidded about the bathroom tiles like a hippo on ice!

After showering, I phoned the hospital and was advised to make my way there as soon as possible.  I then phoned my parents, and my mum made her way to my house, as soon as she heard my predicament, to drive me to the hospital.  Before she arrived to collect me, I phoned Hubby and told him to make his way back down to Glasgow (a two and a half hour journey!) ASAP.

When Mum and I arrived at the hospital I was strapped to a monitor, and advised that my doctor was on holiday!  (This was six weeks before my due date remember!)  The midwife told me that she would not be examining me.  I would have to wait for a doctor.  However, all the doctors were currently busy with emergencies.  (Apparently two ladies gave birth in the car park just before I arrived!!)  I was told that the doctor would give me medication to delay labour and to boost my babies’ lungs.

By the time Hubby arrived at the hospital a couple of hours later, I had started feeling contractions (though the midwife didn’t quite believe me!) and felt the need to empty my bowels (though several visits to the bathroom were fruitless!)

Mum went home (reluctantly!) to bed not long after Hubby arrived, and I was given a bed in the ward and a couple of pain killers.  As soon as I laid down on the bed though, my contractions came thick and fast.  Pretty soon, it got so bad that I literally barked at Hubby to go fetch the midwife.

This time the midwife conceded that I was indeed contracting, and assured me that a doctor would come examine me soon.

I was extremely relieved when two doctors eventually arrived to examine me.  However, this relief was short-lived, as the doctors discovered a major complication when examining me internally.  It transpires that a cord was presenting, which could result in a loss of oxygen to Baby 1, and was potentially life-threatening to all three of us.

I was immediately flicked over like a pancake (pretty difficult to do, considering my size!), and I was wheeled off to theatre with my contorted face in a pillow and my backside up in the air!  (How very dignified!  Not!!)  The midwife had her hand pressed firmly between my legs to stop the cord from coming out!  (I was too terrified to be embarrassed by all this!)

When we reached the operating theatre, I could tell that there was about a squillion people in the room.  A doctor told me that I was about to have an emergency caesarean.  I was told that they would attempt a spinal block, but if it didn’t work they would have to knock me out!  This filled me with absolute horror!

“No!  I want to be awake to see my babies!  I don’t want to be put to sleep!”

“We’ll do our best, but our main priority is to get your babies out quickly.”

Fortunately, they managed to get the spinal block in, but I very quickly developed a very painful headache, and felt very queasy.  I actually threw up a couple of times – once before the babies were born, and once in between the birth of the girls!

I only got a brief look at my beautiful girls, before they were whisked off to intensive care, where they only stayed for twenty-four hours, before being moved to the Special Care Baby Unit, where they stayed for just over two weeks.

All in all, we were in hospital for three weeks, and the girls have thrived since getting home five and a half years ago. 

But how about you? Did you suffer any complications during your pregnancy or labour?

Please leave a comment and/or link up on the blog hop below:

Here’s an approximation of how much water I’ve used today:

• Eight visits to the toilet (8 flushes and 8 handwashes)
• 5-10 minutes in the shower
• Face washed in basin twice
• Teeth brushed and rinsed twice
• Six cups of tea / coffee (kettle half-filled each time)
• Three visits to office water cooler
• Four times washing up in kitchen sink
• Two loads of laundry in washing machine
• Salad leaves rinsed in water
• Potatoes boiled in water
• Windscreen wash used in car
• Rabbits water bottle refilled
• Damp cloth to wipe down table and kitchen surfaces
• House plants watered

These are activities that most of us in the developed world take for granted. 

Unfortunately, a billion people in the world lack access to clean, safe drinking water (Charity: Water).  Every15 seconds a child dies somewhere in the world due to unsafe water.  In fact, unsafe drinking water kills more people per year than AIDS & cancer combined (Hydraid).

You can find out more at: www.worldwaterday.org/

Also, check out hydraid.org, charitywater.org, and tapproject.org
And watch: bit.ly/hydraidvid

Parents of children deemed unfit are to be sent warning letters from schools.

Secondary pupils will be forced to take an annual fitness test.

If they fail, their parents will be told they are at risk of heart disease, brittle bones and obesity. The scheme was outlined yesterday by the Government’s chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson. 

He warned that lack of exercise is placing a greater burden on the economy than smoking – costing £8.3billion a year compared with £5.2billion. But the initiative was criticised by campaigners as yet another example of Labour’s ‘nanny state’ interference in family life.

Read more on the Daily Mail website.

The School Food Trust report suggests food served by childminders and nurseries is too high in fat, sugar and salt, and lacks essential nutrients.

Read more on the BBC News website here.

If you live in the Central Scotland area, why not join me?  You can register online here, but hurry, places are limited!  Last year, I was gutted because the event was closed to entrants by the time I found out about it!

My class was absolutely mobbed on Thursday night!  It was queued out the door when I arrived sharply at 7pm for my weigh-in.  I asked a few of my fellow dieters in the queue, whether this was especially busy or not.  It was certainly the busiest I’ve seen it out of my three visits.  Everyone agreed that it was an exceptionally busy night. 

The fact that it is now less than 100 days to Christmas is no coincidence.  This is the time of year when many women start making preparations for Christmas, and part of those preparations include planning what to wear at the round of Christmas parties and celebrations.  Many women, myself included, would love to fit into an outfit in a smaller dress size for the party season.  Some women might simply want to ensure that they fit comfortably into their favourite LBD. If you start your diet and exercise regime just now, there should be plenty of time to achieve that.

One of my goals, when joining my slimming class, was to lose a stone (14lbs) by the Christmas party season.  Just two weeks into the diet and I’m half way there already!  I’m now confident that I’ll surpass my original goal, and I am thrilled at the prospect.

I attend my local Slimming World class, and I’m following their new Extra Easy diet.  To find out more visit the Slimming World website here.

I gingerly mounted the scales last night and held my breath…

“You’ve lost four and a half pounds.  Well done!”

I’m so pleased.  It’s a good start on my diet and I am still full of enthusiasm for the weeks and months ahead.

“I will reach my target weight!”

One real advantage of attending a slimming class, rather than just doing a diet on your own, is that you really do feel part of a team.  All the other slimmers in the class are going through similar ups and downs in their quest to lose weight.  Their stories and achievements are awe-inspiring.  It really gave me a boost to hear how much weight some of the ladies had already lost (some in a short space of time!).

When I told Hubby I was joining a slimming club, his response was:
“You just need to cut down a bit and exercise more!”

Easier said than done. In truth, I need to attend a slimming class, not only to advise me on what to eat (and what not to eat!), but also as an incentive to actually just carry on with the diet.  If I were simply “cutting down”, I would be more easily swayed by tasty treats, than I am following a particular diet, paying my class fees, and then being weighed every week.

The diet has been pretty easy to follow.  However, I was alarmed to see some foods that I had been eating previously, and considered to be healthy, had quite a high syn value (i.e. should not be eaten liberally!)

• Wholemeal pitta bread – 7.5 syns
• Tortilla wraps – 7 syns
• Malt loaf – 3 syns
• Fruit & Fibre cereal – 5 syns
• Porridge Oats – 5 syns
• Grape juice – 3.5 syns

The diet advises one to eat betwee five and 15 syns per day.  I can now see why I’ve been piling on the pounds, even when I thought I had an “okay”diet!

I think, at first,  Hubby was worried that my diet would affect him negatively, and that he would be served up salads and bland food every night.  I think he thought it would put an end to us eating out or enjoying a takeaway meal.

Well, his fears have been unfounded, as we still ate out with our daughters at the weekend.  I had a delicious grilled salmon and pine nut salad (just 8.5 syns, due to the dressing and the nuts).  I also shared a delicious Lamb Rogan Josh takeaway with Hubby (just 7.5 syns!).   He had a Garlic Nan with his meal, while I had boiled rice and salad.

Therefore, as you can see, I’ve not been depriving myself too much at all!  I’ve actually been eating quite substantially.

So it will be with great trepidation that I return to the slimming class tonight for the Moment of Truth - my weigh-in.  I do feel like I’ve lost a little weight, so I hope the scales reflect that! *fingers crossed*  *biscuit tin locked*