UK Trip

Off we went to the UK for a bit of family time. Having had a quick exit from the house and making it to the aiport on time, we had a good flight home. Eva first experience on a plane went well with only a small amount of crying as we were landing.
The Grandparents Bridgeman picked us up and we spent a few days with them before heading up to Oxford for the Tait wedding.

We arrived at Finmere after a slightly traumatic trip in the car. Eva is not convinced about backward facing carseats. Adam was sat in the back with her for some of the journey which seemed to help.
Eva met her Grandpa Tait and and Nanny Ness, there were lots of cuddles and cooing. We had a couple of days before the wedding which was nice, we could relax a bit and enjoy being in the country.

The day of the wedding was gorgeous, a bit windy, but blue skies. Eva was dressed in a very cute little blue dress with pink flowers and pink netting underneath.

Aunty Debbie and Uncle Ben arrived so more introductions and cuddles were had with Eva.
Then, off we went to the registry office in Aylesbury to have the wedding. Nanny Ness looked lovely!

Vows were spoken and confetti was thrown and Eva slept, at least she wasn't crying.
We all went out for a lovely lunch and then went back to Finmere.

The next day we set off for Chichester. The journey was not good! Carseats were not a big hit in any way shape of form. It took us a few more hours than it should have to make the trip. Oh well!!!
We had a lovely few days with Yaya and Aunty Boogs, we even left Eva with Yaya while we went to Sainsburys. That was the first time I had left Eva ever. She coped admirably, sleeping I think.

We went to see Great Mama and I ate far too many chocolate biscuits. Eva had lovely cuddles with Great Mama who seemed to have the golden touch as far as getting her to sleep.

We went back to Beaconsfield via a quick visit to see The Nightingale family, and it realy was quick. The journey had again taken hours longer than expected and we got there late and then had to leave to miss the traffic. Eva was one knackered baby.
Back in Beaconsfield we chilled out for a few days, seeing Uncle James, Aunty Jess and an ill Finlay. Aunty Julia and the boys, Thomas and Lewis, came over for a visit and we went to see Jono, Katie and their tribe, Millie, Oliver and Finley. Julia, Jono and Katie were asked and they accepted to be Evas Dog Parents. (Instead of God parents).
Julia threatened to keep Eva which could have been tricky but was convinced otherwise at the last minute.

A busy few weeks was had but much enjoyed by all.
Eva settled into a good night time routine and so our evenings became more our own.

Life Continues with Bears, Baths, Slings and Passports

Apart from having put a slight dampener on the whole thing life continued and Eva was wonderful. We made adjustments to our plans so that her CH did not completely change our plans to ones of living on land permently.
Uncle James came out for a few days to get to know his niece and then the Bridgemans went home.

We spent time getting to know Eva, going to pediatrician appointments and seeing friends.
Learning how to use the sling.

We loved it.

Having first baths.

She did not love it.

And getting used to having a bear in the family.

The number of people who thought we had a real bear!

Oh, and trying desperately to sort out Eva's passport. Easier said than done, and only because I had to have the full, long version of my birth certificate which I have never seen or indeed had, ever!
Then, having ordered it from the UK it took more than 2 weeks to get here and then of course had to be sent off to Madrid to catch up with the rest of the paper work. This all took about a month to sort out and in the meantime Grandpa Tait was wanting to get married but not without his new grandaughter.
The passport arrived at 10.30 one day at the end of April and we were on a flight at 2pm.

The Bad Day

The 8th of March was Adams birthday, poor hubby, no presents from me as I had been a bit busy. The day got worse.
We had to go to see my midwife for the 10 day after birth check, so off we went together so that Adam could look after Eva during the appointment. While we were in the waiting room I got a phone call from Vall D'hebron Hospital. It took me by surprise that someone was phoning me from a hospital and so it took me a while to focus but basically they were saying that I had to take Eva to hospital the next day because one of the Heel Prick test results had come back "bad" and it needed further checking. The man said that the tests would take most of the day so to have the day completely clear. I checked we were talking about the same baby as I was unbelieving that something was wrong with mine. I asked if I should be worried and he said " well, nooo." not very convincingly. He did not however tell me what they suspected was wrong.
I went back into to tell Adam and it was all very surreal, something was wrong with Eva!

We went in to my see the midwife and then still shell shocked we went home. We then had to go and see Evas pedeatrician for the first time, we had made the apointment for the 9th but now we were going to be otherwise occupied. And, now it was snowing!
It had not really snowed in Barcelona for 25 years but today it started and did not stop.
We trudged off to the doctors through the snow. The appointment with the pediatrician went well, no problems but they could not shed any light on the next days happenings.
The snow had got worse and getting home was interesting, sliding all over the place on the icy bits wasn't fun with a baby on your front. Poor Adam, is birthday was not going well.

Then we heard that the hospital was shut as were a lot of things in Barcelona, they could not cope with the snow.

We had a night of worry, What could be the problem? Could it wait if we could not go to the hospital the next day?
There are three things they test for in the Heel Prick test
1 - Cystic Fybrosis
2- PKU
3- Congenital Hypothyroidism

Well, numer 1 did not bear thinking about, number 2 has an almost impossible diet for life as way to control it and number 3, you are taking medication for life.

On the 9th we phoned the hospital and were told not to come in or call back until after midday. We ignored this and phoned back a 8.55am, 5 minutes before the appointment. They were there and said to make our way there. Fine, but a bit tricky due to the snow.
Having arrived at about 10.30 we did not have to wait as nobody else was coming in to the hospital. They had all had their appointments cancelled, it was snowing and too cold.
Well, better for us, we did not really have to wait too long for any of the tests.
Into the doctors office we went and he started spouting off about the treatment for Eva. Hold on a minute, we still did not know what was wrong. He started to explain when another doctor came in who was apparently our actual doctor who had got in late. So he took over and much calmer and easier to understand he was too.

So, Eva had Congenital Hypothyroidism, CH, the third thing on the list and too be honest the least problematic.
Eva did have a barrage of tests, blood was taken from her head (least painful and easiest way to get apparently), and a gammagram, like an xray but not as powerful, which they had to do twice cause they got it wrong the first time.
For the gammagram Eva had to be held down by three people while a metal plate was lowered to about a cm above her face and then an image was taken (about 3 minutes each time, a long time for a 10 day old). This was to decide if she had a thyroid and if so if it was in the right place etc. She did and it was. Thank god!
Having ascertained that Eva did indeed have a thyroid it was a question of deciding whether it worked or not. Was the first test dodgy? So, they sent off the blood for testing and it came back, (that same morning), as still being a problem. That being the case we were then in to treatments.

With Hypothyroidism what the doctors need to do is replace the hormone Thyroxin which is what your thyroid would normally produce. In a baby's case that may start at only 7 drops of a liquid, they are not big enough for whole tablets. The medication is very precise so it has to be in drop form at this young age.
If CH is caught and treated early then there should be no further problems other than taking the Thyroxin. If, however it is not caught it can lead to severe developmental problems in the child concerned, with the fabulous name of "cretenism".
Unfortunately the symptoms of CH do not show themselves until a child is about 3 years old, and by then it is too late to treat. It has to be caught early and treated. Thank god for the Heel Prick Test.
CH should not be confused with hypothyroidism in adults. They need the same treatment but the symptoms are tiredness and a puffy face, to give two. But there is no developmental issues, that is only relevant to babies.

So, we left the hospital with a child with CH and a thermo bag with the medicine and an ice pack. The drops that Eva had to take needed to be refridgerated. Fridge? Boat? Opps?
Thankfully we were in the flat with a fridge.

The other thing that we had to do as far as the condition was concerned was bring Eva to regular check ups. Check ups? Cruising on boat? Opps?

But, of course Eva came first, no question, just a bit of a rethink needed.

Now this condition was a 1 in 4000 chance in Spain or the UK, that is only 10 kids per annum in Spain suffer from this. Wow!
However, only 10% of those children have a thyroid, well that is 1. So we were doing well.
There a a few types of CH, the inherited kind which will never go away and the transient kind which will disappear. Obviously you have to have a thyroid to even have a chance at the transient version. Only 10% of those 1 in 10 have a chance of having the transient version and after 4 months it would appear that we may be one of the lucky ones. Eva's drops have been decreasing instead of increasing with her weight gain as they should be, which indicates that her thyroid is beginning to work. Her doctor thinks that her thyroid was just not fully formed when she was born. This is all yet to be confirmed and Eva is still on the drops so back to the story.

We left the hospital feeling like the bottom had just fallen out of our world, or at least I did. I felt guilty, that it was my fault and that on top of having a daughter with a condition I had also screwed up our cruising plans, how were we going to be able to go and deal with this?
Fortunately time helps you get used to things and plans can be altered.
We had had a shock and suddenly had not such a perfect daughter, but do you know what, she became even more special because of it. We spent the first little bit being a bit obsessed, is that a symptom of CH? or is the other a symptom of CH? but you reach a point where you can not keep asking questions like that, you have to live and Eva was wonderful. More importantly, she wasn't asicky baby which would have made the drop taking a whole lot more complicated.
Going to the hospital every few weeks also brought home to us how lucky we were that CH was all we were having to deal with. Some of those children were going through truly awful things.
It also made me really aware of what Tracey is going through with Lorcan and mostly on her own. She is one strong lady and he one brave little man!

So, the day of the 9th ended, we knew what was wrong (thank god we did not have to wait) and now we just had to get used to it.

It was great having my parents in Barcelona, their support was invaluable, and very appreciated. Of course Mummy knew ahead of time that Eva's CH would be the transient type. I wish I had her insight, or hopefullness.

Funny, no photos today, not really the day for it.

The Next Bit

We had a few visitors while we were in hospital which was lovely. I was fed and given medication and the nursing staff looked after Eva, as in they came and took her off to be weighed and washed and changed and so on. They also took care of all the medical stuff that had to be done like the Heel Prick Test.

My mum and dad had arrived on Saturday and came to see us in the hospital which was lovely. On Sunday afternoon we were able to go home. It was a bit weird leaving the hospital. I didn't want anything bad, like smoke from cigerettes or exhaust to get anywhere near Eva. I was all protective of my little one.

We got a taxi home and it was nice to be there. I was really sore and not really able to do much, even sitting down was painful.

On Sunday Adam's mum and nan arrived and came to see us along with my partents. It was lovely to see the grandparents and great grandparents enjoying our little girl. They were all so pleased, as were we I have to say.
Then followed days of being together, spending time with grandparents, sleeping, eatting and more sleeping.

Eva was a perfect baby, she slept a lot, ate well and was happy being handed round to family. I called her my little wood slice (she curled up like a wood louse and her aunty Debbie used to call them wood slices, cute!)

The End

The midwife said that the baby was really pissed off, as you would be having just gone through what she had. I obviously was not in a position to help and so the new daddy in the family went round and crooned " Wriggles". Within seconds she was calm and happy to be weighed. They did all the things they had to do, with Adam close at hand. And me? They were stitching. Oh goody!
Fortunately I could not feel anything, thank god for the epidural, again.
When I was told I would probably be incontinent for the rest of my life I was well chuffed.
This has not come to pass and thankgoodness all is fine.
When all the necessary things had been done they gave Eva to me for the first time. And ahhhh!
A little bit purple and messy, but, ahhhh!.

We cuddled and cooed and she slept.

After about an hour we were moved into the room next door, still in the delivery suite as the maternity ward was full. There, we stayed all night. Adam went to sleep on the boat at about 2am, Eva continued to sleep and I wanted a drink but was not allowed due to the epidural.
By morning I was really thirsty and I mean really thirsty. I had not been allowed a drink of anything since 6pm the day before and still had to wait. At about 10am they let me sip a small glass of water and slowly, slowly I was allowed more. Thank goodness.

Eva, still asleep was taken away at about 11am, just as Adam arrived. She was cleaned up and weighed and all those sorts of things for about an hour, and then when she was done we all moved down to the maternity ward.

Now she was awake and ready to eat. She latched on really quickly, a nurse showed me how to open her mouth wide and that was it. We are away! No problems, no pain just lots of eatting.

The Middle

With the pain gone I was able to relax while the machine continued to tell us when the contractions were and how strong they were, about double what they had been.
I chilled out with Adam and the midwife, chatting about this and that for a couple of hours.
The midwife, a lovely lady, asked us what we were going to call the baby.
What a question! We still were not sure, Lilly Eva was on the cards but we both really liked Eva as a first name and I wanted Nancy to be in the name because of my Grandmother, Annie (nickname Nancy(no idea why!)) Bridgeman, and Lilly Nancy was no good because both names ending in "y" sounded odd to me. So we settled on Eva Nancy and although we were not totally convinced at first, within minutes of Eva being born I loved it.
At about 11.50 the doctors came in to check that all was well. They were happy with everything and so went out into the corridor to chat and wait. Then at midnight the midwife called them in urgently. The baby was distressed. In went the forceps and they flipped the baby round as she was facing the wrong way, then is was "Push, Push, Push" and out she came. By 12.10am on the 26th Eva Nancy was on the weighing scales, and screaming!

The Beginning

On the 24th of February we went into the hospital at around 11pm because we thought my waters had broken. Apparently not, but it was worth the trip just so that we knew where we were going and what we needed to do when the time came.
During my antenatal classes it was strongly advised that once our contractions started we had to stay at home as long as possible, if we went to the hospital too early they would just send us home again.
The instructions for when to go in were as follows: wait until your contractions are 5 minutes apart and that they stay like this for 2 hours. Then have a shower to see if they will go away. After the 2 hours and a shower if they continue then that is the time to go to the hospital.
I got my first contraction at about 4am on the 25th, and they contiued every 25 minutes until about 11am, when they went down to every 1 1/2 hours. Then, at 3pm they started again and this time it felt like they meant it.
The contractions were now coming every 10 minutes, then every 8 minutes etc, but the pain was not bad, just something I had to concentrate on for about 60 seconds and then it went again.
At around 4pm the contractions got to 6 minutes and Adam was getting anxious to go to the hospital. I was fairly relaxed, and said we should wait for the 2 hours of 5 minutes.
At around 5pm I asked Adam to make me some pancakes and decided to have a shower. As I was about to shower my contractions went to 4 minutes one time and then when I was in the shower went straight to 3 minutes and stayed there. When I mentioned this to Adam after my shower he took control and off we went to the hospital. No pancakes!
We went down stairs and off to find a taxi, living in a busy city has its benifits, as in there are almost always taxis. Our problem was that we had to walk from the pedestrian area where our flat is to the main road. Around this time my contractions started to get quite painful, to the point that I had to stop and bend over with each one, every 3 minutes.
Having found a cab and taken it to the hospital we followed the same proceedure as the night before. The staff in the delivery area couldn't believe I was back already as the night before they had indicated it would probably be days yet. But there we were.
They did an examination and because I had not dilated very much they wanted to send me home again.
I would like to have seen them try. By this point my contractions were getting very painful. They wired me up to the baby heart beat machine and the contraction machine and then they could see how much pain each contraction was causing.
A while after they said that I could stay. Oh, why thank you.
Well, the pain got worse and worse, I wanted to cut my legs off. Because Eva was positioned low and had basically been ready to come out for a few weeks the pain was in my hips and thighs.
Adam said during each contraction my eyes were rolling into the back of my head, and even the staff were coming in and looking at the contraction machine and saying "poor thing".
At 9.30pm they said I could finally have an epidural. Thank God!

Epidurals are amazing and anyone who wants to go through child birth with out one is mad. Why suffer the pain? (of course it depends on the pain, and mine was bad). However, putting the epidural in is another matter completely.
I had to sit on the delivery table, slumped over showing my back to the anethetisit. I had a midwife holding my shoulders down and my hands lying on my knees palms up. I was told to relax and not move. Great! Remember I said I was having contractions every 3 minutes and during them my eyes were rolling and I wanted to cut my legs off, and now I had to tell them when I was having a contraction so they could stop and wait and I had to keep completely still, or they would have to stop and start again, fantastic!. The whole proceedure takes 15 minutes if they get it right first time. Wow!
I managed it but, oh my! It was really hard. They kept telling me to relax, yeah right!
But, then it was in and all sensation from my belly down had gone and with it the pain. Wonderful!