The Contingency Plan

No. One

What a weekend. Jammed with stories, I wish I could sit you down and verbally explore each one. That way I could be forgiven for jumping from one to another.

I had planned to write a blog earlier last week with a detailed update on how my pregnancy is progressing, but had a fortnightly appointment on Friday and thought it logical to just wait until after that.

The midwives had teased me for being too boring in my last appointment so as I sat confidently in ward nine, reading my book club book, I was entertained with thoughts of what the last six weeks would be like (hasn't time really flown!).

I really enjoy these hospital visits. The widwives are warm and knowledgeable and Wolfie is developing nicely. It has a strong heartbeat, is still head down (getting ready to come out), very active and larger than usual.

Towards the end of my consultation, my widwife Kathy asked if I'd received a call from the hospital regarding my last gestational diabetes test. I hadn't but could see where this was heading. They only call if the results are positive and my tests had come back so.

The news was overwhelming. I was exhausted from work, a lack of sleep and emotional arguments with Lucas and had to control myself to prevent tears.

Kathy reassured me this wouldn't have a negative affect on Wolfie and that my system should revert back to normality after pregnancy.

So I'm currently on a special diet to test the intensity of the condition and depending on the results may need to continue on a sugar controlled diet and move from the normal midwives clinic to a high risk clinic for the birth. Depending on Wolfie's growth, I may also need to have an earlier caesarian. The hospital would then monitor little Wolf to see how it copes with its reduced sugar intake - I'm currently giving it loads, which explains its larger than normal size.

Shaken but determined to stay rational, I waited outside for Lucas to pick me up in the car we'd just bought. He missed the appointment to make sure we could have the car as soon as possible and was so proud. The car is ideal for our needs and he scored it for a great price, but was disappointed when I didn't share his enthusiasm, even after I'd updated him on my appointment. Again, it seemed like we were in parallel worlds trying unsuccessfully to reach.

That night after work, I picked Lucas and a friend up from the pub and after briefing hanging out, Lucas and I took a long drive up the coast to test out our new vehicle. The journey was long and dark and we both didn't feel like music so we spoke the whole way. I think the freedom and excitement of our first car in nearly three years calmed us, relieved some stress and helped to mend our earlier arguments.

One our way back home we took a detour to the city and stopped by Harry Cafe de Wheels for a classic hotdog to top the night off. The weather was in opposition to the recent heat so we sat in the car devouring our dogs. At the end of our meal, Lucas ran to the bin and bumped into a group of our friends, who were drunk and ecstatic about the car. They know how much we need and want one so we all sat in and and around it (we couldn't all fit) to share stories of our night. And as simple as it sounds, I think sharing that cheap meal and their excitement was just what I needed to provide some much needed hope, laughter and optimism.