TRANSLATION: The Hiller-Brace family from Södertälje have taken the train into town, to get a glimpse of the royals. They parked there pram in kungsträdgården with little Olivia only 10 days old. The royal Cortage was little Olivias first trip outside of home. "Daniel looks very handsome, and Victoria is so beautiful" says Daddy Daniel Brace. The family has put an Expressen front page on Olivias pram, "it is our way of honouring the bride and groom" says Daniel Brace.

Hey guys!

I'm really sorry I haven't blogged for a while but as you can imagine I've been kinda busy. And either way I've been keeping you updated on facebook. Speaking of which, thank you so much for all the lovely comments and messages!

But just for the record and for those who might not have facebook here's a recap:

9th of June 2010

5.30 - Sofie wakes up...her water has broken!


8.00 - Sofie starts having contractions.

9.00 - Sofie goes for a walk with her friend Anna.

12.00 - Sofies mum picks us up and takes us to the hospital.

12.30 - CTG-test!


After the CTG-test the nurse sent us for another walk. At this point Sofie was quite uncomfortable but still handling her contractions brilliantly. When we got back to the delivery ward they did another CTG-test and then they exmanined Sofie. She was 4 centimeters open so we were sent to the delivery room.

15.30 - Sofie tries the laughing gas for the first time.


The hours that followed Sofie kept up the good work. God knows how she did it but she managed her contractions beautifully and she was absolutely amazing. Apart from the laughing gas she didn't have any other pain relief!!!

19.30 - The pushing begins!

19.48 - OLIVIA IS BORN!!!


She weighed 7 pounds and 15 oz and she was 51 centimetres long.

And here are the amazing mid-wives, Jenny & Ewa, at Södertälje Hospital that helped us through it all.


And here's the first picture of our little family.


Words can't explain how incredible it feels to be a dad!

Earlier today me and a work colleague were chatting about ways to bring on labour and he mentioned something about eating pineapples. Sofie hates pineapples though so I had a little browse on the internet and I have now put together a little list, which I like to call...

WAYS TO GET OLIVIA OUT OF SOFIE!

- nipple stimulation
This theory is based on that oxytocin, a hormone that causes contractions, is released in the body when the breasts are stimulated (I like this one!)

- walking
When walking the pressure of your baby's head pressing down on the cervix from the inside stimulates the release of oxytocin, hopefully bringing on labour.

- eating curry
There are no scientific theories supporting this theory, but it is thought by some that spicy food stimulates the gut and bowel and encourages the uterus to "get going".

- sex
Number 1 - an orgasm may help to stimulate the uterus into action.
Number 2 - sex can trigger the release of oxytocin.
Number 3 - semen contains a high concentration of prostaglandins which may help to ripen, or soften, the neck of the womb and make it ready for it to dilate when labour starts.

Note: Once the water has broken sex is not recomended, as it can increase the risk of infection.

- acupuncture
According to traditional Chinese philosophy, acupunture stimulates the energy within the body to act on a specific organ function or system.

- castor oil
This is an old egyptian way of bringing on labour. According to this theory the oil acts as a powerful laxative, and when it stimulates the gut it also stimulates the uterus and "kick starts" labour.

So, there you go. If any of you guys have some tips you wanna share, please do! And as always...until next time, take care :)

This morning me & Sofie had our (hopefully) last appointment at Mama Mias. We have another appointment booked for next friday, but we are obviously hoping that Olivia will have come by then.