cutie pie

12 weeks today

My little munchkin is 12 weeks today, he is growing well, smiles a lot but was very grumpy yesterday. Perhaps because he had an upset tummy.
He also has gained over 300grams in the last week yeah!!! We are trying to put on weight on him as he is long and lean! (not like mummy who is frumpy and not a Clovelly yummy mummy.
Hopefully by mid-November I will shed the unwanted kilos by the time we hit Buenos Aires and Patagonia.
I am feeing better overall. My milk supply is up, I am more confident being a mum, I even went into uni to do some work on papers that I need to finish. I just have to work harder on the papers, finish them, do more walks a week (more exercise) and then i will be very happy with myself.
Today i will be out to the mothers group and maybe lunch at the beach with a friend and her bub.
Jas is going out for drinks after work so I will bath him and put him to bed tonight on my own, wish me luck, i need it. though he has been good as of late in the moses in the cot with the music/sea toy that plays music and has moving seahorses with bubbles and lights! He watches it and nods off to sleep with little crying.
He is asleep now so i better go and do my things before he awakes, i.e. have a shower.

grumpy bum joaquin

Today little one has been grumpy and miserable. I think it was his upset tummy and he funally did a large dirty nappy. He only is doing one every 4-5 days but they are big blow-outs and mustard in colour and normal for breastfed babies.
I tried too get him to cat-nap but to n o avail so after chatting with Jas with google-chat and him doing research 9from the web and his collegues) such as
How can i get my baby to nap
and
naps the basics
In the end I wrapped him, fed him, closed the blinds of the room and put him in his moses and cot and he slept for 2 hours and I was able to sleep 2 hours too and felt great but had very realist dreams.
So hopefully that will work in the future.
Just waiting now for Jason to get home from work so he can look after him while I cook dinner and clean the house a little bit. I guess I am a typical "mummy at home", worrying about housework and a clean home. But I am getting to do other things which keep my brain busy and I won't let my Phd in Paleontology go to waste, no siree!!! I will also finish my papers as it is a great oportunity now for them!

cat naps for the little man

I am sitting here on red lounge with Joaquin who is asleep in my arms.
I actually got him to have 2 cat-naps today one was for 20min the other 35 min. He usually does 20 min sleep cycles. So today he ate, played and slept. Not much crying just a bit before falling asleep on the bouncer.
So with him asleep on me now that is his third nap of the day.
I am getting to sleep small naps as suggested by Jason. We tried it out on the weekend at Scone and it works well. He does not like to sleep throughout the day but with small 20 min cat naps it is better than nothing and he is not as grizzly!

So Today with a little bit if order in my day I was able to have a shower at 7am when he was still sleeping, make the bed, do a load of washing and hang it outside, , make and have lunch, steralize bottles, and also write and send an important e-mail in spanish.
All this with limited crying!!!
It is 5pm i still have to do another load, feed him, give him a bath, make dinner, have dinner, organize my day for tomorrow.
Tomorrow I want to go for a walk and finish off both my papers. One I have to fix some changes and the other finish of.

The Family

Joaquin does not want to sleep

Just got Joaquin to sleep.
It is hard work, he is very alert and awake but with signs of tirdness:
unsettled behaviour, moving arms and legs, hands clenched tight, and small cries and shrieks.
So here is what i did to get my little active 10 week old to sleep during the day.
1) made sure he was fed
2)let him play a bit on mat
3)changed wet nappy
4)wrapped him (here is where complaints started)
5) Walked the living room floor up and down
6) sang to him an argentinian lullaby "Duermame me ninio)
7) he began to cry and cry and struggle and get upset
8) I patted his bum
9) then after 5 min of cries began to say shhhhh
10) This stopped his crying and he began to look at me in the eyes for 4 min with no blinking then began to blink and close eyes and finally sleep.
So then i sat down on couch with him he slept for 15 min.
Now he is awake again!!!!

breast is best

I just got up to have breakfast ( a good hearty bowl of oats/porridge) and say goodbye to Jas who is up early and is now going to work early so he can come home early and help out with Joaquin. He does not have time to have breakfast so he grabs some wheatbix and a bowl with a spoon and eats at work. In a way it makes me feel bad.

I will go back to bed and probably get up to feed the little on in about 30 min. I am a bit tired but thankfully after Joaquin's transition to the cot in our room he is still sleeping well throughout the night. Last night he slept from 9pm to 4am. I had to pump at 9.30 and 1.00am but he is asleep throughout and I would rather him sleep as he does not sleep through the day.
He is still in the baby moses but we place the moses in the cot, so when he has totally grown out of the moses he will automatically adjust well in the cot. Jas measured him last night and said he is at least or more than 62cm long, which is quite long for a little 10 week baby.
I wonder why he is so long. Maybe that is why it has taken me a while to get breastfeeding right as he needs to so much for his long size.

I am happy that I am breastfeeding and finally after all my problems and adjustments I am getting a hang of it (cross my fingers). My problems were flat nipple, using a nipple shield, low milk supply?, thrush, urinary tract infection, and a big fat case of hives or allergic reaction to all the medication I was taking. Medication included fenugreek, motilium, (doperidone), Weleda mothers milk tea, antibiotics, acidopholous tablets. I am so happy to be off medication as the truth is that there is no real scientific studies about motilium and its effect on children that are breastfed. I do not want to take any more drugs. I tried to do something natural and ended up having to take heaps of drugs to make this "natural" thing work. The funny thing is now after 2 weeks of cutting out the drugs my milk supply has established well and I have finally cut out the extra formula top ups we were giving Joaquin.
I think the helpful part for me is expressing at night while he sleeps, thus increasing my supply and spending a lot of time with him during the day letting him feed if he wants or suck if he wants.
I do think breastfeeding is best but if not possible then mother's should not worry and try other alternatives such as expressing milk or formula.
Here is a list of reasons why breastfeeding is beneficial to mother and baby.

Ok I am going back to bed to wait for the little munchkin to wake up and want a feed!

our day

I am so glad it is friday night and Jason does not have to work tomorrow and hang out with Joaquin and I all day and all weekend.
It has a been a full on day, I have been up since 6.30 am and had breakfast with Jason. He then left for work and I pottered around the house. I also fed Joaquin at 7am till 8am and put him back to sleep in his moses bed and I can't believe it that he stays there and falls asleep by himself. He is such a good little boy.
I was able to have a long hot shower which is the first time since I have been pregnant that I have been able to do that at home alone (well I was not alone Joaquin was asleep). I also tided up a bit, rang my brother, sterilized some bottles, and wrote in this blog. At 9.30am he woke up and I fed him and got him ready and walked down to the beach to meet a friend Gaby and her 6 week old baby and we walked to the Palace hotel where we have the mother's group. I don't know really anyone's names but i recognize them all. There are many mothers and many babies of all different ages. Our group has babies between 10 and 12 weeks. I also met a chilian lady called Gimena and a mexican lady called Clara. Both have sons Gimena's son is 3 months and named Lucas, and Clara's sone is 4 months and named Daniel. That is great as we can start a spanish speaking mother's group.
I had a pot of tea and just sat around with the mothers talking and our babies sleeping or eating. Joaquin slept a bit, he ate, he looked around and is quite relaxed around the other babies and people, I think he loves the noice and all the activity.
After that Gaby and I walked to Randwick, we had lunch at Subways and then went to the Randwick Early childhood Community center and breastfed. Joaquin was ok he was hungry all the time. We met a Japanese lady there with a 7 month baby who was trying to find a mothers group to attend, by coiencidence her husband is from Argentina (he was born in Australia but his parents are Argentinian from Bariloche). I told her about the mother's group at the Palace in Randwick and told her to come along or if she ever wants to go for a walk. Her little boy was is cute. She sent me an sms saying "thanks for my kindness today". That is nice.
Well after that we went to Coles and Joaquin was crying and then fell asleep in the baby bjorn. He then woke up while we were getting ready to leave Coles and he cried and cried, loud cries and cried all the way home, all the way up the hill. I could not or did not want to try to put the pram in the car and just tried to get it in the building and him home. I placed him on the mat then went back upstairs to get the pram. He was still crying until I picked him u p and fed him. Then he was better, but afterwards had some reflux so I think he may have been upset by something I ate. maybe the raw onion in the subway sandwich.

At 6.30pm Jas finally came home and played with him and then bathed him. I fed him more and he seemed happier but had reflux. The Jason gave him an ebm top up and he was better. Even though he cried when Jason coughed and got so upset he stopped feeding. After his bottle of ebm Jason wrapped him and put him in his moses and started to read some nursery rhymes to him. Joaquin knows it is time for bed and starts to get upset and cry when Jason begins to wrap him. However he only cried a bit and fell asleep 5 minutes later. He must have been tired.
While this was happening I made dinner, left over chicken curry from yesterday and a greek salad with feta, olives, tomato, avacado, baby spinach leaves. It was great to be able to sit and enjoy a yummy meal.
Now as Joaquin sleeps Jas is using his laptop and I am writing about my day. I am so tired now and will go to bed very soon.

Joaquin is 9 weeks old

Joaquin is asleep and I am trying to set up this blog again. I am sure he will wake up by 11am and I will feed him again.
He has been a great little boy and yesterday I was able to do some work on a paper with a coleague from the University.
Jason took Joaquin for a walk and came back 1 and a half an hour later with some Hungarian cakes from the Hungarian coffee shop on Clovelly road and we had tea.
Today is a cloudy day and I would like to go for a walk to the beach with my brazilan friend who also has a little baby girl Isa who is 5 weeks old. But as it is cloudy I do not know if she will want to come. I should walk every day as it is good for both of us.
Jason is at work now and I chat to him every now and then, we are always connected. I think he likes to be a dad and had fun with him taking him in the pram to Clovelly beach. He told me that Joaquin smiled at him when Jas put him in the pram and was watching all around him as Jas took him for a walk. Joaquin has large eyes and he has always been observant since birth.

This post by Naturally Carolicious sums up what it is like having a two month old to a T

2 month vaccinations

I took Joaquin with the baby bjorn to the Doctors today. It was drizzling with rain outside so I walked as quickly as i could around the corner and he fell asleep in the bjorn.

Once I got there of course with me stopping and not moving he woke up. He looked around the doctors surgery, there were other babies there I think for vaccinations too. Then after about 10 min he got restless, I rocked him, he was more restless and cranky and wingy and so I breastfed him and he calmed down, ate and fell asleep. By the time it was our turn (over 30 min late) he was asleep and I took him upstairs and then he woke up.

The doctor did a double take on him and said " He is a big baby, I thought he may have been here for the 4 month vaccination". I just said well he is lean really but very long. He is also strong and holds his head up and very alert all the time.

The doctor gave him 2 injections in the leg and he cried a bit. I was breastfeeding during this time and so he kept on feeding after the intitial shock of the pain and his cry. He also had a oral vaccination for gastro and he seemed to like that and gulped it down.

The immunizations that he had now at 2 months are:

• Hepatitis B (hepB)
• Diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (acellular pertussis) (DTPa)
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• Polio (inactivated poliomyelitis IPV)
• Pneumococcal conjugate (7vPCV)
• Rotavirus (the oral one that is a new vaccination given now since May 2007 for free).

• This info is from the Immunization site
• Hepatitis B vaccine should be given to all infants as soon as possible after birth. The greatest benefit is if the vaccine is given within 24 hours, and it must be given within 7 days.
• A total of three doses of hepB are required following the birth dose, at either 2 months, 4 months and 6 months or at 2 months, 4 months and 12 months.
• A total of 4 doses of Hib vaccine should be given (2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12 months) if using PRP-T Hib containing vaccines.
• Here is another link with Facts on Immunization for Australian children
  

His next injections are at 4 months of age. And then at 6 months, but we will be in Argentina then so he will get his 6 months when we are back in Early February 2008. The vaccinations are free under Medicare and I think that if your child gets all the vaccinations the parents get some money back from the Australian government.

This is Joaquin's stats:
Weight: 5.3kg (50th percentile) He is still a lean machine and this is with clothes on and without a poo.
Height: 61cm (90th percentile) I think he may even be more than 61cm as he was 59cm at 6 weeks of age.
Head circumference: ? don't know but over 40cm (75th percentile). He was 39cm at 6 weeks of age.

After the Doctor's visit I went to the chemist and bought infants panadol just in case he had a fever in reaction to the injections (this is what the doctor recommended) and I went to the local corner deli and bought an eggplant, celery, olive sourdough bread, milk and a croissant.
I guess the croissant was my treat as the doctor had told me now he will start to feed more and require more breastmilk and so i must make sure i was eating well. I mean a croissant is not a healthy option but I new that once i got home I would have to feed him and comfort him after his vaccinations and had no time to make a quick bite to eat.

So at home i heated the croissant and had it with jam and made a cup of milky tea and just breast fed him all afternoon. he was very tired and hungry and upset i think after the injections.
He cried all afternoon and then fell asleep in my arms as I paced the room and had "The Beautiful girls" on the myth tv.
Jason came home at 6 and he bathed him. I fed him some more and then Jas gave him an ebm (expressed breast milk top up of 50mls) and I started to make dinner (stuffed eggplants).
Jas put him to bed and miracously he slept from 7.30pm to 5.30am and then had a feed. I checked him all night to see if he had a fever or not but he was fine.

increasing milk supply

Since Joaquin was born i have been worried amount my milk supply, so i have searched high and on the internet (also Jas has searched) and found a lot of information.

Tips for increasing milk supply:

How to know if you have enough milk:
http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/lowsupply.html

How to increase supply:
http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/supply.html

Substances that increase supply:
http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/galact.html

From an Australian Breastfeeding Councilor
Worrying about supply is one of the most common concerns that mothers have.
Often, babies can seem very hungry when they are tired, overstimulated or,
in fact, hungry. If you offer feeds to your baby whenever he is willing to
have one, and you allow him to feed for as long as he wants, then it is very
likely that you will make enough milk for him. Rest and relaxation are also
very important.
See
Australian Breastfeeding Association

This link is great for increasing supply:
HOW CAN I INCREASE MY MILK SUPPLY?

Milk supply issues:
kellymom

List of what is needed to increase supply (from internet)

drink lots of water/fluids (at least 64 ozs day)

oatmeal, oats, granola, granola/oat cereal bars, oatmeal cookise (2-4 servings/day)

lots of protein, Carnation instant breakfast, ovaltine

papaya, fish soup

Mothers milk tea, Yogi nursing mothers tea

More milk plus tincture or capsules (forget to jot down amt)

pump at least every 3hrs (2 is better), for at least 20 mins (3-5 mins beyond last drops)--and YES even @ night if kiddo sleeps thru the night--plus I understand prolactin levels are highest during the night

10-10-10 method (pump 10 mins, rest 10 mins, pump 10 mins)

cluster pump (ie in the evening)

RELAX (ha ha)

get more sleep, don't lie on stomach

rent hospital grade pump

use the Ameda Purely Yours or Medela Pump in style

replace pump parts (if older may consider rent hosp grade to see if motor is dying or buy new pump)

pressure of hands free bra

if breasts large get larger horns (vice versa if small)

put olive oil on nips to keep them freely moving in horns

adjust settings to see what is most effective for you

supplements--fenugreek (3-4/3xs/day) some kiddos are sensitive to this blessed thistle, brewers yeast, alfalfa, lecithin, cumin(!)--most of these didn't list specific amts

Domeperidone (inhousepharmacy.com)

Reglan (prescription--side effect--depression)

Avoid cold meds, sudafed, anything designed to dry you up( incl diuretics), parsley, sage, oregano, black beans(!)

Avoid birth control w/ estrogen

for some women, even progestin only bc (ie mini pill & depo) can decrease supply

Tips for pumping from the internet from a pumping mum

I drive to where I need to shop, then pump in the vehicle, & sometimes pump before going home again, I pump on the way to/from church when dh can drive or in the parking lot before/after if dh can't. I have pumped in every room of the house, even on the front porch. I have pumped during dinner, while kiddos take a bath, while putting kiddos to bed, while feeding dd, on the floor playing w/ kiddos, etc. And hey, if you have to just sit and "do nothing"--like surf the net, email friends, read, etc--hey I have a legal excuse for "doing nothing"-except nurturing my kiddo.

5 week home visit

A nurse came from Early ChildhoodCenter came for a home visit. It is for his 4 week visit but he is really 5 weeks old. She is pregnant and really happy.

It was cold, wet and miserable outside. She said I am doing well as a mum with a newborn as I was not in my pyjamas but dressed. The house was cleaned and Jason was home. I had visions of a strict nurse checking up on everything, making sure we were good parents and I ws a good mother. But not so...

She just talked to me casually and told me about mothers group at the childhood center and how they meet on friday morning. She also set up the scales to weigh him and filled in my blue book.

She did all the newborn tests and he passed with flying colours.

weight 4.2kg nude (has gained 400 grams since birth weight 3.82kgs)
height 57.5cm
head circumference 39cm

Jason's mum came over at 5pm to stay a few days to help out!

5 weeks old

Our little son is already 5 weeks old. I do not know where all this time has gone.

He is asleep now and we started some sort of routine to help us all keep our sanity. By 6pm I am breastfeeding and he is hungrily eating away at both boobs, then Jason gets the baby bath ready and places it in the living room.

We bath him and he is enjoys this, as he looks around wide eyed and does not snicker or cry and just enjoys the warm water on his little body.

We have noticed he is gaining more weight and his little legs are becoming robust. Today we weighed him at 4.2kg so he is gaing about 200 to 230grams a week which is quite good.

However for a time there we were panicking about his weight gain as he had lost more than 10% of weight coming out of hospital. He weighed 3.3 kg when we left hospital and he was born with 3.82 kg so now he has past his birth weight and growing steadily.

I love him to bits and love to kiss his little face, he always wrinkles his eyes when I kiss him and I feel he does not like it. But other times he looks at me and when I look at him he looks away. He is very observant and looks always is looking everywhere, on the ceiling, at the lights, at the television at my grandmothers Sara’s painting of Bondi, and the Indian cushions. He loves to look at the painting of Bondi when I breastfeed him, my grandmother would have been so pleased.

the doctors visit

I took him to the doctors, and for the first time ventured outside with him and only him. I put him in the Baby Bjorn and walked to Clovelly road to the Clovelly Medical Center. The Doctor weighed him and told me he had put on 700 or so grams since he was weighed last. She was happy with that and told me he was on the 50% percentile line for weight. So he is average weight. I showed her the pimples he has on his face and she said they are due to hormones as from my breastmilk he is absorbing my hormones. He looks like a pimply little boy. She checked his temperature with baby thermometer in his ears, and checked his tounge, he still has oral thrush so she made a new prescription so I could buy drops for his thrush. She checked his ears as I mentioned to her that sometimes he touches them and she said there was nothing wrong with them just hairy little ears. She also prescribed Motilium to me a drug used to increase breast milk originally recommened to me by the lactation consultant Anne Kohn last Saturday.

Took him to see el Abuelo Ruben at the War Vet Nursing home. My grandfathers face lit up when he saw us and I walked in the room where he was playing Bingo with the lady from Peru who looks after him and announced “Abuelo aca tenes a tu vis-nieto, ahora sos un vis abuelo, tuve un nenito”. He was over the moon and I did not expect much of a reaction from him. He was saying how happy he was, how beautiful Joaquin was, how special and he touched his little feet and his hands and held him while he was in his chair. My grandfather reached out fo Joaquin and told me “ I did not think I was ever going to experience happiness again”. This broke my heart. Jason took photos and a video. We stayed and watched my grandfather have dinner, as Maria fed him. He had pork and rice for dinner. My grandfather still thinks my grandmother Sara is alive and asked ‘Que dijo la abuela cuando lo vio, te dijo que le cortes el pelo”. Joaquin slept throughout the visit but I woke him up at 5pm so he could feed and then he was alert and looking at el abuelo and we took some good photos with them both. I took a photo with both their hands, different generations. It is unbelievable to think I have a son.

On the way home we stopped at a take-away shop and I ran in and got two chicken burgers called“hot mamma” as they are a fake Oporto burgers with chili sauce but they were delicious with two chicken fillets. We ate them in the car while Joaquin slept and that to us is the new definition of being new parents –Eat when and where you can--.

He was asleep when we got home and we let him sleep and then when he woke at 10.30pm I fed him, and gave him a top up of formula (60mls) and also pumped. I was able to pump 70mls and Jason was very happy. Then I woke up at 3.30am to feed him and then 7.30am (Friday morning).

To increase my milk supply I started taking tablets Motilium at 10pm and took one every 6 hours, then at 7am and 3.30pm (Friday 13^th) as suggested by lactation consultant. Lets see what happens, if my supply increases!

one month old

Joaquín our beautiful little son is over a month old. He is our little sun that shines brightly every day.

Today is Wednesday the 11^th of July and I can not believe that he is over a month old and growing well.

The truth is it has been tough being a new mother and I am sure I can vouch for Jason being a new father.

There is so much to learn and so much patience that is needed and of course there is the lack of sleep that keeps everyone on their toes. However as time is passing I do find it slightly easier each time and I love him more and more each day. I kiss his cheeks and his nose and face and he looks away with his big eyes. Jason says he may have green eyes but he was born with blue grey eyes and I thought maybe he might have my father’s grey blue eyes.

We are starting to get in some sort of routine but truthfully babies do not know what time or day it is, they are just hungry and very tired.

This is roughly how are days and nights are:

out and about

Went to Bondi Junction

Went to Medicare in Bondi Junction

Had coffee and Anzac biscuit and muffin Shopping Mall Westfield.

Going to Scone

Monday 25^th June

Today we decided to go to Scone in the Upper Hunter to spend time with Jason’s family. joaquin is only 2 weeks old but we thought we needed to spend time with family for support as Jason and I were going crazy at home. I felt tied to the couch all day feeding and not sleeping well at night. In fact he cried so much at night and did not want to go to sleep. We were still not sure if we should travel or not considering that Joaquin still was not back to his birth weight.

So that day we left at 1pm and went to Randwick to weigh him at the Pharmacy and he weighed 3.67kg. So we decided to go from there. He was restless as we walked around Randwick with him in the baby capsule and we knew he was hungry. But we decided to drive for an hour and then feed him near the freeway. He slept once Jason started driving. At 4pm we then we tried to find a park to park near and stop so I could breastfeed him and we ended up parked in a street with big leaf trees.

We fed him for an hour and then Jason kept driving. Jason drove and Joaquin slept most of the way from there, and we were quite content to have some adult time in the car, talking while he slept. Most of the way I had to check if he was ok as he was very quite so we had to stop and I would check if he was sleeping well and had not been covered by any blankets. These are all new parent fears.

We got to Scone at about 7pm and Jason's parents were happy to see him. In a way I was happy to get out of home as i had not left home in the two weeks since he had been born and it was nice to be at Jason's parents home with the fire going and Jason's mother making lovely homemade meals each night. It really was a treat.

The hardest thing was trying to get him to sleep at night and once he was asleep, it was hard for us to sleep and then wake him feed him and try to get him back to sleep again. Some nights he cried a lot, some nights he went to sleep after a feed. There were times I kept feeding every hour or so, and times I fed for more than an hour. I really did not know how to breastfeed or know if he was sucking well or feeding well. It was frustrating for me and for him and even for Jason. Jason would ask "Is he asleep or is he sucking" I would say "sucking" but then look down and see him asleep. We had a few arguments over this!

I was also worried I was waking everyone up as Jason's day had to get up at 5am to go to work each morning, Jason's mother was on holidays at that point but I was sure that by Joaquin crying I was waking everyone up. Jason's mother said that i should not worry as Jason's dad was not able to hear anything once he fell asleep. In a way that did make me feel slightly better. But I think in retrospect it was only a few nights that Joaquin cried and cried and I could not get him to sleep. Then Jason would lie there and tell me that I was not getting him to sleep properly and I should not change tactics midflight. If i was rocking him I should keep rocking him, if I was walking around the room I should keep doing that. We decided that Joaquin just did not want to sleep in his baby moses as previous to this in the first weeks of his life we would have him sleep with us in the bed on my chest or Jason's chest. Now at two weeks we were trying for him to sleep in the little moses cot with its stand, but this was right next to the bed. So i would hear his every move and sounds and would wake when he woke and wanted a feed, it was like co-sleeping but safer.

First day at beach

Today we met Erica, Oliver and Tracey at Coogee. Walked down with Jason and he took Joaquin in the Baby Bjorn and I think he liked it straight away. He did not cry and had his eyes opened and alert.

Also saw Robin and Rachel at the beach as they were going with Robin’s guitar to catch a bus to get his guitar fixed. The weather was nice for the first time in a long time.

So today we walked to the beach for the first time with Joaquin in the Baby Bjorn. Joaquin heard for the first time the sound of birds and a dog barking as Jason walked him around. He had his eyes opened. I took the pram and took him on the board walk in the pram but he cried at northern end as he was hungry and we put him back in the baby bjorn and walked home quickly.

We were quite nervous. We hurried home to feed him.

Going Home

Tuesday 12^th June

We had stayed in our little own room at hospital (Jason had slept the night) and we were trying to feed the baby and get him to weigh a big more to be able to go home. he finally weighed 3.3kgs and was allowed to go home. He had lost more than 15% of his body weight and the doctors could not tell us why (even after they had probed him and taken his blood from his little hand). But they finally let us go home and we in our hearts had decided enough was enough and it was time to go home.

Nikki, Lola and Rueben (5) (her children came to visit) and we finally felt the urge and need to get out of hospital and go. This was a big step for us but a necessary one. So we left at about 12 to go home, we got in the car and put the little nameless one in the car capsule and Jas drove us home. I was in shock still, not moving to my potential but the drive home was great and the baby did not cry and slept. It was very cold and windy outside but when we got home we got the heaters going. Jason had cleaned the flat up and it did not look like a pigstye from the labour with towles and clothes everywhere, with the kettle and chair in the bathroom and wet sheets (from the waters breaking on my bed)

At home

We were in a shock when we got home and had so many things to do and learn.

Jason went and hired a electronic pump and bought bottles with peristaltic pigeon nipples and formula and food for us. I was left alone with the little one for the first time at home.

Baby is born

Friday 8^th June

Joaquin was born at 10.30am on Friday 8th June 2007. He weighed 3.82kgs and measured 57cm.

I think that is quite a big baby and long one.

Was sent to Oxford ward at Birthing Suite and i had my legs numb from the epidural and could not feel them at all. Jas was no where to be found nor the little baby, and finally Jason came to my room holding a new little parcel, a new little baby all pink and soft wrapped up, only his face showing. I held him in my arms and really did not know what to expect.

Jason and I cried a bit that day, we slept on and off, the baby was sleeping all day and I really did not feed him that much. I was stuck in bed with a drip with antibiotics and a hormone drip of oxytocin hormones and a catheter for going to the toilet.

My friends from Uni came to visit and brought me flowers on Friday after the birth in the afternoon. I was still in shock from labour but very happy. Jas could not sleep with me in the room and had to go home to bed. I am sure he was very tired after not sleeping the day before.

Saturday 9^th June

On Saturday Jason's parents came from Scone it was a very wet windy day and it was raining in most parts of NSW, a great rain. We were thinking of calling the nameless baby Noah as he had brought the rains. A boat the Pasha Bulka was stranded on the Newcastle beach and this was front page news along with all the flooding in the Hunter region. On Saturday we also had a bathing class and he loved to be bathed. He did not cry and I was still so scared to hold him and wrap him. Jason was quite good at wrapping him. All the babies in the class were boys and a few were called Lucas or Luca, we wanted to call him that name but changed our minds when we found out everyone was naming their baby that. Our baby remained nameless, poor little thing.

Those few days at the hospital after he was born are a blur to me, I remember sleeping and staying in bed and the baby in the crib next to me looking with his eyes open and at times sleeping. He did not cry much the first few days.