Lessons...

Grace is teaching me so much. This little six week old baby has totally changed my life - even more than I had anticipated. I'm learning patience - you can't hurry a baby with her feeding. I'm learning to be more organised - nothing worse than running out of clean nappies when out of the house! And I'm learning that no matter how tired I am, when she needs me, I can be there. I'm also definately learning to ask for help - Rupert is amazing and does so much for both of us...


It was an interesting week - I turned 43 on Tuesday and had a few moments of wondering how on earth I ended up with a baby at my age. Actually, it was a really nice day, Rupes made a nice dinner, my Dad visited with gifts, and Murray brought over a cake - chocolate! And I got lots of other gifts and emails and texts and Grace was very good all day and all night. I also took Grace to a baby first aid class run by our antenatal group - nice to see the other babies and mums and get some good advice just in case anything happens. God forbid!

On Wednesday we had our final appointment with the specialists for my sign off - Grace decided to save up all her number 2's for that outing, so three nappy changes from the time I left home till we got back - and a fair amount of annoying crying from her! Thursday - growth spurt day, she fed pretty much all day from early morning till about 4pm. That was hard - but at the same time, it was obviously what she needed so another lesson learned - putting aside what I didn't need to do or worry about to take care of her.


Then Friday we saw my GP for Grace's first appointment and her immunisation jabs. I love my GP - she has been such a support over the years, so it was really special for her to meet Grace. Of course, Grace then proceeded to pee and poo all over the exam table while having her hips checked, which left Doc and I in hysterical laughter. As for the injections - ahhh that was so hard. Her wee face screwed up and went bright red each time...then the longest moment of silence followed by a huge scream! Have now decided next time to have her on the breast so it might be a little easier.

She was pretty unhappy and grizzly after the jabs - no wonder, and I basically spent all of Friday night cuddling her and feeding her as she wanted. She'd doze off and then wake up sobbing - just heartbreaking. We gave her the first ever dose of Pamol for the temperature she had, and that helped I think - but it was just one of those nights where it was all about her, and not about routine or anything else.

Every time I look at her I just think - how blessed are we? How close did we come to missing out on this wee treasure? I'm forever grateful.

Ahh yes...

Folks have been warning us that things might not always go so smoothly. I hate it when folks are right!

On Tuesday morning Grace was unsettled and grizzly...definately wind in the lower bowel, her wee tummy was bloated and her legs were kicking and drawn up. We went into the office but only lasted till 12 then I brought her home. All she wanted to do was feed - then she would fall asleep on the breast, then I would put her down for a nap - and 15 minutes later she would be crying and grizzling again. I tried everything - a ride in the car, a buggy walk, a bath. Tummy time, lots of massage, gripe water. That pretty much went on all of Tuesday night and during the day on Wednesday - some longer naps, but nothing more than an hour. Poor wee Grace, she was getting so overtired - as was her mother! Finally, on Wednesday evening we did the hardest thing ever - put her in her bassinet and let her cry herself to sleep. It took 20 minutes - 15 of which I spent in the shower so I couldn't hear her.

The good thing was that once she was asleep she went back into her four hour night routine and three hour day routine (it's not quite that perfect, but pretty close!). What a relief. I feel like I passed a bit of an acid test - I'm not at my best when tired, but I coped pretty well, apart from a few quiet weary tears. She's been good since - though we are giving her gripe water with every second feed which seems to be helping. She's obviously inherited her mother's digestive system!

We had our first Plunket visit yesterday (for those overseas, Plunket is the organisation in NZ that keeps an eye on babies from newborn up to when they are 5 years old - they run courses and nurses visit or you attend clinics so your baby can be measured, weighed etc and any problems you have can be sorted). Grace is now officially 4.02 kgs, 55 cm long and her head circumference is 37cm. So another good week of growth.

And in great news, it is cooler! We have had awful humidity the last few weeks and it's so nice that it is now a bit cooler - Grace actually wore a onesie yesterday when we went to the library. First time she's worn anything but a nappy, and occasionally a vest or t shirt. She looked very stylish in her stripy outfit, though I did manage to lose a sock between the house and the car!

One month old

Today our wee Grace is one month old. Where has the time gone? I am ever grateful that I was blessed with this experience - each day with her is like a gift. She really is the most beautiful baby, and I remind myself daily how lucky we are to have her.



Things I have learned in the first month:



You can never have too many cloth nappies - even when you are using disposables.

Nothing is better than cuddling your crying baby and having her quiet immediately.

Wind is the bane of all babies and mothers!

A smile at 3am makes the lack of sleep worth it.

Family and friends are wonderful - sharing the joy with us, and giving us advice and tips.

You can love someone so completely that nothing is a problem. Nothing.

Husbands are the best, even putting up with you when you are grumpy and tired in the evenings and taking care of everything that you can't quite manage.

Breastfeeding is fantastic in so many ways, I am so glad I haven't had any problems.

Having a baby, watching her grow and change and learn is a miracle. I am so thankful.

Leaps and Bounds

Miss Grace has gained another 300 grams in six days bringing her to a grand total of 3700 grams - and is now 53cm long (she was 49cm at birth). Her head circumference is 36cm, up 1cm on birth. All in all, she is doing very well!

We had our first smiles last week, and apart from feeding like a maniac (partially due to the very hot weather I think) she is a darling. We have had a couple of sessions of very upset crying, due to wind, but those were over fairly quickly.

And me? I am doing great. I get tired in the evenings sometimes, but have been into work twice this week with Grace and it's all gone well. Today we walked to the store, and that felt really good - no pain from the C section scar. And, I've lost 11 kilos in total - down to 78 kilos. My pre pregnancy weight was 84, and the heaviest I got while pregnant was 89, so I am pleased - surprised, but pleased! Am eating like a horse but all that breastfeeding is obviously using up all my fat reserves. Hmmm. Wonder if Rupes will let me feed her for a couple of years LOL!

Three Weeks

Grace turned three weeks old yesterday. We've had a good week - I managed to get some work done, and Rupes was home so he looked after her between feeds. She's mostly in a routine now - 3 hourly during the day, sometimes 4 hourly at night, but that can change in a heartbeat!

The midwife came on Friday and Grace is now 3400 grams, so she gained 300 grams in a week which is great. Am not surprised with the amounts of milk she is chugging down! And am so grateful that breast feeding is pretty easy for me.

Shortly, we are off to our antenatal group picnic - of the 12 ladies, 8 of us have babies, and 4 are still waiting. If I was one of the ones still waiting I would be going nuts by now! I spent yesterday sorting out clothes - one of my bosses dropped off a huge bagful, plus we had lots of gifts during the week - wee Grace is not going to need a wardrobe topup for a year or so! It's nice too as it gives us outfits to pass on to other folks as Grace grows out of things - however, that's a while away as she is still too small for newborn clothes!

She is getting more and more alert - reaching out and grasping things, holding on to my bra while she feeds, she even reached out and touched my face the other night during a feed. It was lovely :-)