Ten days old

I decided to attempt a blog to keep friends and family up-to-date with Jack's news. It's hard finding the time to email everyone individually so this is the next best thing I reckon. We'll see how it goes!

It's been a complete roller coaster since Jack arrived. The birth was incredibly intense - a most amazing experience. Although I did pretty much everything the way I wanted to I did feel like I let myself down in the last hour because I was begging the midwife to find another way to get him out. I felt like he was turning me inside out and instead of trying to go with the contractions I fought them all. Which ultimately made it harder for me and more stressful for Jack. He cried for a good ten minutes after I finally ejected the little so-and-so and I think it was because it was taking such a long time for him to get through the birth canal. But then he settled down and spent some quiet time staring at me and Alexis. It was mind-blowing. And all accompanied by a cocktail of hormones designed to make you fall in love with the strange little being that has been bumping around in my stomach for the past few months.

With a bit of hindsight and having spoken to other women about their birth experience I now feel quite lucky. Minimum intervention and a pretty happy baby. So far anyway!

The first night in hospital wasn't a great nights sleep. They say newborns sleep like a log the first night but Jack has obviously not read that page of the baby manual. I was sharing a room and awoke to hear a baby coughing and choking and I thought to myself 'why doesn't that woman help her baby?'. When the sleep fog cleared a little I realised it was Jack choking on a bit of mucous. Oops. A mother just knows her baby's cries.

Alex arrived in the morning to a picture of maternal bliss - me asleep and Jack asleep beside me in my arms. On closer inspection he enquired 'what happened? you look really tired...'

Since then, all I've managed to do is hang on for the ride. I am veering between two extremes: tears because I want someone to take him away and tears because I feel such a depth of love for him it knocks me sideways.



Jack is ten days old today. He has been asleep most of today which is unfortunate as we went to breastfeeding school and he only fed twice while we were there. Hopefully he learns by osmosis.

Breastfeeding, as it turns out, is not as easy as it looks. My very sore nipples recoil in fear every time Jack snuffles for a feed. On the plus side I can get milk to squirt out of my nipples - a neat party trick (not that we go to many parties). AND just thinking about breastfeeding, or in this case, writing about breastfeeding makes them start leaking - amazing! Today at school this other lady's baby started to wail for a feed and hey presto! breasts are a leakin!

He is still asleep now at 18.01. I have to keep checking he's breathing. I am afraid for tonight. Can a baby sleep all day and all night?? I hope he keeps to his usual pattern of feed-sleep-feed-sleep-feed-sleep-feed. That way I can get 8 hours of sleep albeit in increments of 2-4 hours.

I put a few more pics on facebook today:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=132628&l=9b92d&id=855875421