Hi there! How are you all? I'm well..... tired, but well. My life's been a blur since I last wrote! As many of you may know little Chloe Wyatt arrived (promptly) on the 23rd of August, despite being sure she would be fashionably late, as less than 5% of the world's pregnancy's actually occur on the due date. But against the odds she turned up on time, but I suppose having J and I as parents, who pride themselves on being where they say they'll be when they say it, what choice did the little one have?
Anyways, the 'labour' story goes like this... At about 330am on the Thursday (23rd) I woke up with bad tummy cramps, nothing warranting to wake J, so I just went to the toilet thinking that was the problem. But bubkiss! So I dismissed it and tried to go back to sleep... by 415 the pain hadn't left so I went back to the toilet and had a little 'show'. At this point I woke J and told him I was pretty sure we were on. He bolted upright in bed and started to move about asking me what I wanted him to do and asking should he call the midwife. I basically felt it was far too early to call Lara, so we waited till 5. By 5am I was in agony! We were using a contraction counter on my phone and basically they were coming every 3 minutes and lasting about 40 seconds. I was sure it was not suppose to be like this, all the books and parenting classes said the start of labour was like a warm up. Which on reflection I now think I slept through... Anyways we rang Lara and gave her the news. She was very positive, asked us to continue to monitor them and call her back if nothing changed by 530. After we hung up I couldnt handle it, so I jumped in the shower and beat my stomach with the hot water... Jarratt peered over the top of the shower, monitoring and counting the contractions... by 6am the contractions were still every 3 minutes, but lasting ALOT longer. We rang Lara and she said to head into hospital. We arrived at hospital at 7am, with Lara arriving after at 730am... she was shocked at how far along I was being my first pregnancy... the next 5 hours are a blur... But at 12:49pm Chloe arrived.... and we fell in love with her immediately!
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We were then given some time to spend with our new family - its magical those first few moments, you forget the pain and suddenly there is this little person in the room.. who miraculously knows how to breathe, cry, feed and fill your heart with love til it bursts - its incredible! After about 3 hours, Lara returned and announced that there were no beds on the ward... and how did we feel about transferring to Sutherland. After a few questions and a frank discussion about the services at Sutherland, on Lara's recommendation we agreed. She then followed this quickly with "Now, my next question is... is your capsule in the car?" At first I thought she was kidding... she wasnt! A passenger transfer could take hours, so it would be faster for us all to head over to Sutherland together... in our own car. So off we went.... in peak hour, in a storm, 5 hours since giving birth.... Jarratt didnt even crack under the pressure and it wasnt til the next day that I really realised the stress that he would of been under. Sutherland hospital was lovely... alot newer than St George and on the first night I roomed with a mother of 3 who was very supportive and relaxed, for which I am incredibly grateful as I bumbled my way through the first night of motherhood. On the second day, Chloe had her first bath, had her hearing checked and was given some injections. We were also moved into a private room! Score! Which was great as the second night was so much harder... as Chloe was cluster feeding - not something I had read about or expected... basically from 8pm-2am she was on the boob. By 2am I was going round the bend, so the midwives took her to settle her, as every time I tried, she smelt the milk and was in a frenzy if I didnt give it to her. Thankfully the midwife was able to settle her and she 'crashed' til 8am the next morning! After 48 hours in the hospital I was ready to leave, dont get me wrong the midwives were great and the facilities amazing, but the constant revolving door of advice was doing my head in. Each midwife had their own way of doing things which was different to the last midwife and with shift changes every 6 hours it was enough to make even the non-sleep deprived mother dizzy. Plus an added bonus of heading home within 48 hours was having Jarratt there around the clock and home visits by Lara.
So... we arrived home... it was a crazy first night as Chloe refused to sleep alone. The only way we could get her to sleep was on Jarratts chest, which I knew could become a problem. Second night... same thing. So Monday morning Lara arrived and we discussed the problem. She basically gave two suggestions 1. a heater (as the room was a little cold) and 2.some sound. Employing both strategies worked like a charm and despite waking for a feed the following night, Chloe slept alone, in her crib! .jpg)
The time between then and now is a blur of nappy changes, feedings, bath time, cuddles and so on. We've managed to get a routine going for feeds and sleeps, etc. Despite some initial teething issues Chloe has gone down the last 2 nights at 7pm a treat, we feed her at 930pm and again if she wakes (last night she woke at 410am! which gave me a good solid 5 hour sleep - the most in 4 weeks!) then I wake her at 7am and we start the cycle again. I know its a little controversial to feed her to a routine, but if I've learnt anything this last month is that you need to do what feels right and works for you and your family! We have had our fair share of challenges, with good and bad days, and things are constantly changing and we're always trying new things... it can be stressful at times, but I only have to look at her and its all worthwhile! She is so gorgeous and I'm so in love with my little one. And despite the lack of sleep and the soreness - I wouldnt have it any other way :)
Well... I think that about wraps it up. Enjoy, Bec xxx
