kate and graeme

So, we had grand plans to get a bunch of stuff done today, including, but not limited to, updating the blog. None of this got done.

Instead, we spent 3.5 hours in Accident and Emergency, plus the hour or so it took us each way to get there by public transport, since we no longer have a car. Basically, Lily had vomitted a couple times this morning and I rang NHS Direct for advice and in the process, remembered the nasty knock she’d taken to her head when she momentarily forgot how to sit up yesterday. The nurse pretty much said that it was unlikely the two were related, but we should take her in to get checked out in person - better safe than sorry and all that.

Of course, while we there, she perked up immensely, didn’t puke once and was generally having a great time. So by the time someone finally saw her, they came to the same conclusion we had about 2 hours earlier - that she must have some sort of virus/stomach bug. This has pretty much been confirmed for us since coming home, as she’s still in a fantastic mood, but just happens to explode out one end or the other every now and then. Our only worry now is keeping some fluids in her - if you’re the praying type, please say one for our little girl. We’re lucky, in a way, that we’ve made it to almost 6 months without any real illness, but this is far from a fun experience for these new parents…

(apologies for the massive silence and then the not so exciting news, we’re really going to work on that, promise)

So obviously Graeme has done a great job of letting you all know that Lily is here.

(part of me says we should stop referring to this as a ‘travel blog’ since we haven’t done much travelling lately and definitely haven’t been posting about anything like travels)

I want to write out a proper account of the whole birth and my thoughts and whatnot, but for now, I’ll give you some basic details that should serve as an explanation of why I am going to take awhile to get around to much.

It seems I was basically in labour all weekend. Contractions started on Friday night, varying in intensity and timing throughout the weekend. Turns out my body had done too good a job of protecting little Squishy (yes, I still call her that sometimes) and by Monday morning when I went in for my 41 week check, I was already 4cm dilated and her head was fully engaged, but the membranes holding everything in were still thick. I was told to go home, get my stuff to come back and be admitted to the antenatal ward until there was a midwife available on the delivery suite to break my waters. At 4.10 pm my waters were broken and 6.5 hours later Lily was here. I didn’t get back onto the postnatal ward until after 2.30 am, had a pretty restless night and then a busy day on Tuesday with a constant procession of midwives, paediatricians, physiotherapists and assorted others checking on me and Lily. Sometime in the evening (I was finally asleep for the first time in the day) they decided they were sending me home, which is not unusual here, since most people only stay 24 hours in hospital, but was a bit of a surprise since earlier in the day I was told it’d be another night. I was happy to go, knowing I would be able to sleep in my own bed and not in a room with 3 other women and 4 other babies (one had twins), but then it took some time for my drugs to come through from the pharmacy (a nice cocktail of antibiotics and pain killers for the minor tear as she came out and iron for my newly-developed anaemia which makes me look funny) and we weren’t home until after 10pm. And then, of course, we had our first night of sharing our room with a newborn who had missed a feeding in the craziness and didn’t want to settle. Basically, 5 consecutive nights of very little sleep surrounding the minor task of pushing a 9lb baby out of my body, coupled with an iron level so low I’m kind of embarrassed and I am beyond exhausted. Last night was much better, but it will probably take me at least a week to get back to any semblance of normal… whatever my normal is going to be now that I have a baby, anyway. Still can’t get over that whole ‘I’m a mum’ thing…

Thanks for all the well wishes, emails, messages, gifts, etc.  It’s all appreciated if not immediately acknowledged at the moment.

see here

Also check out the gallery of extra photos.