Nathan’s first book reading at 3 days old

The first two weeks have been tough. I spent 3 days in hospital, leaving Wednesday afternoon. I was so emotional on the way home, feeling very overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the previous days with the quick birth and the stitches. While in hospital Nathan had had his hearing test done which he passed, I had had the catheter removed (which I had because of the spinal) on Tuesday morning and that made me feel like a new woman really, the IV antibiotics had also finished on Tuesday morning and I was put onto tablets afterwards, I was visited by the Home Midwifery Service people to talk about their service which I desperately wanted to use but didn’t know if I’d be able to get out of hospital early enough to be eligible for it but thankfully I was, I was visited twice by a physiotherapist who talked to me about fibre and bowel movements, and I was worried about Nathan because I was struggling to feed him and my nipples were getting pretty sore and sorry for themselves and he didn’t have enough wet nappies for their liking. The paediatrician saw Nathan just before we left the hospital and he checked out ok, even though he had a little jaundice, and a doctor also came to see me about the antibiotics I’d have to take after I got home. I also went to a couple of the classes that the hospital had running. One was how to bath your baby, and the other was about the first few weeks.

The home midwifery service was fabulous!! A midwife came to the flat on Thursday, Friday and the following Monday, with a phone call on the Sunday to see how we were going. It was so nice to feel that there was still support from the hospital even though I was at home. Andrew and I had lots of questions to ask, all of which were answered.

My stitches have needed maintenance, my feet swelled into balloons every day for the first week and a half after Nathan’s birth, and I have to take additional fibre containing a mild laxative to keep those stools soft.  I have me 6 week post natal check-up booked for mid April, and an appointment at the 3rd degree tear clinic around the same time.

Breastfeeding was particularly painful for the first week and a half. My nipples were blistered and cracked and it was dreadfully painful when Nathan latched on. Thankfully that has all settled down now and it is quite a painless process now. I think Nathan now has the hang of it and is feeding better too, though we have had several unsettled days where he has wanted to feed almost constantly throughout the day.

My parents arrived just after we got home from hospital and stayed until the following Tuesday. It had taken them 2 days to drive up. Andrew’s parents flew up on Saturday morning and went home the following Monday afternoon. So we had quite a full flat for a few days! We tried to have a couple of outtings, but found it is really difficult to leave the flat with a newborn. It took us 2 days just to get to Bunnings which is directly across the road from our residential complex. We also managed a few walks along the beach at Coogee.

Tuesday last week we had an appointment at the Early Childhood Centre at which we answered loads of questions and Nathan was weighed. He was 4.47 kg at birth, 4.16 kg when he left hospital on day 3, unchanged 2 days later when weighed by the midwife, and 4.2 kg when weighed at the Early Childhood Centre.

Thursday last week Andrew and I went to Mumsense, a group for parents and babies up to 4 months of age. It is run by the hospital, and they have talks some weeks and just general discussion other weeks. I think I am going to enjoy going each week.

Nathan has been a pretty placid baby for most of the time. He generally sleeps 4 hours at night between feeds (that last approximately 1 hour each), though he doesn’t sleep much during the day yet. Most of the time he thinks his throat has been cut and screams for food if I’m not fast enough when he first starts complaining. It takes around 30 seconds to go from “I’m hungry mum” grizzle to “GIVE ME FOOD NOW” screaming. I think he likes his baths, he doesn’t seem to like slings (I wish he would change his mind on that) and likes to be held. He also loves to position himself so that his head is wedged under your chin!

Being a mum is nice, but certainly can be tiring and frustrating. I never knew how hard it is to get out of the house with a baby!! I love Nathan to bits though, and certainly wouldn’t give him back, even if I could.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 1:15 pm and is filed under Family, Nathan's first year. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.