Getting started

I’ve been meaning to write EVERY DAY since we’ve been home with Benjamin (as well as religiously every day while I was pregnant). As you can see this hasn’t been the raging success that I had planned, so I’ve thought the best way to tackle this was to pretend that in fact I had been writing every day and it’s all just disappeared off the face of the earth. And that I may add back bits and pieces as I remember them (which in my slightly sleep deprived state will probably be never but at least I’ll feel better for even having thought about it).

 I know Gary was very good and wrote something the day we got home from the hospital, but we haven’t uploaded that as yet, so stay tuned! That is, providing I continue to write regularly, as long as it’s not regularly twice a year!

 Anyway, Benjamin Ryan James Ozga Andrews has been a star so far. Very placid, and of course, gorgeous. We’ve even had about 3 or 4 nights when we ’slept through’, as in he had a feed about midnight and then slept until 5 or 6am. Of course that was last week and this week it’s been more going to sleep about 9pm and waking up at 2:30-3am. But that’s still pretty good.

Highlights for today:

• He seems pretty happy with the Baby Bjorn sling that I’ve just put him in so that I can finish this post. Wasn’t too sure to start with but combined with a dummy it’s made him much happier.
• He received his first big parcel today – full of pressies from his big brother Cameron and Cam’s mum, Andrea: a lovely velvety blanket and a gorgeous little rabbit soft toy (with his own little blue blankie) which he already loves if shoving it into his mouth is any indication (and I think it is given that he hasn’t done that with any of his other toys!).
• I think he loves mum’s new purple breastfeeding tunic that she bought yesterday. Anything that makes access to her bosoms easier and faster has got to be good, and if she looks stylish in it, even better. All the more to match his natty new wardrobe since he’s been very lucky and received a plethora of new clothes.

The breastfeeding clinic went well yesterday. So nice to get some pointers (not an intentional pun) on technique, etc and sit with other new mums and see how it’s done. I thought I had cracked nipples last week (and I did – to the point the every time he sucked it felt like someone was holding a lit cigarette to my nipple, which is when I booked in to the clinic as it took 4 days for them to heal while I expressed and bottle fed instead and by then he’d forgotten how to breastfeed – but it only took about half a day (after a desperate phone call to the Maternal and Child Health 24 hour line) to get him back on. Clever boy! This other mum’s nipples looked like they were about to detach and fall off. Youch. But apart from that we had a lovely relaxing time talking about our experiences.  Benjamin was also very good after having his tongue untied (frenulum – the bit under your tongue – cut to release the tongue as this has an impact on breast feeding) and it looked like it didn’t hurt a bit. I hope.

Well, since I’ve had both Benjamin and the cat fall asleep on me, I think it’s time for bed.

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