Introducing Our Baby

Introducing Our Baby

You may recall the post where I announced we would be having a baby in the summer and you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been talking a lot more about babies and parenting in my more recent posts. Well, I’m excited to announce that we’ve now had our baby. Our gorgeous baby boy arrived on 15^th June 2019. This was actually his due date, which is amazing. I was convinced he was going to be late – don’t ask me why. But he was prompt and on time (like I try to be!) and he arrived when he was supposed to come.

If you recall we didn’t find out what sex we were having, so it was a lovely surprise when he arrived and they announced it was a gorgeous baby boy. All the grandchildren in our family so far have been baby girls, so he is the first grandson.

We’ve named our beautiful boy Austin and he was quite a chunk when he was born, weighing in at 8lb 12oz – quite a bit heavier than the growth charts predicted. It was funny as when he arrived all the doctors and midwives said: “ooh he’s a big baby” but looking at him, he looked tiny, so I couldn’t see that he was big at all. I suppose the thing is, they are used to seeing newborns all the time so they get a good comparison. Normally when I see babies, they are at least a couple of weeks old, if not older, so they look bigger.

Labour was far from straightforward. Austin has pooed in his waters. So after we found this out, I had to be induced straight away and we both had to be continuously monitored. After a successful induction to 10cm, I was allowed to push, but Austin, unfortunately, got stuck. We were taken into theatre for a forceps delivery, but this also failed – he was stuck and also back-to-back, so they eventually delivered him by caesarean section. It ended up being a long-ish labour. We arrived at the hospital at tea time on the Friday and Austin wasn’t born until 8:01am on the Saturday. But as much as you can enjoy labour, I did. I was so excited to meet the little person I had been growing for months. I also felt calm and the team at the hospital looked after us so well – keeping us well abreast of what was happening and what was to come.

We ended up in the hospital for four days in the end. I caught a fever and had to be kept in, which meant Austin and my husband stayed too. But we couldn’t have asked for a better start. I was monitored around the clock, with checks and meds around the clock and everyone who came to check on us offered us some advice or tips as new parents. It was brilliant. From the lady who came to do my blood pressure who showed me how to swaddle him, to the lady who administered my meds who gave us some tips on breastfeeding. By the time we left hospital late on the Monday night, we felt armed with lots of great tactics to raise a happy baby. I honestly think if we’d rushed straight home, we would have missed out on a wealth of knowledge. All credit to the team at Pembury Hospital in Tunbridge Wells.

So here we are, with Austin now exactly 3 weeks old and he is an absolute joy. He’s a very chilled baby who loves feeding, cuddles and hates having his clothes taken off – honestly, for such a chilled baby, you’d think we were murdering him every time we have to take a layer off to change a nappy. And ironically enough he hates wet nappies. There’s no pleasing some people. So I’ve put together a few of our favourite photos from his first three weeks on planet Earth and I hope you enjoy them. I look forward to sharing what Austin is up to over time on this blog.

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