I remember in those first few days, sitting on the sofa, telling mum and dad with confidence that I could easily handle this parenting lark. I didn’t understand what the big deal was, people had made out it was somewhat different. I remember questioning the comments that had been passed before I left work such as
“You’ll be too busy to miss us”
or
“Parenting is a bigger job than the one you have now!”
I mean, how wrong they were. Their children must have been devil children. This was EASY! All she does is eat and sleep, maybe with the occasional poop, which although looking like tar, had no bad odour or sickly texture to it. I could do this; no, actually, I was made for this…
It hit me like a tonne truck. Days 3 through to day 10 were a living nightmare. How on earth could something so small produce such awful smells and hideous sights not to mention such loud screams! Surely someone had stolen my child and left me with someone else’s! This couldn’t be right, it was so easy a few days ago!
All of a sudden, my gorgeous calm and content baby girl was now a ‘milk guzzling’ bottomless pit, who cried whenever she came of the breast, wanting more… ‘MORE” Like any new mother I took to the Internet and called upon the support of the local Breast Feeding Support Worker; surely this wasn’t normal? Turns out it was, it’s called a growth spurt, and since our beautiful bundle was so tiny, it would seem for the next 4 weeks, she would be on a constant growth spurt!
Along the way, we’ve hit many a stumbling block;
with each one, we’ve taken on as much advice as possible, tried many a method, but most importantly, we’ve tackled them head on, together as a team. Without Gavin, I know it would have been 10 times harder and worst-case scenario, I’d have been found by now rocking in a darkened corner of the house, nursing a bottle (of formula of course!)
The research shows that colic starts from week 2 and begins early evening. Our gorgeous little one likes to break all of the rules and her colic started at day one. We tried Infacol and Colief and have never looked back.
The seaweed poops have been explained as bile and are normal in those so young, although it still remains a worry that she’s not taking on as much of the hind milk that she should be, since she keeps falling asleep at the breast and being so fussy in feeding. We’re going to keep an eye on these in future.
The Fussiness and frustration we’ve yet to understand, going with my maternal instinct I feel that my breasts aren’t producing enough milk to meet her demand, or it’s not as ‘filling’ as it should be. This could explain why she is never leaving my breast, not even for 5 minutes, not even to sleep!
When weighed within the first few weeks, she seemed to be doing really well; she hadn’t lost much of her birth weight, then regained it quite quickly. However, in the few weeks to follow, her weight gain slowed to 3oz in 2 weeks. All in all, a lot of different reasons to consider the big final question…to combine formula and breast-feeding or not? We decided to give it a go, supplementing one feed with a few ounces of formula. We watched her as she took her first bottle, me with tears in my eyes, feeling like a ‘failure’. She was content. For the first time, I’d finally seen my baby happy, quiet and observant. She sat silent, taking in the world around her, happy as can be. Not only this, but she then gained 4oz in 4 days…normal weight gain! Finally! Formula and breast milk for us was the way forward. We now supplement breast-feeding 3 times a day and again, we’ve never looked back!
Getting to grips with the sudden HUGE lifestyle change takes a while. We’re now one month in and still I get confused over what each cry means, nervous over leaving the house with her on my own or I neglect to think of the simplest of things like a dirty nappy when her cry is bouncing off the walls, until I’ve exhausted all other avenues. However, the sleepless nights are getting easier to deal with (ish) until you hit a wall of exhaustion. Her crying gets easier to manage (I’m no longer crying alongside her every time), when you look at it as her only means of communication rather than an “I hate you, I’m so unhappy, You’re the worst mommy in the world” type of cry.
Parenting is one STEEP learning curve, however, each and every day gets a little bit easier than the day before and each day you’re reminded just how worth it the hard times are!
Welcome to the world our beautiful daughter Addison Kate Elliott, born January 3rd 2012 at 8.45pm, weighing in at 5lb 15oz…
Mommy and Daddy couldn’t possibly love you any less…you have captured our hearts. Our little princess.
Is it possible to be struck with love and awe of someone so small, yet feel completely unprepared and somewhat nervous about the impending responsibility you’ve been given? That first cry, the first look into your eyes can in one moment melt your heart, yet at the same time, leave you slightly panicked and uncertain…
Our journey begins here…
My Sister-In-Law is getting married in 3 weeks and it’s hard enough looking for a fabulous wedding outfit when you’re normal size let alone on your way to beached whale! Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE being pregnant, I LOVE the fact that I have our little bump inside me, growing and getting ready to come and meet the world that eagerly awaits him/her. However, in this modern day and age, I would have thought that with all the top clothing designers out there that someone would have come up with a good range of clothing for pregnant women.
Most shops I seem to scour have maternity clothing designed for grannies! What’s with that? Are pregnant women meant to lose all sense of style and appreciation for looking pretty? Surely when you’re growing to twice your average size, this is the time for needing to feel pretty!
Anyway as I climb down from my soapbox, I’ll share with you my plan for my ‘Wedding guest outfit’.
Now, with it being my Sister-in-law, I’m going to have to be in a few pictures I would assume, there’s going to be no chance of me diving out of shot when the button is clicked. So, I need to look pretty, or at least feel pretty. I searched all over, looking at various sites for Maternity Occasional Wear, bearing in mind that I didn’t want to spend a fortune on an outfit that I’ll never use again once the pregnancy is over. I resorted to going back to the good old faithful www.dorothyperkins.com and found a lovely black maxi dress in their maternity range.
Even luckier for me was that it was on sale with an extra 15% off! My dress cost a total of a shocking £13.99 plus P&P. Bargain, now to look for a colourful bag, shoes and fascinator.
I’ve narrowed down my list of maternity clothing websites/stores, which don’t blow the bank below
Ideas on any other useful clothing websites are welcome! Answers on the back of a postcard please!
Ok, so today was a monumental day, the day of our 20week scan, where we eventually got to see our baby for the second time and check that everything was ok. It was also a sad day since it was to be the last time we see him/her until they decide to come out to join us. How quick do you think 19 weeks and 4 days will pass?
Just to be sure, I did my usual trick of drinking more than advised to make sure we had a cracking view of our little bambino! 2 pints later and feeling a little fuller and a tad sickly J we were off to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, a little less nervous than the first scan yet still apprehensive.
The scan it’s self was great, we asked not to know the sex as we don’t want to take the elements of surprise from the birth, so the Sonographer was very careful as to not give it away. However, you can’t help but sit there and try to analyse what they say and how they say it. She called our bump ‘gorgeous’ does that mean it’s a girl? Did she say he or she? But I guess that’s just human instinct. It’s like a child at Christmas not wanting to spoil their surprise on Christmas morning, yet still searching all possible hiding places for their Christmas presents!
The image was very clear (again possibly due to the 2 pints of water) and we could see arms, fingers, toes, legs , eyes, nose and mouth. We were amazed when we saw our bump come to life; he/she was drinking and licking their lips (something must have been tasty), we could track the fluid going right down their oesophagus! The cutest point had to be when he/she decided to rub their right eye as if half asleep and trying to get some rest (no big surprise with all the prodding and poking going on too!). I wonder who he/she will take after? What parts will they get from Gavin and what parts from me?
In the last few weeks we’ve started to feel the baby moving, which is quite an amazing and surreal experience! It still blows my mind at how a human being can grow another human being from within. I mean, the space for a start, where the other organs move to, how the little baby develops and how the success of how they develop is solely centred on what you eat and how you treat yourself!
It took me a while to identify the strange feelings in my stomach as our bumps’ movements as all the books and websites refer to it as ‘Butterfly movements’. For me it was nothing like a butterfly, it was like little bubbles popping against the under surface of my skin OR the feeling you get when you take your two fingers and place them against your neck to test your pulse! As I say, AMAZING!
I’m finding that I now talk regularly to our bump, encouraging it and pleading with it to move each day just to let me know it’s ok! We also talk about the day-to-day menial tasks that we’re doing. This however, always has the ability to make me feel like I’m losing the plot a little bit!
We’ve recently been attending anti-natal classes, before the Government pull the funding for such useful things as of October 2011. Gavin and I have enjoyed these classes, although they were longer than we’d expected and we sometimes get strange looks from people as we giggle together in a corner over some of the questions posed. They are very informative. I mean who wouldn’t laugh when the group is discussing possible induction methods, one guy pipes up with “So vaginal tablets, do you eat these?”
We were the youngest couple in the class, with the smallest bump as the majority of the couples were in their 32nd – 36th week compared to us in our 20th. At the end of each session, I leave commenting to Gavin that it kind of makes you leave feeling a little bit of a fraud. The urge takes over, to stick out your stomach as much as you can, rub your bump and add a slight waddle to your walk. “It’s ok, I’m pregnant”
Our little one has a lot of growing to do over the next few weeks or so, hence mammy needs to make sure that she’s eating well. Why is it then, that I’m attracted to all the readily available snack foods on the shelf? Come on, I used to be fat I don’t want to go back!! My willpower is seriously getting tested to the brink at the moment. I have my vitamin tablets sorted and am ready for the next 19 weeks and 4 days…That’s if our gorgeous little one decides to come on time. “Ladies and Gentlemen, please place your bets!”
This week we got the best gift ever!!…we got to see baby Elliott. One of the most amazing experiences I have ever had – so amazing that I find it hard to put into words!
I must say, the strangest thing was how quick the scan was, lasting a total of about 5 minutes, the majority of the scan was in the Sonographer measuring the neck for the initial stages of the ‘Downs Syndrome’ test. Gavin had the best view and as i watched his face, he had the look of adoration and wonder mixed with excitement – his first question…”Is it meant to be doing that? Is that normal?” as he watched the baby our baby, flip around and float in complete contentment.
I think it’s fair to say that we fell in love at first sight. Me with a tear in my eye and Gav grabbing my hand for support as the image was revealed, our baby seemed to know that we were there, turning towards the ultrasound machine and striking a pose, perfect to be captured.
The image was so clear! We’ve been showing baby Elliott to everyone we meet, and we hear that the expectant grandparents are just as excited too. With showing it off to so many people, we’ve had comment after comment about the clarity of the image. People seem so surprised, but as first time parents, we thought it was normal to see so much; the eyes, the nose, the lips, and even it’s little diddy hand…it’s so clear that we can count all 5 fingers!
Take note of this ladies and or gentlemen…when you get your appointment letter and it states that you need to make sure you have a full bladder for your Sonagram, DON’T do as I did! 3 glasses of non-fizzy liquid means equivalent to one pint…not 3 pint glasses of water! I was in so much pain, I almost didn’t make it. Concentrating on conversation didn’t help as the need to pee mixed with my hormonal overload and nervousness made me want to scream, argue or cry! hmmmm….
HOWEVER!!
The overdose of liquid I believe resulted in one of the best pics that we could have asked for! Now…only another 7-10 weeks before I need to suffer in pain like that again for a second corker of a Scan picture!
Anyway…here is a sneak preview of baby Elliott to satisfy all curiosity! …
Our gorgeous bouncing baby!