Hey, it’s me and Baby C…

Hello… It’s time to chat about all things babies and milestones. So, lets talk about third hourly feeding, wrapping, settling and re-settling, sleepless nights, nappy changes (too many of those and the surprise ones in the air that get you!) and crying, lots of crying… Sounds a bit scary doesn’t it? Let’s not talk about that too much then… My husband reminded me that having us girls in his life was a dream come true, but also having Baby C would add to the dream (although he probably would be a lot of work for the next how many years to come!).

Rewind back a bit, to about twenty-four hours after the birth in hospital. The midwife noticed Baby C was more drowsier and yellowish in colour than normal; we also noticed he was not waking up to feed either. Unfortunately not all was hunky-dory with Baby C after the calm, gentle birth (husband calls out: “what the?… that wasn’t a calm and gentle birth, you were sucking that gas hose like there was no tomorrow!”). The midwife had to pry Baby C out of my arms and make a dash to the ‘Special Care Nursery’. It was all a bit of a whirl-wind after that point, I lost the plot and my husband had to step in to hold down the fort. I needed some extra support as the noises, smells and lights in the nursery triggered deep memories of when I was in the ‘NICU’ (Neonatal Intensive Care) unit, with my first daughter for over fifteen weeks back in 2004 (thank-you again. I will never forget you all). I eventually came good after speaking with a wonderful Psychologist at the hospital and my mind was reset. (So beneficial, thank-you).

To cut a long story short, Baby C had developed jaundice and an infection. The Paediatrician later diagnosed Baby C with having an incompatible blood group to mine (don’t I feel responsible), causing this reaction quickly after birth. Baby C had to stay for about three days in the Nursery, have IV-abs (antibiotics) and have a little sunshine from the photo-therapy lights in the humidi-crib. Mind you he was the biggest bundle there, curled up barely fitting in the clear mechanical crib. Thankfully we were all happily able to go home 6 days later together (thanks again, and to our beautiful god parents and parents). Baby C’s jaundice lasted many weeks, giving him the nickname ‘mello-yello’ baby. As you can imagine the many giggles from the girls, while holding their baby brother singing over and over, “Hello, you can call him mello-yello!”

My courageous husband reminded me how life had changed. The first couple of weeks with Baby C at home was mostly fine, a grizzle now and again, but such a good baby. Then husband reminded me the next two weeks, every second night was bad, but the other nights were even worse like a ‘LIVING NIGHTMARE!’ How he had forgotten what it was like to have a baby in the house… So, Baby C developed a reaction to something in my milk, making him very unsettled, bloated and very grumpy indeed… I tried not eating certain foods with not much luck, then my nifty husband ‘googled’ info on such issues and watched some online forums (go Daddy!). We then decided for me to give up all dairy foods (oh no! I loved my cheeses and yoghurt) while feeding. I gave it up for the better good of the team, and luckily it worked and we got our good Baby C back again. Not the still slightly yellowish (monster) baby, with funny tufts of red-hair.

A big shout out to all the new, young and not so new mums (and dads) out there. It’s a juggle having a new born, toddlers and older kiddies in the family mix, while trying to live and raise happy and contented children. I remember the highlight of my day was seeing the kids randomly smile or laugh. A hot uninterrupted shower at night was golden, and a cup of decaf tea with nutella on white toast at 4 am in the morning topped the icing on the cake…

Thank-you to everyone who has subscribed to our blog, it means a lot to us and we hope you continue to enjoy our stories…

A word from Mister C…

“What do you want to be when you start work my son?”, asked Daddy. “What about a scientist?!” “No, I don’t want to be a scientist”, replied Mister C. ” I don’t want to have to put my hand down a monkey’s throat and have to feel it’s heart! I could be a super-hero and run around saving people and animals from bad things”…

Stay tuned…

Bear with us while we get through the early Baby C years. There was a lot of joy and some fun, but mainly hard work (but so worth it!) SO, stay tuned for uni placement fun and Baby C turning one!…