Friday 15 July 2011

Introducing . . .

If you've been wondering if my conspicuous absence from this blog means that I've gone and had the baby, then wonder no more (and yes, I do realise some of you have been stalking this blog awaiting the news!!!)! Let me introduce you to...

Little Miss Jasmine!

Over a week and a half ago, on Tuesday 5 July, little Jasmine entered the world at 1.36am after mum laboured for about 10 hours (completely natural birth, no interventions although copious amounts of both nitrous gas and much appreciated encouragement from hubby was required at times).

Weighing in at 3.9kg (8.6lbs) and 51cm in length, she wasn't a small baby! Upon taking her first breath of fresh air, she immediately let us all know that her lungs were in perfect working order and that being naked and cold and out in the big wide world was most uncomfortable.

Dad was immediately smitten by this new little being. Mum was a bit too exhausted at the time to really take it all in and just wanted to close her eyes and sleep!

Once she had been weighed and measured and cleaned up a little, she was returned to the care of mum and dad. All three were then lead out of the Birthing Suite to one of the suites in the Maternity ward for some much needed rest.

Three days later, it didn't look as if we were going to be able to leave the hospital just yet. Jasmine developed jaundice from not getting enough fluids (mum's milk was slow in coming and in short supply). This is where things started getting distressing, moreso for mum and dad than baby herself. Due to the high levels of bilirubin (toxin associated with jaundice) in her body, there was no choice but to undergo Phototherapy (UV light) treatment. However, the weather last week was very cold, and severe wind storms had even taken out the power to the hospital on two nights (airconditioning cannot be run on generator power, so for those two nights, we almost froze!). Hence the midwives weren't taking any chances and Jasmine was put into a Humidicrib (incubator) just so that she didn't freeze to death as she had to lie under the lights completely free of clothing, even her nappy. Watching her sleep in a big, noisy machine under blue lights was not pleasant at all. (Several other events lead to even more distress and anxiety, but I'll spare you all the details - thankfully nothing was really that serious.)

Thankfully God had His firm hand on the whole ordeal, and a little short of 24 hours later, the bilirubin levels had dropped to a manageable level and the Phototherapy was no longer needed. We had to stay in hospital one more night for monitoring and to make sure that the bilirubin levels stayed down, but at least we were over the major hurdle.

Finally on the morning of Sunday, 10 July, Jasmine was given the all clear and we were able to take her home. We still have the breastfeeding hurdle to overcome, but hopefully that will sort itself out over time.

In the meantime, we have the fun job of trying to work out some sort of routine, getting rest where we can (although I'm finding this is an almost impossible task!), but best of all, enjoying our new little bundle of joy. (psst - she already has daddy firmly wrapped around BOTH her little fingers. LOL)

I'll leave you with a few last photos and hope that this whole post has made sense. Very little sleep is completely addling my brain and ability to string meaningful sentences together! :D




Hopefully normal programming will return to this blog, although don't hold me to that! LOL


*hugs*

22 comments:

Katherine said...

CONGRATULATIONS - she is GORGEOUS and an amazing miracle. I love the 'got milk ?' hat :D - thank you for putting on soooo many photos. Don't know what else to say - just enjoy (despite the sleep deprivation, sick,nappies....;)), and have an internet hug :)

Kat

Virginia said...

Ah Winnie this is such a beautiful post, congratulations on your beautiful daughter and despite the initial traumas with the phototherapy etc you are now home. The key to resting is when she sleeps you sleep, particularly if you're breastfeeding - finest piece of advice that my mid-wife gave me, ignor the state of the house (if it was anything like mine) and just go with her routine for a little while until you have managed to regain some of that lost sleep.

Hugs

dogmatix said...

Congratulations. She is gorgeous :)

misteejay said...

Winnie, she is beautiful and such fabulous photos. Congrats to both you & Gus on the safe arrival of your new addition to the family.

Love & hugs

Toni xx

Jo said...

Oh Winnie, she is so beautiful. Congratulations to you and Gus x

debbie r said...

oh my winnie she is absolutely adorable, the most beautiful little thing i have seen :) congratulations to you and gus, enjoy your time with your precious baby, lots and ots of love to the new family xxxx

Amanda said...

How lovely many congratulations to you both and welcome Jasmine. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos I'm sure there will be lots more to come. Wishing you all well.

Allycat x said...

Welcome to the world beautiful Jasmine - I hope you are going to be good for your mummy & daddy :) Congratulations to everyone :) xxx

Jenny said...

Congratulations to you both, she is absolutely gorgeous. Glad to hear you are both healthy :) Much love xxx

Sue aka Greyhound Lover said...

Oh Winnie what a total sweetheart she is, love the name. Huge congratulations to you both and thank you for sharing the beautiful photo's.

Wishing all three of you loads of love...

Sue xxx

Hannah said...

Oh Winnie, huge congratualtions to you all, she's a beautiful little bundle, and those photos are gorgeous. Try to get some good rest, and I look forward to hearing your progress :D
Hannah

Monika Wright | I Love It All said...

tears of joy and memories of my once little babies. she's a lovely and most wonderful creation, congratulations. I did natural and breastfeeding {for 12 months each} for all 3 of mine...stick with it, it is so worth it!

Unknown said...

Winnie - Jasmine is absolutely beautiful. The last photo of you as a family is wonderful, thanks for sharing all your great pics - I am sure you will enjoy every minute of your precious little bundle. Can't wait to see more of Jasmine as she grows up - Congratulations and I hope you get to take it easy for a little while. :) Love and hugs for all of you xxx

Irene & James Mah said...

Dear Winnie and Gus,

Jasmine is so gorgeous! She has a lot of hair! (Your photos are so professional!)

We hope you enjoy this time with your newborn. It is truly an amazing and precious gift.

Remember when times are tough, your baby is relying on you. You will remember the tough times as well as the good times in years to come, with great fondness. You might even miss it. :)

Enjoy the "milk drunk" expression while it lasts!!

miss you
Irene and James Mah

Jimjams said...

CONGRATULATIONS to you both - what a lovely family photo. So glad that you have survived the trials and tribulations of the first week - it will get better and better and better I'm sure. Beautiful photos of Jasmine too - WELCOME!

Jimjams said...

Oh and good luck with the breast feeding too - I had no problems and fed all 3 of mine for a LONG time - but equally, if it's not meant to be, please don't beat yourself up about it!

Sandra said...

Welcome little one, you are truly loved. Love and congratulations to you both, she's beautiful.

Jackie xxx said...

BIG, BIG, Congratulations. She looks so cute and what great and proud parents you both look. Looking forward to seeing more of our beautiful girl in up coming layouts.

Love & hugs
xxx

Unknown said...

Winnie Little Miss Jasmine is so so beautiful and I love the photo's - just adorable.

Huge congratulations to both you and Gus.

xxx

Lisa said...

Truly gorgeous!! congratulations to you both

Lisa
xxxx

Mel said...

Winnie!!!

Congratulations she is just adorable. Hope things are going well with the Breastfeeding, get all teh help you can is the best advice I can give, I've fed all my kids for about a year (am still going with the youngest, nearly a year now) it's worth it.

Well done on the natural birth and I love the last photo of the 3 of you.

Congratulations again. Look forward to seeing more.

Mel xx

Alison said...

Congratulations to you also, Winnie! Welcome to the world, beautiful Jasmine. I know exactly how you feel about the "no sleep" scenario - my brain won't switch itself off and allow me to sleep! I hope you enjoy each day as a family and have many precious memories to come. x

Related Posts with Thumbnails