We have a baby! We are parents. . . Ronnie is finally here and we are so incredibly happy! Now we must leave the maternity ward and get back home, where a new life awaits. Medical Check: Left ear hearing test Parenting: Getting wet! Milestone: First time outdoors Experience: First car & boat journey Experience: Home and dogs Wednesday 3rd OctoberWe were up really early as this was the day we wanted to go back home. We had packed most of our bags and were officially discharged the previous night but there were still a couple of things we needed to take care of. Medical Check: Left ear hearing test The midwife came back to re-check the left ear and, sure enough, Ronnie passed the test. This baby was "rocking it" again, which was my sentiment throughout the pregnancy whenever all tests came back clear. . . The midwife then asked if we had witnessed the baby boy wetting himself and we both said that we haven't yet. She explained that it would be good to be sure that nature got everything right and that it was all working well, so we agreed to keep an eye out for that. . . Later that morning another midwife noted that Ronnie has a little bit of sticky eye going on, a blocked tear duct which she said we can easily manage by washing his eyes using cotton wool and warm water - or better still, using some expressed breast milk as it has a lot of anti-inflammatory properties! Parenting: Getting wet! We then started packing and preparing to leave the hospital and head back home. A brand new addition to our preparations has become checking all the needs of our brand new little baby: making sure he was clean, dry, warm, well fed and happy was essential before heading out into the big wide world for the first time. James and I were so excited about being parents that we always wanted to do everything together - hold him, change him, swaddle him and yes, change his nappy too! It was all new and exciting but it was also somewhat essential for us both to be present - you see, James has a massive cringe and dislike to cotton wool and it's what the hospital had for us to clean Ron with, so it was my job to clean and his job to wrap. . . a real team effort. However, before we got as far as cleaning and wrapping, something else happened. . . A parenting first! A milestone, if you will. . . We got weed on! I ran out of the ward to grab more cotton and excitedly explained to the nurses what had just happened. They smiled and congratulated us, saying this is a definite milestone of being a parent! I couldn't help but feel proud! This also reassured me regarding an earlier remark that the midwife made - everything was indeed well with my little baby boy! We finished packing and wrote thank you cards, one to the midwives and one to the domestic assistants, they all did a fantastic job at looking after us so well. I couldn't help but shed a little tear as I gave the card and some chocolates to the midwives, who were at the time having a staff meeting. Milestone: First time outdoors And just like that we were ready to go. It was approaching 9 o'clock and the taxi was going to come any minute now so James dropped all our bags on the bench just outside the ward and then we picked up the little baby, now wearing three layers of warm knitted onesies and at least as many hats! As we were walking past the nurses station I explained that Ron was a "star baby" (an inside joke really, all babies in Lithuanian harsh winters are so well dressed up that they end up looking like stars, unable to move their elbows and knees!). They agreed that he was indeed a star, possibly missing the actual point of my remark. We thanked everybody and then we were outside. Ronnie still had a bit of sticky eye and I realised I had no tissues on me, so I ran back in and said "I'm just back for some tissues, something a mum must always carry on her!". A midwife ran to the cabinet and gave me a pack of actual tissues, despite me only wanting a bit of paper that they have stocked by the hand wash basins around the hospital. It was really sweet and lovely. . . And then I was back outside, with James and my baby boy, waiting for the taxi. That's when it hit me - I was so sad to leave the unit. We had a brief but very emotional and rewarding stay, and everybody had been really nice and lovely. . . It was almost like leaving home, leaving family. . . James said, it felt like leaving the army barracks after years of service - that feeling of "let me back in" mixed in with a little bit of "what do I do now?". . . This is when we realised it was Ronnie's first time outdoors! He felt a chilly October wind on his little face and that made him sleepy, so he slept as James was holding him there just in front of the maternity unit, where he was so warm and safe on the first day of his life. We were so excited to be going back home, where a new life awaited all of us! Experience: First car & boat journey The taxi came to pick us up, fitted with a baby seat as we had requested upon booking. The driver helped James load the bags into the boot of the car as I was holding on to what I described as "precious cargo"! Before I could even begin to attempt putting my baby boy into the car seat, the driver informed me that it is actually not against the law to hold the baby on my knees - provided it was in a hired taxi and it was a short distance journey. I figured a taxi driver would know things like that for a fact so James jumped in front and I sat behind the driver in the back seat, holding the baby. And off we went, it was a first car ride for little Ronnie! We had a little bit of time to kill before the boat to Eday arrived, so we sat in the waiting room at the pier. I fed the baby as James popped into town shops for last minute bits and bobs. He returned with a bacon butty and it was so good to have a bit of breakfast. . . We then investigated the facilities that we usually ignored - a baby changing room which was part of the disabled toilet there at the waiting room. We knew that wherever we go now, we would have to keep an eye out for things like that. . . We were parents now! The boat arrived and we went outside to wait for the signal to board it. We saw one of our neighbours disembark and she congratulated us on the arrival of our little one. Then the boat had disappeared? We were so confused as to which boat she came from - all a part of the sleep deprived baby brain, I am sure! A group of people were waiting to catch a boat to one of the other islands and couldn't help but go all "aaaawwwww" when they saw Ronnie. They asked us how old he was and were very impressed when we said "two days!". I realised that you don't meet someone so young very often, so it was indeed very much an "aaaawwwww" moment! Then a man standing nearby started a conversation with us, explaining that he was from Kirkwall but had never been to Eday before. He had a bicycle with him and was going on a couple of day holiday, hoping to return to town on Friday. He had an OS map of Eday so we showed him the best beaches to visit and the walks he could explore on his bike. His name was Alan and he was a lovely Orcadian man so we said "well, if you're up North end of Eday, pop in for a cuppa". Then the boat turned up (or was it there this whole time?) and Ron and I were the first people to board it. We grabbed a table in the narrow seating area by the cafeteria, placed the baby nice and securely on the table between us and we were off - it was Ronnie's first boat trip. It was a smooth sailing, he was asleep through it and we were so happy to be heading home. Experience: Home and dogs Sam and Charlie, our two lovely puppies, have been missing us since Friday evening. They had been very well looked after by our friendly neighbours, but they had missed James and I, so were very excited when we came back home. We decided that it is best not to make a big deal about the baby when introducing the dogs to Ron, so we didn't make any special arrangements - we simply walked through the door and said hello. There was a lot of boingy wagglies happening and James took the brunt of it: Sam was most interested in our bags and Charlie was giving James big kisses. I snuck by almost undetected and sat on the chair by the fire, very pleased to be back home. A strange feeling came over me. It was a sort of "it's all done" feeling of completion - there was no more waiting and nothing else to do. It was all done, the baby was here and we were back home. I was brought back to reality by a tonne of excited kisses from my lovely puppies. Ron received a very nonchalant sniff and then they were back to investigating James's bags. That was it - the dogs were introduced to the baby. They continued to ignore the baby for the rest of the day and there was an air of calmness and tranquillity in our home. Here is a video trying to capture some of the best moments from these first few days:
That evening the emotions that I describe in my recovery chapter kicked in. I was crying over just how perfect my little boy is. I was crying because there would come a day when he left home and got married. I was enjoying and savouring every second with my baby but the seconds seemed to fly by ever so fast, precious time fleeting from my hands. That made me sad and I cried. James realised that my emotions were bringing up all sorts of irrational thoughts (I mean I was crying over Ron getting married!?) and that there were no actual problems for him to solve, so he made me a cup of tea and left me be for a while. Once I felt a little better, he brought me my wedding ring back (as I had removed it at the start of August) and as he gave it to me, he said "will you marry me, again?". That was so sweet and I am so much in love! And of course I will and I do! All through the day Ron was eating well and sleeping a lot. Basically, he was being a great baby! He was calm, happy, loved; very very much loved!
We were in love, we were happy and we were somewhat dazed. This was the start of our "babymoon" week. . .
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