You would think that after three days of utter frustration we'd be rushing to get out of the hospital. . . But today was a day of utter delight! Medical Check: Initial baby checks Admin: E-mail address created Gifts: A jumper and mittens Tuesday 2nd OctoberI woke up at 9.00am on Tuesday and the baby was still soundly asleep in his glass hospital cot. I felt so accomplished, happy and proud: the 15 hour labour, the childbirth and the 9 subsequent hours trying to soothe the baby were only a distant memory, as was all the emotional turmoil we felt whilst waiting for the baby to arrive. The frustrations of being aimlessly stuck in a hospital ward were no longer there too - all that mattered to me was this perfect little baby. He was perfect. James and I both kept staring into his little face, feeling such love and awe - we kept saying just how amazing and precious and . . . well, perfect he was! Ronald, our son. Our boy. . . Suddenly, all the frustrations of being stuck in the hospital were a thing of the past. We had a little miracle to focus on, a tonne of new things to do and learn and an extra day at the ward seemed like a real blessing. There was no need to brave the outside world just yet and we could really do with some extra sleep! In other words, we were happy that we could stay at the ward for an extra day! We noticed that he likes to have his arms out and up by his face. He gets upset if we swaddle his arms too tightly and always finds a way to free his arms and raise them to his little face, no matter what we do. He simply likes to have his arms free so I couldn't help but proclaim Ron to be from a #FreeArmMovement! The consulting doctor (who admitted us to the ward a couple of days earlier) came in that morning, congratulating us with the birth. He said that at 8lb 11oz the baby was indeed of a good size and asked me where was I hiding him! He then fully agreed with us that the baby was utterly gorgeous, he said "we always tell the parents that their new baby is beautiful - but this one actually is!" He then said that if we wanted to have a home birth for the second child, we have his blessing! However, James and I had such a great experience at the ward, we would probably plan to come into the hospital. . . The midwife who helped deliver Ronnie came to see us. I told her that I really enjoyed the experience of giving birth and, she confirmed that I had a smile on my face throughout and said that it was indeed a very good birth, I did as I was told and it made her work easier. She also praised James for being such a huge help! Medical Check: Initial baby checks With our written permission, she proceeded to check the baby over. She explained that when he was born they did a preliminary "all fingers and toes" kind of a check, but this was a more thorough examination. She checked the baby's head, eyes, gums, hips and private parts. All was well. She then showed us the reflexes he had - the little hands grabbing onto her finger, the little feet attempting to walk when he was lifted up, the fear and startle he showed when she pretended to drop him. Then, she brought out a hand held device that was going to test Ron's hearing. We thought it was going to make a sound, but it turned out that it works by sending signals to the brain and recording the response. The midwife couldn't explain exactly how it worked, but she knew it was an expensive piece of equipment. And that there was no sound to spook the baby. . . Ron passed in his right ear, but then failed the test in his left ear. The midwife explained that this was common with babies, they can accumulate some gunk in the ear during birth and said we would re-test the left ear tomorrow once it has more time to clear. Then, another midwife turned up with advice for breastfeeding positions and tips about dressing the baby - she specifically advised us not to worry about the poppers on the legs of onesies, just slide the legs in from the main part of the bodysuit. It is a parenting hack that I will follow for a long time to come! I am also sure that there will be many more that we'll learn along the way! Admin: E-mail address created "Now he is all registered and official" said James as he closed the laptop screen. I looked at him puzzled - I am the local registrar and it was my job to register the baby with the county records and issue him with a birth certificate! What did James mean, I wondered. . . "I have created Ron's email address with Google - he is all set up!" confirmed James and I couldn't help but chuckle. I could see it all now - Ron will soon have his own YouTube channel, Twitter account, Facebook (or whatever kids in the future will use?) and be a Social Media wiz! I guess that is kinda true, with James having a keen interest in vlogging and all. . . Gifts: A jumper and mittens Later in the afternoon we were visited at the ward by a neighbour and a good friend of ours, who was in town at the same time because she was about to have her second baby (her due date was in 2 day's time!). After a couple of days of seeing only nurses and doctors, seeing her was really good - a reminder that there is life outside the hospital! She was also the first guest that Ronnie ever entertained! She was full of congratulations for us and said how cute and adorable Ronnie looked. We agreed that Ronald was a name that sounds too big for just a little person and that, for now, Ronnie fit him so much better. James and I like all versions of the name: Ronald, Ron, Ronnie, and use them interchangeably. We talked about babies and about giving birth, us saying how much we enjoyed our experience and her saying that she was in the zone totally ready for her experience. Our friend left and we spent the rest of the day taking a million photos of Ronnie and showing him to everybody that we ran into at the hospital. There was another new dad with a young baby at the ward who had congratulated us - he had seen our frustrations of waiting for this baby and looked genuinely pleased for us when he saw us wondering around with little Ronnie in arms! We decided that we feel recovered and ready to leave the hospital and travel back home on tomorrow's morning boat. We packed our bags and spoke to the midwife, who gave us our leaving pack containing some paperwork and information leaflets and then she officially discharged us from the ward - we were finally free to go back home first thing in the morning!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
My Stories
All
Archives |