It has been a couple of days so I feel that I owe you a quick update and some more photos (OK it’s just the photos that you are here for isn’t it?). The last time you heard from me was Saturday night so what has happened over the last couple of days?
It is not very often that one of the most exciting things that happens to this family is sleep but that is exactly what happened on Saturday night. Ezra is less than a week old so we are fully prepared for sleep depravation however Ezra threw us a curved ball by sleeping for just over 5 hours on his fourth night in the big wide world. Yes, unlike his sisters Ezra simply eats and sleeps (and poops) at the moment. He seems very contented and only cries when it is food time. Now maybe this is due to the fact that we are more confident parents and he senses this; maybe it is because he is a boy or maybe it is just him.
So was this just a one-off? Perhaps a little too early to tell yet and although he didn’t last quite as long last night again he woke when he was hungry, fed, then went back to sleep. We can not ask for any more from him.
So Sunday morning we awoke feeling more human and somewhat surprised and ready to receive visitors. If Saturday was the turn of the Bagnall side then Sunday it was the ‘Badger’ side’s turn to meet the newest member of the family. Lucinda’s brother Steve and his family popped round early afternoon. This meant that Ezra had met (and had a cuddle from) all of his first cousins. This included Finley his only male cousin and the original owner of some of his clothes.
Then Lucinda’s mum’s sisters, Aunties Sally and Diana came round with Adam and Lucy and John. Again Ezra was very well behaved although his sisters were a little over-excited. It must be very difficult for them because they are no longer the centre of attention when people come round. We are trying to involve them in everything but obviously Ezra is the draw and they know that.
Both Éowyn and Amélie have been brilliant with him though. They both fight over wanting to hold him and sit with a cushion on their lap and have quickly learnt to support his head. Amélie especially will sit for an extended period holding her little brother, stroking his head and kissing him. She is very cute, if at times a little heavy handed but that is to be expected and we obviously supervise them when they have him.
We have spent a very quiet Monday at home getting used to being a family. The rain, hail and thunderstorms were a deterrent for even making it up the road to Nanny and Granddad’s. Our family enclave was only invaded once by the 5 day check up by the local midwives. They examined Ezra and took blood via the blood spot (heel prick) test. This upset Éowyn thinking that these strange people who had come into our house were hurting her little brother. Fortunately although it looked painful he was feeding and must have had his mind on better things because he didn’t even flinch.
They checked Lucinda and made sure that all was well with her and then finally weighed Ezra. He weighed in at a surprising 3.92kgs (8lbs 10oz); he had only lost 92 grams. This is excellent, it means that he is feeding well and we will be more content to let him sleep rather than fretting that he has slept for 5 hours! A new born baby can lose up to 10% of their birth weight before the medical profession get too worried. At this rate Ezra will probably surpass his birth weight on my birthday and definitely by his next weigh-in on Saturday.
So as I sit here with Ezra sleeping on my chest I will leave you to enjoy the latest crop of photos.
Love and Peace
Baggie
