Last night was a small reminder of what it was like to be new parents. Poor Amélie did not settle until 03:00 and for 99% of that time she was crying. We knew what is was (wind) but there was not a lot we could do. Tummy massage, rubbing and patting her back and pumping her legs were all tried and failed. Eventually, either they did work or it just passed naturally either way it meant a very stinky nappy change in the early hours. Hope you weren’t eating. Thankfully she did settle after that and apart from a feed at 06:30 we managed to get some semblance of sleep.
So today was the big day. The day that our family of four began its journey together. Nanny and Granddad brought Éowyn round to meet her new sister. I opened the door and Éowyn bounded through the door, as she had not seen her parents for the previous two days, “Hello Mommy, Hello Daddy,” she said. “Oh! Mommy’s baby!” she pointed at Amélie. And that was that.
Nanny and Granddad came round with Lucinda’s Uncle John and Auntie Margaret, who have flown over from Sydney and so became Amélie’s first visitors. She was on her best behaviour and so was Éowyn. We had bought Éowyn a baby born so that she also had a baby and I am sure that the delivery of it was far more traumatic than Amélie. The amount of wires and packaging meant that it took quite a while to set it free, which is always difficult when you have a small child eagerly waiting for it.
Our visitors left us after a cup of tea and some biscuits in time for lunch and our first meal together. However before we prepared lunch we thought it was about time that Éowyn got to know her little sister. So we got her to sit on the sofa with a cushion on her lap and then we laid Amélie on the cushion. Éowyn was a good as gold and sat there holding her hand and kissing her very gently on the forehead.
Éowyn had her afternoon nap and quite fortuitously the midwife chose that time to pay us our first visit. This allowed us, and her, to concentrate on Amélie. Nothing seemed to be a concern, although Amélie is showing signs of neonatal jaundice. Perfectly normal in 2 day old babies as their livers are not fully working and should disappear by the end of their first week. The cure is sunlight, which may be easier said than done when they have forecast heavy rain for tomorrow. Éowyn, also suffered from it, but not enough to warrant the UV lamp treatment (for she was in hospital and far from a good source of sunlight). The midwife will return on Monday to make sure that all is well.
After school, Amélie’s cousins, Lauren and Maddie, came round to see the new addition to the family. They had been keen to see her yesterday but because of the delay in being discharged we asked that they come today. Éowyn also likes playing with her older cousins and was quite excited to see them. It is nice to be part of such a close knit family. Both Lauren and Maddie got a cuddle, while Éowyn sat close by to keep an eye on them.
This evening it was just the four of us again. Éowyn has insisted on holding Amélie on a number of occasions and rather than the temper tantrum or feigned oblivity (if there is such a word) I think it is more likely that Éowyn will need to be held back from showing too much interest in her little sister.
As Amélie is seemingly settling down (the infacol is working – fingers crossed) we have decided to try and get an early night and catch up on the sleep we haven’t had and prepare ourselves for that we may not.
The first of the cards have arrived and we thank you early birds, it is very kind of you. As you may have noticed I am trying to do an update a day at the moment. They may not continue but please keep popping by for new photos here and on our Flickr page.
Peace and love
Baggie
