An eventful week

For those who don't already know... I achieved mummy status at 9:45 pm on Monday night.  Baby Ruprecht - officially known as James - is now 5 days old and appears to have got over his lengthy ordeal of a birth, which culminated in him being delivered by caesarian.  
 
This being the internet and all, it is only proper to start with 'pics or it didn't happen'.  (Obviously feel free to ignore these if you hate babies or have already seen them on Facebook...)

 

( Cut for the uninterested )

 

 

So... it's been a crazy, emotional week.  I don't think anything could have prepared me for the onset of slushy, hardcore baby-love that kicked in with a vengeance around day two or three.  It's really quite surprising to find oneself suddenly moved to tears just by looking down at a tiny, warm little head on your chest.  There are these crazy waves of happiness and adulation that coincide with a terrible hormone drop that turns you into a leaky tap of depair, where every problem and fear becomes desperate and keeps you up at night.  But I believe the plummet usually only lasts a few days, so hopefully I might be a bit less mental by next week.  

   

For anyone curious about the birth and why I had a caesarian, I have elaborated below.   (It's a bit of a lengthy saga, but I wanted to record it here for my own benefit and memories.)

 

 

( Cut for the even less interested )

 

  

Now I'm home and trying in vain to follow instructions to be sedentary and to avoid lifting James.  This is nigh impossible, but I suspect that I may have overdone things a bit and given myself pains, so I plan to try and be less active in the next few days.  I've been feelng quite a lot of stress this week over some breastfeeding difficulties and how little James seems to eat... he was weighed on Wed and had lost more of his birth weight than the midwife was comfortable with.  He has a frustrating habit of latching onto a breast, sucking for only five minutes, and then falling asleep with a look of beatific serenity on his face.  But thankfully today, after an obsessive fattening-up programme and some expressing into bottles to measure what he's eating, he was found to have put some weight back on and seems to be upping his appetite a bit.  Tomorrow I'm hopng for a less anxious day, spending a few sunny hours with Rup in the heatwave - perhaps even sitting outside for a bit (in the shade, obv).  

   

Some of you have asked how the kit-babies have reacted to the new arrival.  I'm conscious that they're suffering a little from a sudden drop in attention from me, and becoming persona non grata in all of the places where James is stowed for safety...   but I think it's a short lived phase that we need to go through while he is tiny and everyone will be used to each other soon.  I do still sneak them some cuddles when I can - and thankfully Sara Lou has also been on hand to give them some surrogate love.  Most of the time they seem happy enough scampering around together, so I don't think there is much harm done.

  

Well... I suppose that's been quite a long ramble so I will refrain from saying any more for now.   I should just mention that I'm hugely thankful to everyone for the good wishes and cards and gifts that we've had, which includes many of you - so thank you!