And Then There Was Cole - 1 month old

Dear Cole,

You're perfect. One month old and you couldn't be more perfect. You are a great sleeper. You never cry. You are gorgeous. And, of course, you are very clever. You were able to hold your head up the day you were born, and I think you even smile at me. I'm sure you'll be saying "octopus" really soon. We thought we had it good with Zoe, WELL that was NOTHING! Having a toddler makes me realize just how fabulous and EASY newborns are. We had one rough-ish night with you where you were unsettled (but not crying!) and found it hard to fall asleep at night. But, I think it was the Indian food I ate that night, we were probably both gastronimically affected.

One funny quirk is that you HATE getting your nappy changed and HATE being naked. When the wind hits your willy, you scream as though we are pulling your fingernails out with pliers. I made a song dedicated to you...

(the tune is to "That's Amore")
Whhhhennnn thhhe wind hits your willy
Like a big a-breeze so chilly
Thaaaaat's a screamer...

Zoe loves that song and gets me to sing it over and over. I need to come up with more verses.

You (or we) haven't mastered the breastfeeding thing yet... but we're getting there. The midwives in the hospital said that it was because you were born at 37 weeks. I guess that's the tricky age... we're having "attachment" issues. We're getting around it with some shields, but I don't want to use them forever! I tried a week without them and the seering pain has made me revert. I'll be seeing some breast feeding councilors on Monday and if that doesn't help, then off to a lactation consultant again. It was painful with Zoe as well and the lactation consultant said that you were attaching fine, so I just had to wait it out. But, I'm not so sure with you... I'll see what the experts say.

This month has gone by so very quickly and we've all been so busy. Grandma Simpson was here for 3 weeks to help out and have some cuddle time with you. You are a very cuddly baby and like to fall asleep in our arms. My cuddle bug. You were a star, and I know that she enjoyed hanging out with you and being with you.

You're starting to have more awake time, it's about an hour in the morning and a little less in the afternoon. You will go 2 five hour stretches at night, so I'm feeding you at about 12.30am and then 5.30am. I'd like to swing it so that I feed you at 10pm and then 3.30am, but that will take some time I think.

And, we finally have a cot to put you in. Your surprise arrival meant that your nursery was a storage room, but it's totally looking like a nursery now! Daddy built you a wardrobe and bookcase and they're populated with baby boy things, and the cot is set up, complete with bedding and a mobile! It's lucky that your room is the warmest in the house because you DO NOT like being cold (you take after me) but I do find it bizarre that we'll have the house set at 23 degrees and it will be 25 in your room. (For those Perthlings that don't know this, we have ducted gas heating in our house) How does that happen? I don't know. But, we've cooled it down a bit now so that it hovers around 22ish.

Cole, we love you and think that you're swell. Keep up the good work!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy
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The Birth Story

So, it's 1am Monday and my Braxton Hicks contractions start having pain with them. I check my pregnancy book and it pretty much says that if they aren't that painful that it's probably not labour. They weren't too painful, so I try to sleep. 6am and still having them, I call the hospital and they say to come in and they'll monitor the baby.

I get ready for work first (hee hee, must make sure not a hair is out of place), and RJ, Zoe and I head off to the hospital. I actually got really faint and vomitted out the car window. I think I was really nervous and kinda knew what was going to happen deep down that day… They monitor the baby and all is well. Dot dot dot. Then my obstetrician rocks up and says "Guess what Andrea, you're going to have a baby right now!". She said that I was indeed contracting all night and that once nature starts down this path, there's no stopping it. She looks at RJ, points to Zoe and says "You have to arrange something with her NOW". We are very lucky to have such great friends around, and Jules was our lifesaver and took her for the day. It was all very rush rush (so I was getting stressed, I almost forgot to tell work that I wouldn't be in). The doctor kept asking where RJ was and so I had to keep phoning him. First he was just getting out of the parking lot. Then he was on his way home. Then he was turning back into the parking lot… I had to tell him "ohooooo deeeeear, they're wheeeeeeeling me down… hurry up!". But, he made it back in time and our Cole was born via c-section. About 20 minutes later, his breathing was a little laboured (common when born at 37 weeks) and so they whisked him off to neonatal.

3. Weeks. Early. What does this mean? It means the nursery is a storage room. It means that I didn't get my 2 weeks vacation. It means that I didn't have the hospital bag packed. It means that my mom didn't arrive in time for the birth. It means that all our friends were watching Zoe during the day. It means that I didn't finish the quiet book that I was making as a gift. It means that none of the furniture that RJ was building is finished. It's hard for a "planner" like me to have surprises like this. Luckily you are a fabulous surprise. A sweet surprise. A lovable surprise.

The "hotel" stay was quite uneventful. Cole was on the CPAP system for a couple of days (consequently, Regis Philbin also uses CPAP at night for his sleep apnea, I know this because the hospital has awesome TV at 3am and he was on David Letterman). Cole also had an IV for a few days, so we had a slow start to the breastfeeding, but I was expressing and then bottle feeding. I still have my "abundant" supply, or with Zoe, I called it my chocolate milk because she was a little Buddha baby, so Cole will have rolls in no time. Until then, I will enjoy his wee chicken legs, they're so adorable.

Yes, the "Hyatt hotel", as I call the St.John Of God hospital, did not disappoint. The room was lovely, the foxtel cable was GREAT (I got to catch up on my Project Runway, all the Lifestyle decorating shows, Gilmore Girls [yes, daggy] and Sex in the City at all hours of the day). The menus to choose from were great, I had bacon and runny poached eggs every morning. The drugs are fab, but of course "Just say no", right kids? And, babies always sleep so well in the hospital. Oh yes, and they also have room service. Yup, you heard me. It's a hotel. What's not to like???

I had Cole nuzzled on my chest, and I was watching cable TV in bed, after dining on my sushi:
RJ: "Oh dear, you like it here, don't you".
Me: "Mmmm, I could do this again". ***
RJ: "It's just cheaper to get Foxtel".





*** Disclaimer: We won't be doing this again, did I mention the fab drugs? Makes you think you can have 8 kids and they'll all be angel sleepers and easy easy easy.
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