Jasper (and my) Homecoming

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We're finally HOME!!! sigh...

Thanks for the well wishes from people, and sorry for the general lack of calls, texts and emails.

Here's a summary of Jasper's entry into the world. Hope it is coherent enough. Think you could count the number of hours sleep I've had on one hand.

We had hoped for a natural birth, and had been meeting with a lovely independent midwife, who had arrangements with our hospital to do deliveries there. We liked the idea of someone we knew, rather than a team of strangers coming and going.

The whole shebang kicked off just after midnight on the Thursday at home in bed. I let Jamie sleep till dawn, mostly for selfish reasons, so he would be well rested for looking after me. Around 8 the midwife came to the house and I utilised our new bath to try and take the edge off.

Late morning (11ish?) she suggested it was time to go to hospital. We got the fancy birthing suite for those going a la naturale (spa, birthing pool, gym balls, slings and things). We found out after, it was actually the only one available at the time -epi's are big here. (With the full moon and Easter strange factors were at work, and they had an extreme number of deliveries going on, so the hospital was packed out). Things progressed pretty well (which is not saying I wouldn't have woken the neighbours three doors down) and with 1cm to go, estimated time of delivery was before sundown. Unfortunately hours later the sun was going down and no change.

So the gyno and anaesthetist were called in, we downgraded birthing suites to the 'mildly medical' room, and went with the epi and oxytocin for a couple of hours. Alas, all the same - probably due to pelvis being a smidgeon small.

Decision was then made to do a c-section under a local anaesthetic. For that we had to move to the majorly medical 'foetus frightening' room. Unfortunately, after increasing the dose 4 times I could still feel the test 'cut'.

Despite our best efforts at a natural birth, we actually wound up right at the other end, with me under general anaesthetic. Jasper officially made his entrance into the world at 1:05am Easter Friday, April 6th (7:05am Perth time). There were some initial concerns with him, but he made a quick recovery. As it turns out, there were also issues with my placenta being buried in the wall(not sure if that kind of talk is like mentioning periods to guys!), so ironically I may have needed a general anyway, and being under already could have saved my womb if things had gone awry with a normal delivery.

So anyway, that is partially in way of explanation as to why communication has been so scarce. Things were pretty chaotic at the start and in some weird time dimension. I was receiving text messages with friends saying they can't wait to meet little Jasper before I had even met him myself.

Jasper is doing fabulously, with a big thumbs up from the paediatrician, despite the difficult labour. He's loving 'booby time', although is like the traditional male in being able to snooze off. He looks just like his dad (I keep driving Jamie crazy by saying he looks just like Jasper, when he makes certain faces). We are completely besotted.

I have had to battle to get Jasper from Jamie at times. As suspected, he has the baby sling on most of the time, and seems to relish each nappy change. He has been fantastic, just incredibly supportive through what was a pretty trying time. Superhubby and superdaddy.

Having mum here has also been invaluable working behind-the-scenes at home, providing motherly advice, hugs and an extra pair of hands (you gotta love the experience of 6 hands trying to wrestling a fidgetting creature to suction onto you). Aunty Ali got a couple of hospital visits in, but with the extended stay there returned to London today without getting to open the Moet she'd brought for the homecoming. Still, who needs Moet when you've got Jasper cuddles.

OK... that's the end of my brain functionality for the moment. Lots of pictures if click on the picture/link at top, and no doubt many more will come.

Thanks again to all for well wishes, and hopefully will have some personal contact (ohmigod the outside world!!!) soon.