Ashley is 1 Month Old

Ashley turned 1 month on Friday and even though there are plenty of sleepless nights (and days), I can’t believe how time flies.

When we came out of hospital we both ended up sleeping in the lounge to enjoy the air conditioning but now that the weather has cooled down we are back in my bedroom and Ashley is more settled. It was hard for him to sleep in the lounge with the TV going and the lights on while I was up working.

The last weeks have been tough because Ashley has had really bad wind and would be up all hours of the night. After hungrily trying advice (no matter how stupid) gathered from well intended family and friends I have finally found a solution. I am giving Ashley Infacol drops and using teats that came with some new cheap bottles I bought. The more expensive newborn/anti-colic teats seem to flow too quickly and he was gulping his feed and falling asleep in about 20 minutes. Now his feed and settling takes an hour but he is much happier.

Ashley loves his baths, food (of course), his hands, poking out his tongue and cuddles but hates having his clothes and nappy taken off and having to wait for his food. He has already started making cooing noises, will look at you intently when you talk and sing, is showing an interest in his toys and is learning how to smile. He is now not sleeping all the time and after waking at about 7 – 8am he will stay awake in his bassinette, on the floor or being held while he looks around. He will stay awake until his next feed at lunch time.

Introducing My Beautiful Baby Boy...Ashley William Hayfield

Firstly I want to say thank you to everyone for their visits, presents, prayers and well wishes. Below are some photos of Ashley that were taken in the hospital as well as some pictures of all the pressies we received.

You will probably notice that in some of the photos Ashley looks really yellow. He had a bit of jaundice but during the days in hospital it cleared up, meaning that he didn’t have to have any treatment.

Baby's first bath. Ashley loves the water.

Unexpected Early Arrival

Ashley and I finally returned home on Sunday. Although I was booked to have a caesarean birth on the 3rd of March, Ashley had other ideas. At 5am on the 19th of February my waters broke. I was lucky I had my bag packed except for a few last minute things. After calling the hospital to let them know I was on the way I called Mum and Fiona. Mum was already prepared to take me in (I am a bit OCD) and this was arranged months in advanced with towels and plastic already in Mum’s car just in case. The hospital is a 35 minute drive from home and I was lucky that by the time I got there I was only having mild contractions.

Fiona met us at the hospital and after being prepared for surgery I was the first one in at 8am. After having an epidural (this was the bit I was scared of the most) I was laid down, cut open and Ashley was born. Both Mum and Fiona were my birthing partners but only one person was allowed in the theatre. After they whipped out Ashley they brought him over to show me before turning to show him to Fiona (who was lucky enough to experience his first wee). They took him to one side where the Paediatrician checked him out before wrapping him and giving him over to me to hold for the remainder of the surgery (as per my birth plan).

After returning to my room I was met by Mum who was waiting to hold her first grandchild. She has been great helping me out both before and after the pregnancy including buying all of his furniture and doing my housework. By the end of the pregnancy I was so big I could only walk short distances and my belly measured 155cm in circumference.

At about 2pm Ashley was taken into Neonatal ICU because his oxygen levels were at 94% (which isn’t that bad) but the Paediatrician wanted the levels at 97% or above. While in there his body temperature was also a little low so he was put into a humidicrib over night. Thank God the following afternoon his levels had picked up and he was returned to me. For me the first night was a little worrying, hoping and praying that Ashley was going to be OK.

Ashley is now doing great, eating well and is a very happy and contented baby. He has a great set of lungs which he only uses when he is hungry or wet but besides that he is sleeping for 4 hours at a time, for which I am very grateful.

I am OK and was up and about the next day (I have a high pain threshold) and was able to look after Ashley straight away (the hospital encourages you to have the baby in your room as much as possible). Due to the Gestational Diabetes I have had to continue to have my blood sugar levels measured and the yesterday it was discovered that I have a blood clot in one of calves. I now have to wear pressure stockings and give myself blood thinning injections daily for 6 weeks before returning for another scan in which they hope to see that it has dissolved.