Our third night home – the night before last – was much better than our second. Was able to feed Jessica regularly without resorting to any of the formula we had ready in the fridge, she slept soundly in between and I even managed to catch a bit of shut-eye… Can apparently take 7-10 days for Mum and baby to both take to this breastfeeding lark, so as with everything else it’ll be one step at the time.
After lunch we had another visit from a midwife – not my usual one this time, but another lady, who’d brought scales and lots of little needles. It was time for the five day newborn blood spot screening test, and I guess you can imagine what Jessica thought of that…! Still, it was soon over with. Baby’s first “weigh in” since our hospital stay showed that she had only lost 140 grams – as weight loss in the first five days can be as much as 10% of the birth weight, we felt reassured that she’s eating well.
The midwife also gave us the tip to keep Jessica cooler during the day than at night – e.g. not put a blanket over her daytime – to encourage her to be more active and gradually learn to separate day from night. Which hopefully in time will help allow Mum and Dad to keep slightly more sociable hours…
Also went out for Jessica’s first walk yesterday afternoon, and my first bit of fresh air since going into hospital. As the midwife arrived just as we were about to get ready, the lovely sunshine had unfortunately turned into drizzle mixed with downpours when we eventually got outside. Having felt all cooped up in our flat I was still enjoying every minute of it, whereas Jessica simply slept through the entire Big Event. Still – we can always show her the piccies when she gets older… After a necessary stop at the shops (should point out that Jessica and I waited outside while Ian dashed in), we did a lap around the Memorial Park. No speed records were broken, as I’m still a bit of a slow and careful walker, but we got plenty of opportunity to test the 3-wheel drive of Jessica’s terrain vehicle around puddles and over grass verges.
Gabriella