The arrival of our little boy was unforgettable in many ways
Elliott Finn Graham entered this world @ 2:39 am on Tuesday morning 03/04/07. He weighed 3.64 kg (8.02 lb), head circumference 36 cm, and was 51 cm long.
By the end we wondered if we would ever have our baby. It had been an amazing pregnancy with very few hiccups and Kel was terrific! Physically, apart from gaining the obvious baby bump, the whole experience wasn’t too hard (not too much foot swelling, back ache etc..). Probably the worst thing was the reflux in the middle of the night and some shooting sciatic pain near the end. What we had not expected was the emotional stress that came at the end of the pregnancy. Apart from Angela, no one really warned us of the stress that an overdue baby would bring. Once we passed our due dates (17th or 19th, March depending on who you talk to) the anticipation was unbelievable! Brett turing up at work each day to enthusiastic enquiries “anything happened yet”... answered more and more agitated with “I wouldn’t be here if anything had happened”. Kel fielding endless phone calls, text messages and emails, all asking a similar question. In the end it was just so hard because our goal had become to keep on living and not focus on the “When” question but then everyone we talked to would remind us of the “When” question and draw our minds back to the seemingly never-ending wait. Of course this was also difficult because we knew that all enquiries were actually made because people cared deeply for us and were overwhelmed by the excitement of meeting our baby.
Now there's no point boring/scaring/shocking anyone with details, but suffice it to say the birth didn't go the way we hoped (though there was no reason to expect it would). Having said that, here's a thumbnail sketch of how it went. Being 42 weeks, a planned induction started on Sunday morning with an attempt to assist in dilating the cervix (Cervadil)... sadly, after waiting overnight, nothing happened. The next moring Kel's membranes were ruptured and IV Syntocinon was put up. After 14 hours of induced labour and a couple of setbacks along the way the medical team decided that the induction had failed and recommended a caesarian section. We agreed with this and from there it was a whirl-wind (quite surreal) but thankfully it all went like clockwork and at 2:39 am we met our little boy!
Our First family photo: Elliott was about 2 minutes old!Week one (03/04/07 to 09/04/07)
We spent nearly the entire first week in Hospital (on beloved K1) largely because we wanted to give Kel time to recover from the caesarian and in hindsight it gave us areally good start. When Kel and Elliott were first transferred to the ward they were in a general ward room (4 share) and I wasn't allowed to stay. So at 4 am I left and came home for 2 hrs sleep before getting things together and returning to K1. That morning, without knowing how or why, we were transferred to a single room (Rm 5), which was just the best thing. Most importantly, it meant that I could stay overnight... and I did for the next 4 nights! In that time Elliott was only out of our sight for about 3 hrs on the first night, when one of the midwives took him to check him over and settle him for us. We spent the rest of our time just getting to know each other and introducing Elliott to many family and friends. Some of my special memories include a couple of times when I was able to settle Elliott from being really worked up. It was the nicest feeling having him just surrender and melt into my arms. The other highlight was our guy time (1-3 pm during rest time on the ward) we just walked the halls of the John Hunter Hospital and every passer-by would want to say hi to us and congratulations (babies have a magical ability to remove any social barriers). These fond memories, of course, are in addition to the cool experience of watching my son hang out with his mum. Kel's strongest memories of that first week mostly center around feeding, bathing and changing Elliott. Breastfeeding was quite a challenge and Elliott probably picked it up quicker than Kel (which helped a lot) but she'll never forget when her milk came in... that's for sure. In that first week, Elliott was not a fan of the bath, he basically whinged and cried through the experience (but we are sure he was pleased to be clean after it was all over). Finally the most indellable memory of changing Elliott was the time he had his nappy off and managed to wee in my mouth (thankfully the diet he was on meant it tasted pretty much like water).
Farewell K1: thanks for the memoriesBringing Elliott home was the best. I remember coming home a week earlier, for those 2 hrs sleep the morning he was born, and after parking the car I looked at the house and it dawned on me that this would be his first home, our first home. I took basically a month off (last two weeks working from home apart from a couple of experiment days in the lab) so we really got to spend a lot of time getting to know each other. We found that Elliott liked dancing with us in front of the stereo... his favourite track was Frontier Psychiatrist by The Avalanches for a while and, though it's hard to believe, he fell straight to sleep the first time he heard Darren Hanlon (one of his mum and dad's favoutrite artists). He came around to thinking the bath isn't so bad this week as well, but once out he still registered his objections.
Bath time with DaddyProbably the biggest events for Kel and I this week were the realisations that Elliott relied on us for everything and if he got sick we would have to fix it for him. The first scare was conjunctivitis... turns out many babies get a bit of a sticky eye in the first weeks of life as the tear ducts are sometimes a little so to open properly. The bigger scare was on Wednesday (11/04/07) when Kel started to feel crook (flu like symptoms including a temperature) and then Elliott did a massive vomit! This all happened at about 8 pm and it quickly dawned on me that if Kel and Elliott went down I was the last man standing! I did a runner to Woolworths to get some baby Panadol (in case Elliott started to run a temperature overnight)... of course it turns out the you can only get this stuff from a Pharmacy (should have known this I guess). So then at about 8:50 pm I raced to a chemist in Lambton, which was the closest after hours Pharmacy around. They closed at 9 pm and were shutting the doors just as I raced across the road, having parked outside the General Roberts Pub. Thankfully they let me in and I proceeded to purchase everything they had to cover all newborn eventualities (slight exaggeration, though I did spend about $80). In the end everything was fine with Mum and bub, but Kel and I both learnt a lesson in the anxiety and terror that can also come with parenthood. We were totally ready for the euphoria, excitement and happiness but this other side came as a bit of a shock. Another nice thing this week was taking our pram (that Nan and Pa bought us) for its maiden voyage in at Nobbys.
Note the colours of the stroller, Black and Gold ...those of you who know me will appreciate the
significance of this colour scheme (Hint: Tigers)
The colour scheme is less important to Kel, but she's very happy with its performance, Ellott thinks it's pretty good too!
Week three began with a big day with my graduation on Tuesday 17/04/07. This was without a doubt the biggest challenge for little Elliott so far. It's easy to forget just how long it takes for everyone in the Faculty of Health to have their moment on stage! I found myself sitting there wishing it would hurry up, hoping that Kel and Elliott (somewhere in the crowd) were OK. It turns out Elliott was a lttle champion and was a good settled boy through the whole ceremony, although the musical pieces (at full volume) were touch and go for a while. He was still hanging in there after the ceremony but then I pushed him too far and tried to get a photo with Me, Elliott, the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor... I'm not sure if it was the funny dressess they had on... the funny hats... or perhaps it was a couple of hours of sitting around bored, but he finally had enough! So I've got photos of me and various family members with these High Flyers in Academia, and all the while Elliott was in my arms screaming his little lungs out. All the same
I was much prouder of holding him than my PhD!
Brett, Kel and Elliott... the calm before the storm.He won't remember it but it was very special for the little
guy to be there the day I graduated with my doctorate.
Elliott, Brett, the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor.Like any wise little boy, Elliott was cautious of men
wearing strange gowns and silly hats, in fact
he didn't want anything to do with them!
This week saw the development of some serious wind trouble. I'm not talking an gentle north-easter but a serious southerly stuck in our little man's tummy. Apparently I was troubled by wind pain as a baby and it appears that Elliott may have inherited this difficulty (though it is pretty common). We can't believe that we've become parents that are obsessed with their child passing wind but now understand why it happens. If he doesn't get it out, he can't sleep more than half an hour straight. Despite this trouble we were able to manage it pretty well and, actually, Elliott astounded us by sleeping 7 hrs straight for 2 nights this week (still the record as I write this 2 weeks later). Elliott also had his first GP check at the same practice Kel goes to. We couldn't get in to see Kel's regular GP so we saw another one and he ended up being fantastic! He was really thorough and Elliott was a very good boy throughout. We mentioned my congenital heart defects and, after a good listen and check of the appropiate pulses, we were assured that Elliott's heart is fine.
We also had another big scare this week! We ducked out to the shops to pick some stuff up and decided that we could probably make the 10 minute trip back home before Elliott would want his next feed... big mistake. Almost immediately after leaving the shop he started to turn it on and was balling his eyes out in no time. We actually coped with all that reasonably well (not much we could do anyway), but when we got home and Kel gave him a feed she noticed his fontanellle was seriously sunken in (it looked freaky and was pulsing with heart rate). Now, we both know about the late closure of a babies skull bones but it was suddenly much more prominent than ever before. We frantically called a couple of places and eventually talked to the after-hours GP service who said it was entirely normal if a baby was dehydrated (not likely) OR if they had been worked up and crying (bingo). Thankfully, they were right and it did go back to normal.
Finally, we reckon we'd already seen some smiles (cynics would say it was just wind) but this week we were sure he was smiling in response to us. On a couple of occasions he smiled in response to something and then smiled again ... the repetition proof enough for us (hard science no, but good enough for us).
Week four (24/04/07 to 30/04/07)
This was my last week at home with my favourite people (though I was getting a bit of work done: data analysis, manuscript writing etc...). It was great just being able to spend time together for this long. We were so lucky to be in a position where I could be at home so long, especially with Kel being limited while she recovered from the caesarian. On Sunday we took Elliott up for his first visit to Vacy, and Kel drove. This was the first time she'd been behind the wheel since Elliott was born and was the minimum of the recommended 4-6 weeks without driving. Thankfully all went well, she hadn't forgotten how to do it and more importantly, didn't suffer any discomfort. This was great news, because with me going back to work the following week, it would have understandably driven her mad to be stuck at home all day every day. We had a great visit with Paul and Angela, both had nice nurses with Elliott. We also had a go at cracking Pauls new whip out the back. I was terrified of hitting myself and was unable to get a sound out of it. Kel didn't get it to crack either but managed to whip her ear a couple of times ... Elliott was not particularly impressed with his parent's efforts. Thankfully, his Grandad showed us all how it was done, Grandma also showed us her slightly less orthodox approach (with mixed success).
Late this week Elliot spent some time under his play mat brought by everyone at my work. I'd put him under it before now but he did't really get it. This time though, he had a great time. It has a raise bit at the bottom that he can kick and when he does it plays a song. Once he got into the groove of it he loved it. Of course it also has lot of hanging things on it for him to look at and play with. Hopefully it won't be too long and he'll be able to start playing with all the toys everyone has given him!!!
Elliott on his musical play mat
Week five (01/05/07 to 07/05/07)
Having to leave for work each morning this week was just as hard as I thought it would be. I was sad to be missing out on Elliott's day, missing Kel after getting used to hanging out with her heaps over the past month and nervous that Kel could possibly have to be at home with a crying Elliott all day (even though I know she'd cope entirely, the thought still made me feel bad and worried). Every evening when I got home I'd put Kel through an inquisition, asking what her's and Elliott's day had been like (though she assures me it wasn't an inquisition). At the start of this week Elliott also had his first community nurse check which, like everything else, he passed with flying colours. He was 57.2 cm long, weighed 4.85 kg, and had a head circumference of 39 cm, which means he is tracking along approximately the 90th centile for height and head circumference, and around the 85th centile for weight (so it appears he'll be taller than his Mum and Dad). The nurse also commented that he had big hands and was a lovely baby (which she qualified by saying that she sees alot of babies and "...he really is lovely")... we already knew that but it's always nice when someone compliments him.
This week it seems that Elliott is starting to gain a little awarness about himself too. He's started "coo"-ing and "agoo"-ing a little bit and seems to have conversations with us sometimes (entirely indecipherable though). He has also blown a few raspberries with his mouth. He also started to kick and splash in the bath, which he had not done much of previously. It's a bit different now, rather than the random limb flailing he's been doing all along. He seems to be able to coordinate himself a little, this is also evident in him being able to navigate his hand to his mouth to suck on when he wants a bit of comfort (well actually, any time it's not trapped inside his wrap). Speaking of which, one of his nicknames around the house is "Harry Houdini" - he always manages to get those little hands free, no matter how tightly his Mum wraps him! Other nick names include 'Bubbles" and "Truffle Hog" (not terribly endearing but Grandad (Paul) can be blamed for that one!).
Elliott (aka 'Harry Houdini')It has also been really nice when Elliott has fallen asleep when lying down with us ... great opportunity for us to have a nap too!
Nap time for Mum...
...and Dad!I imagine all these little milestones are making things a lot more enjoyable for him, and it's quite exciting for us... there's something new almost everyday!
