We stayed over night at the birthing center. This isn't common practice for straight forward births over here but they offered and Stephen and I were happy to have a night alone with the baby sans interruptions from her two older siblings. My mom was more than happy to look after Esme and Noah. Stephen's parents, Ali (our "Friday Nanny") and especially my mama were all instrumental in their own ways to a successful birthday. Stephen's parents took care of school pick up and looked after the kids for a few hours so my mom could witness my labor. Ali took a shift of baby sitting so that my mom could stay at the hospital for the birth and a visit and my mom took the night shift so that we could have some alone time with the baby. We were very lucky to have such wonderful support.
Baby's first visitors were Gram and Granddad Bailey and Ali. Eveyone was able to get a quick cuddle in with the most magnificent and cuddly of all creatures- the newborn baby :)
Baby's first night exceeded all expectations. She fell asleep around 1030 and woke only once, around 4 am, for a feeding and a change and then slept until gone 9 am when I woke her up to change her for discharge. Discharge took a lot longer than intended because I noticed all of my paperwork had my first name spelled incorrectly (Brie-Ana instead of Brie-Anna) and I mentioned it in case it caused issue when registering her birth. It is mistake that caused irritation throughout the pregnancy as I had to blood work redone as a result of a missing N. I wasn't going to let this blessed N cause me any more trouble. Unfortunately, pointing out this error delayed our departure by a few hours but I suspect it was a lot less hassle in the long run!
We drove home- a full 4 minutes away (if that!) and were greeted by a lovely sign on the front door. My mom wrote us a welcome and Esme traced it so it was very special to me. My mom showed Esme a picture we posted of the baby as we were leaving the birthing center and asked Esme if she thought the baby was a boy or a girl. Esme, who has been certain that she was having a sister for the duration of the pregnancy, looked at the photo and decided, based on the blanket, that it was a boy. I have to admit the blanket is a bit boyish but I saw it and couldn't resist it when I was pregnant!
When we walked in we were greeted with the most ecstatic face I have ever seen. Big sister was super excited to meet her new little princess and couldn't wait to hold her. Big brother was having a much needed nap and got his cuddle a little later.
I have to admit that I was a little worried about Noah's reaction. He is very clingy and is a huge mama's boy. I wasn't sure how he would react to me being so close to another baby and nursing her, etc. He was, as I say, cautiously optimistic upon first inspection. He was very curious but wasn't as keen to hold her as his sister was (which could be down to age). My favorite story about Noah and the new baby is as follows:
As we all know, newborns sleep 90 percent of the time. Noah got accustomed to seeing her asleep. When he first saw her with her eyes open he proclaimed, with great pride, "BABY GOT EYES!" Noticing when her eyes are open is still his favorite game :)
I have been really impressed with the both of them, Noah in particular. Being a big sister has always come easily to Esme and she was practically a seasoned veteran already, having become a big sister to Noah at the tender age of 14 months! Noah is amazing. He gets a bit excited and boisterous but it is all with good intention. He punctuates his play time by giving her kissed and rubbing her fuzzy little head. He really loves his baby and is the most natural of big brothers!
Here is a picture of Noah and baby the first time he asked to hold her. You can see the pride in his eyes.
The home coming was wonderful and full of cuddles and love- hopefully things stay this way! x
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