Harveys At Home

But too cute not to share!

These little booties (or beauties!) were on top of a present from Auntie Jode, Uncle Mick and Cooper.  They are made of paper and could almost fit Ella’s rather long (but still little) feet!

I love going out for breakfast. (I love going out for any meal!)  Taking three kids along for a relaxing breaky out?  Ummm, I don’t think so!

Saturday night after getting home late-ish from visiting the Ostenfeld’s I bribed Marc.  Clean up the kitchen before bed and I’ll cook you breakfast in the morning.  And he did, so I had to!

Here’s my breakfast:  two poached eggs, bacon, mushrooms, wilted baby spinach and grainy toast.  All washed down with orange juice!

Sunday Breakfast

So while the kids had boring old weetbix, Marc and I enjoyed our Sunday breakfast in relative peace, still in our jammies!

After a very long 40 weeks, we finally got to meet Ella on the 1st February!

The stats on Ella:

• born at 9:55pm.
• weight: 7lb 10oz, or 3465 grams
• length: 52cm
• head circumference: 35cm

With two boys that made their way into the world very quickly, we were pretty much on standby, suitcase packed and in the car at all times and the birth suite numbers not quite memorised, but always close at hand!  Ella didn’t disappoint – we arrived at the hospital at 8:06pm…  In time to walk straight into a birthing suite!  All I can say about the next hour and a bit – the gas is good!  :)

While uneventful for the most part, in the last half an hour before she was born, her heart rate was dropping quite a bit, getting as low as 92 and the midwives were giving her only a limited time to continue along as she was.  Oh, and they confiscated my gas thingy…  This I was not happy about at all!  Thankfully, she arrived quickly and we just missed out on going down the path of alternative birth plans…  Much like what we went through with Owen.  Watching more people come into the birthing suite was an all too familiar situation, even though Owen is now 4 and a half!

Ella didn’t cry but looked around the room at all the faces with those huge eyes – I’m assuming she was in shock over what she had just been through!  I’m sure there is a very good reason none of us can remember being born…!  She was checked over by the pediatrician and given the all clear but for a small amount of fluid on her lungs.  As to the heart rate dropping, the pediatrician put it down to her speedy entry into the world, so nothing to worry about.

Her first night was spent in the nursery, with the nurses keeping a watch over her while she continued to get rid of the excess fluid in her lungs, and I was supposedly having a decent night of rest without the responsibility of a newborn right beside my bed.  That didn’t happen, of course.  I spent the night just waiting for sleep to come my way… and it did not!  Probably because I was waiting all night for them to bring her back to me for a feed.  This also did not happen, until 6am!  I guess all the excitement wore her out :)

I had initially thought that I would stay as long as possible in hospital, you know, to have a holiday of sorts before going home to the reality of three kids under 5, but all the hospital noises and other babies crying (and some new mothers) left us both sleep deprived and sick of living in the hospital – after only 24 hours!  Since we both got the approval to be discharged, and seeing as though Ella wasn’t a first child, we were allowed to go home on Wednesday afternoon.

first sleep at home

Needless to say, Wednesday night was a peaceful (and sleep filled) one for all of us.  There’s nothing like sleeping in your own bed.  And there is nothing like a newborn who is very good to her parents, only waking twice a night for a short feed, nappy update and then back to the business of sleeping!

And how are the Big Brothers dealing with having a little sister?  They think she is hilarious, and Owen wants her to be awake constantly so he can talk to her.  Try explaining to an impatient four year old that a sleeping baby is a good thing!!!  Reuben continues to “pat” her, like any one year old would – hard!  We have had to separate their car seats and put Owen in the middle so as Ella doesn’t end up with “pat marks” all over her head!  All in all, she is fitting in easily and well with the rest of the Harvey’s.

The hardest thing at the moment: Getting three kids in and out of their car seats in under 20 minutes!

The most frequent question I have been asked since we have been home:  What’s it like having three?  Great, actually!   However, Owen being that little bit older is really good.  He can help out quite a bit and isn’t too old to not want to – yet!  Reuben dealing with not being the baby anymore was our main concern before Ella was born, but he has taken Ella in his stride and other than the “patting” and a little bit of whining (which could have something to do with two pesky teeth that are trying to push through) he’s doing great too. Ella is an easy baby (so far) which has really helped to keep things pretty normal around our house and I think that has helped the boys out a lot.

Reuben pointing out her eyes

So we think we will keep her.  She’s a little bit cute and I can’t wait until she shows us her smile.  In the meantime, I am trying to adsorb all that baby-ness while I can!

Today we spent the morning down at the Sandgate Kidspace, right near the pier, celebrating Cooper’s first birthday, which happens to be tomorrow.  I can’t believe he’s only been around for a year – it seems as though he has always been here!  It was a rainy, windy morning but the kids still had a great time, the company was lovely (just the Carter’s and the Craven’s – there are more gatherings to come for Cooper during the week), Jodie’s cake looked awesome, and above all – hopefully Cooper enjoyed himself :)

(beware the exclamation points – they may just bite)

Right…

Tomorrow is this baby Harvey #3′s due date.

And I am still doing my beached whale impression and it’s not pretty.  Seriously.

Not.  Happy.  Jan!

And no, I AM NOT HAVING TWINS.

And yes, I am due tomorrow.  Really?!  YES!!!!!!!!!!!

And no, I am not sure what this baby is, even though we were told, I’m not trusting the scan.  Call me pessimistic.  I don’t care.  All I know is, that I am prepared for this baby to be a surprise, even though it shouldn’t be.

~~~

Tomorrow is also our little nephew, Cooper’s first birthday party (his birthday is the 1st February).

Jodie’s plan as of yesterday:  Meegan to have this baby and be home again in time for the party tomorrow.

Doesn’t look like that’s going to happen Jode!

Although…  I would definitely welcome a pass on the party to have this baby and it not to share a birthday with Cooper – they deserve to have their birth day all to themselves!

Cooper (with Jode and Mick) could come visit us in hospital instead maybe???!!!

~~~

Instead of having this baby, baking cookies, eating lots, and attempting to keep my puffy legs and feet elevated while still keeping the boys somewhat out of trouble is what I’m doing.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?!

How many times/ways can to tell this child to HURRY UP????!!!!

The usual path is something like this: Crawl, Walk, Stand, Climb

Owen was more: Walk, Stand, Crawl, Climb

But Reuben has to be a bit different again: Crawl, Stand, Climb, Walk

Yesterday we caught him climbing the ladder for the slide on our swings.  Not just trying mind you, but already at the top.  We thought it might have been a fluke until he crawled around and did it again.  Nothing like climbing to three times your height as a 1 year old.  Somehow I don’t think any of our kids are going to have much fear!

Today...

While we have been offline, moved states and houses etc etc etc, I haven’t kept up my usual #3 updates on the blog.  Actually, looking back, I haven’t posted at all since my very last obstetrician appointment in Sydney!  I can’t say a lot has happened since then, unless you count turning into a ginormous blob and becoming more impatient with every day that passes!

Since we knew that we were coming back to Brisbane, and would be living close enough to have this baby at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital, I could not see the point in finding a new private obstetrician, when the care is fantastic at the RW, and familiar since that is where Owen was born and I had the first few months of Reuben’s pregnancy in their care as well.

Apart from the horrendous waiting times (some days it’s been more than 2.5 hours), going to the RW and seeing a specialist and then one of the doctors there has been as good as going to the private OB that I was seeing in Sydney.  I guess this is because I never seem to have any questions or problems/concerns and I know how this process works, it has been easy to slot back in to the public system.  And even though you may not see the same person two weeks in a row, everyone I have seen in these last few weeks has been great.  My patient file is kept up to date, very detailed and easily accessible for all who require it.

So would I probably ever go down the private patient path again?  Probably not.  It’s expensive, even if you have private health insurance and for me, the level of care has been very similar.  Now, BRING ON THIS BABY!!!