Our Mid year Aussie Holiday

What a wonderful, relaxing week we've had.

Friday I had to take the boys back to the doctors to ensure they were all ok and healthy enough to fly. And they were. Marcus gave me a script for Cade for Amoxicillin, just in case he's temp surges and it's not just bronchialitis but we didn't need it. He and Darian didn't get any worse while over there, which was good. Friday morning however I took Darian to daycare so he didn't miss out on his Playball game. He won the player of the day medal but couldn't keep it as we were going to be away for the next game and wouldn't be able to return the medal. He was so chuffed with himself, and mummy was super proud too as he was the only one in his age group that was able to catch the ball. 

On the flight there they were both really good. Darian was super excited to be on an airplane again and sat quietly watching he's shows. Cade didn't flinch or cry the whole flight. We arrived quite late and I was worried Cade would never make the 2 hour drive to Newcastle but both he and Darian slept the whole way there. We arrived at Brads and Shams place just before midnight, Shaien, a friend of Brads was there as well so they all got to meet Cade. Darian just went straight to bed, which was good and Cade was wide awake and loving all he attention. We sat talking for a few hours then headed to bed. The next day was Xavier's party so it was a busy day. Cade, however was very crabby and moody. I think it was a mixture of jet lag and being sick do I spent most of the party in the room, trying to get him to settle. Darian was just loving the party atmosphere and had company with little Jessie, the son of Phil and Kim, friends of Brads and Sham. So he hardly noticed that mummy was MIA for most of the day. 

It was a lovely afternoon though and a very sweet party. 

Darian and Jesse were best friends

We spent the rest of the holiday just relaxing. Lazy days and eating all kinds of tummy food, just what holidays are all about.

We got home on Saturday afternoon after THE worst flight ever! Darian threw a massive tantrum when we got on the plane because he wanted the tv, and as we were in the front seats for the bassinet for Cade, the TV would come up from under the seat. But during taxi & take off we had to put it away, so he screamed and cried while Cade slept through it all. Then on landing, we had the same issue but it got worse when he realised we were leaving the airplane. It was very hard trying to carry Cade while Cameron tried to carry the bags and keep Darian in check. And then it got worse as we got to passport control because Cade woke up, hungry! I couldn't leave the line and it was the busiest I've ever seen it that day with 2 immigration officers at the desks! Urgh! Go figure! So we had two kids screaming and crying! We were THOSE parents! WORST. EXPERIENCE. EVER!!! By the time we got to baggage claim we just couldn't deal, and one of the customs officers allowed us to bypass the line, because of our screaming children and go through X-ray through a special line.

My mum picked us up at the airport and I couldn't get to the car quicker just to feed Cade. I've never been so agitated in my life and felt really guilty for taking it out on my boy who was just over tired and too excitable! He love airplanes and didn't want to go but because mummy and daddy were just as tired and lost our cool too many times. 

It wasn't a very pleasant trip home but it was a great time away. We are hoping that we can have a good Christmas and that the family comes over this year. Our first Christmas in NZ since Darian was born! 

Can't wait!

Cade's 6 week check up

I cannot believe how fast time has gone, Cade is now 6 weeks old and had his first set of immunisations this week as well. We had his first visit to our Gp, Marcus Bishop who was very impressed with him and his progress. He took his vaccines very well and cried for only a moment and then began cooing and smiling at me and the nurse. They now give the Rotavirus vaccine orally which wasn't so bad cos he only had 2 injections, instead of 3. At the appointment I realised that he hasn't had his BCG vaccine yet, for TB, so got the doctors office to refer us to the BCG centre, so expecting his next vaccine in a few weeks.

At the doctors office ready for his first set of immunisations.

Renee discharged us a few weeks ago and we are now under the care of Plunket, our nurse is Aiofe. She's been very nice so far and I think it's going to go well. Cade now weighs 4.7kg's and is 54.5cm long, with a head circumference of 39cm. He is smiling and recognising faces and loves tummy time, already starting to do press ups when on his tummy. 

We see Aiofe every few weeks, we see her again in a months time.

We're off to Australia this week for Xavier's first birthday celebrations so this check up was also to ensure Cade was ok for the flight. He's had a cold all week and so has Darian so as well as taking Cade to the doctor this week I have to take him and Darian back on Friday before our flight for a check up and to confirm if we are going or not. Marcus diagnosed brochialitis for Cade but because we leave in the next 2 days he's unsure if it will get any worse. If it is what he thinks it is then it will get worse on day 3 and then better over the following 3 days. But if it's not he's temperature will surge while we're in Aussie and Marcus has told me to without a flicker of doubt, take him straight to the emergency department at the nearest hospital. I'm praying it doesn't get to that point and our boy will be fine. I'll keep you posted in a few weeks when we get back. We're looking forward to the break as well as celebrating with our nephew! It'll be the first time Brads and Sham will meet Cade and we're looking forward to seeing the boys interact with each other, now that they're all just a little older.

The first few weeks

The first few weeks with our little boy has been a mixture of emotions. He is a delightful little boy and is growing way too fast for my liking. It reminds me of how fast time goes and when I look at Darian I realise just how much happens in the first few years of life. It makes me mourn the time of when Darian was a baby realising just how fast time flies.

Cade has been growing in leaps and bounds. Where it is expected to lose weight in the first few weeks of an infants life, our little boy has just been packing on the pounds. In his first week he put on  60g, his second 420g and in his third, 460g. He is now 4.120kg's. Renee is very happy with his progress and quite impressed by him. He is being exclusively  breastfed and I'm hoping to continue for as long as I can. I go back to work in January so I'm hoping that I can continue until then. This week will be the last time we see Renne as she transfers our care to Plunket this week. It's been such a pleasure working with her and I'll miss her pleasant, friendly and smiling face and gentle demeanour. Again, I didn't take any pics with her and Cade, just as we never got any photos of Darian and Debbie but I'm hoping to pop in to see her before Christmas and we can get some then. We haven't managed to get Cade into a proper routine yet, he still feeds on demand so his sleeping patterns are in between an hour or two in between feeds. But he sleeps for about 4-5 hours from about 7pm and then wakes up periodically til about 7am.im quite happy with our little man, he's becoming quite the little showman. He loves "talking" to us and is starting to recognise our faces. He knows his brothers voice and stops whatever he's doing to look for Darian. He isn't a very crying baby and mostly shows he's upset when he's hungry. And the way he drinks, he's hardly ever hungry.

10 days old

2 weeks old

Loving my time with my boys! Life just got that much sweeter.

Darian is still having issues with his ears, he's on flixanase for his nose. The allergy tests came back normal, well, he has no allergies, thank the Lord! So our doctor is just ensuring that the swelling goes down and that he is able to breathe easier. He still breathes quite heavily at night but we're hoping the flixanase does what it's intended to do. It's a work in progress. 

Life is full of joy and laughs, sleepless nights and dirty nappies but we couldn't be happier with our little boys and our family. Thank you Lord for your blessings.

Baby number 2, Gender revealed

Well well well... What can I say? We are super stoked that we are having another baby boy. Went for my 20 weeks scan today and without hesitation I asked to be told the gender if it was possible. Needless to say he made it quite known he is a boy by flashing his goods the whole time.

I can't find the words to describe how we feel. Cameron couldn't make this scan because of work commitments so I had to call as soon as I was done. 

When we first got pregnant we were both convinced we were having a girl, but as this pregnancy progressed I realised more and more that there were too many similarities between this pregnancy and my pregnancy with Darian. Morning sickness gone by the second trimester, similar aches and pains, similar carrying and kicks in the same place! Can you believe it! I literally feel the kicks exactly the same place Darian kicked me all through my pregnancy with him. 

Baby is very healthy and strong. Developing well and the sonographer was extremely happy with what she saw. Beautiful healthy heart beat, 10 toes & fingers, beautifuy developed brain and good strong bones! I couldn't be happier!

He even lays the same way his father and brother lay, with their hand behind this head. Very cute! And just like Darian one leg was up and the other crossed under him! 

This time round they gave us a disc with all the pics so at least Cameron can get to see it as though he was there. 

Can't wait for our little boy to arrive! Now to think of boys names!

 

16 week update

So today we had our 16 week check up with Renee. It was the first appointment for this pregnancy Cameron was able to get to, as he's been so busy the last few months. I was super excited that he was there though, and we got to hear baby's heartbeat, my second, Cameron's first. Renee was happy and says it sounds strong and typical of a healthy, active baby! What more could I ask for. The heartbeat was between 130-150 beats per minute, depending on when baby moved or rested. If old wives tales are anything to go by, the heart rate shows it's a boy. Well, we'll see. We have an anatomy scan at 20 weeks, which is just short of a month from today and this is when we'll find out the gender. That's hoping baby doesn't cross his/her legs and not show us!

Renee is referring me to a Physio as I've been battling with aches and pains especially in my back. She says they will also give me a belly belt free of charge too so that's a saving, as we were going to buy one today. She says that the aches I've been feeling are all normal and is just ligament pain but I should watch out for any pain that doesn't go away with panadol (paracetamol) and/or rest, and of course if there is any bleeding.

We see her in another month, March 10th.

I just wanted to share a picture of Renee as I'm not sure I've done this before.

We also covered pain relief options today and I finally found my old notes from my pregnancy with Darian which I was able to share with Renee. She was quite shocked to see that Debbie was our midwife with Darian, as she works with Debbie now in her new role in Diabetes Support.

I can't believe that we are almost halfway. Time is really ticking by fast.

This is me at 16 weeks, 3 days (today).

Pregnancy update - 14 weeks

So we're finally at 14 weeks and into the second trimester.

The first trimester was full of tiredness and nausea, the usual symptoms. And even though we went for a scan at 8 weeks, I just didn't feel pregnant throughout the first trimester. There was none of the usual excitement and apprehension that comes with a new pregnancy. And I guess that all boils down to the fact that Darian takes all my attention. He is so full on and demanding that it's hard to have a moment to just relish in the new life growing inside of me. When we got back from our Aussie holiday I went for my 12 week blood tests and Renee warned that my iron levels were just on the cusp, and I needed to just be aware of that. And weirdly my Rubella antibodies were low, which means, once again I have to avoid any one with measles or mumps. I find both those results so strange because I've been on iron supplements since preparing for the pregnancy, so probably since about July last year and in the same month went for an MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) immunisation. So took all the steps I needed to ensure that this pregnancy would be healthy yet I am faced with the same issues as my pregnancy with Darian. Anyway, it is what it is and there's no sense stressing over what I can't change.

So I also needed to have a NT (Nuchal-Translucency) scan between weeks 11 & 13 but as I was on holiday left it for when we got back only to ring Horizon Radiology and be told they are fully booked so was booked on the very last day that it was possible for me to have the scan done, Tuesday the 20th of Jan. Which made me about 13 weeks and 3 days or so. At the scan the sonographer was unable to measure the skin behind baby's neck and therefore unable to do the NT scanning. This scan is to check for any chromosomal abnormalities like Down syndrome, spina bifida, etc. Although she did say to me that baby was formed very well and was looking good. Baby needed to be no bigger than 8cm to do the scan successfully and at the date of the scan this little peanut was just over 9cm. So, Renee had to send me for another round of blood tests, which will be able to tell if there are any abnormalities. I'm very confident that baby is healthy and from the scans we can see that s/he is developing well.

This baby, just like his/her brother, wouldn't keep still the whole scan long. It's so weird how you see the baby moving on the screen but can't feel anything. Although I feel tiny flutter every now and then but my midwife is convinced that I won't feel anything til about 16 weeks. Anyway, I think I know what baby movements feel like and I've felt them. Not continuously and not all the time, but definitely every now and then, especially if I drink something cold or move onto my side.

So I went for my blood tests yesterday and will wait to hear back from Renee if there's any cause for concern and what the next step is. And go for my next check up in 2 weeks (Feb 10th).

I've been very bad with belly pics this pregnancy, but here are some that I've taken at 9, 10 & 11 weeks.

Darian's 4 month check up

Ok, so I've been really slack in keeping up to date with the blog, nothing unusual about that, but in my defence I've been back at work for almost a month now and well, it's harder than I imagined. Leaving my little man at home everyday and only getting back in 10-11 hours is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my entire life. If only we were all blessed to have the opportunity to stay home with our little one's, alas, bills keep coming in, mortgages need to be paid and well, I think I need to work to keep my brian working.Last Monday we had Darian's 4 month check up at Plunket. He now weighs 7kg's and has only grown 1cm, so he is now 62cm. Somehow I don't think that's accurate, but who am I to argue. So he only falls into the 25th percentile (lengthwise) for kids his age. It isn't to disconcerting because he is healthy & well and is growing & developing so well. He is very friendly and loves looking at faces and "talking". The other day (Sunday) he said "Ma-ma" for the first time, I know he hasn't connected the meaning of the word to me yet, but it's nice that he said that first, before "Da-da" or "Ba-ba". He says it over & over now and it really makes me feel good! He is becoming very aware of his surroundings now and loves staring at himself in the mirror and smile and frowns at his reflection. He is keenly aware of when we leave the house now and when we get home he gets really excited and kicks and coo's and when we put our arms out he almost jumps into our arms. He is still battling with teething and we've tried it all, teething gel on his gums, Amber beads on his neck and homeopathic drops in his mouth and I do believe they're working because he gets relief and well, it would be worse if we didn't have those. He gets really cranky when he feels them but is quickly back to his normal self once we've given him some relief. He loves his teething rings and bites EVERYTHING. He goes through about 6-7 bibs a day due to the drooling. He is still thumb-sucking but because of the teething he bites his fingers so we resort to the dummy (pacifier) so that he doesn't hurt himself. We've also started him on solids (as of last Monday) and he loves his food. He is getting so good at eating and feeds well (excpet when the fingers go into his mouth and there's food everywhere). He loves his fruit, peach & Apple is his favourite and also pear & banana. He also loves the carrot, pumpkin & kumara (NZ sweet potato) mash and is not too keen on broccoli, we've learned, but eats it anyway. He is still having night time breastfeeds and is on formula during the day.This week we got him enrolled at the daycare (First Steps Parnell) near my office. His official start date is October 15th. We were not very keen on having him start so early, especially as my mum only goes back to SA in November but the daycare had no vacancies later on in the year and this was the only one they had and as I work in the city I did not want to enrol him in a daycare close to home. Traffic and work hours wouldn't work around his daycare operating hours so we resolved to having him closer to me. I am very happy about that because it means that I am 5 minutes away from him if he ever needs anything or I have to pick him up urgently, and it means I don't have to amend my work hours (they close at 17:45 and I finish at 17:30). The only con to this whole arrangement is that he will be stuck in traffic with me all the way home in the afternoons and in the mornings, which aren't as bad as the evenings (yesterday it took me exactly an hour from the office to home - door to door). But I am very happy with the daycare facility and the carers, and I know he will be well taken care of. It breaks my heart to have him in daycare so early (he'll be 6 months) but we don't have any other choice and I know it will make him a better person, more social and more interactive, and most importantly his development will increase exponentially while he is in daycare, instead of being home with me or a nanny.So here we are, 4 months have flown by so very quickly (19weeks to be exact). I still look at his pictures from day 1 to now and I can't be happier with my little boy, he is such a blessing to both Cameron & I, and we are so very much in love with him. He makes our lives that much richer & happier, and we're enjoying every single minute of him.

Darian Elijah Pillay - The Birth Story

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last blog entry, well in my defense it's been quite an eventful 2 weeks. We've welcomed into the world our son, Darian Elijah on April 16th. And we cannot be happier with our wee boy. He is the ultimate best gift in the world. Labour was not the easiest thing to endure, (and all the mums in the world say AMEN) but it definitely was worth every last minute. When I look at this beautiful face, all I can say is thank you Lord.

From the last blog entry I made mention of the Braxton Hicks contractions that I was getting, well in actual fact it was not just that, it was actually the start of early labour, and well, I was unaware that this was happening. I did ask my midwife and she said to me that is probably wasn't and that I should just take it easy. Well, we went through the entire weekend like this. The contractions came and went very irregularly, about every 10-15 minutes and by Saturday night they were coming in every 3-5 minutes then would go back to every 10 minutes then I would have half an hour of nothing and then it would start all over again. It was the LONGEST weekend of my life because I was in so much pain and discomfort. By Sunday I couldn't manage any longer and we got hold of Deb and she arranged to come by and examine me. When she did she noticed that I was only 1cm dilated and almost fully effaced (my cervix was down to 1/2cm) but because baby was still in a posterior position my cervix was asynclitic, which means that the position of baby in the uterus is to one side causing baby's head to not be in line with the birth canal. In other words his head was in front of my cervix, she then had to pull my cervix to the front, which I can tell you is one of the most painful things to endure! So what was happening was that I was having contractions but because baby was pushing in the wrong place my cervix wasn't dilating. Deb then told me to rest and take panadol, and lay on my left side and do things that would encourage him to get into the right position. She guessed that within the next 16-24 hours we would go into established labour. So I rested and took panadol and rested!! And prayed that baby would turn and that my cervix wouldn't go back and would stay in the right position. That night we had minimal sleep as the contractions, although still irregular were getting worse and worse in terms of pain. Cameron actually slept with a pen & pad in one hand and a watch in the other so he could time the contractions. But by morning, our position hadn't changed. Deb came by at lunchtime for another exam and although I was now fully effaced, I was only 2cm dilated. Baby was still posterior which scared me a little because I knew (and she kept reminding me) that I would have a painful back labour if he didn't get into the right position. She then gave me a herbal birth mix which would encourage the contractions and told me to come to the hospital by 6pm that evening for another exam. So I took her herbal mix, 2 drops on my tongue every 10 minutes and suffered through contraction after contraction after contraction, but they were still so irregular. By 4pm we decided to have an early dinner in case I went into labour and I then went and had a long, hot shower to help with the contractions. By 4:30pm Cameron called Deb and told her I wasn't managing with the pain and that we were gonna head off to the hospital. We live no more than 5km's from the hospital but it felt like the longest car ride I ever experienced. We got caught in peak time traffic on the motorway and got to the hospital just after 5pm. We met Deb there who told us in no uncertain terms that we were not leaving this hospital without a baby! By 5:30pm I was admitted and was changed into a hospital gown. Deb did another exam shortly after and found that I was 5cm dilated and was in established labour. She then broke my waters and got me some gas for pain relief. The contractions were still coming in hard & fast and still irregularly. Baby was still in the wrong position and that meant the contractions were "coupling", this meant that instead of having a contraction every 3 minutes I was having 2 consecutive contractions every 3-5 mins. Needless to say it was extremely painful and by 6pm I had aptly requested for the epidural!!! Sadly for me, both the on call anaethetist and obstetrician were in surgery so it was quite a wait for an examination and the drug. Let me tell you one thing about me, I am a sucker for pain, if the pain threshold went from 1-10 I would be somewhere around 1.5. I cannot take pain and labour pain was no walk in the park. The Anaethetist, a lovely Nordic lady named Mikayla, only came in to see me about 7pm, I remember her asking me if I knew what the risks were and I don't know if I was rude in my response but I said something about yes I did my research! All I wanted was the DRUGS!!! I had about 3 or 4 contractions while she was busy giving me the epidural. I remember Cameron standing in front of me and trying to keep me calm. I felt so vulnerable in that moment and all I can remember is him telling me how great I was doing and how proud he was of me. After the epidural was given I remember looking around the room and my mother was nowhere in sight, poor thing couldn't handle me in pain so quickly left the room. She came back a few minutes after and was amazed at how calm I was. I could finally talk and take in the fact that I was in labour and about to have this baby. By 19:45 Deb noticed that baby's heartbeat was dropping and quickly called in the hospital midwife and the obstetrician, it happened twice in about 5-10 minutes and they quickly got me prepped for theatre in the event I had to be rushed into surgery for an Emergency C-Section. I was so calm about it though, I wasn't afraid & I just committed it to God. I knew that I was in good hands and that nothing was going to go wrong, my mother disappeared round about then as well, she later told me she was going into the waiting room to pray every time she disappeared. Cameron stood right next to me throughout this and kept checking if I was ok, he knows me so well and thought I would be panicking with all this happening, but I was just so calm and kept reassuring him that I was good. Deb and the rest of the team kept an eagles eye on baby's heart rate and because the monitor kept moving they decided to put an internal monitor on baby's head to get a better reading on his heart rate. After the two decelarations his heartbeat got stronger and remained there for the rest of the evening. Although I was still prepped for theatre, we never got there. Deb told me to rest and sleep, which I did. The last thing I remember was telling Deb I could feel the contractions again, she then gave me a top up and I told her that I could feel the pressure to push. She examined me & I was fully dilated and ready to push, this was at 22:10. It happened so quickly. One minute I was asleep the next I was actively pushing. When preparing for the birth, Cameron would always say he would not be down the business end but come time for baby to be birthed, he was the first one to check baby's head crowing and the first one to be down there checking things out! Deb made sure he was involved in everything and really made him feel part of the whole experience, I really appreciated that. Even my mother who said she would stay in the waiting room so she didn't have to see me in pain, was right there holding the mirror up so I could see baby's head, etc. They were both so involved, it was incredible. I pushed for a full half hour and baby was born at 22:40 on Monday the 16th of April. It was THE most amazing experience of my life.

We had been toying around with the name Darian Elijah for months now, we knew we wanted the name Elijah as a middle name but couldn't decide on a first name. A few months ago we came across the name Darian and loved the meaning, "Upholder of the Good". And we kept saying it over & over & over again so by the time he was born we both knew that this was the name for him. I remember after I got the epidural and was calm, I kept saying to Cameron is that his name, are we gonna spell it "Darian" or "Darien" which has a whole different meaning, "Gift". By the time I was fully dilated Cameron said "A-N, we're gonna spell it DARIAN" so when he was born we already knew what his name would be.
Darian was 3.545kg's at birth and was 52cm in length. And UBER-CUTE!!! The moment Deb placed him on me I cried, I cried for what seemed forever. It was so hard to believe that after all this time, after all that pain and discomfort, he was here, in my arms.

I was then moved to the ward and stayed for a few nights. When Cameron left that night I cried, it was the first time we'd spent a night apart and it was scary. Not because I was alone with baby but cos I hated being away from Cameron, called me a baby why don't you!!! LOL! But I didn't sleep a wink that night, although Darian did, he slept soundly and was a real champion with the breastfeeding. It took me a few time to get it right but he knew exactly what he was doing and by morning I didn't have to call the hospital midwives to help me with getting him latched. Everything was going well but Deb asked me to stay one more night just as a precaution, but the midwife on call that night said to me that she was happy and that if I wanted to go home that morning they would arrange it with Deb. So that morning I called Deb told her I wanted to go home and she came in to discharge me. Both mum & Cameron were excellent help for me and they took turns each day that I was in the hospital to come spend time with me so that I could have a moment to go shower or sleep. I think the first night when Cameron was there, I slept while he watched baby and he stayed in the same position with baby until I woke up, it was priceless! We got home on Wednesday morning, and he looked so cute in his capsule (car seat).

He actually was so well behaved in the car seat, he slept all the way home (we still stopped at the pharmacy for a few things we needed for him & I) and when we got home he was so peaceful we actually left him in there a few minutes before taking him out. The feeling of bringing him home was so overwhelming. I mean when I left there was no guarantee that I would come back with him (until we got to the hospital and Deb gave it to us) so actually coming home with him just took my breath away. And the fact that I wasn't on that uncomfortable hospital bed and had two extra sets of hands to hold him and take care of him while I took care of myself was the best.

Mum then gave him a good bath and a rub down and he was all settled in.

Our first few nights were a bit rough, he just wouldn't settle and I would take him to my mum in the middle of the night for her to break his winds and settle him and would have a little sleep while she sat up with him. But other than that, and that's mostly due to him not being able to break his winds and me not being able to do it properly every time, he has been amazing. Once we got into his routine he has been feeding every 3 hours and sleeping in between, he wakes up just before his next feed is due and once he's had a nappy change is ready for his feed and another sleep. The nights have been much better too, I've been having a good 3-4hour sleeps at night and am getting used to the bouts of sleep, so much so that I am wide awake through his feeds, the first few days I would battle to stay awake through his feeds and would rouse Cameron so that he could talk to me while I fed baby and wouldn't fall asleep. But honestly, we have been blessed with an amazing little boy and cannot complain. The last few days he has been really struggling with his winds and for the life of me all the pharmacies and supermarkets in Auckland have run out of gripe water (problems with the manufacturer/wholesalers) so we've stuck with Infacol (suggested by Deb) and my mother's Dutch medicines, which I have just recently stopped as I don't want to over-medicate him with different things. We now are looking at arranging his dedication in a few weeks, so that we can have it done while all the family is here. So that's my next organising project. Cameron's parents arrive in less than 2 weeks (May 10th) and Bradley & Shamini arrive on the 22nd. So we are so looking forward to Darian meeting his family, and my first Mother's Day on the 13th. In the past 2 weeks Deb has come round to see him quite often, at his first weigh in post-birth, he put on 180g and from that weigh-in last week til this week, he has put on a whopping 310g, placing him at 3.880kg's. He is filling out so well and is so strong, that Deb's suggested starting tummy time for a few minutes a day so he can work on his strong neck muscles. He is feeding very well and as a result has a nappy change every 3-4 hours (in between feeds and naps). He has really long bouts of awake periods where he is getting accustomed to his surroundings and our voices. He loves music and is very responsive to singing or music playing (Loves his Daddy's singing). He also loves his baths although hates being naked(go figure). The minute you take his clothes or nappy off he starts crying and moaning but once he is on the water he is calm and happy. We are so blessed with our little Darian and have enjoyed every minute of every day we've shared with him. Here he is at 2 weeks old...