Marc and I was discharged from the hospital with a clean bill of health on Thursday, 13th September. We were taught how to clean his cord, after which he was dressed in his going home outfit and we were free to leave. I carried him in my arms down through the Gleneagles lobby, the Husband and I both beaming with pride at our new bundle of joy. As is always the case, Marc was quiet and sleepy all the way through our application for his birth certificate at the admissions counter, our payment of the final hospital bill, the car ride home and the arrival to our doorstep.
Grandma was home with the helper, already preparing our lunch and having the house all spruced up and ready for Marc's arrival. The afternoon proceeded relatively uneventfully, with us trying to figure out where to place the cot during the day and debating whether the fan was needed to keep him cool. We had dinner with the Husband's family and Marc started to fuss. He didn't seem satisfied after feeding from the breast and kept crying. We noticed that Marc's lips were dry and peeling, fearing that he was dehydrated, we started furiously sms-ing some experienced friends. They advised us to supplementing with a little formula milk, which he drank a few sips and refused to drink anymore. He managed to settle and we thought that would be the end of it.
We decided to try bathing him - it was quite a scene. Imagine 2 adults, sitting over a tub of water, with a newborn babe screaming at the top of his lungs, whilst one adult kept running in and out of the toilet to re-check the "Childcare" edition of Mrs Wong Boh Boi's books. The end result was a not-so-clean baby and 2 very harassed adults!
Then night fell. We wheeled the cot into our room and swaddled him plus added a layer of blanket to keep him warm in the airconditioned room. Within an hour, he started fussing again. Feeding from the breast didn't help. His diaper was clean. Singing to him didn't help. Carrying him didn't help. Feeding him formula milk settled him a bit, but he woke again and the cycle started all over again. Nothing seemed to work! We even tried letting him sleep between the 2 of us but that didn't work either.
By 8am, we had managed to settle him, after taking turns to wake up and tend to the crying babe whilst the other person caught some shut-eye. We were both very very tired.
When the confinement nanny finally arrived at 10am, she arrived to find a house in chaos and 2 very tired adults! Our first night at home with Marc - memorable indeed but truly a lesson that no matter how well prepared you think you are, its never the same as the real thing!
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