Update

Hello all, and thankyou for your kind words and comments.

Joseph is doing very well - he is feeding like a natural (what a relief after two quite tricky breastfeeding experiences!) and he is just a delight. I feel a special bond with him having got through the last scary 5 weeks together. He's pretty chilled out about the whole thing.

In fact, he's pretty chilled out in general. He had his bath today, and nearly fell asleep on his back in the warm water. Then he had his heel prick test and although he did a little squawk, he was nearly just as chilled out during that!

I'm doing well too. I need to remember to keep ahead of the pain and ask for medication before it gets too bad. The staff are talking about sending us home tomorrow (3 nights in hospital) but I will request another night if we're not up to going home quite yet. Surprise surprise, the other de Elbas have varying levels of winter colds and sicknesses (I tell you, it's this new town we live in!) and Joseph and I might do well to have another night in here. In hospital. The place where ... err ... sick people are. Maybe I need to think this through a little more.

Now, about that nappy/diaper bag, my only concern when I bought it was that it might be too PINK for a little boy baby (and we didn't know whether our babe would be a boy or a girl.) So I made a point of asking Monique what she thought. She said that really, the bag is meant to co-ordinate with ME, not the baby, and I decided that since the colours were so perfectly ME, that I would have to get it. Sorry if you felt I was leading you up the path regarding nappy bag colour and the sex of the baby!

I am truly sorry I flipped out about the transfusion (minor freak-out) and the hysterectomy (way off the deep end.) The transfusion was a strong possibility and by the end of the pregnancy, I'd realised that it would be quite a small deal in the end. However I surprised everyone including myself by not needing it. I did lose a lot of blood and my haemoglobin was low, but I felt fine. I'll be on iron tablets and vitamin C for six weeks, which is no big deal.

The risk of a hysterectomy was slight. Small. No big worry. But I'd beaten it up in my head because of estimates I'd heard of the risk, e.g., a 5%-8% chance, even 10% from another source. Final de Elba Family Size will be determined by our family dynamic, how well we all work and live together, and how we feel down the track about another baby. But let me say that a Final de Elba Kiddie Count could well be three. Meaning I shouldn't have worried. The thing is that at 32 years old, I wasn't ready to have the choice taken away. I do love my children like crazy, and I love having new little babies to cuddle (I love it much more than I feel hassled by nappies and lack of sleep, etc.) I really only will be able to happily shut up the baby factory once I'm good and ready. This week was not that time. I am very thankful to God that I don't have to lose my choice just yet, whatever we end up deciding.

Yes, Anna-Lucia's expressions in the photos are a little uneasy aren't they? That day, she was not taking good photos! She'd just had a massive tantrum, and we ended up posting the best photos that didn't involve tears or her Angry Eyes. She is head-over-heels in love with her baby brother, saying, "Aaww, Doe-sess! He coot! I need ta cuddle my Doe-sess!" That's how she really feels!

Glad you liked the granny undies. They're really quite good to wear, and it's true, having the waistband pressing onto the wound would be quite bad, as I do get a fair bit of pain there.

What a blessing to recline in bed with a sleeping babe beside you, blogging and checking emails, and knowing that there is nothing else you SHOULD be doing! I've really enjoyed writing this post, even though the thoughts are all over the place. Have a lovely day/night, wherever you are. Joseph and I plan to. His plans include drinking milk and mine include producing milk.