29.7.11

Home and busy

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A couple of weeks before I delivered I had a dream.  Actually to be perfectly truthful it was more like a photograph that became etched in my mind. It was of me sitting on our couch, squashed between Emilia's two set of grandparents with us all staring at my still very present bump.  You see, both my parents and Matthias' parents were due to arrive in Berlin more-or-less on my due date and despite feeling like I was going to deliver a few days early, I kept telling myself it was more likely going to be a few days late.  Matthias' parents could only stay for a few days and if the timing was even just a little bit off there was a  good chance that Matthias' parents would fly home to Vienna having seen nothing more than me and my bump. As the date approached I began to worry that Emilia would be late and there we'd all be, sitting on our couch, drinking tea, talking about the weather and trying to ignore the elephant in the room which was my overly pregnant self and no newborn to hold.
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Thankfully, so far Emilia seems to be taking after me in the timing department. She arrived just a little bit early, 24 hours before the first set of grandparents arrived, giving her and her parents a lovely little window of time to get to know each other and recover.  And the birth itself? Perhaps it was the Heubleumen sitzbad, copious amounts of Raspberry Leaf tea or the benefit of good genes (and I rather think it was the latter) but it was quick. Five hours from woe to go.  Two days after she was born and Matthias, Emilia and I walked out of the hospital, through the park and back to our apartment.
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Six days later we were back again. At eight days of age Emilia decided to test both her parents by inhaling some milk up her nose. Babies breath through their noses. Curdled milk up the nose means no airway and no airway means not a lot of breathing. Thankfully she screamed and tried very hard to clear it herself. Thankfully her Papa was calm enough to make an educated phone call to the ambulance while her Mama tried patting her back and suck the milk out of her nose. Thankfully babies can be a little bit purple for a lot longer than adults.  And we live close to the hospital (remember that walk home?). Thankfully with a little bit of medical magic in the ambulance and then some more in the Paediatric ward the milk was removed and Emilia turned pink again. Most importantly, thankfully after two days of observation it was deemed to be "just one of those things" and we are now all back home again. 
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Home and busy with the bits and pieces that come with getting to know a new little one. My parents are still here and helping out enormously.  As I get more active and Emilia and I find our rhythm I'm hoping to spend a bit more time out and about with them exploring Berlin. In mid-August we will all spend a week in Vienna meeting the rest of Matthias' friends and family and celebrating one very-important birthday and the wedding of a good friend. With all that's going on around here I feel the need to step back abit from this space, but not completely. And so I've decided to join in Susannah Conway's August break - a picture a day, no words - starting on Monday.

Speak to you all in September.

16 comments:

Suki said...

Have a funtastic blog break getting to know your little one :)

Kristina said...

lovely pictures!! and so glad that the little one is better and the milk is gone... wow, so many things to think about when you suddenly have a baby, right? milk in the nose... gosh...
thank you also so much for your helpful email!! i will for sure keep you posted about where we will end up, but now i have decided that it might be better to live a bit more far away from the ocean but closer to the freeway :) we'll see!
have a great blog break and speak to you in september!! ;)

Kelly said...

what wonderful pictures! and what a scare with the milk up the nose! so glad she is okay.

Anika said...

Ha, just came here from SC's August break...I will be joining too. Breaks are good.

So nice to read your post. Sounds like everything is going along nicely and at a sweet, enjoyable pace. The images are lovely, thanks for sharing!

PS-Was always concerned about the only breathing through the nose thing...just like with cats ;)
Enjoy your break!

ELK said...

that is a wonderful photo of your family .. so glad the timing was just right!! Enjoy your break, it is a very special time!

Jamie said...

What beautiful photos of your family. I am so glad she is okay and that you live so close to the hospital, that had to be so scary.

Monique said...

I'm so glad that all the grandparents were able to share in Emilia's bday celebration. I'm so glad she's okay...what a scare...you two are rock stars and seemed to have handled it well. Enjoy your August break and I'll certainly be looking forward to your photos. Enjoy the wedding and Vienna. Happy Birthday to Emilia and she's already a little traveling baby...I love it. Joy and Hugs

*ps I will certainly be rememberingt that raspberry leaf tea when it's my turn.

urban muser said...

enjoy your break and spend some quality time with your beautiful baby girl. oh, and mathias too :)

Kristin said...

These are wonderful photos of your family. Such a sweet little girl.
Enjoy the august break!

Greetings
Kristin

Simon said...

Such a lovely post Clare. How wonderful that you were able to get your dream "pictured". That will be a precious photo for years and years.
I'm glad things are going so well for you and think you totally deserve and "August break". I'll look forward to your images, which always delight.

amanda {the habit of being} said...

what a great time to remember with a picture every day! enjoy august and the time with e :)

Jane said...

Oh, Gorgeous Girl! Thanks for sharing these intimate and precious photos of Emilia's first days. They will be cherished for generations. I'm so relieved to hear your little scare was quickly rectified. What a shock for first-time parents! Actually, any parents, I'd venture.

Relish these days, Clare. They can be exhausting and bewildering but she'll soon learn the difference between night and day. Then you'll fall into your own special rhythm. I've always found that between 12-14 weeks, it all settles down and you find you've developed some confidence.

I look forward to seeing your sweet little girl develop over the coming month. J x

Siobhan said...

Enjoy your break and time with your wee one :)

Rhianne said...

I cant see the first photos but I just love Emilia's little feet! Adorable and I'm glad she is doing well x

Stephanie said...

Yikes! I'm glad everything is going well now, though. It's a good time to take a break to focus on yourself and your new baby. We'll hear from you again in September. :)

Stella said...

Oh, the photos aren't working for me either, except the last... Pretty little booties!