4 to 5 weeks, I'm growing!

Sienna is now 5 weeks old, time flies! She's doing very well, putting weight on nicely now: those little legs are getting chubby. She's now smilling at Daddy when he gets home but does plenty of crying too! Some nights are great, with up to 6h sleep but others nights, Mum and Dad hardly close their eyes. Still all very tired but getting there. Sienna enjoys her bath very much so we might go swimming soon. She also enjoys playing on her baby gym, kicking away.
Check out the latest pictures!

nearly 3 weeks old... presque 3 semaines!

Here she is again! It's been a while since the last photos but Sienna was a little unwell and spent a few days in hospital. Nothing serious, she's fine now. Since then, we've been home, getting to know each other. She's doing great, sleeping 4-5h stretches and waking only once a night most nights. Still, Steve and I fell like zombies!
Grandma, Uncle Chris and Mamie have been visiting so Sienna has had a lot of cuddles from her family! Papi is arriving on Monday and a trip to France is planned soon to meet the rest of the Frenchies.
Steve will be going back to work on Monday, 3 weeks of paternity leave and Christmas holidays have gone too fast! He's sad to be leaving his 2 ladies at home...
As for me, I will welcome the help of my dad for my first week alone, a bit scary!

Sienna's third day...

Last night was the first night at home for Sienna. She slept very well. Only woke 3 times during the night and let Mum and Dad sleep until 8:30, pas mal je pense!

A few more pictures...

She finally arrived....

The day has finally come and gone. Sarah gave birth to a beautiful baby girl yesterday (18th Dec 2005) at 11:48 am called Sienna Guise. She weighed in at a robust 3.47 kg (7 lb 10 oz for you oldies).

It was a marathon session to say the least. Sarah started serious contractions on Saturday morning. We went to the hospital once they had reached 3 in ten minutes at 3pm. After 21 hour in the hospital Sarah was still only 5cm dilated. She'd suffered a lot of pain and was absolutely exhausted, at that point we all decided enough was enough and the doctors suggested a c section.

We went to theatre awake (as Sarah had had an epidural) and the opp began, Sarah quickly realised she could feel the knife and shouted stop. The epidural hadn't completely blocked the pain, so she had to have a general. This meant that I had to leave theatre and wait outside. It was very emotional to say the least, I had to wait a good hour and a half to see Sarah again, but baby Sienna made an appearance after 20 mins, screaming her head off. She was so hungry that I had to let her suckle my finger for an hour to keep her calm until Mum arrived. Sarah was still out from the anesthetic, but I held Sienna to the breast and she started feeding before Sarah had really come round. Since then both Mum and baby have been on top form. They will be coming home tomorrow all being well.

Here are a few pictures taken during the day. None of them do Sienna justice, she's just gorgeous (but then I'm a bit bias :-) )

Last photo before scrinkage begins

Sarah's now 38 weeks and 2 days. So not long to go. Obviously the normal duration is 40 weeks, but we are hoping things happen soon. It feels like time is standing stil, the days seem like years :-(

Last weekend Sarah's sister Babara had her baby, she's called Paola and looks very cute, hopefully a cousin is not to far on the horizon.....

So, one last photo of the Mum to-be, she's larger than I ever imagined she could be. It's amazing to think that there's a little human in there just waiting to burst (not in an Alien stylie we hope :-) ) out of there.

Head down and ready to pop

So far the Baby has been very happy sitting up and head butting Sarah in the diaphragm. Normally, by 36 weeks, babies have realised that the exit is down and rotated, not ours! After doing a thorough scan to check the cord wasn't wrapped around the neck an obstetrician at the hospital tried to rotate baby to point head down. The little cheeky one tried very hard to resist, it was only on the third attempt that we had success.

I'm glad to report (not that it was me this was being done to) that the procedure was painless for Sarah and very safe for the Baby. The doctor at Queen Charlotte and Chelsea hospital (Mrs. Patterson-Brown) was excellent.

So, still head down and I think Baby's understood the message, proceed swiftly to the exit! Only 18 days left until the expected due date!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Bump Keeps Growin...

Taken early November

We've found a use for the enormous dome. Who needs a coffee table..

Baby's Bedroom finally finished....

It's been a mountain to climb... The room looked like a it had been decorated by a bunch of 6 year olds when we moved in.
The plaster has been re-skimmed. The woodwork sanded and repainted and some carpet laid. It's unrecognisable from the purple monstrosity that went before.

We've been lucky enough to have many beautiful gifts bestowed upon us. They are all in place now for all to see.

Thanks everyone!!!

Look how she's grown...

Sarah very quickly began to show. After only a couple of week she started to outgrow her clothes. This was one of the first pics I took of her at about 8 weeks

A couple of arty shots

Here are a couple of pictures that my very talented brother Chris took last weekend of the ever expanding Sarah and I. This tranquil scene is going to change very soon :-)

The last few weeks before birth

Well, it's nearly time to welcome the little one. In fact we were in the hospital last night and thought that labour was about to start. Actually the contractions still haven't stopped, so we may be back off to the hospital yet!

This is the first Blog we've ever done, it seemed a bit naf at first, but after speaking to a lot of old crusties whose kids are all grown up, they don't seem to be able to remember anything about the early years of their children's lives. So I thought that it would be a good idea to capture some of those thoughts.

It's also a good place to share some of the photos and videos that we take over the next few months with our friends and family.

So, watch this space....

Steve