Alice Rose, such a little charmer

Six day’s on and we’re doing great. Alice is feeding well, calm, placid and a little charmer. She’s already worked her magic on Charli and Sophie, who are absolutely besotted with her.

Of course Dan and I have felt exhausted for much of the week, but now it’s the weekend and we’ve both had a chance to rest and catch up on a little sleep. Dan even managed to get out on Friday night, to attend ‘The Onyas‘ award ceremony at Town Hall; celebrating New Zealand’s web industry – and scooped an award for ‘Most innovative’, for YouDo‘s work with DNA and Powershop.

I won a prize too – in the Ministry of Health’s Breastfeeding Photo Competition – First place for the Wellington region! The $250 Warehouse voucher will come in very handy to pay for Alice’s nappies! The photo was in the Dominion Post on Saturday and I’m delighted to positively promote breastfeeding. I didn’t find it easy with Charli, but thanks to an incredibly supportive midwife and lactation consultant, I got there in the end.

Of course no prize can compare to the arrival of our beautiful Alice Rose into the world on Tuesday morning, a little earlier than her due date, of 18 February. She arrived in plenty of time to enjoy lots of cuddles with her Grandma, who returns to the UK on 28 February (Granddad is missing his bed warmer!). It’s been absolutely wonderful having her support this week.

The birth was amazing (which may sound kind of bizarre!). Having no drugs in my system and a natural delivery has really made a difference to my recovery and I feel so positive and proud of myself. It was a really intimate, peaceful experience, with just Dan and my midwife in a calm, dimly lit room. I did tear a little, but nothing too severe and no stitches required. As a result I’m not exactly running any marathons yet and have been laying low at home, hobbling around and taking lots of salt births (okay… too much detail already?!).

Alice, Grandma and I ventured out for the first time yesterday. We spent the afternoon at Te Papa, where Charli and Grandma enjoyed a fabulous visit to ‘A Day in Pompeii‘ and then Charli took Grandma on the ‘High Ride‘ simulator! Brave Grandma! Charli is certainly impressed! Dan and Sophie had fun exploring the discovery centres and I chilled out with Alice in the relaxed surrounds of the cafe on level 4. Alice slept for most of the time and I enjoyed copious cups of tea. It was great to be out of the house and feel ‘human’.

Dan has been an absolute brick with the girls, running them to school and kindi this week and giving them opportunities to run off their insatiable energy – Sophie in particular rarely sits still and runs everywhere! She loves playing footie in the garden and Dan’s taken her to her first Phoenix Football match tonight!

Hi 5 Daddy!