We made a baby!
Toby Walker was born on the 31st October, and is a beautiful, healthy little man.
Almost exactly two years after we started this blog, designed to chronicle our attempts to get pregnant through fertility treatment, we are so incredibly blessed and overwhelmed to have a baby. We also know how incredibly fortunate we are, that it has happened so relatively quickly. Technically we’ve been trying for a baby for three years, but started treatment two years ago. We know, compared to so many, how incredibly quickly it has worked out for us, despite it seeming so long at the time. We got there without IVF, but along the way Laura had to have a major operation, a lot of invasive tests (and blood tests), copious medication, and the monthly emotional struggle with negative pregnancy tests. And now it’s over, in the form of a mewling, spewing, pooing bundle of mad joy.
It’s terrifying. This tiny (he was born 6lb 4oz/2.8kg) little goblin child, utterly helpless and vulnerable, wholly dependent upon us minute by minute for his survival. Good grief, who let me have this much responsibility? Argh! But then he makes eye contact, and ho boy, it’s worth every second.
He’s 12 days old now (apologies for taking so long to post – as you might imagine, spare time isn’t something we find in abundance), and has regained all his birth weight and then some, despite being a peculiarly lanky, skinny little guy. He’s still too small for all the “newborn” clothes we have, wearing most things like a sleeping bag. But we’re beginning to settle into some sort of routine. We’re even, for the meantime, getting some sleep at night. We know that’s unlikely to last, but after getting (we think) a total of five hours’ sleep between Thursday and Sunday, it’s well earned. We’ve even managed to leave the house!
The last couple of weeks would have been so, so much harder without the support of our amazing friends and families. Parents have swooped in from afar to ease burdens, fix taps, and let us catch sleep, while an amazing rota of friends have been bringing us evening meals, lend a hand, and offer us emotional support – it’s made such an incredible difference. If you know someone who’s having a kid, be the person to organise a dinner rota for them – it is so much help, and ensures new parents are definitely eating at least one decent meal a day in amidst the chaos.
And this is him, slightly less goblin-like now, but just as poo/wee/sicky as ever:
/applause
To steal Kieron’s joke…
Good grief! Look at the size of those hands!
Congrats to all three of you. :)