A couple of days ago. Cooking cake at start of Easter holidays.


Maeve waiting for Mummy to get out of recovery room. After bath and dressed but looking somewhere for food!


Kate gets to hold Maeve. She's amazed at the little head and hands. She disentangles one hand from babygrow.


Someone kindly pointed out that we've now the same demographic in our family as ... the Simpsons. That makes me Homer. Great.


woah!


Daire holds Maeve. Very competently and with older-brother seriousness.

Executive summary: everything has gone most excellently.
Baby Maeve looks beautiful, feeding a bit, sucks more when you tickle her foot, finds hands/blankets/things with rooting reflex, opens two blue eyes to look at strange things.
Fionn is looking gorgeous. Tummy sore but recovery going well. Will be walking tomorrow (fri 1 april) morning.
Daire and Kate were quite amazed by Maeve.
So anyway. Quite a busy day. Daire went to spend the day with Conor and they went to a beach in Wexford. Kate went in to Montessori. Got in to Holles St about 9:20. Holles St. seemed busy this morning so there was a good bit of waiting. Fionn had had intermittent contractions night before and nearly called me in the early hours and was still having them. People didn't want to delay too much. First talk, Fionn dressed, more waiting and more talk. Poor Fionn is poked with needles trying to get blood samples. Ow! Takes 4 goes. Then up to operating theatre. Is now 12:10 and need to top up car parking meter with money. I do that and feed my tummy with soup. Back to theatre where Fionn is still there after meeting anesthetist. Fionn away to get spinal (not quite an epidural but ... ). Myself dressed in sterile clothes, hat, mask. And called in then.

Things are happening now. Fionn is on table and surgeon is already starting to work. In quite a small operating room as someone else is in bigger theatre next door. Surgeon and someone else operating either side. Nurse and Indian anesthetist at Fionn's head. And me. Another few come and go. I look over curtain a bit ... not sure if I'm allowed ... it certainly seems to distress some but nurse says well it's okay. Can't see too much. Very quickly baby is yelling. Surgeon lifts her up to show Fionn & I. Purple and objecting to being taken out from nice warm dark place. They cut the cord and ?pediatrician? brings her away to check and dry her. We can hear her next door but also other voices encouraging another mother. I check, see placenta being taken out. Tell Fionn. Also see uterus (I think! Quite big, purple sack.) out being stitched. Still get feeling people are not quite comfortable with Dad looking.

?Pediatrician? brings baby back, gives her to me. I hold her over so FIonn can feel her face. She's wrapped up and dry. Eyes tight shut. Happy now that she is warmer. After a bit I'm ushered out, we say bye to Fionn for a while. Sterile garments off me. Wait with baby a little. Two midwives come to collect us and down to wards we go. Into little room right in wnd with two sinks, 2 changing tables and hospital cupboards and stuff. I get sent to get bags while baby is weighed and checked. Hey! Locked out after I get bags. I wait ... patiently as it says on the notice. And catch someone's eye. They let me in. Baby is in cot by herself. She's happy. In a bit she cries a little. She is rooting, looking for something to put in her mouth, so pick her up and walk. One midwife comes back and I give baby bath (dousing my watch - oops). She relaxes in the water. I thought she might ... not! She likes it. I take our time. Out and dry and then very fumbly getting dressed but improving with every limb. Is very very warm in that room. Whew I sweat. Then am left alone a good while with baby. She sleeps a bit after her bath. Dressing is tiring work! I pick her up when she starts looking for breast again. Walk around she likes the movement. She holds hand against side of head for a while and goes quiet. Seems to like it. I wonder is she feeling like she's back squashed in womb again. We take some pictures, Very very bad pictures. A senior seeming nurse comes twice and says oh no don't hold her like that and second time wrap her up more warmly so rewraps her in two blankets tightly. Niamh from community midwives arrives with news from Fionn yay! Fionn's good, maybe will be half an hour more. Send digital camera up so Fionn can see. Great as baby is definately continually looking for food. Also one of the notices on the wall is a pro-breastfeeding policy with skin contact within forst 30 mins and feeding within next 30 as one of the items.

A lady arrives flustered with her baby trolley. And a midwife too and another. I get out of way. Then a mummy, daddy, baby and another midwife come and start doing things. I desert that room and Fionn arrives on trolley. They wheel her into ward and get her onto bed and sort stuff out. Then we go meet mummy again. And put baby on breast after a little bit. Seems to go quite well. Fionn tummy sore but she puts baby across. Arrange things, someone gets water, I have coke, baby fed into cot. Phone people. Bye Fionn. Eeek! Car has been an hour without meter money but it's unclamped. whew.

It's 17:00 I catch rush hour and is slow on N11 past Stillorgan. My Mum phones- tell her news. GEt to Kate's creche in S3 17:30. Meet Sandra at door. Montessori's are all playing outside. Kate on trike. Hello! Talk to Sandra and Jennifer new baby. Try not make big issue of it with Kate. Meet Sinbad outside. Tell him all news too. Then Kate needs loo! Back into creche. Then home 18:00. Meet Noel. Ring for Daire - Assumpta was in shower. Tell news and hear about Daire's day. After down to Dermot & Derval's. Then home. Tell Kate we'll go to see Mummy in hospital after dinner. Cook pasta and beef stuff. Phone Fionn tell her we'll be late (it's now 18:30. We all eat fast. Then into car, to hospital.

Kate and Daire are amazed and interested in new baby. Kate touches head and face lots. Eoghan and Mary and Eimear are visiting. We take pictures, Maeve is passed around and then Kate wants to hold her, then Daire, then Kate again ... great reaction from Kate. Daire is fantastic. I follow Maeve around. She does something interesting in nappy. E&M take D&K home and put them to bed and babysit while I stay on a bit. I discover interesting thing is very dark green, very sticky, lots of it. Meet 2 ladies changing nappies too in room. Clean clean, dry dry, baby gets vitamin K in drops, now Fionn ready to feed baby. Good long feed and massage Fionn's feet. Then Maeve doesn't quite settle. I walk around with Maeve. Midwives hint I should be gone away long time. And they are changing sheets and fixing up stuff for Fionn for the night. Maeve seems to have gon fast asleep and indeed this time when she goes in cot she's peaceful out. Fionn is all set. I head home.

Oh it's a bit wet now outside. Was dry rest of day. We didn't send a key home with kids!! Eoghan said 'Daire said "sure we'll just get the one from Assumpta."'. whew! Sheila calls and I tell her news. Photos. Web.