... and then we took him home.....

Everyone says how limited a commodity sleep is when you have a baby, yet you don't realise just how debilitating sleep deprivation is until you have a baby!

When we got Jake home we really weren't sure what to do once we got him there - so we put him to bed in his brand new HUGE cot! He looked so tiny and sweet!

He took to the cot really well and we never had to have him in our room or in a bassinet. Swaddling was our first method of "securing" him in his cot but after a while he decided that he preferred to have his arms out and SSSTTTRRRRRREEEETTCH!

Jake was a gorgeous baby although very hard to settle and there were many a day, and night, spent pacing the back deck singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" whilst patting his little bottom.

Apparently he had Colic. Colic is a shit. You have a baby screaming and crying for no reason and you have no idea what to do except for pat and rock, rock and pat!

Well this unsettledness and lack of daytime sleep continued, although his nights were ok, and we graduated from just unsettled in the afternoon to crying in feeds, crying after feeds, only sleeping on people and generally not being happy.

Jake now had silent reflux. Silent reflux is not vomiting like "normal" reflux, Some babies reflux without it coming out of their mouths (termed silent reflux) which can cause more damage, but be more difficult to diagnose. The term ‘Silent Reflux’ can be confusing, because silence is generally not one of the signs they exhibit. Reflux is the spontaneous passage of part or all of the stomach contents (comprising food and stomach acid) into the oesophagus. The child may experience symptoms such as regurgitation, posseting and projectile vomiting. Sometimes it doesn’t come all the way out of their mouths, and the child may not vomit at all.(RISA www.reflux.org.au) He had to be medicated and held upright after every feed. Breastfeeding was a challenge with him pulling off in the middle of every feed screaming, and having to swap sides halfway through and back again... his little face was red raw and burnt by his acidic saliva and the poor little sausage had terrible wind because it caused him excruciating pain just to burp. I have never had heartburn but I am told it is hell - and this is what Jake was constantly plagued by.

By the time we reached 8 weeks I needed a holiday! I was plagued by feelings of inadequacy and I really craved my mothers advice and support - sadly she died several years ago. However I had a wonderful son and an incredible husband who pulled me through the really hairy times! I can understand the pressure a new baby puts on relationships and I am happy to say that this pressure has only brought us closer together and made us even stronger.

Well his weight was packing on and he was growing great guns - still sitting above the 97th percentile for height! Christmas came and went in a flash and Jake slept all day! When Jake was 10 weeks old we took him to Sydney to meet his Aunty Dee, Uncle Sean, Cousin Oscar the Rex (who recently went to the big cat tower in the sky) and all the relatives in Sydney. Jake was a hit and needless to say charmed everyone he met and he even managed to sleep though Yum Cha.

Once we hit 12 weeks life seemed to settle down... breastfeeding suddenly became easier and Jake seemed to settle into more of a routine. I fell in love with him a little more everyday as he charmed me with his smiles, giggles and sweet personality. By this stage Jake had been betrothed to about 5 other little baby girls and he was in high demand, already learning to charm the chicky babes!

3 months down and only 6 to catch up on.......