Brook's First Five Days

Day One
We arrived at the hospital around 8am on the 11th of June 2001. No sooner had our Midwife got us a room in the Maternity Ward and there was an orderly waiting to rush us off to the operating theatre. We had not even started the pre-op checks.

While Joss was having needles poked into her spine for a spinal block pain relief, Cam was left in the broom closet come visitors changing room. The waiting seemed amazingly long as they had to perform the pre-op checks, and Cam was thinking he was forgotten about and the whole operation would be over before they remembered to collect him and bring him to the operating theatre. But no they did remember to collect Cam and by the time he was well hidden from all the gory stuff behind a sheet up by Joss’s head the operation was ready to start – 9:10am.

After a lot of pulling and tugging, Brook was born at 9:25am and Cam sneaked a peek as Brook came out. The doctor held up our new baby for us to see – Joss could only see his feet but he was a healthy blue little man.

Brook was then given the once over by the Paediatric Doctor and we could both hear him cry and Cam could see him wiggling away. So there was no problems for Brook scoring an APGAR score of 8 at one minute old.

As the long task of sewing Joss back up began, Cam was able to cut the umbilical cord – a rather larger, thicker, and stronger cord than one expects! Afterwards Cam got to give Brook his first cuddle and Joss got to see his face for the first time – oh so cute! Then he was whisked away up to the Neo Natal Unit.

Joss was into Recovery by 10am and cleared back to the Maternity Ward by 10:45am.

Brook weighed in at 4150 grams (9lb 2oz for the older generation) and had to stay in the Neo Natal Unit for monitoring of his blood sugar levels and oxygen stats. Brook started out a full 55cm long with a head circumference of 37.5cm. He was given heal pricks for taking blood tests every half an hour which produced the most amazingly grumpiest faces ever. Meanwhile Joss was trapped in the Maternity Ward and unable to see Brook in his wee oxygen tent.

Brook was brought down for a quick visit mid afternoon allowing Joss her first cuddle, a very emotional time. The visit was short but he was soon back again at 6pm and this time he stayed for 2 hours. This was the start for breast feeding – not particularly successful initially as Brook could not keep himself awake, nor was he too good at sucking. Thus his first couple of feeds were via tube. He came down again around midnight and Joss was able to give him his first successful feed. Not a particularly big feed as Brook would only suck a couple of times before giving up.

Day Two
Day two starts and Brook is transferred down from the Neo Natal Unit to Joss at 10am. With a full head of hair he’s swooning the nurses already. Can you believe that we never knew Joss’s blood type? They did not even have it before she went into the operating theatre. Well we found out it was Group O RH negative. Luckily Brook has the same blood type so Joss did not require the anti D injections.

Brook’s breast feeding methods start to improve but he is still quite sleepy and as his skin tone is yellowish the doctor suspects Jaundice and orders a test for the next morning. Otherwise, his blood sugar levels are good and we’ve started expressing milk (colostrum still at this stage) to ensure he is getting enough food.

Joss has a terror of a night with Brook who would not feed well and appears to have a grumbley tummy. Joss has the pleasure of changing a very pooie nappy with the sticky meconium all up Brook’s back. Nice.

Day Three
Day three starts with some poor lab tech collecting blood samples for the Jaundice and Guthrie tests. With all the blood tests Brook had already endured, this was like getting blood from a stone. Half an hour later the ordeal is stopped and unfortunately the Guthrie tests will probably have to be repeated.

Joss and Brook have a good go at breast feeding around midday and Brook is soon fast asleep – nothing like the previous night! The Jaundice test comes back with a result just borderline for requiring photo therapy treatment. We thought this was good news as Brook was looking less yellow and thus expected the bilirubin levels had peaked and were coming down. Thus if Joss’s blood pressure held steady over night we were looking at coming home the next day.

We found out we had the first baby born in Southland at the start of Parent Week (first of 9 that day!) So we received a gift parcel from the Parent Centre Group.

Feeding is going ok, Brook is still a little lazy at sucking and gets panicky when the food does not come fast and easy for him. Two hour long feeds are the norm.

Day Four
Day four starts and we are hoping to be discharged today. Joss is cleared to go and so to is Brook subject to another Jaundice test to ensure his levels of bilirubin are dropping. We find out that they have in fact increased and are well into the region requiring photo therapy to treat. Not the news we were after.

The photo therapy treatment means Brook has to lie on a special bed of UV lights that help convert the bilirubin into a water soluble form which is easily passed out. Brook started on the bed at 2:40pm and we were told he could require up to 72 hours on it. They promised to check his levels the next morning before the recommended minimum 24 hour period.

So we started a routine of feeding Brook every 4 hours with a combination of breast feeding and expressed breast milk to reduce the time off the bed. A good sign was his dirtying his nappies by each feeding time and we were convinced his colour was improving by the 3am feed.

Day Five
Our patience worked as we noticed Brook was feeding more off the breast and becoming more active. The morning blood test came back with an excellent drop in the bilirubin levels and we were finally discharged just before noon.

Home sweet home.

15. June 2001 »

Introducing our son - Brook

The waiting is over, Brook William Simpson is finally here! He was born on Monday the 11th on June and weighed in at 4150gms (9 pounds 4oz). Joss and I are both over the moon and thank everyone for their support over the pregnancy. As you’ll have read here previously the pregnancy went well and the result is the most wonderful, healthy boy. Both Joss and Brook are naturally still in the hospital at present resting up well. And as new parents we are catching on quickly – we know what end the food goes in and that stuff comes out at any end.

Sorry this update is short but we are naturally busy, we just thought we’d let you all know about the arrival of Brook. You’ll have to visit again soon to catch the latest news

Love Cam, Joss, & Brook.

11. June 2001 »

Baby News

Not long now! At the time of writing this we are in week 34 (of 40) and all is going well. We are now concentrating on preparation for the birth, with only a couple of outstanding items to get for after the birth. You would not believe the items they have on the birthing plan. It is hard to imagine someone that wants to control their labour/birth that much.

We were told initially about all the visits to specialists that would be required but since Joss has been taking excellent care of herself (and therefore the baby), her specialists have decided they do not need to see her as frequently. A very good pat on the back.

We have now finished antenatal classes and feel reasonably prepared now. The classes were great and no you do not spend all your time puffing away like you see on the movies. In fact they do not recommend those funny breathing techniques any more – too many people hyperventilated. The classes basically covered from the start of pregnancy through to the first few months after birth. The main concentration was on the actual labour part – the videos scared a few.

Oh, I better not forget to mention that we’ve painted the baby’s room, a blue/purple colour. Many thanks to Cam’s Mum for her help in sprucing up the room. It looks very good, warming up the room heaps. With all the baby stuff around it is enough to make anyone go clucky (even you Phil!).

Easter Break
We had a very good Easter holiday. You may remember we went up to Dunedin for a couple of days. The weather was perfect and we tripped around heaps. We did just over 700km and the return trip to Dunedin is only about 420km! There is heaps to see like Larnach Castle, the Aquarium, Botanic Gardens, Port Chalmers, and old buildings like the University, railway station etc. The art gallery and museum were very good too. And there is a couple of sights left to visit next time. The only disappointing thing was the cost of some of the attractions.

Phil, Adam, and Grant were in Dunedin at the same time too. They were playing Ultimate Frisbee at the university tournament. We hear that they came first place, a great effort. Adam kept saying they were guaranteed to win but I am sure it was not that easy.

Other Stuff
We had Rach visit us last weekend. It was great to catch up with her especially since we’ve not heard much from these Aucklanders. Congrats on the job Todd! Rach was very interested in the baby so is there a possibility, now that Todd has work, of little people?

We have had heaps of stuff going on and hopefully we can let you in on it soon. Watch this space!

7. May 2001 »

Invercargill's Bright Lights

Yeah yeah, we can hear your scoffing. I know the words “Invercargill” and “bright lights” are not commonly used in the same sentence, but Joss can argue she has seen the brightest of them all. Ok so what am I going on about? Joss has just had some laser surgery on one of her eyes. Not the corrective surgery people have to so they don’t need glasses – a little more serious than that. Joss put on a brave face when we went into the hospital but looked a little pale when the nurse said she’d need anaesthetic injections around and in her eye. The old poke a needle in your eye saying got its revenge, but after almost an hour she came out with a weak smile on her face, proud to have handled the situation so well. And all is well, a little tender but looking good, no pun intended.

Baby News
All is well on the baby front. Joss recently visited the midwife and the results are all good. There is a question about if the baby is slightly larger than average, or if we are slightly out on our dates. Joss quite likes the idea of the baby coming earlier but not being larger than average.

So the baby is roughly at the 30 week stage (out of 40) and Joss and I are at the room decoration stage. We purchased the coolest Whinnie The Pooh stuff and are looking at the possibility of painting the room. Once we are finished we’ll get some photos to show you.

And there seems to be a few people planning visits to the deepest south after the baby is due. We are looking forward to them and are pleased to know our baby talk is not putting you guys off. Actually Joss caught up with Phil and Grant the other weekend – Bronwyn if you are reading this I’d watch out, it sounded like Phil was a little clucky talking to Joss about the baby!

Easter
We are off to Dunedin for a couple of days over Easter. Our last holiday before Baby Day. There is a great museum and art galleries to see and I’m hoping the marine aquatic centre will also be open. And it looks like some of you Christchurch people will be there too. So it will be a great chance to catch up.

Just Stuff
Duncan and Kylie are settling into Wellington, both with jobs now. They have hardly been there a month and they are planning on moving flats already. They have run out of space so I think it would have been cheaper if they left their 32” TV with us and we gave them our 14” one. Actually we have gotten use to the little one again very quickly and really only miss not having a VCR. But soon we’ll have a baby to provide hours of entertainment.

Joss has received her final pay from doing the Census enumeration so returns to being a kept woman. And I’m quite busy at work getting ready to go live with Hansen. That’s a computer geek product not a stupid boy band!

Well that’s about us, why don’t you email us and let us know what you’ve been up to.
Cam & Joss.

1. April 2001 »

It's a Boy!

Well it is but not if you know what I mean – no you’re still confused. Ok yes we are 99% sure it is a boy according to the last scan, he is just not born yet (not that he should be as he has got another 14 weeks to go yet). Still confused? You shouldn’t be but then again we computer geeks are not as articulate as you normal people.

Speaking of computer geeks I’ve added a new link to a great computer source on our Links page. It is a must for all you aspiring geeks and the author’s sense of humour appeals to me so quit hassling me.

Back to baby talk – yeah I know it is all we talk about but it’s either that or I let you in on Duncan’s and my email chats about power filters and converting FAT32 to NTFS, yeah I thought so. Anyway both Joss and our baby are doing fine, the latest scan showed all is going normally and surprise surprise the head is bigger than average. I say that must be all the extra brains it has inherited from me – just what Joss always wanted two geeks running a muck. Add the big head to potentially a larger than average baby and you can imagine Joss thinking Ouch! We have been adding a few more items to our baby stuff collection. We’d love to go over the top and redecorate the baby room but you can’t when your flatting. Now you know it is going to be a boy you can start your knitting and remember to make a large hole for the head. Both Grannies have been busy with the sewing. Actually for those of you who know our parents we are after suggestions on what they should be called. Joss’s Dad wants to be Pop or Poppa and her Mum is set on Grandma. My Mum is happy to be a Grandma or Nana. The big trick will be my Dad. All you who know him please send in some suggestions. We’ve had the odd mean suggestion from an aunty or two (much worse than Gramps).

We start antenatal classes in a few weeks so we can learn how to breathe properly – you know just encase we have forgotten in the last 25 years. No there is heaps more to it than the breathing techniques but that’s all you ever see on TV. Its funny they are willing to show blood and guts 24/7 but not a poor bloke changing a stinky nappy. Strangely enough it is not only me who is worried about coping after the birth. You’d think Joss could only be worrying about the birth but she ensures me it she is more worried about sticking the baby with a nappy pin and the best way to remove projectile vomit from your Sunday whites than the birth. Although the scanner persons (what ever they are called) comments of a 10 pounder did make her look a little pale.

Joss has been busy delivering Censes papers to some 270 dwellings. She has meet many strange people on her travels and is hoping to maintain her sanity during the collection phase. Naturally I do the over protective husband thing and follow her at night like some shifty weirdo. I’m surprised we’ve not had the cops cruise by to be honest. Luckily Joss has quite reasonable neighbourhood to do. Some of the other enumerators have has some rather nasty people and there has been a couple of dog bites. One lady went up this long drive out in the middle of nowhere and found a little shed all locked up tight. There was lights on but only plants inside – I wonder what they could be? Naturally she did not leave any indication of her visit nor will she return.

Well that’s about our news, unless you want me to tell you all about the new plants and stuff I’ve just got for the fish tank – I thought not. You don’t know what you’re missing it is all riveting stuff. Joss loves me talking about it, she says it helps her sleep – hey wait a minute! Oh I better mention that Duncan is back in Wellington (my brother for those who don’t know). He and Kylie spent a couple of weeks down in Invy after returning from London and are now back in Wellington. The tinny bugger not only found a great flat within a mater of days, he also go a job in 3 seconds flat. That’s the geek factor again. He is really the super computer geek of the family, got a degree and all to prove it. You should have seen the toys he brought back from London. Kylie has seen our baby books and was not totally put off the idea by the gory photos – I think we’ll have to wait and see on that one.

13. March 2001 »

Hi Everybody

Cam’s enjoying his job – lots of variety and more recognition than in Chch. He went to a conference in Auckland a couple of weeks ago, which he was quite chuffed about. He won a bottle of Moet champagne while up there (for after the baby is born!). Meanwhile I had a concerned husband, mother, and mother-in-law checking up on me nightly, obviously I cannot cope on my own!

I have a part time job with Census starting soon, cool – gives me something to do plus pays OK too. I am selling heaps of cards etc (so if you need any cards you know where to get them – a bit of free advertising here!).

The pregnancy is going really well, better than all the experts thought it would. I have had a bit of trouble with my eyes, but apparently that is expected when you are a pregnant diabetic (wish someone had warned me earlier!). I reached 23 weeks and have another scan soon. The baby is moving constantly and I feel like my tummy has a mind of its own! We are getting organised, buying a few bits and pieces for the baby which feels cool.

We went to Te Anau last weekend and had a great time. If you have not been there then you should definitely put it on your list of places to see. Heaps of cafes, restaurants and touristy shops. Also heaps of nice bush walks and things to do (especially if you have money). There is a great wildlife park where we saw a real live takahe (they are huge). Would love to go there again and spend a bit more time looking around.

On the house front now – well we still own our place in Chch. Had our first offer on it over the weekend but it was a ridiculous offer made by a rent-to-own businessman. It barely covered the cost of our mortgage! So we have decided to take the place off the market for the next little while and see if things in Chch pick up a bit. Although saying that the real estate agent seems to have forgotten we have taken the place off the market and she is running an open home this weekend – strange.

Anyway that is about all the news from us for now. Let us know what you have all been up too soon.
Take care, Joss.

18. February 2001 »