It's a boy!

Welcome to little Baby Dylan! Born at 8lb 13 oz (4 kilos), he has a full head of chestnut hair and the tan of a Portuguese football player. Given that Dylan spent his last four months in the womb trying to kick his way out, it's not such a surprise that he's destined for the Premier League. 

I have to say an elective caesarian was for me a very stress free way of giving birth. Now, I feel a bit of a heel saying this because natural is best. Well it stands to reason, doesn't it? But given that I've just had a baby and am feeling a bit weak, argue this one amongst yourselves for the time being.

The one thing I will say though is that if you are having a baby soon, fight for immediate skin to skin contact. I never had this with baby no 1, Daisy, so was determined that baby no 2 would get this. And I have to say this was the most amazing moment of my life so far.

When Dylan was born, I heard him cry out (thank god, I heard myself say). Then the surgeon held him up in front of me and my husband so we both saw him at the same time. He was an odd assortment of limbs, cords, purples and reds. It was difficult from my angle to make out the gender, so my husband announced that we had a little boy.

Then immediately Dylan was placed on my chest, nose to nose, and we just stared at each other for the longest time. He was so beautiful, so vulnerable, so quiet as he heard my voice in the real world and just seemed to recognise who I was and snuggled up to me for warmth. 

My one-minute-old boy was so fresh from the womb that he was still covered in vernix - the white cheesy substance that protects babies against dryness and bacterial infections. Like baby anti-bacterial moisturiser. How incredible. I've never seen a baby quite so newborn before. Daisy was presented to me cleaned, dried and with a pristine white sleep suit on (at least I'm assuming she didn't emerge that way naturally). I wanted to hold my little girl before she was 'processed' and I always felt cheated that I never got the opportunity. So this time we made sure the team knew what we wanted, and it led to a truly special moment.

I held him close for 40 minutes or so while they finished up after the op. And I'll never forget it.

Getting back to the recovery suite, I tried breastfeeing him for the first time, and he just knew exactly what to do. I couldn't stop crying from happiness. The vernix was already sinking in naturally, revealing more and more of my new little man.

Meanwhile the woman next to me in the recovery suite was clearly a little freaked by the whole thing. "Take my baby away and wipe that gunk off" she said "I can't take pictures of her like that!"

So now it's me a Dylan learning how its done. I'm trying to work out his cries. And just where I'm, supposed to put the baby cream on his interesting collection of private parts. He lies there staring at my bosoms and licking his lips. Men, ay?!

Will post more later, but consider me on maternity leave - for a few days at least!

Comments

[Harriet Morris]

Hi congrats on your beautiful baby - and what a cool name!

I too had a elective C section and cannot emphasise enough what you say about skin to skin. Anyone else reading this don't be surprised if you cant hold your newborn in the op itself - I had to wait til recovery - but it made no difference. My baby Tom latched on immediately and it was maazing - compared to my first (emergency) c section where I was so out of it on painkillers that skin to skin never occured to me, and breastfeeding took an age to get going.

[Andrea Sangster]

Very true, Harriet. And I'm sure that skin-to-skin has reduced my stress over feeding this time. Baby no 1, Daisy, who didn't have skin-to-skin, never really took to breastfeeding. But Dylan did and is doing really well. I am convinced that it's cos of the early bonding we did through skin-to-skin. If he knows nothing else in life, he knows who I am and what I'm here for!