Life with a newborn………. not much time for anything, especially sleep, but lots of coffee, lots of pacing back and forth rocking and patting, lots of sitting on the couch watching TV breastfeeding and refereeing older siblings when they know you can’t get up and are getting up to mischief. Only sleeping 2 hours at a time, middle of the night feeds (and spending a lot of the night awake), not knowing what day it is but. Lots of washing of tiny clothes, no time to fold the washing, do the dishes or clean the house. Plenty of time holding a very cute baby (and often wishing she would go to sleep so you could too)! Eating most meals with one hand in about 20 seconds flat while she screams for something………
Zinnia is now 6 weeks old and it feels like she just arrived but at the same time that she has been here much longer. The days have gone by in a bit of a blur, but it is definitely easier third time around. Despite being even more tired the muscle memory kicked back in and we vaguely remember how to care for a tiny human and most importantly that this time will pass very quickly and soon she’ll be running around telling us what to do, just like the other two.
Despite being a third child, there has been no lack of photos taken. I certainly haven’t had much computer time and there has been very little blog posting (I’m hoping to get our travel posts from earlier in the year finished one day!) but here is a photo collection of Zinnia’s first month in the big wide world………
No time for long posts but plenty of pictures to capture our first month together!
You were born at 2.24pm on the 13th of November……
Later that night we were on our way home, walking out of the hospital with our tiny smooshy (and yet unnamed ball of baby). We’d arrived that morning with you still kicking around in my belly and now we were strapping your car seat in the dark on a warm night. Once we got home you were not impressed, feeding, walking, bouncing and cuddling did not stop your displeasure until close to midnight and then you finally agreed to let your exhausted parents have at least a couple of hours sleep as you became acquainted with your hammock…….. 
While the big kids were at school and with the grandparents, we spent our first 24 hours together at home, feeding, napping and getting to know each other. You had a few sleeps in your hammock, but mostly slept on us! The midwife came to visit and in the afternoon your big brother and sister came home for sister cuddles. As we wanted to avoid a big weight loss like your siblings we were supplementing feeds with colostrum I had painstakingly expressed for weeks before you arrived. You loved those little syringes of liquid gold and your brother and sister loved having you home!
Our second day together, we saw more of you awake. Those fingers are so long and your feet are like flippers! You had your first bath, and loved it just like your big brother and sister, another water baby in the making…..
In our first few days at home you had lots of visits and cuddles from grandparents and your aunt and uncle. Happy to be cuddled and held…..
Pretty soon it was the weekend. The days were passing in a blur of sleep deprivation. You loved your baths, and some trips to the shops and walking the alpacas, curled up in the sling! You still napped everywhere, dozing peacefully on your beanbag during feeds and being cuddled by your siblings between feeds. The big kids were happy to help with your top up bottles after breastfeed and you dozed your way through trips to the shops and market and only complained when the midwives stripped you down to be weighed……
You hadn’t been on the outside for a week yet but loved staring at the trees moving and laying on our bed. Snoozing on your beanbag and on people was much more fun than sleeping in your bed! You didn’t have a name yet but we’d elimated quite a few from our list. Your weight started going up rather down, busting through the 3kg mark……. still long and skinny.
In your first week you met plenty of friends, happy to have other people hold you while you slept!
Your second week on the outside and the smiles were plenty, grinning in your sleep and when you heard voices you recognised. Still curled up like a little ball, loving your in-utero position!
As your second week progressed, there was a little more awake time and we got to see your big blue eyes and sleepy gaze. Your hair was still crazy but oh so cute! You were still going out for walks in the sling and had your first ergo trip on some of the cooler days…..
At almost 2 weeks old, you still didn’t have a name, but we were down to 4! You loved the quieter days at home when your brother and sister were both at school but loved their cuddles when they were home. Baths were still a favourite and you loved nappy off time in the sunshine……
Evenings were your unsettled time, often screaming through the kids stories and making mum and dad eat with one hand. You were getting used to be cuddled incessantly by your siblings, even when you just wanted to rest……
As November drew to a close, you were starting to give us bigger grins and lots of expression. We were down to 2 names for you and arguing about which one was the best fit, even your siblings couldn’t agree!
You loved cuddles from everyone and smiled for those you knew, but in the evenings it was the 5 hour ‘witching-hour’ and only mum would do!
It was the start of December and Summer was here. More hot days than cold. You were almost back to birth weight and getting longer by the day. Lucky it was warming up as the 4×0 newborn suits with feet, while baggy won’t fit your length for much longer, especially as you like to stretch now……
In the blur of sleep deprivation we were late doing our annual Christmas shoot but we got there in the end and even the alpacas cooperated this year, even if I was editing photos and making cards in the wee hours of the morning between feeds!
3 weeks old and you finally have a name. Zinnia Delphine is our final choice and you celebrate by making it back to your birth weight, in half the time of your older siblings, although still only 3.5kg at 3 weeks. We are still breastfeeding 7-8 times a day and topping you up with formula in a bottle and you are happy to swap back and forth and have a bottle from dad in the middle of the night so mum can have a few hours sleep some nights.
You are having more awake time now and love lying around staring at the moving trees. If only you’d sleep between 5 and 10pm! Luckily you rarely cry and give us plenty of cute coos and hiccups. You hiccup constantly.
We finally got our Christmas tree up and you have your own ‘Zinnia’ bauble and stocking. At 3 weeks of age you go to your first school Christmas concert and make it through all 3 hours, despite the heat and noise! Definitely the youngest audience member.
It’s your 4th week already and we are getting lots of smiles and grins. You love to be wrapped to sleep and are used to mum taking a million photos of your cuteness……
Zinnia you are almost a month old. We are now managing to walk down for school drop off some days and go for evening walks in the pram on hot days. You still won’t sleep in the evenings but some days I win, even if you only nap on me and I eat my dinner with one hand. Lucky you are cute…….
A month has flown by and despite still being tiny, you are super-cute! Getting more interactive by the day and almost making us forget a time when we got some sleep and had a semi-clean house……. Everywhere you go everyone comments on how tiny and cute you are and your pretty awesome mop of hair. You still have more hair than your dad!
Happy first month on the outside Zinnia Delphine, I’m sure there will be a few thousand more photos of you soon……