Hi Everyone,

Time is well and truely flying by and I’m loving every minute of it. My first month as a new mum has been pretty quiet, after being kept in hospital for a week I’m just pleased to be home.

Anyone who knows me will agree I’m a really organised person, everything has to be in some sort of order, well I can honestly say I wasn’t prepared at all for a prem baby. I had one premature baby grow that I was given and nothing else, even the newborn nappies were huge. So whilst I rested up in hospital the other half went out and brought pampers micro nappies and a few tiny baby sets.

Feeding has been tough, I wanted to breast feed for many reasons, the protection it would give the baby, the health benefits for me and the closeness and bonding it would provide. Lets be honest, formula milk is really expensive, who would want to pay out for it when you can provide it for free? I’d assumed it would be something that would come so naturally but couldn’t be further from the truth. Being premature Reece didn’t latch on very well, I was told it was quite common for prem babies but it was really stressful because I was more than aware that he needed to put weight on (5lb at birth). The most important element for me was being able to give him breast milk so I started to express, the hospital gave me an expressing machine which stayed with me for my entire stay. Whilst pregnant I’d purchased a hand pump just in case and wanted to have a practice so my partner brought it in to the hospital, it was the biggest waste of money I’ve ever spent, electric pumps are the only way to go, my newly purchased Avent one was fantastic.

I expressed for 3 weeks in total but after a while found it completely knackering, if I wasn’t feeding I was expressing and soon realised I’d never be able to leave the house. After days of contemplating I made the decision to move Reece onto formula, I did feel guilty, I felt like I was unable to provide for him but looking back it was a wise move. He’s a happy baby and has started putting weight on, by the end of the first month he weighed 5lb 15, he’s still of tiny proportions but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

As for me, I’m really well, my blood pressure is still being monitored and am gradually being weaned off the tablets. Being a mum has made me take a long hard look at life, it’s a rather depressing thought but since I’ve heart disease in my family i’ve asked the doctors if they can do a cholesterol test, they’ve taken the blood, and I’m waiting to get the results back so fingers crossed they’ll be ok, will let you know next month.

Take care
Love from Sam and baby Reece x