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Born 21st January 2017, 8 pounds 5 ounces!
Apologies for the lack of new recipes around here lately, but I do have a pretty good excuse.
Benjamin James was born just a little early on the 21st January at 6.59am, weighing in at a pretty chunky 8 pounds and 5 ounces – for those of you who like these sorts of details!
We’re absolutely thrilled with our cute new addition, and very happy to be finally home from the hospital and settling into some kind of routine.
Catching some of his first zzzzzzs
Before the birth, several friends and acquaintances hinted that things never quite go the way you’d imagined, and this couldn’t have been more true for us!
I was admitted to the hospital with suspected early membrane rupture on the Friday lunchtime. I was all prepared to be induced, but after my waters were properly broken, I went into labour by myself and our son was born the following morning.
It’s at this point that things got just a little crazy. We were all ready to go home the following day when the hospital informed us that I’d been accidentally overdosed on paracetamol (!!!) so would have to stay another night while some tests were run. I’d been given 1 or 2 more tablets than I should have within 24 hours, which was unlikely to cause any damage, but was technically an overdose. Whaaaat?
Enjoying some Daddy time while doing an old man impression
We had the tests done, which did actually show something a little skewy with my liver function. Whether that was a direct result of the paracetamol or not we don’t know.
We then began to notice that Benjamin was turning yellow. He had a spot of jaundice of course, but to everyone’s horror a routine blood test then showed he had off-the-chart bilirubin levels and he was rushed down to the neonatal baby unit.
The short version of the rest of the story is that this turned out to be a false alarm, but Benjamin still needed treating for the jaundice. So under the UV light he went for 24 hours – very stressful when you’re trying to establish feeding!
In the meantime, another blood test showed that Benjamin did in fact have some sort of infection, although he seemed well – just very sleepy from the jaundice. He was given a lumbar puncture to test for meningitis, samples were sent away to try to identify the infection, and he was started on a 5-day course of antibiotics.
We never found out what the infection was (did he catch it because of the early membrane rupture?), but suddenly we were very grateful for the paracetamol ‘overdose’ that kept us in the hospital and led to all those other things being discovered!
Benjamin is now feeding well and keeping us awake all night like newborns do. The consensus is that he looks like Mum, but he has Dad’s cute dimples and side parting! He likes looking around at the lights and having a cuddle on Mum’s chest, but he doesn’t think much of bath time!
This life thing is hard work. Is it bedtime yet?
Apologies to those of you who couldn’t care two hoots about newborn baby news! I have several new recipes ready and waiting in the wings and will be publishing a new post very soon.
Believe me, after a week of hospital food, I’m ready to get back into the swing of things as soon as I can!
So stand by if you’re looking for an easy, delicious and impressive Valentine’s Day dessert.
In the meantime, let’s celebrate the birth of Benjamin James with two of my favourite cakes:
Peanut butter, banana and chocolate chip cake
Mmmmm!
Alyssa @ My Sequined Life says
Congratulations, Helen!!! What a cutie!! I cracked up at the photo of his “old man expression” haha! SO glad to hear despite some complications (ugh must have been so scary) that all is well. <3
Helen says
Hi Alyssa – thank you so much for your congrats! Benjamin actually has several different old man impressions… hahaha! 🙂
Carmen Boisvert says
Dear Helen…..A big congratulations to you and your husband! Benjamin James is absolutely off-the-charts beautiful!!! Have fun with that little guy!
And thank you for all the wonderful recipes that you post! I love them!
Helen says
Hello Carmen. Thank you soooo much for taking the time to pass by and leave your congrats. And for your lovely compliment on Benjamin – we think he’s beautiful too (of course!) and we especially love all his ‘old man’ expressions!
I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes, too – thank you so much for letting me know. It means more than you can imagine! 🙂
mira says
Look at this beautiful family! Congratulations Helen! He is adorable! Glad everything turned out to be ok at the end and you are home and safe! Enjoy every single moment! Babies grow fast! Thanks for sharing your story!
Helen says
Thank you so much,Mira. Trying to enjoy it amidst the crazy sleepless nights!! lol!
Tina Culbertson says
He is adorable! Our son had a bit of jaundice so he looked suntanned straight away, no worries, he’s very healthy now! I have been a fan of your site and probably never left you a comment, lets change that now – I love your recipes and wanted to congratulate you on your newborn. 🙂
Helen says
Hello Tina! Thank you so much for coming out of the woodwork and leaving a message! I so appreciate it – sometimes it feels as if no one is reading, so it’s wonderful when I hear that they are! Thank you so much for the congrats too – it’s a massive life change that I’m sure we’ll be getting used to for quite some time, but a wonderful one too. Thanks again for your support! 🙂
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Oh my goodness Helen congratulations on baby Benjamin James (great name!!). And I’m glad to hear that it was not something worse than jaundice which I think lots of babies have. Thank you for sharing the photos and story with us! 😀
Helen says
Thank you so much, Lorraine! We are so happy to be finally safe and sound back from the hospital. 🙂
[email protected] says
I left a message here earlier but it ISN’T HERE!!! I came back to have another read. That sleepy photo of him is EVERYTHING! CONGRATULATIONS HELEN! To you and your beautiful family. Lots of love – Nagi! N xx
Helen says
Oh no! I’ll check my spam comments – maybe some comments have gone in there?
Anyway, thanks so much for the congrats. We’re shell-shocked, quite frankly… lol! 🙂
Heather says
Gosh Helen – what a ride! So very pleased that you are all home safe & sound and getting into your new family life. Sending you all lots of love and good wishes. HB xx
Helen says
Hello Heather – thank you so much, and I really hope you can meet Benjamin when we’re back in Perth! xx
marcie says
That is one beautiful baby boy, Helen — congratulations to you and Mr. Scrummy! I’m so sorry to hear about the overdose and the infection the baby had…as if having your first child isn’t stressful enough? I’m so happy to hear you’re both doing well and enjoy this wonderful time!
Helen says
Thank you so much for the good wishes, Marcie! Really, everything was fine all along, it was just stressful that we had to stay in hospital so long. Anyway, it’s all pretty much forgotten now we’re back home safe and sound. 🙂
Lynn says
Helen thanks so much for sharing you new gift with everyone… Recipes are great, but cannot take the place of such great NEW news… so happy for you both on the new adventure you are about to start…
Helen says
Hello Lynn – thank you so much for taking the time to post your good wishes. It means a lot! 🙂
Marlene says
Wow, that was an incredibly scary time for you, Helen! So glad everything is now OK and that you can begin to enjoy your lovely boy. (And be sure to give yourself time to recover; recipes can wait!) My daughter had a son in September, so I am very familiar with what you are experiencing: intense love like you’ve never felt before, coupled with extreme exhaustion! Enjoy watching Benjamin change. Each new thing, from those early smiles to the cute sounds and then the real giggles, brings such joy. Check out an app called TinyBeans, which allows you to save tons of photos and share easily with invited friends and family. My daughter uses it to record milestones as well as keep the family updated (she is in Boston, I am in San Diego), The daily photos and videos make me feel so much more connected to the baby.
Helen says
Hello Marlene – thank you so much for the good wishes. This certainly is the most intense experience I’ve ever had – but all for a good reason. And yes, I’m so looking forward to experiencing all those milestones. I can’t wait for him to start to smile!
I’ll check out the app too – it sounds brilliant!
ann says
Congratulations Mum and Dad and welcome Benjamin James.
Pleased to hear that all is well.
Helen says
Hello Ann – thank you so much for the congrats. Really enjoying having Benjamin home with us!
[email protected] says
Congratulations! I’m so glad you are all home, doing well and settling in.I would like 1 slice each of the cakes, please.
Helen says
Thank you, Janette! We’re thrilled and slowly getting the hang of this Mum and Dad lark!
Eva says
Félicitations Helen! Il est adorable et tellement mignon! Profitez de ce temps magique même si parfois la fatigue sera très présente, c’est des beaux moments qui passent trop vite! Je vous souhaite beaucoup de bonheur à tout les trois! Bisous xoxo
Helen says
Merci, Eva! C’est vraiment un temps magique, malgre la fatigue!! xx
Marissa says
What an emotional roller coaster, Helen! I couldn’t help but choke up reading about the whole experience. I’m so happy that you’re home with your new, beautiful, healthy baby boy!! 👶 Congratulations, my sweet friend.
Helen says
Thank you so much, dear Marissa. It certainly was a bit of a roller coaster, but really all along he was fine. It was just lucky we were still in the hospital for all those preventative measures to be taken!
Nancy | Plus Ate Six says
Congratulations!!!! What a stressful/happy time you had in hospital – but the main is you are both home safe, sound and healthy. Benjamin certainly had a fully cooked birth weight even if he was early 🙂 Baby news is always good news xx
Helen says
Yes, we were very pleased with his weight! He’s lost a bit of his birth weight now, but judging by the amount he’s eating he’ll soon be putting it all back on!