You forget how small they are !
As with Joshua, was Simon present in the operation room: holding hands and cutting the umbilical (and making sure there were 10 fingers, 10 toes and everything else that is important).
Jakob page #1 |
| Bookmarks: | Pregnancy | Birth | Jakob | Brothers |
In August 2003 our family was further expanded with the birth of Jakob Jan Dorst, our second (and last !) son.
After our trip to the Netherlands in 2002 we decided to 'try' for baby number #2 and by the end of November we got pregnant. We didn't know until just before Christmas, but waited until 'official', medical confirmation mid-January before announcing it to the world.
There were lots of similarities with Joshua's pregnancy, as in that Lisa was morning-sick all day for the first three-four months and in the later stages the baby proved to be very mobile (kicking the s**t out of Lisa). Different was that Lisa didn't get as puffed up, but maybe that was because it was winter this time in the latter stages of the pregnancy.
As with Joshua we have decided for a Caesarean delivery. That makes the whole process very dependable (although Lisa thought it was touch-and-go towards the end on whether she would go into labour). During the pregnancy we had lots of fun keeping people guessing on the due date and the gender (which we knew because of the amniocentesis). In the end the score was 5-3 (in Simon's favour) for accidental dropping it.
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The Caesarean goes very quickly,
it takes about 15 minutes to administer the epidural, but then less
than 5 before the baby comes out (and another 10 to stitch everything
up again).
As with Joshua, was Simon present in the operation room: holding hands and cutting the umbilical (and making sure there were 10 fingers, 10 toes and everything else that is important). |
Lisa had the same obstetrician as with Joshua, but as the hospital where he was born, no longer had a maternity ward, did we have to 'move' to Attadale hospital. The benefit here was that the rooms have direct access to a park and playground, which was ideal for visiting children (such as Joshua).
Everything went extremely well and after 5 days did Lisa decide she was recovered enough to go home. This was helped by the fact that Joshua is in fulltime childcare and Simon had taken two weeks off to assist.
So Jakob Jan Dorst (Jan after Simon's father) was born at 8:47 AM on Thursday, 14 August 2003. He weighed 2,920 grams (6 pounds, 7 ounce) and was 51 centimetres in length. This was 2 cm. longer than Joshua, but almost 200 grams lighter. Physically he looks a lot like Joshua, but with some darker hair and complexion.
However, he really is his own man, where Joshua was alert and restless is Jakob (so far) more of a sleeper. An important difference is that he has taken to breastfeeding, something that was more troublesome with Joshua. After three days he started gaining weight and in general sleeps mostly between the 3-4 hourly feeds (including at night). This makes Lisa feel a lot better as well.
Also different is that Jakob is a snuggle-pot, happy when you wrap him in warmly and cuddle him tightly .. and who are we to deny him that.
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For Joshua of course it a big change and at an early stage we started preparing him, telling him there was a baby in mummy's tummy (no, not in pappa's: that's beer !). Later we gave him his own baby-doll so he could practice. In fact Joshua has chosen the name Jakob, out of a number of names we liked. We made him say all of those names, but the second time around he only replied with 'Jake-Up'. |
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So far Joshua has been very nice for his little brother. When he comes home from childcare he finds out where he is. He also helps put the dummy back (we have to watch him) and says 'sorry, baby' if Jakob starts to cry (even if it wasn't his fault). At night it is a bit more challenging as Joshua's awakenings (still once or twice a night) do not coincide with Jakob's feeds and so we have to deal with a double load. I'm sure we'll find a pattern soon. |
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