The First Week

Archer’s First Week

The first week seemed like forever when we were in it, but looking back, it went so quickly.

It was a magical and challenging week all in one!

He was long and very skinny, we were extra careful holding him as he felt so delicate. 

Archer was born via emergency c-section, so we had 3 days in the hospital post birth. My Mum was my rock the first night and stayed in hospital with Archer and I (men are not allowed on the ward at night for security reasons). I was unable to get out of bed and could barely move, she had the fun task of looking after him other than me feeding him. She did his first nappy changes, got him into his clothes and gave him lots of cuddles. He was very small, so the midwife wanted him to feed every 2 hours. By the time he finished and we got him to sleep, we only managed 30 minutes between feeds to sleep. It was a very hard night, and thankfully we haven’t had to do it since. 

The following days in hospital were a blur, it was all about feeding him and me moving around so we could move to the community birthing unit. Every morning my husband arrived with my favourite coffee in his hand and a platter of sushi for me to snack on (you can’t eat sushi when pregnant, so I was determined to make up for lost time!).

The day after he was born I was very pale due to the blood loss from the surgery. My family encouraged me to eat and drink to gain strength. 

I got moving around and after a few days was strong enough to have a shower alone, the hot water on my back felt amazing. As I gained strength, so did he. 

By day 3 in the hospital my pain had decreased and I was able to hold him while standing (which can be painful post such a major surgery). We were discharged to the community birthing unit. This is a place where mothers can give birth naturally (no pain relief), and also stay post birth for 24/7 support and care from midwives. In our area we are very lucky that this is fully funded. We were given our own room as I had a c-section and he was our first baby. Thankfully the unit allows one person to stay with you overnight too, including males. Now it was Chris’ turn to experience the constant feeding and nappy changing through the night. He learnt very quickly that it was much harder at night than during the day. 

3 days old and ready to move to the unit

Our 3 days in the unit were so special. This gave us a chance to bond as family, just the 3 of us. The midwives supported me with the breastfeeding and taught me how to pump properly too. It was such a relaxing place to go after the hospital. 

Archer was born at the beginning of the NZ summer, so the days were hot. We were so grateful to have a sliding door to a lovely garden attached to our room at the unit. We could enjoy the afternoon breeze and sunshine while also watching over our little man. 

The first week went so quickly, and I’m glad we took many photos, as did our family. I will forever be grateful to the Botany Birthing Unit and their team for their support while we were there. We have many fond memories there, and I feel, it’s where we first bonded as a family. 

Arohanui 

Mrs Robinson x