A New Year & A New Life...both welcomed a little late.

We're a month into 2010, so I'm just a little behind in ringing in the New Year. It would be an understatement to say that things have been just a little hectic since we welcomed our baby girl, Miss Whitney Bennett, into the world on January 11.

Here she is on Day 2...
(c/o a professional photo service offered at the hospital)
that's my arm on the left and Matt's (hairy one) on the right.

I half expected to be early and deliver Toronto's first baby of 2010 since there was a full moon on New Year's eve and there's an old wives' tale that you can go into labour on a full moon. But it turned out I was 6 days past due and with each passing day and no sign of baby, we all grew a little impatient... my mom and sister had flown in from Saskatoon on the 6th and there were only so many games of Scrabble that we could play to pass the time.

It didn't help that my parents and Matt's parents kept wondering when their first grandbaby would arrive, that Matt's parents were getting into Toronto on the 11th, that my dad was going to India on the 12th, that my sister was only in town until the 12th and that I was scheduled for an induction on the 13th. No pressure, right?

Well, once I finally experienced my first contraction, life as Matt and I knew it before, forever changed. My labour and delivery went pretty quick, considering this was my first pregnancy - just under 12 hours - and since then, life has felt like a bit of a whirlwind.

Here I thought the pregnancy was somewhat challenging... boy, was I clueless about what to expect afterwards. How anyone is able to raise kids on his/her own kind of boggles me. If I had not had help these past few weeks, I think I would have seriously lost it. Couple that with the fact that I had never before held a baby or changed a diaper, let alone babysat any kids, so it was all a bit overwhelming.


Basically now, my days are spent feeding Whitney every 2.5-3 hours, with feedings usually taking an hour on average, sometimes longer though if she's fussy and won't settle down. I'm lucky if I get more than 2 hours of sleep at a time, and 6 hours in total a day. The last time I left the house was more than a week ago - until today - so I've pretty much been in my p.j.'s and bathrobe 24/7.

Breastfeeding itself was a big challenge in the first week and we're both still getting the hang of it. We had to bring Whitney back to the hospital a few times because she was dehydrated and I needed help with breastfeeding... that's a whole other post for another time though. The carpal tunnel that I developed during the third trimester has not gone away and is probably being aggravated by holding and lifting Whitney constantly.


All complaints aside however, we are thrilled that our little "Whit-whit", as we like to call her, arrived safe and sound. Hearing her first cries brought both Matt and me to tears and I'm so looking forward to all the other emotions and milestones we'll experience together in the coming years.