Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

The blog has been neglected this week for a couple of reasons. The main reason is that I have a very demanding newborn. I am re-learning how to do everything (including typing) with one hand since I always seem to have one arm tucked around a gorgeous little babe. The other reason I have been absent from the blog is that I have been continuing to fight this breast abscess. I had some relief initially after the first aspiration, but a few days later, the pain began to steadily increase again. On Thursday I saw my GP who prescribed another round of antibiotics, but by the weekend the situation was worse than ever. On Sunday Morning George and the kids drove to Bristol to collect my mom from the airport, and while I should have been giddy with anticipation of seeing my mom after many months, I sat in the rocking chair and cried. So shortly after she arrived, we left my mom home with Emma and Sophie and headed back to the hospital. Boy am I ever getting sick of that place! Since it was a ...

I have been so encouraged by all of the wonderful messages that have come my way this week. I am also happy to report that things do seem to be getting better. I think another round or two of antibiotics may be required to shift this infection. It is a doozy . I plan to head back to my GP tomorrow to get her opinion on the matter. Otherwise, life does indeed go on even when mom is sick. On Monday Emma made her Brownie promise before God and everybody at the Pentyrch Village Hall. George reports that she spoke up and delivered the words conviction. I also managed to get out of the house today (with the help of Sonia) to buy Halloween costumes for three little girls. It was a nice, sunny day to be out, and I did find that the day passed much more quickly when it included a change of scenery. Lili did well on her first outing and incited lots of ooh's and aah's from friends and strangers. I feel a bit bad that I haven't taken near as many pictures of her as my oth...

It hasn't been the best week for me. I really thought I had navigated safely through the third baby postpartum stage with a minimum of tears and drama... and then I woke up on Thursday morning and nothing was right. I was slightly feverish, completely tearful... and those "blocked ducts" I had been complaining about were even worse. It also happened to be the day that George was supposed to go back to work. I rang my community midwife to see if she could pay me a visit. After blubbering on the phone to her for several minutes about my milk ducts which I thought had been painfully blocked for over a week, she suggested that I go over to Llandough Hospital to the breast clinic. I agreed to this, then hung up the phone and cried for an hour. (Meanwhile George had gone to register Lili's birth at the Cardiff registrar's office. There was a also a decorator downstairs painting the walls while all of our downstairs furniture sat, piled in disarray in the dining room.) I...

Fair warning: if you don't want to hear about my breastfeeding woes, skip on to the next entry, which contains nothing unsavoury. I have avoided my blog for the past few days because I can barely think of anything other than my painful, blocked milk ducts. Today I am breaking the silence in hopes that some of my mommy-pals out there will contact me with a miracle cure. Yesterday, for example, I loaded the left side of my bra with grated, raw potato, which according to several sources, is a tried and true home remedy for drawing out blockages. I will never look at hash browns the same way, kids. I did just speak to a midwife on the phone, and she encouraged me not to worry but to carry on with what I've been doing: applying heat, excruciating massage of the area, and continued nursing in unusual positions. (I didn't own up to attempting the potato trick.) I am starting to get extremely fed up since this has been going on for nearly a week now. It seems as though I give up on...

I think I finally turned a corner yesterday. I am actually beginning to feel markedly better, which is a very good thing considering the fact that while George was taking Sophie to school this morning, our clever and fabulous decorator/ handy man, Dave, turned up at our door as I sat, teeth and hair un -brushed, nursing Lili in the lounge. Emma, who is home today, running a fever, coughing her head off, and talking a mile a minute, answered the door and let Dave in. I knew we had booked for Dave to come out some Monday in October to do some interior painting, but I obviously wasn't prepared for him this morning. This is how I know I am starting to get my groove back... I immediately leaped out of the rocking chair, threw a receiving blanket over Lili and the boob and offered to make Dave a cup of tea. Dave accepted, and I easily managed to both feed baby and make the perfect cup of tea with milk and sugar at the same time. This is more like it! I don't mean that I am r...

This is what I have in my lap as I type this morning... I have had five and a half years to forget about how exhausting it is to have a newborn. One wouldn't think that a little thing weighing less than seven pounds could cause so much stress and so many aches and pains. This time around I am, of course, not only dealing with the usual stresses and fatigues that accompany having a new baby, but also coping with the aftermath of surgery. This morning I was moaning to George about how achy my back was and how much I'd love to have a really good stretch. Fear of feeling like I am going to rip my stitches, unfortunately, is preventing me from attempting that good, deep stretch. Ouch! But I did not sit down here this morning to write about the aches and niggles that will soon fade from my memory. (God was very clever when He gave us all New Mom Amnesia without which none of us would ever have more than one baby.) I did sit down to write about how being a third time mom means being ...

Everyone was excited about Lili's first proper bath tonight. Everyone, that is, except Lili. This is pretty much how it all went.... But all's well that ends well. She was ever so grateful when her daddy pulled her out of that horrible tub. And now she smells of Burt's Bees' lovely buttermilk soap. Mmmm. So this tired mom is about to go and cwtch up with sweet smelling, clean, sleepy baby... Goodnight All.

I took this picture of Lili sleeping on George's nasty old Kentucky pillow yesterday. I didn't realize at the time that it looked like the wildcat was about to claw her head... but the baby is still totally cute. Her sweetness is making my slow recovery feel completely worth it.

It's been almost a week, and we are loving life with Lili . For the first few days, whenever Sophie was in her presence, she'd practically chant, "I just can't believe she's my baby sister!" There is something amazing about it. We all knew that I had been pregnant with an actual baby for the last nine months, but the reality of her being here in the outside world with us still takes our breath away. For the past couple of days, Sophie's mantra has changed into, "She's just SO adorable!" Emma has been found on more than one occasion just sitting and watching Lili sleep. I have to admit that this is one of my new favourite pastimes too. I can't help but think what a lucky little lady our Lili is. She has no idea how much she is loved. Last night after I read Emma a bedtime story ( Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig ) and tried to send her off to bed, she asked, "Can I please bring a book in here with you and Lili and r...

This photo is just for you, Uncle David! I doubt anyone, apart from my mother, wants to read a complete blow by blow of my birth experience, but I have had my fears about giving birth under the care of NHS "socialized medicine" ever since I found out I was pregnant, so here goes... Throughout the pregnancy, my care has been very adequate, but without some of the bells and whistles and comforts that I experienced at home. My birth experience, however, was fantastic, even though it unfortunately turned out to be an emergency cesarean in the end. Last Tuesday evening I started having contractions about every ten minutes and was on alert since I was pretty sure the baby was still breech. I managed about 45 minutes of sleep, but woke up to stronger contractions which were five minutes apart. I did what any normal woman would do: got out of bed and scrubbed all of the toilets in the house. I then Googled "how to tell if you're in labour" or something like that... as...

I had big plans to write something fabulous here this morning, but I have spent most of the day cwtched up in bed with my three girls, and I have no regrets there. Suffice it to say, I will not pooh-pooh the "vision board" again, as I did indeed go into labour on the evening of September 29 th . Our newest little jelly bean was delivered via emergency c-section at 5:34 in the morning on September 30 th . Mom and baby are back at home and both are doing well. How wonderful life is now you're in the world... Lilianna Gwyneth Carson spent three days as a Jane Doe, but we have now all agreed that this name suits her well, and acknowledges her Welsh beginnings. She weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces and is 'practically perfect in every way.' George is so seriously outnumbered now! We're all completely enamoured with her. More to come on my very positive British birth experience... even though it had to be surgical in the end. Happy weekend to all!