Once our baby Lex was born, I was naive enough to think that it was time for me to go to bed… NOPE! Parenting started right away! After I was stitched up, I was rolled back to the maternity unit into our room. We opted for a private room and Jerry got settled into the pull-out bed. It was around 11 pm by then and I was wired but also exhausted. Lex was rolled into the room after getting his measurements and shots and it was time to feed! Two midwives came into my room to help me get set up by propping pillows everywhere, showing me the different positions, and helping Lex latch properly. At that moment Lex was only drinking colostrum, as it takes a fews days for the milk to come in. His tiny tummy was also the size of a cherry, so he only needed a very small amount of food. I was to feed Lex every 3-4 hours (counting from the start time) and for 30 minutes on each breast. This schedule was important for Lex’s growth and also for making sure my milk supply was established. I was given a clipboard with a time sheet to keep track of each feed. Once the feeding was done, the midwives left and told me that they would return at the scheduled time for the next feed… I only had around 2 hours to sleep! I definitely did not expect this to happen right away, but it was a great way to propel into parenthood – goodbye 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep!

Breastfeeding was going well, but in the first few days I needed a lot of assistance from the midwives. I would use a giant nursing pillow and around 2-3 extra pillows to get into the right position. Luckily Lex latched pretty well and I was also not afraid to remove him from the breast and re-latch him if it was not comfortable. However, by the third day my nipples were definitely getting quite sore. Luckily they recovered quickly and there were no splits or anything serious. By the fourth day my milk came in and it was so fascinating to see how the clear colostrum was no more and white milk was coming out! I felt like a cow! Even though I knew this was what was supposed to happen, it was still so strange to see it occurring.

As for myself, I was lucky to experience an extremely smooth recovery after my emergency c-section. I had heard that some women could hardly get out of bed after a c-section, so I was preparing myself for days of bedrest and pain. However, I was able to get up and walk around the next day with minimal pain. I was prescribed Panadol, but was allowed to ask for stronger pain medications if needed, but it was not necessary. I was a little careful when getting up from the bed, but apart from that, I felt great! My tummy was still a bit swollen and I looked like I was 4-5 months pregnant. It felt so weird to touch it and it was so soft and empty, like a deflated balloon! I knew it would take a few weeks to reduce in size, so I was not too worried. Breastfeeding is also known to help the uterus shrink and I could definitely feel some light cramps whenever I was feeding Lex. The c-section also cut into a few nerves, so my tummy was both numb and slightly sore… a really strange feeling. Dr. Ghosh said that the regular sensations would come back after I would fully recover.

Getting up every 3 hours to feed was definitely a big change from my 8-9 hours of sleep a night, but I felt pretty energetic throughout the week. It was also helpful to have the option for Lex to be taken to the nursery at night. Matilda encourages room sharing between mother and baby, but if the baby is fussy, the midwives will whisk him away to the nursery, so parents can sleep peacefully. By around midweek, the midwives would come in less often and I was more independent in terms of breastfeeding. I kept track of the feedings using the form that was provided and woke up at night to feed Lex myself. I still had the use of the magic button – a button that I could press whenever I needed assistance and a midwife would appear in minutes, but they were definitely giving me more room to get used to breastfeeding on my own.

We were also lucky to be able to have visitors during the pandemic. The hospital allowed 2 visitors each time and we were able to see my parents and some good friends. I was worried that I would be too tired or overwhelmed, but seeing my loved ones were absolutely wonderful. 

The midwives at Matilda were absolute angels. Since we were unable to take the antenatal course due to Covid, we learnt a lot about newborn care during our week long stay there. We had read a lot and watched lots of YouTube videos, but never got hands on experience. We learnt all about cleaning Lex’s face, giving him a bath, umbilical cord care, circumcision care, changing diapers, and breastfeeding. While the c-section was unplanned, I now look back at it as a blessing in disguise, because it gave us so much extra time to learn these new skills. I was initially scheduled to stay for 2 nights for a vaginal birth, but ended up staying 5 nights for the emergency c-section. Matilda is also super comfortable and it gave us extra time to rest and recharge before going home. The meals were also yummy and arrived in record time after we ordered each time. It was a nice break before getting back to real life! The midwives were so attentive, experienced, and compassionate. We came into the hospital with limited knowledge of newborn care and were shook up after my delivery, but we left Matilda feeling confident and secure as budding new parents.