I couldn’t remember much about what happened afterwards. Everything seemed blurry, all happened too quick.  They wheeled me into a post natal ward upstairs with the other moms. A  room with baby basinet on the side. I glanced on the poster on the wall that the hospital believes in “Rooming In” – putting baby and mom in the same room so they would bond better.

First time bonding is apparently very important, I remember the midwives gave me an opportunity for about an hour to have some skin-to-skin with the baby and let her suckle from the breasts. After that then they did what they needed with the baby, measure, weight and some tests. No bath. Just a wrap to keep her warm and straight back into mommy’s arms.

The photo on the left is Briana 4 hours old. We slept together skin-to-skin for the entire afternoon. Dad & Helen came to visit a little later. So proud of their grand daughter.

Michael came one day later. He was waiting at the airport for the flight back to NZ when I called him from the labour room telling him the best news ever “Hi love, you’re a daddy now”  He must’ve burst into tears, I could only guess from his voice. Strange that I didn’t register much emotions at that time. Probably because I was overly exhausted, sleepy, woozy from all of those pain killer cocktail and iron-deficient.