This is Olive.
She was born in Perth.
She is sixteen days old now and we all adore her.
And here is Olive with her two big brothers.
Olive won't remember any of the last five weeks but we surely will.
She arrived on June 5..... sixteen days overdue.
She weighed 9lb 14 ozs.
She was born with a condition called laryngomalacia ( a floppy larynx) which made feeding and breathing very difficult. She also had lip tie and tongue tie, contributing factors to her feeding issues.
But strangely, these conditions were not picked up by the specialists that saw her in the days after she was born and despite pleas from Sam and Kiann that something didn't seem to be right, she was discharged from hospital after six days.
It takes courage and determination to continue to pursue your baby's welfare when being ignored by those who supposedly have all the expertise.
But thankfully their concerns were finally acknowledged at Princess Margaret Hospital after arriving there at midnight on their first night home. Olive was monitored as soon as she arrived and surgery organised for several days later ( only because of lack of ICU beds).
Kiann and Sam spent every day with her and Kiann continued to feed her any way she could ( sometimes with a syringe).
Sam sat on the floor for the first couple of days, but he was not leaving her.
The experience has been both hugely stressful and exhausting but has left them with a new found gratitude for what is most important in their lives.
As for us, we are especially grateful that we were able to be there with them for the five weeks both before and after Olive's birth. And to spend so much time with those darling little men was just a bonus.
Amy was able to fly over for a few days and we were especially grateful for her help with the boys. They love her and she loves to play just like them!
We quickly developed a daily routine with the boys.
The parks, the playgrounds, the State Library, the Art Gallery, Perth Zoo, Kings Park, the school farm......anything that took us out of our fifth floor, small, noisy apartment.
It was usually Bill and Arch that would do the shopping each day.
They would then drive to the " sleeping tree"for Archer to have a nap. It was usually around an hour and a half.
Bill would "rest his eyes" as well.
That's when Flynn would have some "activities without Archer" time.
He loved these fossil digging kits we bought from the library shop. $5.
Perfect.
They have all just arrived back up North now and life for us has returned to normal back here at Frog Pond Farm.
But oh, how we miss them.
It will probably be six months before we see them again.
And we can't wait.
Mmmm, the date on the label needs to be changed.
She was due on May 20. I really thought I'd be safe with a May date, but no.......
We arrived home to this........
....and a fridge filled with food.......the fire had been set, ready to light and there were flowers from the garden on every available surface.
Thank you girls. So kind and thoughtful.
It was almost dark, we were tired, it was freezing and we really had no idea what we were going to eat that night.
Delirium stopped in its tracks.
Over the next couple of weeks we will rug up and venture outside to tackle the garden. I am really looking forward to that.
These made me smile on a quick walk around the garden path yesterday.
It may be Winter but sometimes the roses don't quite know when to stop blooming.
I'll pick some tomorrow to bring inside by the fire.
Stay warm everyone.
