Hi all,

Just a quick check in to let you all know that I am ok (well on the way to ok at least). Olivia's birth went nothing like expected. Being induced was horrendous and then I needed an emergency c/s anyway as she got 'stuck' and would not budge! She came into the world a little grumpy (I think she was too comfy in there) but perfectly healthy and beautiful. We got to spend 4 great days together as a family in the family hospital room before I started to get really sick. It is a long and confusing story but the short version is that I developed a very rare infection (took them 5 days to diagnose exactly what kind) that started to eat away at the fat and tissue layer in my abdomen (sorry if this is TMI). I was rushed to ICU and then surgery (twice) to clean out the infection. I still have a long way to go but after 3 weeks in hospital I am finally home. I will be having regular visits from a home nurse to check up on me and change my dressing, there are huge restrictions on what I am allowed to do (not supposed to lift Olivia but I am not letting that stop me), have to take it very easy for about 3 months and there is the possibility of needing more surgery in the future to fix up the wound. So basically giving birth was NOTHING like I had anticipated!

Anyway onto better things..... Olivia is gorgeous. She makes us laugh all the time with the strange noises she makes when eating and when asleep. She is amazingly alert and loves to chat all the time. She was the absolute darling of the hospital the last few weeks and all the nurses asked about her more than me! Rob and I can't get over how beautiful and perfect she is, she totally has Rob wrapped around her little finger already. Olivia is a bit of a fussy eater though and likes to snack rather than eat big meals :-( Although last night she went for 5 hours between feeds so cant complain too much.

Sorry but I haven't had time to catch up on all the news of the last 3 weeks but I do know I missed a lot of babies arrivals - CONGRATS TO ALL!