Milla Charlotte arrived at 2.20 on Tuesday afternoon, 52cm long and 3565g.
Maybe she was waiting for her quilt to be finished?
On Tuesday morning I had a few niggly pains that I refused to get excited about in case it was indigestion or false labour, but mid morning they started to get stronger and more regular, so I let M know he should think about coming home from work (luckily Ali was already spending the day at my parents' place), and rang the Birth Centre to let them know we'd be coming in some time in the next few hours. By the time M got home at 12 I was keen to put the TENS machine on, and then we decided that since things were definitely happening we might as well go in to the hospital. When Ali was born I had to drive across the city in transition, and even though we were booked in to a closer hospital this time I wanted to avoid the same thing happening again. We arrived at the hospital at 12.45, and - after nicely telling some new parents in the car park that we really couldn't help them fit their child restraint - made our way to our room at the Birth Centre. Then we settled in for some serious contractions, and just over an hour and a half later Milla was born. Even though I had been told that second babies could arrive much faster I was stunned - and very happy - how quickly it all happened. I had a great birth experience with Ali, but it was definitely so much easier the second time around - much faster, and I felt like my body remembered what it was doing.
It has been strange and lovely getting used to having a newborn again, luckily Milla has been feeding well from the very beginning and seems well settled so far. She is so different from Ali as a baby - her features are more delicate, she has darker hair and more of it, and I think her eyes might end up brown instead of blue. We came home yesterday and it is so good to be in our own space, and in a comfy non-hospital bed. Ali with Milla is possibly the sweetest thing I've ever seen... he just loves her so much, and was thrilled that the Baby Sister was here at last. (And although his initial response to her name was, "NOOOOO! She is called TOODEE!" he seems to be coming round to Milla.)
So far we are all doing well, settling in to life as a family of four, slightly sleep deprived but very happy.
