New Arrivals!

About 10pm on the 10th of november, the first contractions started -- Ernesto Elia Bigoloni was on his way, and right on schedule for an 11.11.11 birthday. 36 hours later, at 10am on 12.11.11, weighing in at 3.770kg and 51cm long, he was FINALLY born, a few hours off the mark!  We reckon he couldn't bear the thought of being born into a world with Berlusconi still in power, so he waited for the official resignation before coming out! 

What actually happened was...he had the cord wrapped around his neck, not once...not twice...but three times.  We think he kept trying to come down and would be pulled back.  The first 24 hours or so were manageable, intense contractions, but only every 20 or 30 minutes or so.  But the next 8 hours were absolute hell.  He was super active, perhaps trying to wiggle free? and that made the labour excruciating even in between contractions.  Finally I got the epidural and the last 4 hours were significantly easier to handle, though I was exhausted and the dosage was light so still felt pain, but it was do-able -- those faint thoughts of jumping out the window dissolved and Ernesto was finally born!

The midwife was calm, cool, and fast as lightening -- she freed him from the cord and he was rushed to the newborn ward.  He was completely blue, but they had him breathing in no time.  Apart from his breathing, which was laboured and super fast, everything else about him was fine and healthy and perfect.

Now that my ordeal was over, Ernesto's was just beginning -- the laboured breathing was because he breathed lots of liquid into his lungs during the delivery. His lung capacity was reduced as a result, and he had to pant just to get enough oxygen -- that's too much work for a newborn, and could have caused lack of oxygen and thus brain problems if left alone, so they put him in the incubator with a higher concentration of oxygen inside, so he got more oxygen with each breath.  That kept his oxygen level always over 95%, so he's well and safe from future problems, but it meant he had to stay in the incubator until his lungs were dried out and working normally -- that took 3 whole days.

Poor fella -- all alone in a plastic box for 3 days.  After the first day and a half, they let me take him out for a half hour at a time to try and breast feed him, with oxygen tubes in his nose, but he needed way more cuddles than that.  In the meantime, and completely unrelated, he also developed a neonatal infection and had to take antibiotics, so we were stuck in hospital for a full week.  Now he doesn't like to sit alone -- if he's awake, he wants to be held, and if he's asleep and you put him down, he'll usually wake up!  We have lots of catching up to do, and there are LOTS of arms here that want to hold him, so that's not a problem!

We came home finally on friday, a week after the whole thing began.  We were welcomed by a family so happy and excited to have a new member.  Raff is totally enamoured -- the first thing he said when he saw his new brother was "awwww he's so cute! I love him".  He's also constantly telling us that 'nesto is "dadolable" (adorable...).  His most used phrase now about his brother is "can I pat him?"  Better that he sees his brother like a new pet than a rival!!  

Nina and Mia are also thrilled, of course, and are like two surrogate mummies to him.  And of course we are ALL so glad to have Gramma with us -- I don't know what we would have done without her help, both when we were in hospital and now that we're out.

So, what's with the name?  Ernesto is from Ernst, a German name, and it means "strong".  Though in English "earnest" or sincere is not related to the name, it adds to the strength of the name I think -- it connotes strong honest direct will.  He was named after Che Guevara, whom Gab admires greatly and has studied extensively.  I am not such an expert, but must confess I think he was awfully sexy!  Just now, looking up a photo to stick in, I found mention of his complete name, until just now we never knew he had a middle name...anyone have a guess at what was Che's middle name???  RAFAEL!!!  No WAY.

Anyway, we know its a mouth full -- not easy to call a little baby Ernesto.  Its a heavy and important name, noble and courageous, but not so very pretty.  So you can call him by his middle name if you want, Elia.  Or you can call him 'Nesto (that's what we call him) or you can call him Stino (for Ernestino) or Tito (for Ernestito) or even Ernie if it feels good!  You can call him baby boy or coocoocoo...if you listen closely, you'll often hear me call him "Raffi!"...oops...