Baby Connor is one week old!

Gosh. I can't believe it. He's a week old and I'm telling the truth when I say I can't imagine how I've lived without him for so long. Last night, all we did was gaze at him and turn occasionally to beam at each other, delighted that we've made something so special together. Some part of me still can't believe that I've helped to make him. I still can't believe up till that last week, this little wee man was curled up inside me, kicking away.

At this stage of his life, all he does is eat, poo and sleep. Sometimes in that order. All I do is feed him, wind him, rock him to sleep, change his diapers and um.. that's about it. I feel very lucky that I have a maid who takes care of the house and brings me stuff I need. I'm also pretty lucky that Dear Hubby will come home and cook dinner so my focus is just the baby. I salute all the mothers who had to do it all on their own without any help, you women are amazing.

We've got a midwife who comes in from the hospital to bathe him and check up on his health daily until this Sunday. She's Connor's arch enemy right now because he HATES baths. He likes kicking about in the water but he hates, hates, hates being soaped. I make the most of the midwife's presence, I ask her for advice on baby care and watch how she handles him so that I can pick up tips. He's a little wee thing now and even though I've realised he's not as fragile as he looks, it does make me nervous sometimes to be handling him.

He had his 1st paed check yesterday. It so happened his umbilical stump fell off at the paed's. She popped it into an envelope and handed it to me, "Here. Take this." I handed it to Dear Hubby who promptly asked, "Where's the dustbin?" The paed and nurse reacted with horror, "Nono!!! No throw! In Indonesia, we keep it! We plant the stump!" There was silence in the room as Dear Hubby and I simply did not know how to react.

Finally Dear Hubby said, "Oh. Okay." The paed turned to me (since I speak some Indonesian) and explained that it is custom for Indonesians to plant the stump and placenta in the garden. She asked me, "Where is the placenta?" Sheepishly I replied, "In the freezer." The paed looked like she was about to faint. "Plant both in the garden," she ordered sternly. I replied weakly, "Can we do it in flower pot?" This time she REALLY looked like fainting. "Okay, okay... in garden..." I wilted under her glare.

You see... they'd bundled the placenta up in a few layers of plastic bags and plopped it between my legs after the op. When I was wheeled out, I was numb from waist down and didn't realise it was there. Later in the room, we saw it and couldn't figure out what it was. Good thing we didn't try to open the bag up and peek inside! The nurse told us and quite frankly, Dear Hubby and I had no idea what to do with it. We decided to pop it into freezer and wait for my mum to arrive... my mum's a bit more on the traditional side and I didn't know if we Chinese had any customs regarding the disposal of the placenta. I thought it would be easier to live with it in the freezer for a week or two rather than risk her wrath for a lifetime if I'd disposed of it wrongly.

It's been the MOST wonderful week of my life so far. Each time I look at my son, I think "Why did I ever wait so long to have you?" (Well, I had to actually.. because I insisted we got legal first before making a baby... hehe) His arrival has brought so much joy - to us, to my parents who welcomed their first grandchild, to my younger brothers who welcomed their first nephew, to my in-laws who welcomed their sixth and 1st international grandchild. Of all the things I've ever done in my life, this is the one thing I did that was 100% right.