two to three months...

Alot has happened in this amount of time. Xavier Laughs and smiles all the time.. The moment he wakes up and looks at me he smiles, it makes me feel like we have the strongest bond ever. My Name is now Rachel Fairley-King on the 22nd of December David and I got married, was the most perfect night!! Xavier done really well that night, he stayed quiet during the service, didn't cry at all, and slept during the whole reception. Xavier had his first Christmas, althouh he doesn't understand the meaning of it, it was still a fantastic day, We had morning tea at Grandma and Grandad Fairleys, then we headed to Davids Dads house and spent some time there, We then went up to Waikato hospital to see little Nana. After that we drove to Rotorua to my Nana and Grandads and had a Hangi with my parents, Uncle mike, Uncle Paul and Denise. We were meant to stay a few nights, but we were in such a hurry to get to Rotorua that we forgot the portacot. Xavier has had his 3month immunizations, once again i couldn't bring myself to watch. He Screamed soo much from fright. His sleep has been getting better, most nights he sleeps through and wakes at 5am, once he woke at 7am which was great. His sleeping through the day is terrible,most of the time he refuses to go to sleep, sometimes i have to force him to sleep by wrapping him, and holding him tightly, with his dummy in his mouth as he screams... eventually he falls asleep. Xavier has been playing with his hands and looking at them, he is now able to hold objects. He is trying so hard to figure out how to reach for things, you can see the determination in his eyes. He is also trying to sit up on his own, if he isn't sitting up or on his stomach when hes awake he will get upset, those are his favorite positions. Xavier got a jolly Jumper for Christmas from My parents, he absolutely loves it, he spends soo much time in it, he loves bouncing to basehunter music. He also loves his Elmo toy that Liam got him, I think its the bright red that attracts his attention. Xavier loves it when I call him a little monster, he fully cracks up when i say it. I love my little monster soo much, I'm so thankful to have such a precious life to care for!

One month old...

Time is going soo fast! My baby boy is already a month old...
It seems like just yesterday he was born into the world. The amazing thing is that in this short amount of time both David and I have such a strong bond with Xavier and when we think about it, we couldn't imagine our lives without our son. David is a terrific father, nobody could take that place in Xavier's life or do a better job then what he does. Watching Xavier grow withing the last month has proved that children really do grow up fast... I just hope that he doesn't grow as fast for the next 20 years. Xavier first smiled at four weeks old, and now he smiles all the time. If you sit there and look at him for ages, make him bounce up and down or stroke his cheeks and talk to him he will give you a huge smile in return which is the greatest feeling ever! his smile is the most gorgeous smile in the whole world. He laughed for the first time at five and a half weeks, David was trying to make him smile lots by bouncing him, kissing him and talking to him... Xavier smiled heaps and then out came a laugh, his laughs are little but soo cute! At 7 weeks Xavier weighed 6400gms which is a huge weight gain from two weeks before when he was weighed in at 5950gms.
Xavier wriggles around soo much that he has managed to figure out how to roll over onto his back from his tummy.. it takes him a little while but he uses the weight of his head and legs to do it. he cant roll from his back to his tummy yet though. I cant wait for him to start sitting up on his own and play with toys. Newborns are so boring, you cant exactly play with them yet, they do nothing but sleep, cry, eat, poop and cry. Having a baby makes me feel so important, the fact that he needs me and depends on me is the most special feeling ever.
I love Xavier with all my heart, and Always will!

Leading up to one month...

Xavier has been progressing really well, at the end of the first week he was weighed in at 4500gms. He is very alert and watches everything around him. He loves staring at the roof at my mum and dads house because of the dark beams on a white roof. He was so constipated for the first few weeks that he had to be given lactation drops. he absolutely loves his baths, he is definitely a water baby, we use aromatherapy bath stuff and it makes the water calm him right down when hes all upset and screaming... For the first month we had alot of trouble with Xavier not bringing his wind up very easily, we had to try everything to get his wind up, such as massaging his tummy, lifting him up and down and lying him tummy down on our laps so there was pressure on it.
Xavier loves to lie on his tummy, he prefers the tummy to any other position. he will lie still on his tummy for ages without crying. Sometimes being on his tummy will stop him from crying. He is really good at holding his head up on his own and loves to look around the room at different things of different contrasts. Things have been getting alot easier now that I've been getting to know him and his characteristics and all his different cries. He is such a happy baby, very content most of the time. He loves to just sit there, look around and be nosy.
Xavier loves to be held and cuddled. No matter who has him he just wants to be close to them.
He sleeps really well during the night, only wakes up once or twice for a feed then goes straight back to sleep.. But during the day its a different story, he hates sleeping during the day, he tries soo hard to stay awake so he can see whats happening around him. When he doesn't want to go to sleep but he needs to I snuggle him up into my chest with his dummy in his mouth and rock him... he falls asleep in minutes. At a month old Xavier weighs 12lb 14oz (5840grms).
Such a huge weight gain in one month!! When Xavier was 3 weeks off we had our first weekend away. We went to the 2009 Destiny Church conference in Auckland. During the weekend he was quite unsettled due to the change of environment which is totally understandable. But eventually we made it through the whole weekend without stressing too much.
Even though sometimes things get hard...
I love being a mother and i couldn't have asked for a better baby.
He is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

The First Week...

Xavier when he was 1 minute old

Xavier David Fairley-King
Born in Waikato Hospital
5th of October '2009'
at 7.24am
weighing 9lb 14oz (4470gms)

As most mothers know the first week is definitely the hardest time for first time mums... well even for mums who have had previous children too sometimes.. You don't know what to expect exactly, and you don't know what your baby is like, or any of his different cries.. You kinda feel like you know what to do but at the same time you don't really know what to do.. My advice is to follow your instincts and stay calm. The first night at home Xavier was quite unsettled being in a brand new environment.. If you don't stay calm then your baby can sense the tenseness in your body language.
I personally found it hard not to stress out.. I knew what to do, but it was like my mind all of a sudden went blank, I also stressed about Xavier not being able to latch on and Breastfeed.
I spent the first two nights in the hospital trying soo hard to get him feeding, but it just wouldn't work. I would have rather breastfed but the bottle is quite convenient as anyone can feed him when I'm over tired. Xavier was born with a bit of Jaundice (which we got rid of with a little sunlight) and conjunctivitis which keeps coming back. He is the most perfect baby ever!!

You do get stressed and tired when you have a baby... But its totally worth it.
I'm so blessed to have such a gorgeous baby, and i thank god for him every single day!!

Leading up to the birth...

As everyone already knows little Xavier was Induced.

It all started on Wednesday the 30th of September at 3pm. For months my blood pressure was rising during my pregnancy, so my midwife got me to go to the womans assessment unit at Waikato Hopsital to get checked out. I was ther for about half an hour before they took some blood tests. The nurse walked out of the room and I started to feel sick. I started vomiting and became light headed and dizzy. David was in the room with me. I passed out and had a Fit. The only thing i remember is waking up to at least 8 Doctors standing around me asking if i can hear them... then them rushing me to a bigger room. At 1am i was admitted into a ward because they couldn't find what was wrong with me and needed to keep an eye on me..

After a few days of tests and monitoring and having another ultrasound scan.. Doctors came to the conclusion that i shoud be induced as i had mild Pre Eclampsia and Xavier had stopped growing inside me..

On the Friday afternoon they Started Inducing me, It took 4 Jels to get me 2cm dialated but could stretch to three... So on Sunday Night at 8.30pm i was taken down to the delivery suite and had my waters broken for me. I was then put on a drip to bring my contractions on.
After 11 long hours of Having Pethadine, two Epidurals and Some laughing gas...
Our Beautiful baby boy was born right into his fathers arms....