I’ve got high blood pressure, get me out of here…

My new baby daughter was born last Thursday. There were a couple of small bumps along the way but it was a very straightforward delivery.

The little one is fantastic. She’s a beautiful wee thing that feeds well and is a delight to cuddle. My wife and I both think she is the spitting image of her elder sister at the same, young age.

Mother and baby came home the day after delivery and all was going very well. Things changed when we got a visit from a community midwife (there’s a whole other story here that I may chose to recount another time). The midwife took my wife’s blood pressure and it was way too high.

My wife was immediately re-admitted to hospital and she has been there ever since. She’s receiving wonderful care from a great and supportive team and she’ll hopefully be home soon.

It goes without saying the past few days have been tough. The very first night was particularly hard on my other half. We’d been advised she might benefit from a peaceful, undisturbed night’s sleep so baby came home with me.

There was logic behind this move but it backfired. My wife was on a maternity ward. Mothers were wheeled in all night with their newborns and my wife didn’t have hers. You can probably imagine how upsetting she found this and baby has been with her ever since.

My days have been spent shuttling back and forth between home and hospital. The grandmothers have travelled from their respective homes to help look after our eldest and their support has been invaluable.

The saddest thing is that we’ve barely spent any time together as a family. A day out in Brighton is planned at the earliest opportunity. It can’t come soon enough.