Growth spurt

so, why the hell did noone mention growth spurts?!
we have just been through the second spurt so knew what to expect, but the first was a nightmare because we didn't know what was happening.
so what was..?
Seems every 10 - 12 days a newborn has a burst of growth. If you are breastfeeding, the first spurt results in a very hungry and upset baby who will take all the milk you have and still want more. Clearly at that point the crying gets worse and, after you have run through the possible cause again, you will realise that (s)he is still hungry.
This was the first time during the whole pregnancy and birth that I saw my wife show fear. She could not feed our baby. We had been told that the milk would be there, as much as was needed, but now it had run out. What were we doing wrong and how do we feed our increasingly unhappy baby..?
I nipped out for some formula and made some calls for advice. My questions were what is happening? and how much formula without ruining the chance of future breastfeeding?
Expert advice (amazing midwife homebirth team) reassured us that this was completely normal, and enough milk would flow tomorrow. All we had to do was wait and endure the tears, which would be more about communication than actual acute hunger.

So, all good in the end. As soon as we had this information the fear evaporated. But the fear could have been completely avoided if we had known this was coming. We did a good deal of preparation, but missed this. If it happens to you, take heart. It's expected, milk flow was better second time. ...and it will happen again, and again, and again, so you can get used to it ;~)

Photos of our son pt2. 2-3 weeks

a few more photos of Noah Bear

New Longbow!

what with becoming a dad and all, the arrival of my new handmade longbow has slipped backwards somewhat in the interest stakes.
however, i am coming up to breath a little now, and the new bow, which arrived the day after Noah, is wonderful.
handmade by Bickerstaffe Bows, it is made from a laminate of Hickory, Purpleheart, Lemonwood, and Greenheart woods, with horn nocks (end bits the string loops over).
i have given it some initial warming up, but have yet to shoot it. however, just stringing it makes the bow come alive - you can feel the power in the wood's tension.

can't wait for a free weekend.

anyone do baby sitting..?

i also ordered some arrows to go with it. nice bright fletching to help find them in the grass whilst i'm learning...

Photos of our son

A small slide show from the first 5 days...



(you can view fullscreen by:
moving your mouse over the images to reveal a toobar at the bottom.
click the square with 4 arrows on the right...)

I'm a dad!

our son Noah Bear was born at 1.52am on Monday, 2nd November.
he is wonderful, and i can't stop gazing at him.
his amazing mum birthed Noah at home, completely naturally, using only focussed pranayama and visualisation.
photos will follow...