Another test!

That dratted woman with the hearing test paraphernalia came back, like, again. I was like I'm sleeping, and she was like Good that's easier, so I was like Go on then do it, and she was like I will then, so I was like WHATEVER!




Oh well, at least I can listen to stuff now.

Elemental Babyhood

Sucking



Bleating



Cooing



Snoozing






The bottom two photos were actually taken yesterday by Mummy. The lady is my Auntie Caroline.

Wanted on Voyage

Lots of visitors

Mummy's very tired. She has had lots of injections anf things. Chin up Mummy... only a couple of decades to go, and then I'll probably be able to take care of myself. Except laundry, I s'pose.

Oh, and meals. I can't imagine life without Mummy milk. I just can't get enough right now!


This little boy is Dirk's best friend Sebastian. The lady in red is Mummy's friend Nathalie.

It's a strange thing, but Sebastian told me that she's Mummy.
"That's not Mummy", I told him, "Do I look like I was born yesterday?"
"No," said he, "more like the day before!"

That's Sebastian's Daddy Sylvester on the right.




Auntie Sarah came too. She gave me lots of lovely cuddles, which is what counts in this life, as far as I'm concerned.




Here are some videos:

Scorpio's horoscope for 4 November 2007: You've got good friends and you are feeling even more affectionate than usual. Now is a great time to just hang out with them, or to take part in shared activities, even those that aren't your first choice.

Exam Results

I got my APGAR test results back today. They were as follows:

• 1 minute: 8
• 5 minutes: 9

This score — developed by anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar in 1952 and now used in modern hospitals worldwide — rates a baby's appearance, pulse, responsiveness, muscle activity, and breathing with a number between zero and 2 (2 being the strongest rating). The numbers are added, and 10 is considered a perfect score.

Mummy and Daddy seemed quite pleased with how I'd done. But I was a little disappointed to have missed the Perfect 10. I'll just have to study harder for my next test!

APGAR stands for Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Appearance, and Respiration - Virginia had an amazingly apt surname! Here's how they were used to rate me:

Activity (muscle tone)
0 — Limp; no movement
1 — Some flexion of arms and legs
2 — Active motion

Pulse (heart rate)
0 — No heart rate
1 — Fewer than 100 beats per minute
2 — At least 100 beats per minute

Grimace (reflex response)
0 — No response to airways being suctioned
1 — Grimace during suctioning
2 — Grimace and pull away, cough, or sneeze during suctioning

Appearance (colour)
0 — The baby's whole body is completely bluish-gray or pale
1 — Good colour in body with bluish hands or feet
2 — Good colour all over

Respiration (breathing)
0 — Not breathing
1 — Weak cry; may sound like whimpering, slow or irregular breathing
2 — Good, strong cry; normal rate and effort of breathing.

Today they also tried to give me a hearing test*. I have mucus, which means they'll have to try again another day.

* The Hearing Test was invented by Dr Ainsley J Hearingtest in 1492.

A real eye-opener!

Today I have been taking a good look around. And doing my Mel Smith impersonation.





But it's a tiring job...





A guy needs to keep up his strength...





But I don't need this!



If you wanna test my hearing, why not just pop a paper bag?!!



Mummy's very pleased with herself. Quite right too!




I'd heard she was a looker, but she's got to be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!

Scorpio's horoscope for 3 November 2007: Secrets aren't always scandalous -- and nobody knows that better than you. It's a good day to rethink how much information you've decided to make public and maybe to open up on some issue.

Photos taken by Granny and Grandad

My Granny and Grandad came to visit me this evening. I got a lot of fuss and cuddles from them and my brothers.

Jasper's first videos

It's a... BABY!

Auntie Sarah came to our home very early (6am!) Mummy, Daddy and I got to the hospital at 7.20am.

Here is a picture of Mummy trying out the bed in the waiting-to-have-a-baby ward.



And here's Daddy too:


Mummy had been told that she was going to be the last caesarean of the day. But she was first! At 9.15am, she went into theatre. There was a bit of a delay while a scrub nurse was found. Then there was a bit of difficulty in doing Mummy's spinal anaesthetic. Things eventually got started at about 9.45am.

At 9.58am, I was born. Hello world! How do you do? My name is Jasper. My birth weight was 7lbs 7oz. This is equivalent to 3.36kg at sea level. My head was measured at 34.5cm (just over 13½"). And here I am...


I am proud to tell you that I am much more NOISY than my big brother Dirk was when he was born.


And here is Mummy giving me a cuddle. The consultant was still elbow deep at this point.



After a bit of fuss (she lost so much blood that she needed 3 litres of fluid to make it up), Mummy was all stitched up. At 11.18, we all went to a nice quiet room where we could have a proper cuddle.





Here I am having a peep at the world. What's that you say? Well, let's just say the jury's out!





A while later, we were taken up to the proper ward.




Peace at last!



Mummy and Daddy would like to thank all the staff involved in bringing me into the world. The anaesthetist and midwife in particular were outstanding professionals and a credit to the hospital.



To view well-wishers' messages or to leave a message yourself, click HERE.

Scorpio's horoscope for 2 November 2007: Your day is a bigger challenge than you may be used to, but of course you can rise up and meet it with relative ease. Try not to get too cocky about it, but make sure that the right people know you're still in the game.