On Wednesday 18th January, as the winter sun shone through the windows, Jospehine Grace Mallia was born. From the moment she started her journey to meet us, and I felt my first contraction, I knew she was a girl. And when this tiny creature was placed on my chest, with her head of the darkest brown hair, our hearts burst with happiness.The last ten days have been the most surreal of my life. Our beautiful daughter is the sweetest girl and the days have blurred into eachother, as we've spent the hours staring at her in awe.
We're slowly heading back into the real world now so expect more posts and heaps of pictures of our divine little one. Plus I'd love to share our birth story...it's very long...and also our breastfeeding story; it's certainly been more complicated than I had ever anticipated and is still an ongoing saga that we're taking a day at a time.
Thank you for all your comments on the nursery, and the lovely good wishes you've sent too. We can't wait to share our first steps as parents here and show off our newest family member as she grows xx
Many, many congratulations on the birth of your beautiful daughter! Hope you are getting some rest too!
ReplyDeleteoh welcome little Josephine! What a gorgeous little face you have! Nell, congratulations mama! Rest and enjoy your baby moon. xxLou xx
ReplyDeleteWelcome little Josephine! Yours will be a happy life with loving wonderful parents. You are VERY beautiful and a miracle of life.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to you two! Such joy will ensue...
Stephanie
Oh wow! She is just gorgeous and I really love the name. Looking forward to seeing more photo's of your beautiful bundle of joy.
ReplyDeleteOh goody, I do love a good birth story! :-)
Breastfeeding is realllly hard work in the beginning weeks but is sooo worth really sticking with it. I found it painful to feed Rose for the first 8 weeks but after that it was as easy as anything. It was so lovely to be able to just bring her into bed with me for the early night time feeds and not having to go downstairs to prepare a bottle in the cold..!
Ashley xxx
Congratulations Nell and Ben on the safe arrival of Josephine Grace! Oh boy, she really is one of the most perfect newborn babies I've ever seen. Those dimples. That hair. Sigh. I look forward to hearing your/her birth story and I really wish you all the best with breastfeeding. It took me a few very sore weeks before I knew what I was doing but I got there in the end and I know you will too Nell. Enjoy these blissful early weeks with your gorgeous girl. I'm so happy for you guys! Bianca xx
ReplyDeleteps I forgot to say that I love love love her name! When I was little I wanted to name my future daughters Georgina and Josephine (just a little Charlie and the Chocolate Factory obsessed!)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness gracious me. Josephine is divine! I have been thinking of you often, wondering how it has been for you, that blurry newborn haze. From across the oceans I'm sending you so much love and many, many blessings.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Josephine! You have chosen a truly wonderful family. As for your dimple - it will melt hearts. X
Oh my! Huge congratulations! I'm so happy for you guys!
ReplyDeleteShe is SO cute! Her hair! Her cheeks! Her dimples! Her hair - I can't get over her hair!
She has such a beautiful name, and you are glowing in that last picture!
I wish you all the best and hope you can enjoy your babymoon with your gorgeous daughter as long as possible...
Fine
Welcome to the world beautiful Josephine! You have such a lovely mama. Sending all our thoughts and blessings xx
ReplyDeleteOh congratulations to you both! And welcome to the world little one. Breastfeeding is such a hard journey, no one warned me.
ReplyDeleteOh, so nice to read this, I've been checking in to see if you've posted. Josephine is truly divine. Welcome sweet little lady. Congratulations Mama and Papa bear. Enjoy this insanely amazing time. P.S I knew you were having a girl! PPS Josephine is on my fave girl's name list! xx
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! She is beautiful Nell - well done you :) Can’t wait to hear/see more and am very happy/relieved all is well. Lots of love xxx
ReplyDeletep.s. As people have already mentioned, breastfeeding is so hard at first - agony in fact. Even with Bertie (second time round breastfeeding) it took probably 12 weeks to really get the hang of it. There can be some really dark/low/lonely times with it, but if you can stick at it, it becomes the best thing ever. We’re still going now :) Good luck with everything and enjoy getting to know each other. x
p.p.s I have really over used the word ‘it’ in that comment!!
ReplyDeletep.p.p.s I love her name x
Oh Nell, i have been waiting with great anticipation for this post. Josephine is perfection, I can see how the hours would pass without note!
ReplyDeletexoxoxo
Congratulations on ur new arrival. She is beautiful. Hope u had the birth u both planned for. I am sure the breastfeeding issues will settle, there is loads of support in ur area so access it as much as u can. Make u sure u eat and especially drink loads,
ReplyDeleteJo xx
ps I have my health visitor hat for that :)
Yay for Josephine! And yay for you! She's a teeny tiny bundle of perfection, with an impressive head of hair to boot. (Pretty sure she's got more than Olive has, at 2!). Enjoy the love Nell. Kellie xx PS Sorry to hear about the breastfeeding issues. SO stressful. Hope you can hang in there and it resolves.
ReplyDeleteAw it's amazing how you can follow a blog by a person you've never met and get goosebumps and a tear in your eye when they show a picture of the beautiful newborn! Many congratulations can't wait to follow the story of being a Mummy x
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Nell! I couldn't wait to hear the news. Josephine is just perfect...name and all. Enjoy these precious days of tiny newborn cuddles and that sweet scent they have. Breastfeeding is not easy! It always annoyed me that people said it was...and it wasn't!!! But what I can say is that it DOES get easier as the weeks pass. All the best and I cannot wait for the following posts. xx
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful news! I have been thinking of you, and checking back here regularly for this very announcement! Congratulations, I am so happy for you- welcome to motherhood! xxx
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Nell! Josephine is absolutely gorgeous. x
ReplyDeletea girl. i should have told you when i guessed a boy that i'm almost always wrong. a girl...so special. she is gorgeous and i can see your beaming. enjoy this new found love. xoxo
ReplyDeleteOh, her dimples! Gorgeous. Congratulations Nell, sending lots of love from australia! xx
ReplyDeleteShe is absolutely divine! Love her dimples and perfect little lips, congratulations! Can't wait to hear more!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos. Congratulations. She is lovely x
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to you both, beautiful baby, beautiful name and beautiful dimples....going to go so well with that Dimple Hat, can't wait to see some more pics. Warmest Wishes to you all, Vicki @ dover & madden.
ReplyDeleteNell, she is seriously divine! All that hair!!!
ReplyDeleteI struggled with BFing for a very very long time. It is so much harder than you ever think its going to be and no one ever tells you before hand.
Looking forward to reading your birth story and all you have to share about your beautiful little Josephine.
For now take care and savour every NB second. They grow way too quickly.
xxx
she's here!! I've been thinking of you daily and am so happy to see her beautiful face, lots of love to you and B, what an amazing time for your family
ReplyDeletegorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! You sure got yourself a cutie! big mega huge congratulations to you! *s*
ReplyDeleteOoooh, Congratulations! And her name is so beautiful! Enjoy x
ReplyDeleteI have been checking your blog every few days waiting for the wonderful news - and here she is. Congratulations!!
ReplyDeleteAnd gorgeous Little Miss Josephine - you have certainly picked a wonderful family to join!
x
Nell congratulations - Josephine has a beautiful name for a beautiful face and heart. So happy that she is here safe &sound - have been waiting for this lovely news.
ReplyDeleteI will wait for you breast feeding post but like Kerry says - stick with it. My daughter did not feed well at first but once we got the hang of it it became a wonderful experience.
Lots of love to the three of you x
Just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding can be tricky (to say the very least) and you literally don't know me from a bar of soap but please sing out if you need /want any help! I have had 2 babies and have struggled to feed in the early weeks. I have spent hours crying while feeding them (it does get easier).
And you are all so very beautiful.
Rachael
Congratulations! She's gorgeous! Best of luck with the breastfeeding. Even though I was told a hundred times that breastfeeding would not be as easy as I thought, I was still surprised at how difficult it was at first, given that you's think it would be so natural. Hang in there if you can. It is so worth it. I really missed it after weaning my son and am so looking forward to breastfeeding our next baby (only a month or so to go now!)
ReplyDeleteTake care. :)
what a sweetheart! and I can see a little dimple just like rose (whose second name is also grace :)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read all about wee josephine as she grows. congratulations again nell. it is so, so wonderful.
pps Can I call her Josie?
ReplyDeletehello josephine! welcome to the world baby girl :o) oh what a beauty she is nell. those dimples are heart melting. the hair! i am so pleased all went well and that she is here safe and sound. those early days are incredibly special...but then every single day is from the moment you meet your baby.
ReplyDeletegood luck with breastfeeding...i hope it is getting easier for you and you have lots of support. i can only say that for me i struggled for a long time and in the end it wasn't to be. i expressed forever!!
lots of love and congratulations. it's been a real pleasure to share in josephine's journey this far xXx
congratulations on your gorgeous baby girl! those early days are so precious, savour every moment x
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS!!! Wonderful news! Gorgeous name too and what a sweet wee thing. Good work lady, she's a beaut! X
ReplyDeleteOh I have been thinking of you the past week! Congratulations to the new Mum and Dad - Josephine is beautiful! You look so filled with love and happiness in the last photo, Nell! I can't wait to see more photos as she grows, and as you grow too as a Mama. As everyone has already mentioned, breastfeeding is hard, but it's nice to know that it DOES get better. I had many dark, horrible, depressing days for the first 10 weeks of my breastfeeding journey, but then it gets easier, slowly... feed by feed, day by day. Sending you all my love to you and your little family on your babymoon. Enjoy! xxx
ReplyDeleteMany Congrats on the birth of your beautiful daughter! I have only just recently come across your blog and love it. Great photos!
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, she is perfection.
ReplyDelete(And all the best with the breastfeeding, it sounds like just about every new mum finds this a battle, I know I did! It's hard to believe, but one day you'll be doing it without a second thought. Really.)
Isn't it amazing? You're a Mum. You have a daughter. It really is the most beautiful thing.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the three of you. Josephine is divine, and that dimple is ridiculously gorgeous! Love your smile in that last picture - the joy of a new mother. Nothing beats the feeling.
Enjoy all these early days and weeks - they pass to fast! Breastfeeding was a real struggle for me, it took us a couple of months to get it right. I'm so glad I persisted because breastfeeding your baby is the most beautiful experience. I hope you can hang in there...
again, warmest congratulations from accross the miles! xx P.S - LOVE the name. I quite like the idea of posey as a nn!
Congratulations on the safe arrival of your darling girl. She really is adorable! Love her name, Josephine is such a pretty name (it was a favourite name of mine growing up as I loved the book 'Little Women' and Grace is my eldest daughter's name :)
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding doesn't come easy - most Mums I know have had some breastfeeding dilema of some sort but it does get easier. Ask for all the advice you can until you feel more comfortable.
Take care Nell xx
Congratulations, what a beautiful babe : )
ReplyDeleteWelcome Josephine, on my birthday too!
ReplyDeleteShe is divine, and I can't wait to hear about your arrival.
Congratulations to you and B- you must be just so happy!
Wow Nell! She's dimple-icious!
ReplyDeleteHuge congratulations on gorgeous Josephine. Children are really the most beautiful thing xx
oh my, what a beauty! And the 18th of january is a great date for a firstborn (like mine) A lot of fun with enjoying your sweet one!
ReplyDeletepure joy for you all!!!
ReplyDeletewhat sweet little dimples!
congratulations my dear :-)
yay! what a gorgeous little poppet. well done lady. x
ReplyDeletep.s breastfeeding can be really tough, the most important thing is don't give yourself a hard time. she will be fine.
Well done to you and your clan. Beautiful photos. What a princess.
ReplyDeleteOh Nell, she's just perfect. And you look deliriously happy. Congratulations Mama!
ReplyDeleteTried to comment earlier when we were down the coast but had trouble...I was checking your page whenever I got reception!
Looking forward to the birth story...and echo the sentiments of others here re breastfeeding. It is SO tough. I remember how low I felt when it wasn't working out, and my midwife said that it would get better, and I was thinking, how? how is this going to get better? i really didn't believe it could...but it just does. feeling for you lady, it's not much fun. and whether it works for you or not, you still have a little baby girl to make you smile :)
x