Welcoming Sofia
On the 5th of July, Tim and I welcomed our beautiful daughter Sofia Florence into the world. It was such an intense few days with an induction (which they had to do three times over 48 hours) and then natural birth at the Mater Hospital here in Brisbane. This also came with lots of complications and an epidural they had to do twice because it wasn’t done properly and the anaesthetist was practically geriatric dropping his equipment on the floor and Tim had to remind him to plug the cord into the catheter and to switch it on so that it would be administered. I’m still mentally digesting the experience of my birth and the troubles we encountered with the doctors and the lack of help we received. Because our obstetrician was on holidays, we were meant to have a different doctor from the private clinic we’d been using. They didn’t bother showing up until after the birth and then stitched me up incorrectly which gave me allot of pain and bleeding so the next morning I was rushed into emergency surgery. I feel slightly traumatised by the whole thing, especially going into surgery the next morning due to blood loss and a big clot (nearly 3 litres!). I felt so overwhelmed, exhausted and distraught leaving my baby in our room. It’s hard to explain but she was in my womb for nearly 9 months and then to be apart was just gut wrenching. I also didn’t know how serious my condition was at the time and I was scared of what would happen to me.
Along side a somewhat traumatic birth, I had so many issues leading up with the last few months of pregnancy wrecking me physically. I struggled with breathing particularly at night time and had to resort to using a c-pap machine to help me. My sinuses were blocked up and the swelling in my legs and feet had it hard for me to walk. I couldn’t fit into any shoes they were so enormous! I remember being tears in the mens aisle at Kmart trying on mens shoes and nothing would fit. I bought myself pink crocs in size 10 and I felt like a clown! All I wanted by that stage was my Mum to come and take care of me - which she did in the last two weeks of my pregnancy. She came and put my feet up, made me cups of tea and fed me bliss balls and cooked all of our meals. She also bathed Hugo every night and played with him so that I could rest. There is nothing quite like the intuition of a mum and them knowing exactly what you need. I was so grateful in that moment.
But I mean in saying all this, going through all of that hardship and physical distress was so worth it and I’d do it again (well, maybe not again..We will see, watch this space!). But Sofia is beautiful, just perfection and we are so in love with her! She is so sweet, gentle and easy going. Much more easy going than what I remember with Hugo!! He would cry for hours in the evenings and we would try everything to settle him but Sofia is just like clock work with expressing her needs. I thought I would honestly struggle with two babies, almost like I wouldn’t be capable or strong enough but honestly I feel incredibly resilient and the love I have has just grown infinitely for both of them. I am amazed how the body works and how we are so much stronger than we know. I love that quote by Eleanor Rosevelt, ‘A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water’. It feels so apt particularly in postpartum and motherhood. Our bodies go through so much physically and emotionally, but when things get hard we are able to cope somehow and we just keep going. There is something instinctual with motherhood, in that we will do anything for our children and our family. Maybe its the Leo in me, but I am very protective and fierce!
I’m hoping some of these emotions and feelings will come through in my artworks somehow. Similarly to how they did when I had Hugo. I feel so deeply and emotionally, partially because of the breastfeeding and the hormones. It’s definitely sparked some ideas and I’ve been drawing and sketching in my journal allot. Particularly heaps of ideas for workshops, mum/bubs and kids art classes too which I am hoping to continue when we move to Tasmania at the end of the year. Oh yes, I guess that’s also my big news!! We bought a house in Hobart and are moving in December. Hoping to have my art studio set up by mid January. Thankfully hubby is taking about 6 weeks off before he starts work at the Royal in February. So we will be trying to get the floors sanded/varnished and walls painted before our storage container arrives. I am a bit daunted by everything that is going to change in the next few months and packing up our entire house. My studio has expanded so much since I left Tassie back in 2018!
I’m really looking forward to this new chapter in our lives and the new experiences/lifestyle for the kids. I’ll have a much bigger studio at home and I expect as the kids get older I will take more kids classes and some smaller workshops from home. My artistic practice has really allowed me to be flexible and to be there for my family. I feel eternally grateful for that and for all of my amazing supporters.
To mark this Brisbane chapter, we’ve done a mini photoshoot of our family in the suburb we live in. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on our time here, the changes and the growth we’ve had as individuals. Brisbane has been a big thing from getting married, to moving house from Melbourne, buying two houses, having two kids, making amazing life-long friends and connecting with family. It’s so special to have had the last 6 years here and to experience an entirely different climate and in a way, culture, that feels quite different to the one I know in Tasmania.
My beautiful best friend Liv bought us this photoshoot with the incredible photographer Liz Wilson. I felt so grateful to get photos of Sofia at 2 months before she gets too big! She really captured those baby moments perfectly!
Thank you for reading my latest journal post and for coming on this journey with me. Please subscribe to my website if you want to get the latest news!
Kate xxx
