ABSTRACT
I felt so excited on the quiet, 20-minute drive home from hospital. It was 1 May, cloudy but warm, and the thought of all the summer months at home with my baby was wonderful. When we arrived at our house a neighbour appeared and took the first family photograph of us on the drive. Nick and I look tired but happy. Dominic was asleep after his first car journey. We even took pictures inside the house with him in his car seat on the lounge rug – typical new parents. The lounge was soon filled with all the beautiful cards and presents we had received. After my first breastfeed at home Dominic fell asleep. I laid him on one of the settees surrounded by pillows. Both of our cats, Thomas and Jacob, were very interested and I was very jumpy, expecting them to suffocate him! Later on we lay him in his cot in his nursery whilst we sorted out places for all his new clothes and equipment. I was ridiculously happy opening things like cotton wool from my treasured collection that had been waiting for months to be used. Although we had a few ‘welcome home’ phone calls, no visitors came.
