Seven days: Tears of joy at our first cuddle

THE consultant says we can get Alfie out for his first cuddle and I burst into tears. It is a scary procedure and needs two nurses — one to carry Alfie, the other to hold all his tubes, carefully taping them all onto me once he’s settled to make sure nothing gets dislodged.

Alfie feels so soft against my skin — I will never forget the sensation. Leaving the incubator can be stressful for a baby, so doctors recommend I hold him for two hours to calm him. Instead I sit for five hours, starving and needing the loo, but so thrilled to hear my son’s heart beating next to mine