Today, just before 1300hrs, Thomas reaches one month old...so what have these last 4 weeks been like? First off, I have to say, the first fourteen days (those paternity leave weeks), were practically a write off...the first week was spent worrying, not sleeping very well (as Flyingpops and baby were kept in hospital) rushing about between Burstow ward and home (thank goodness we live so close by) and not eating terribly well (apart from rescue parcels from my folks)...the second week was still in and out of hospital, worrying about Thomas' weight, worrying about Thomas' jaundice, worrying about Mummy and Thomas trying to get feeding right, not sleeping terribly well (as Flyingpops and baby were up and down all night long), constant alarms for drugs, constant alarms for feeding, alarms for armfuls of washing, alarms for bottles being warmed up, and then, completely out of the blue, we suddenly had a lovely day...on the day we went to register the birth in Reigate, the absolute last day of my paternity leave, we managed to go and sit in Priory park for a couple of hours (with 3000 other mothers and babies)...and everything was perfect...unfortunately, having just managed to get into some vague sort of routine, I then had to go back to work...and that was one hell of a wrench...I tried to get some more time off, but my poor team were absolutely on the point of collapse, so I *had* to go back in...and actually, I'm used to kissing Mum and baby goodbye in the morning now, it was really hard to start with, but it's just one of those things everyone has to go through - you can't be there every minute...
The new routine that has been established now is actually quite a good one, Thomas has one feed during the night (Flyingpops wakes me up a little bit when this happens, but so far I've managed to drop back off again quite quickly), then, in the morning, Thomas wakes us up by making gentle noises (sort of tiny adorable little mouse squeaks) just before the radio alarm clock blares out Radio Mercury to wake me up to get ready for work (bleugh)...
80% of the time Flyingpops will snooze on for a while (to catch up after her efforts in the early hours), leaving me to head off to the station in Poppy the Beetle...on one occasion, early on, when Flyingpops was still setting reminders to feed him, something went wrong with the mobile phone and Thomas actually managed to sleep right through the night, so in that respect we are extremely lucky...although the jaundice (and resultant lethargy) in the early days does mean that when he does start to cry for food it's actually met with smiles and relief from his Mum and Dad - a non-responsive baby is a pretty scary thing...
I know this isn't the end of change, he is *so* awake now, even (clumsily) reaching out for objects, following my voice around the room, staring at the TV, and appearing the focus clearly onto my eyes when I stare into his (it can send a shiver of amazement down the spine)...! Next, Flyingpops is going to get the all clear to drive and then our routine will change all over again (as she won't want me running away with the car all the time), so we'll have to be getting Thomas ready to go in the car seat as part of our morning so she can drop me off at the station...I think what I'm really trying to say here (sorry, I know I'm rambling a little) is that, while it was undeniably difficult to start with, even in these short few weeks, we've adapted to having this new member of the family here to look after remarkably quickly - it just seems so normal, like he has always been in our lives - and I'm extremely proud of the way Flyingpops has thrown herself into the role of full time mother - despite all the curve balls thrown at her (major surgery, bad reaction to the drugs the hospital gave her, being trapped in hospital, Thomas not feeding, being trapped at home, confusing conflicting advice from the medical professionals), she has knocked the ball out of the park every single time (apologies for the Americanism, but it's the neatest analogy I could conjour)...
Well done sweetheart... ;)
3 comments:
What can I say, ... I'm sat here crying at how lovely your post is.. thank you sweetheart. We could not have done this without your love and support (and that of our families).
You also beat me to it! I was about to write a post myself to celebrate 1 month old! ;o)
Looking forward to next week and your week off. xxx
Congratuations to all of you for making it through the first month. I'd like to say it gets easier, and it does, but you've got a while yet ;-)
Its all good fun though!
Our oldest Jamie, had his first day at school today - and even then its not easy to start with - he has a TERM of half days - how are two working parents meant to deal with THAT!?!
Thanks dude! Holy shit though, that's a nightmare, a *term* of half days!!??
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