assessment of damages
My baby is almost a month old and comparison with some other babies his age leads me to conclude that
a) he is a giant - longer and fatter than most children his age. (He has nearly outgrown his Moses basket, and he is filling out 3-6 month clothes very comfortably indeed).
b) also beating them in screaming the house down. Other children, normal children are happy to entertain themselves gazing at walls, or lights, or colourful things. Maybe sucking on a hand or two. Not my son, he of the vibrating rages and need for constant cuddles and entertainment and feeding.
c) When my son is doing his bit to put more screamings into the innocent world, the other children, the scream-free children just stare at him in confusion. Ah seed of my loins, sowing chaos already.
My house looks like a bomb site, my bed is sporting an increasing number of milk-stains and my cats are slowly turning feral with the irregular feedings (because sleeping when the baby sleeps means they never know what time exactly their next meal is coming from) and not enough petting and not being allowed to walk on the baby.
The baby continues with his two dominant moods of Angel (when feeding, bathing, sleeping) and Wailing DemonFiend (all other times), although on special occasions he is prepared to be awake and not scream.
Although on the plus side I have never enjoyed my mother's company more, or her willingness to take the child off my hands for a few hours. It's made enough difference to save my mental health from 'heading into postnatal depression at breakneck speed' to 'really coping with all this just fine, now that I have enough sleep'. Truly, there is nothing that refreshes my affection for my child quite as much as having him in the care of others for a while.
Yesterday we had our first family outing since the baby was born. We went out for lunch and then for a long walk along Hampstead Heath (I breastfed in the restaurant; we got chased by a swan) and aside from the fact that at 9 o'clock in the evening the child decided he hadn't fulfilled his daily quota of the screamings, it really was a lovely day.
a) he is a giant - longer and fatter than most children his age. (He has nearly outgrown his Moses basket, and he is filling out 3-6 month clothes very comfortably indeed).
b) also beating them in screaming the house down. Other children, normal children are happy to entertain themselves gazing at walls, or lights, or colourful things. Maybe sucking on a hand or two. Not my son, he of the vibrating rages and need for constant cuddles and entertainment and feeding.
c) When my son is doing his bit to put more screamings into the innocent world, the other children, the scream-free children just stare at him in confusion. Ah seed of my loins, sowing chaos already.
My house looks like a bomb site, my bed is sporting an increasing number of milk-stains and my cats are slowly turning feral with the irregular feedings (because sleeping when the baby sleeps means they never know what time exactly their next meal is coming from) and not enough petting and not being allowed to walk on the baby.
The baby continues with his two dominant moods of Angel (when feeding, bathing, sleeping) and Wailing DemonFiend (all other times), although on special occasions he is prepared to be awake and not scream.
Although on the plus side I have never enjoyed my mother's company more, or her willingness to take the child off my hands for a few hours. It's made enough difference to save my mental health from 'heading into postnatal depression at breakneck speed' to 'really coping with all this just fine, now that I have enough sleep'. Truly, there is nothing that refreshes my affection for my child quite as much as having him in the care of others for a while.
Yesterday we had our first family outing since the baby was born. We went out for lunch and then for a long walk along Hampstead Heath (I breastfed in the restaurant; we got chased by a swan) and aside from the fact that at 9 o'clock in the evening the child decided he hadn't fulfilled his daily quota of the screamings, it really was a lovely day.