I must admit, I get it pretty easy. I leave the house for work at about eight every morning, returning home between six and seven in the evening as a rule.
This means that, by the time I get in, Harry has already had his tea and his bath, and is ready for bed. My role in the week is to look after him before I go to work, including feeding him breakfast, and then putting him to bed at night; Melissa deals with everything that goes on in between (except on the two days she works, in which case it's the two nans who are in charge).Now that Harry is walking, he's a real handful. Looking after him is an energetic business and it's no wonder Melissa looks worn out some days. On Saturday Melissa was out for the day, leaving me in charge of Harry. This is a rare occurrence, so I was determined to make the most of it. Harry was in a brilliant mood and we played all day; he even ate everything I put in front of him.
But one thing that I've learned over the last 16 months is that things change quickly. Having had his tea, I took Harry upstairs for his bath. He was happy, playing with his toys while I splashed him with the shower attachment. I then turned my back for a second to get his towel, ready to lift him out.
When I turned around, though, I was shocked to find that Harry had, how can I put this, had an accident (it's only the second time this has ever happened).Suddenly, looking after Harry didn't seem so easy. I whipped him out of the water, dried him quickly and put him in his cot - crying by now - while I disinfected the bath. Half an hour later, order was restored but it was stressful episode.
As Melissa pointed out later, she has to deal with these kind of episodes every day, so I got very little sympathy.It reminded me that as much as I would love to spend more time with Harry, it's not always easy. So I now have the utmost respect for full time mums and dads – it’s difficult to think of a more demanding job.
Friday 11 June 2010
It's not always easy...
By and large, this is an upbeat column, which is a reflection of how much I am enjoying being a father. However, the responsibility of being a dad can be stressful and the last few weeks have brought that home to me.
It started when Harry picked up an ear infection that just wouldn’t clear up properly. Unfortunately, this was followed closely by tonsillitis, which really knocked him for six.
We knew something was wrong because Harry went off his food – which is extremely unusual – and when he developed a temperature on the Sunday evening, we were straight on the phone to Wrexham’s out of hours service and, shortly after, on our way to the Maelor.
Now I know out-of-hours medical services are often criticised but I can only say our experience was superb. We saw an extremely helpful doctor who not only prescribed antibiotics to treat the infection, but also gave us plenty of other useful advice.
The medication worked and Harry started to get back to his normal self but he was still off his food. I know this is not uncommon with toddlers but it was a real shock for Melissa and I, who are used to Harry eating anything that’s put in front of him.
In fact, all we could get to him to eat was yoghurt. This was fine while he was ill, but I started to become increasingly anxious after this went on for several days. He seemed to go off everything – he’d put a spoonful of food in his mouth, then take it out and throw it at you. This was generally followed by a tantrum, and a complete refusal to try any more food.
Unsurprisingly, Harry began to lose weight and he certainly wasn’t his usual happy, boisterous self.
Gradually, though, he’s regained his appetite and I’m pleased to say Harry is now eating properly again – and grabbing food off our plates at every opportunity. Believe me, our house is now a much happier place again.
I suppose I’d better get used to this worrying though; according to most parents, it doesn’t go away, no matter how old your children.
It started when Harry picked up an ear infection that just wouldn’t clear up properly. Unfortunately, this was followed closely by tonsillitis, which really knocked him for six.
We knew something was wrong because Harry went off his food – which is extremely unusual – and when he developed a temperature on the Sunday evening, we were straight on the phone to Wrexham’s out of hours service and, shortly after, on our way to the Maelor.
Now I know out-of-hours medical services are often criticised but I can only say our experience was superb. We saw an extremely helpful doctor who not only prescribed antibiotics to treat the infection, but also gave us plenty of other useful advice.
The medication worked and Harry started to get back to his normal self but he was still off his food. I know this is not uncommon with toddlers but it was a real shock for Melissa and I, who are used to Harry eating anything that’s put in front of him.
In fact, all we could get to him to eat was yoghurt. This was fine while he was ill, but I started to become increasingly anxious after this went on for several days. He seemed to go off everything – he’d put a spoonful of food in his mouth, then take it out and throw it at you. This was generally followed by a tantrum, and a complete refusal to try any more food.
Unsurprisingly, Harry began to lose weight and he certainly wasn’t his usual happy, boisterous self.
Gradually, though, he’s regained his appetite and I’m pleased to say Harry is now eating properly again – and grabbing food off our plates at every opportunity. Believe me, our house is now a much happier place again.
I suppose I’d better get used to this worrying though; according to most parents, it doesn’t go away, no matter how old your children.
Wednesday 2 June 2010
The beach
I’ve just enjoyed another action-packed weekend. I’m starting to get used to all this activity now – and it’s certainly helping me sleep better at night.
Saturday was hectic: a trip to Toys R Us in the morning to buy Harry a sit-on car, followed by a party at Silly Bart’s in Wrexham to celebrate Isabella’s second birthday. The party was great fun, and Harry ran himself into the ground, chasing round after the other children and clambering all over the play equipment.
The highlight, though, was seeing Harry on a bouncy castle. His expression was hilarious – he couldn’t work out how to stand up on it, so he spent most of the time sitting down letting the other children bounce around him.
Sunday was similarly hectic with a trip to the seaside – Barmouth to be precise. The weather was glorious; scorching hot and not a cloud in the sky. And thanks to Harry being a bit of an early bird, we were on the beach just after 9am.
Watching Harry on the sand was fascinating. It was obviously a strange sensation for him and it took him about an hour before he was confident enough to walk on it. But when he found his feet there was no stopping him and he was soon tearing around the beach, smashing all of the sandcastles I’d been busy making.
It was a similar story when we took him to the sea. Initially he was very cautious about going near the water and, when a wave touched his feet for the first time, he just squealed and ran away. Seconds later, he was charging back towards the water and within a couple of minutes he was down on all fours splashing around and generally having a great time.
By lunchtime, of course, Harry was shattered and he was fast asleep by the time we’d driven out of the car park. But something tells me we’ll be heading back to the beach very soon.
Saturday was hectic: a trip to Toys R Us in the morning to buy Harry a sit-on car, followed by a party at Silly Bart’s in Wrexham to celebrate Isabella’s second birthday. The party was great fun, and Harry ran himself into the ground, chasing round after the other children and clambering all over the play equipment.
The highlight, though, was seeing Harry on a bouncy castle. His expression was hilarious – he couldn’t work out how to stand up on it, so he spent most of the time sitting down letting the other children bounce around him.
Sunday was similarly hectic with a trip to the seaside – Barmouth to be precise. The weather was glorious; scorching hot and not a cloud in the sky. And thanks to Harry being a bit of an early bird, we were on the beach just after 9am.
Watching Harry on the sand was fascinating. It was obviously a strange sensation for him and it took him about an hour before he was confident enough to walk on it. But when he found his feet there was no stopping him and he was soon tearing around the beach, smashing all of the sandcastles I’d been busy making.
It was a similar story when we took him to the sea. Initially he was very cautious about going near the water and, when a wave touched his feet for the first time, he just squealed and ran away. Seconds later, he was charging back towards the water and within a couple of minutes he was down on all fours splashing around and generally having a great time.
By lunchtime, of course, Harry was shattered and he was fast asleep by the time we’d driven out of the car park. But something tells me we’ll be heading back to the beach very soon.
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