Monday 30 April 2012
Night-time nappies
THE last couple of weeks have certainly served as a reminder about just how demanding new born babies can be.
James is a pretty content baby on the whole and he's still spending most of the day sleeping. Mind you it probably helps that, unlike Harry at that age, I'm not trying to wake him up every half hour to show him off to family or friends.
Even so, there rarely seems to be any time to catch your breath, particularly with Harry about. Then there's the night feeds – being woken twice every night certainly takes its toll. Put it this way, I'm now going grey at a more rapid rate than I was two or three months ago.
What's worse, however, is when James decides to fill his nappy in the middle of the night. For some reason this seems to be his favourite time of the day to full nappies so both Melissa and I are getting quite good at changing smelly nappies in the dark.
Speaking of changing, I'd also forgotten just how tricky it is to dress a delicate little baby. James' arms and legs are constantly waving around and trying to get him into a sleepsuit is no easy task.
Despite these little moans, being a dad again is a wonderful experience. When he's awake, James is now very alert and watching him examine your face as you talk to him is a magical feeling. And you can't help but smile at all the little grunts, groans and yawns.
One thing I can't get right is his name. I keep calling him Harry which is already causing lots of confusion. As a stern Harry told me the other day: “You got the wrong word daddy, his name's Jamesey. I am Harry.”
Life is never dull
LIFE is anything but dull at the moment but Harry has decided that I still haven't got quite enough on my plate at the moment.
No, he has decided that it's time for him to teach me Welsh. I arrived home the other day to be greeted by a very excited Harry who told me to go and sit on my carpet (at playgroup all the children have a piece of carpet). I didn't have carpet, rather a triangle cut out of green paper, but the thought was there.
I was then presented with a series of flashcards by Harry who began to teach me the Welsh words to describe the weather. Harry and his mum had spent the afternoon creating the cards and putting them into a little case, which he now carries everywhere.
I have to say, I'm very impressed and I've even started to pick up a few phrases although, as Harry put it, “You're not very good yet daddy.”
When I'm not learning Welsh, I'm still getting to grips with looking after two children at the same time. I've now been left on my own a couple of times – with mixed results. On the first occasion, James slept the whole time Melissa was away which made life very straightforward.
The second time, however, Harry was ready for bed and James just would not settle. I eventually decided to put James in his cot and take Harry upstairs regardless.
Within minutes, James was shouting while I was still dealing with Harry. In the event, I decided to concentrate on Harry but it didn't stop me feeling very guilty about the crying downstairs. Typically, by the time Harry had dropped off (it was only a matter of minutes, but it felt a lot longer) Melissa had returned to find James shouting away in his cot. The look said it all. It seems I still have plenty to learn about coping with two children.
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Grown up Harry
WITH James' arrival on the scene, Harry suddenly seems grown up. His behaviour since he became a big brother has been a pleasant surprise and he appears to have adjusted very well to, let's face it, what was a major change in his world.
Three weeks in, he's still quite relaxed about the situation and has even given his little brother a nickname – Jamesey.
I was also worried that James would wake Harry up during the night but, so far at least, that hasn't happened. If anything, Harry's slept better in the last three weeks than he did before James was born.
Harry was certainly not going to be upstaged by his little brother's arrival though. At his playgroup's Easter bonnet parade, he performed a solo – I can sing a rainbow – which had both Melissa and I choked up. I'm just glad he takes after Melissa when it comes to singing.
Having got used to handling a newborn again (it took me a while!), Harry now seems huge in comparison. Everything about him looks so big compared to James – from his feet, to his hands and his head.
In fact, it's almost as if Harry has gone from being a toddler to a little boy overnight.
As for James, he's doing well and is continuing to put on weight, which is always a good sign.
He's also sleeping pretty well, which is something of a relief. I can't help feeling that this might be down to the fact that we aren't fussing over him quite as much as we did with Harry. Mind you, he's only three weeks old so there's plenty of time for him change his mind yet.
Three weeks in, he's still quite relaxed about the situation and has even given his little brother a nickname – Jamesey.
I was also worried that James would wake Harry up during the night but, so far at least, that hasn't happened. If anything, Harry's slept better in the last three weeks than he did before James was born.
Harry was certainly not going to be upstaged by his little brother's arrival though. At his playgroup's Easter bonnet parade, he performed a solo – I can sing a rainbow – which had both Melissa and I choked up. I'm just glad he takes after Melissa when it comes to singing.
Having got used to handling a newborn again (it took me a while!), Harry now seems huge in comparison. Everything about him looks so big compared to James – from his feet, to his hands and his head.
In fact, it's almost as if Harry has gone from being a toddler to a little boy overnight.
As for James, he's doing well and is continuing to put on weight, which is always a good sign.
He's also sleeping pretty well, which is something of a relief. I can't help feeling that this might be down to the fact that we aren't fussing over him quite as much as we did with Harry. Mind you, he's only three weeks old so there's plenty of time for him change his mind yet.
Tuesday 10 April 2012
A shock to the system
It’s fair to say that both Melissa and I have found dealing with a newborn a bit of a shock to the system.
Our first two weeks with James have, on the whole, been pretty good and we’ve even managed to get a decent amount of sleep. But there was so much I’d forgotten about caring for such a young child.
For a start, I found holding James nerve-wracking. I’m used to picking up a robust three-year-old, so handling a baby, albeit a relatively large one – he was 8lb 11oz when born – came as a real shock.
There were other, more messy, elements that I had also forgotten, chiefly that little boys like to go to the toilet when their nappies are removed.
This proved costly at the hospital when I ended up on the wrong end of a soaking. Still, Melissa also got caught out in similar fashion which made me a feel a bit better.
However, a few days later I got covered when James decided to projectile poop while I was changing his nappy.
Harry, who was helping out with the changing, gagged when he realised what had happened, which had me in stitches.
Speaking of Harry, he’s adjusting to life as a big brother pretty well, although he still doesn’t like it when James cries.
We’ve also had a couple of moments though when things have got too much for Harry.
When he came into our room the other morning he told me he that he’d decided he didn’t want to be a big brother.
“Can we take James back daddy?” he asked. “I don’t want him here any more.”
Our first two weeks with James have, on the whole, been pretty good and we’ve even managed to get a decent amount of sleep. But there was so much I’d forgotten about caring for such a young child.
For a start, I found holding James nerve-wracking. I’m used to picking up a robust three-year-old, so handling a baby, albeit a relatively large one – he was 8lb 11oz when born – came as a real shock.
There were other, more messy, elements that I had also forgotten, chiefly that little boys like to go to the toilet when their nappies are removed.
This proved costly at the hospital when I ended up on the wrong end of a soaking. Still, Melissa also got caught out in similar fashion which made me a feel a bit better.
However, a few days later I got covered when James decided to projectile poop while I was changing his nappy.
Harry, who was helping out with the changing, gagged when he realised what had happened, which had me in stitches.
Speaking of Harry, he’s adjusting to life as a big brother pretty well, although he still doesn’t like it when James cries.
We’ve also had a couple of moments though when things have got too much for Harry.
When he came into our room the other morning he told me he that he’d decided he didn’t want to be a big brother.
“Can we take James back daddy?” he asked. “I don’t want him here any more.”
A dramatic entrance
James William Wright arrived in dramatic fashion on Friday, March 23 at 2.54pm.
I say dramatic because little James somehow managed to get his shoulder trapped during delivery, prompting the midwife to pull the emergency chord.
Within seconds the room was filled with people who – and I’m not entirely sure how this happened – managed to get James out safely.
At the time I didn’t have a clue what was going on and I was terrified, particularly when a purple and, as far as I could tell unresponsive, baby boy was whisked away by a doctor. Melissa’s mum was also present for the birth and, judging by the look on her face, I was not only the one fearing the worse.
But minutes later, everything had calmed down and James, already showing off his impressive appetite, was back with his mum.
It was an extremely intense experience – and certainly not one I would like to repeat. I was so choked up that I could hardly speak when I called my mum to tell her that grandson number two had arrived.
In fact Melissa was a lot more composed than I was. “I just kept my eyes closed, I didn’t know what was going on,” she told me later. For the first time that day, I envied Melissa.
Throughout, the care we received was fantastic. Lynda, the midwife who looked after us was wonderful and didn’t tell me to shut up once. Equally, the response when James refused to come out was fantastic.
As for James, he’s doing very well under the watchful eye of big brother Harry. Harry is quite relaxed about the new arrival, although he doesn’t like it when he cries. “That baby’s whinging again, daddy,” he says. “You need to sort it out.”
I say dramatic because little James somehow managed to get his shoulder trapped during delivery, prompting the midwife to pull the emergency chord.
Within seconds the room was filled with people who – and I’m not entirely sure how this happened – managed to get James out safely.
At the time I didn’t have a clue what was going on and I was terrified, particularly when a purple and, as far as I could tell unresponsive, baby boy was whisked away by a doctor. Melissa’s mum was also present for the birth and, judging by the look on her face, I was not only the one fearing the worse.
But minutes later, everything had calmed down and James, already showing off his impressive appetite, was back with his mum.
It was an extremely intense experience – and certainly not one I would like to repeat. I was so choked up that I could hardly speak when I called my mum to tell her that grandson number two had arrived.
In fact Melissa was a lot more composed than I was. “I just kept my eyes closed, I didn’t know what was going on,” she told me later. For the first time that day, I envied Melissa.
Throughout, the care we received was fantastic. Lynda, the midwife who looked after us was wonderful and didn’t tell me to shut up once. Equally, the response when James refused to come out was fantastic.
As for James, he’s doing very well under the watchful eye of big brother Harry. Harry is quite relaxed about the new arrival, although he doesn’t like it when he cries. “That baby’s whinging again, daddy,” he says. “You need to sort it out.”
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