Monday 28 May 2012

How is he sleeping?


WHENEVER people ask about James, one of the first questions is invariably 'how is he sleeping?'

The answer is pretty well actually. At the moment he's still waking for a feed in the night but as he's only eight weeks old, that's only to be expected. Either way, it's a significant contrast to our experience with Harry.

I must admit that I've got a lot to answer for in this regard. With Harry, I wouldn't put him back in his cot until he was fast asleep. With hindsight, I was just making problems for myself as it got to the stage where he would start crying as soon as I attempted to put him down.

With James, I'm quite happy putting him back in his cot as soon as he's finished his feed, allowing him to go to sleep on his own. This means we've had, relatively speaking, a decent amount of sleep despite having a newborn in the house.

Last week, however, was a bit more testing as James picked up a chest infection while Harry also developed a cough and cold. James, surprisingly, continued to sleep well but Harry was disturbed by his cough. A couple of times I woke to feed James only to find Harry had climbed into bed between Melissa and myself – and was snoring loudly.

On one occasion, Melissa even sneaked out of our bed and into Harry's. Apparently a combination of Harry snoring, James coughing and a general lack of space was too much for her. Next time it's my turn to escape.

Mission impossible...


If leaving the house with one child was difficult, leaving it with two can feel like mission impossible.

Weekdays are particularly challenging; as well as getting myself ready for work, we have to get Harry and James bathed and dressed so that Harry can go to playgroup. Melissa, of course, also has to find time to make herself presentable to drop Harry off at playgroup.

To anyone without children, this probably doesn't sound like a difficult task. After all, how tough can it be to give two children a wash and get them dressed by eight o'clock in the morning? The answer, at least in our house, is very tough.

For a start, Harry can be a little monkey when you want him to get dressed in a hurry. I dread to think how long I spend during the course of a week trying to persuade, coax or bribe Harry into getting ready. I'm convinced he does it just to make us cross.

Some days, this alone can take half an hour which throws out our timings altogether. And if he doesn't want to get in the bath, you can write off another 15 minutes of your life.

Melissa's solution to the problem is simple: set the alarm earlier than its current time of half six. While this does sound very sensible, my views on the subject are quite clear: we need every minute of sleep possible. I would rather rush around like a headless chicken for an hour and a half than sacrifice one more moment of sleep.

So the rush to leave the house will continue. I'd like to think it will get easier as the boys grow up, but our experience with Harry tells me that won't be happening any time soon.

Friday 11 May 2012

Everything changes...


JAMES is changing so quickly at the moment that it's difficult to keep up with it all. He now spends a good portion of the day awake, watching what goes on with those incredibly bright eyes that only babies seem to have.

He's also smiling now, which is just as magical this time around as it was when Harry was little.

Honestly, I could sit and watch James for hours. Every expression, yawn, sneeze, gurgle and squeak is just wonderful. The way he kicks his legs and throws out his arms when he's sat in his little baby seat is just as absorbing.

It's brought back great memories from Harry's first few weeks, when I just used to sit staring at him in wonder. The fact that James, to my eyes at least, looks almost identical to Harry at the same age, means that I'm constantly struck by a sense of deja vu.

Of course, with Harry in the house we don't really get an opportunity to sit around and watch James. Not that you miss it, because Harry is such a character.

The other night, he'd had spaghetti hoops with his tea and had spilt a bit of tomato sauce on his chin. Half an hour later, Harry and I were sat in the living room watching television when Harry started scratching at the now dry tomato sauce on his chin.

He looked at me and, with a very serious look on his face, said: “Daddy, I think I need to have a shave. My whiskers are growing.”

Helper Harry

HARRY is a very willing helper when it comes to dealing with James – but his enthusiasm is turning both Melissa and myself into nervous wrecks.

On the one hand, we're very conscious that including Harry in everything we do with James is important; the last thing we want is for Harry to feel pushed out by the new arrival.

Generally, Harry is very good. He will, for instance, get a clean nappy, wipes and nappy bag ready when asked which is genuinely useful.

But we still have to be constantly on our guard just in case Harry gets a bit carried away. This isn't always easy as Harry is particularly quick. The other night I was sitting in the living room with the two boys when Harry asked if he could have a drink of juice. Not wanting to leave Harry alone with James, I asked him to go with me to the kitchen.

Harry did as he was told but disappeared the moment I turned my back to use the tap. I chased after him just in time to see him grab a dummy and thrust it towards James' mouth. I managed to intercept it before any damage was done while a hurt looking Harry turned to me and said: “I was just giving him his dummy daddy.”

This is not an isolated incident. Harry will often sidle up to James before attempting to grab his hair, prompting Melissa or me, or more often than not, both of us, to dive towards the pair of them.

Sometimes Harry decides he wants to hold James, which is equally nerve-wracking. In fact, the only sure-fire way to put Harry off is to tell him that James has filled his nappy. It's amazing how quickly Harry decides he's got something more important to attend to.