Like Father Like...

2005-04-07T16:08:00.000+01:00

Well it's almost a year since I turned from a man into a Father. As I was driving to work today I saw all the signs I looked for this time last year to help name the baby or guess its sex. How wrong I was.

This time last year I was nervously awaiting a phonecall but with the knowledge that whatever happened we'd be going to hospital that night, so I was expecting to be a father tomorrow. How wrong I was, again.

But I'm a virtual year long Father now. We have booked his birthday party and all the friends and family are coming to celebrate his arrival and it seems like so long ago now that we went through 29 hours of labour to bring about his arrival. They say when you have kids, time just flies by, they are not wrong. But it's time that has been filled with all that is good in the world.

I'm still unsure if I'll be continuing this blog after he turns one, initially I created it to help me write down my worries, thoughts and hopes and make things seem a little clearer maybe. It must be obvious to anyone reading that the large gaps in posts recently are due to lack of time and not effort. It is these gaps that make me wonder if this blog has indeed served its purpose, whether that is the case, only time will tell.

Everything has changed and I'm still smiling.

2005-03-14T11:51:00.000Z

Well I made my update within a month this time, miraculous stuff. First steps a few weeks ago and now he's tearing around, albeit wobbly style and the occasional crash and nose bang on the carpet, but freedom has never felt so good for him one suspects.

We have had a break from the teething interuptions and are actually enjoying relatively uninterupted sleep at the moment. However with his new found abilities he's become even harder work to keep an eye on so by the time you get to bed your knackered anyway.

His stuff expands, our house gets crammed and now we have started the journeys around the local and not so local area to look at potential places to move to, So we may be upping sticks and chancing our arm in the property market again. When people say everything changes when you have a baby, they arn't wrong!

2005-02-18T11:02:00.000Z

Major news last night. He has taken his first steps in the world. Four to be precise. Luckily I was there to see it and even luckier it was me he took his steps towards. He had the most joyful expression I have ever seen etched onto his face when he realised what he'd done. I did too.

2005-01-20T11:10:00.000Z

I'm well aware its been an absolute age since I last posted any news or information. Are there any excuse? Plenty but I wont bore you with them, but I can at least say it's not laziness.

So whats happened recently? Well he has grown up. He is now a crawler and a fast one at that, he is now into household destruction and anything within reach is fair game. He has learnt to stand up and move along sofas, low tables and has taken to letting go, balancing for a second and then falling over. He has also developed a head of steel, crawling into walls and just bouncing off them, no effects at all. He is enjoying the sense of freedom movement gives you and we are constantly chasing after him on his new found journey's, small steps but giant leaps.

He now has six teeth and many more on the way, as each new one arrives our sleep waves goodbye, we have a gap of about three or four days sometimes more between teeth and sleep for England during those gaps. Teeth are so much trouble from birth onwards.

He is very happy, smiling and laughing and a very impressive charmer with the ladies, I'd like to say he got that from his Dad, but not sure I can claim that.

As for us, we had our first Xmas together as a family, which was very different and wonderful. We spent new year inside with him, very quiet. I guess a sign of things to come, thats what happens I suppose. We took him to Centerparcs for his first long weekend break away and he loved it, we did too.

So what does 2005 hold in store. New job, new future I hope. New house, no space left. A lot more changes, some good, some bad, but you certainly cant hide from change when you have a family.

2004-10-07T11:05:00.000+01:00

Well I cant believe it's been so long since I had time to sit down and write up some stuff and I'm only able to now, cause work is so quiet today. Its been manic. There have been work reviews that deserve an entire blog in themselves (watch this space), new horizons opening up that demand time I haven't got but that I cant let pass by and my little boy now has two bottom teeth, can sit up totally unaided and is beginning to enter the wonderful world of solids - proper food!

He has been to baby signing classes so he can tell us what he wants - allegedly, baby swimming so he can swim underwater unaided (apparently they have a reflex action that closes their throat so they can swim under water without swallowing) and god knows what else.

Its been busy, but I guess from the gap in posts you probably guessed that.

2004-09-20T16:47:00.000+01:00

Long holiday huh. It takes a long time to come back to earth once you've relaxed and forgotten about work. Had a great holiday, our first as a family. Stayed in a small quaint'ish cottage in Bude, Cornwall. Cornwall is as they say a beautiful part of the country, spent the week visiting small villages and lying on the beach. We even managed to pick Englands best week of sunshine this summer, perfect. As with every holiday, plenty of time to assess all the things your doing wrong and build a plan to change them. Back at work the time vanishes and unless your absolutely dedicated, so do the plans. Not this time.

He had his first tooth whilst we were away, pushing up to shine a little piece of white in his red gums. We all looked and thought of him growing up already and only now the reality of it has dawned on us. The happy little boy we took on holiday is no longer quite so happy, in pain he doesnt understand he can at times be inconsolable which is heart breaking, teething gel and calpol as our last ditch is all we have to help him out. And of course now he isnt sleeping through the night anymore....

2004-09-01T16:13:00.000+01:00

He's into his six to nine months clothes now, he's really starting to look like a little boy now. Its weird that in a few months he'll be crawling around and a few more maybe even walking around.

Cornwall beckons and its our first holiday together as a new family. The car looks like its going to 90% full of his stuf and just the glove box for the two of us. I am beginning to understand why people buy giant estates now, though I'm holding off ever actually getting one.

2004-08-27T16:21:00.000+01:00

Bank holiday weekend ahead. Two barbecues, golf and maybe a trip down the coast all beckon. Then four day week and off to Cornwall for a weeks holiday, his first. With any luck our country might actually see the sun at some point this summer, not long of it left either.

He's still waking in the night. As the end of the working day looms I find my eyes getting so tired, I like many parents long for an uninterupted nights sleep and a lie in but in reality I know thats all gone for some time now, must not start to crave it !!

2004-08-26T10:22:00.001+01:00

Broken nights again. Its like a flashback, your body just recovering, your mind actually functioning again and then cries in the night, your back to square one. We got up last night and as we fed him we could hear his little stomach rumbling, was heartbreaking. We have upped the feeds accordingly to compensate and are trying to hang on a little while longer before we start on the solids. Apart from eating more, he's still totally happy so we will try and do as the books say and hold off till as close to six months as possible before the blender kicks into action.

2004-08-23T16:59:00.000+01:00

Didn't have to hold my breath for very long. He has started to wake up at 4am every morning the last few nights, wanting more food. I guess this is the beginning of the road to solids. We are hoping it'll be a slow road and we can hang on till he's 6 months old or we get back from our trip to Cornwall in the first week of September.

Had a great weekend, played golf for only the second time since his arrival and will beplaying once more this coming Satuday too! Watched the Olympics which is just fantastic and then on Sunday did a photoshoot of a friend and her baby and have been commissioned to do some paid work on her partners company websites. All in all a very successful and enjoyable weekend. And whats better, the following one is a bank holiday!

2004-08-20T14:12:00.000+01:00

I've been very slow in updating this page recently. I would like to say i've been too busy at work but I haven't. I think I've just had a slow down for a week. Its certainly not that he isnt doing as much, he's still trying to turn over and still as happy as larry, so everythings good there. I guess we have found a routine at the moment and he has settled nicely into that. There are some big things coming up like teething, underwater swimming lessons, crawling and weening so there'll be plenty to talk about in detail soon.

It's almost like a lull in a storm or a deep breath before the next push. I know its coming so I should enjoy the moments as they are now. Gives me time to appreciate being a father and actually take stock of the past four months that have seemed like four days.

So deep breath.....

2004-08-13T16:02:00.000+01:00

We now have littered around the house various books on teething, preparing your baby for food and preparing food for your baby. Also I have noticed small containers appearing at an alarming rate. They seem to be breeding in a small cupboard and bursting for freedom at every opportunity. I'm told that we will not be trying to get him off the bottle and onto solids until he's as close to six months as we can make it, this date is totally dependant on him and how often he needs feeding. If he starts waking every few hours because he's hungry then I guess that six month figure will be dramatically shortened. All the talk now is of freezing mushed up food in ice cubes, I'm just dreading droppping one in a nice cool gin and tonic and seeing it turn orange, on the other hand it could create a whole new range in cocktails.

We are going swimming with him tomorrow. He's had his final jabs, the day after the government decided to withdraw mercury from them but had none of the new ones released. We are totally at the mercy of the health service when it comes to this sort of thing. What can you do? So he had his jab, was his grouchy self for a bit but seemed fine the day after, so a family outing beckons to our local pool. We want him to get used to the water at an early age, not least because we have booked him into one of those underwater swimming classes in September, waterproof cameras are at the ready !

2004-08-10T13:58:00.000+01:00

He rolled over yesterday. There we were sitting having our quintissential English cup of tea and the next thing we knew he was on his front wriggling about, lifting his head up and looking around. I think he was as surprised as us, neither of us knowing how he did it. A few seconds on his front and realising he couldnt get back was all it took for him to get upset and for us to return him to his customary position. No instant repeat but another small step in the evolvement of our man.

My sister had a baby girl yesterday. So now I have a neice and he has a cousin.

2004-08-05T12:44:00.000+01:00

We were bought a bouncer for our boy this weekend, a delayed Uncle's birthday gift. You clip it onto a doorframe and strap him in (the baby, not the Uncle as was suggested) and pull the bungee rope and whoosh off he goes. Giggling and laughing as he bounces all over the place. This lasts for about five minutes till he gets frustrated with not having the strength to bounce himself up and down, then he kicks off and wants out as soon as possible. Its got potential though, great potential.

On an aside, he has taken to watching intently whilst I eat. The first real sign of teething and his desire to move up the food chain and out of the just milk gang. He doesn't watch his Mother, just me. I feel quite guilty when I cant give him anything. He has the sad dog eyes, when noone gives the family pet scraps off the table. Very strange.

2004-08-03T15:27:00.000+01:00

Well that was a weekend and a half. What news of the boy, well as I spent three days away from him, I was pleased to find nothing new upon my return, apart froom his excitement at seeing me again. Lovely. Bought him a new soft toy to play with as part of a father's guilt for being away.

Jersey is lovely, some lovely golf courses, beautiful long sandy beaches and friendly people, went on long cycle around the island, exhausted at the end, though the lobster more than made up for it. Got drunk and discovered all the bars and clubs, let my hair down (if I had any) and generally relaxed and had a great time.

Still glad to get home to the little one though.

2004-07-29T14:05:00.000+01:00

This has been my biggest gap in posts, so if anyone has been reading this reguarly, which I'm beginning to doubt, then I apologise. It has been hectic and it has also been bed ridden too. Having gone to a wedding on Friday which for once the weather agreed should be a grand day, having a wonderful day, the boy sent off for a days over stimulation at the grandparents. Our first chance to have a relaxing day, just the two of us since he literally burst into our lives. He was brought to the evening reception, to be shown off and cooed over but was having none of it. Asleep upon arrival, he awoke to find six strange faces all pushing into his car seat and went nuts. I ended up wheeling him off down the river thames for an hour to calm him down.

Saturday was a family gathering with both sets of grandparents for which were both exhausted. Sunday came and I decided to try and kill myself with a bout of food poisoning. So layed up in bed for three days trying to recover in time for my trip to Jersey tomorrow. Regarding said trip, it's the first time I"ll be away from my boy since his arrival, sixteen weeks ago tomorrow. Sixteen weeks old, four months ago he was born. An amazing time, now I'm looking forward to coming out of the bubble for a couple of days to finally celebrate with my mate, my transition from man to father. Cigars are packed.

2004-07-22T09:35:00.000+01:00

Off to a wedding tomorrow. He is going to visit his grandparents for the day and is only coming to the wedding in the evening. Will be first time we have both left him for any length of time. She is a bridesmaid so I will have plenty of time to have a drink, relax and take photos. Should be a relaxing day, if the weather holds. Though I do regret not being able to take him there with us, in the old days, meaning before he came along, I used to get really annoyed at screaming babies in a church. Now though I begin to understand why parents have them there. Though I would be up and out of a service if he did kick off in seconds. Fine for them to be there when they are happy, but screaming the roof down is definately a signal to leave. Why do so many parents ignore that when they are in a wedding, after all its a whole day event not just the half hour for the ceremony? Perhaps thats why our friends have asked for kids not to be brought to their wedding.

2004-07-20T17:04:00.000+01:00

The first night of uninterupted sleep was followed again by our second night of deep blissful sleep. I now feel almost like I've overslept, as we were getting so used to the old sleep pattern. I'm sure it wont take anywhere near as long to adapt to this new pattern if (fingers crossed) it continues.

Apart from sleep which looking back seems to fill a lot of my posts, all is well. He is definately more communicative now, he reaches for and grabs things, anything. He laughs and giggles and recognises familiar faces very quickly now and we are even debating if he is at the onset of teething as he seems to enjoy chewing the bottle teat, our fingers and anything else that he can get in his mouth, which is just about anything he can reach (obviously we have babyproofed his reachable area). Already I feel like he's growing up too fast.

The most recent purchase is a babygrow. This is excellent, its kind of a sleeping bag for babies, you stick them in it pull their arms through the sleeves and then they have a blanket they cannot slide under and also with the panels in our cot the cant stick their legs out through the slats, something our lad seemed to enjoy doing in his sleep, till he got stuck. They come in all different tog weights for summer and winter and as she says look ever so cute. Worth a look if your in doubt about blankets etc.

2004-07-19T15:55:00.000+01:00

He slept through the night last night. All the way through! We still got up to check on him though. Old habits die hard.

2004-07-15T10:55:00.000+01:00

He had his second jabs a few days ago. Was once again clingy and hated being put down, ended up giving him small dose of calpol which seemed to do the trick. He slept it off and was fine the next day. My birthday was on Tuesday, he was well enough to go out and buy me a pair of jeans, good lad. Also got a new tennis racket and a present that has yet to arrive.

Now I've got a cold, feeling exhausted and another day of depression beckons at work. Seriously need to address my working future. Strange how every birthday makes you look at your life that little bit harder.

2004-07-12T17:33:00.000+01:00

Lovely weekend, he was so so happy all the time, its amazing to watch him change into such a happy soul in the space of a few days, still has his tantrums but he's laughing, gurgling and seems to be very aware of all the fun surrounding him now.

So Monday comes and what do we do? Take him to the doctors for his second set of injections. Hardly a reward for such a happy weekend.

2004-07-07T15:46:00.000+01:00

Sleep, glorious sleep. A night of deep barely interupted slumber was granted me last night. I feel like a different man. New, improved, raring to go obviously still totally delirious but on the road to sanity once more.

Amazing how lack of sleep will take over all your thoughts, thinking about sleep, craving it, chasing it, so muchso that I cant remember anything else that happened yesterday.

2004-07-05T17:25:00.000+01:00

What a weekend. No sleep on friday at all, not one jot. Sheep flew, cows jumped the moon but no z's in my night. Got up and played golf, came home had the boy for the rest of the day and the night. Our first night together. She was off on her best friends hen party, her first night away from him.

He was ok but had to bring him back into our room and his moses basket as I was worried I was so tired I might not hear him if he was in the other room, I needn't have worried, I am now so in tune to his needs I slept lightly and got up three times to feed and comfort him. Although I was shattered it was a lovely experience, having him all to my own. Got up Sunday and played tennis, my best game for years, my serve was awesome, much moe powerful. I put it down to the bench pressing I've been doing with him when he needs to burp, great arm curls, my mucle tones never been better.

Wached Wimbledon final and football, amazing game, how can Greece be European Champions? Anything can happen in sport, anything. Went to work, felt like death. Nothing changed there!!!

2004-07-02T13:08:00.000+01:00

Late last night we decided to try him in his room. We cleared out the hundreds of toys that have been living there since he was born, they now live under his cot in smart little wheeled boxes, ready to be pulled out at a moments notice.

We turned on all the lights I spent a day rigging up, paper lanterns adorning the cot, spun the wooden retro mobile and plonked him on the mattress. He looked so small. He looked up for a while wondering where on earth he was then spent the next ten minutes kicking up an excited little storm.

Then he promptly fell asleep.

We rigged up the monitor, turned it to full volume and spent the rest of the night not sleeping because we were wondering what on earth those noises were coming from next door. After checking for the twentieth time, she came back to tell me he had managed to get his legs stuck through the bars of the cot and was asleep like that. I think we had more sleep when he was in our room!

2004-07-01T11:54:00.000+01:00

Sleep, beautiful sleep. The last few nights have been horrendous, he's definately on a growth spurt, demanding food every couple of hours, hardly sleeping inbetween. The dawns are beautiful though.