Baby Girl

My first child – a baby girl – was born this week. It’s been a tumultuous ride!

This week, my wife gave birth to a baby girl who weighed 3.07 kilograms and is in excellent health. Everyone did well and we are now all safely home.

It’s certainly been a whirlwind week. We have had to surrender much of our sleep and adjust to looking after a new person that is utterly dependent upon us.

But she has been a real joy.

Yes, she cries when she is undressed and cries when she is dressed again. She cries when she is hungry and she cries when she is lonely. Time means nothing to her and at the moment it means little to us either. Yet even when she cries for the eleventh time at 3am wanting nothing more than to be held, it’s difficult to remain cross when looking into that cute face.

We are learning to adjust our sleep patterns and expectations. We have now successfully travelled out of the house as a family. The days when I could look a the clock on the wall and judge that we’d all be in the car within five minutes are over. So too are warm cups of tea before bed. All my cups of tea of late have been stone cold before I have even taken a sip.

I can now boast of skills in nappy-changing, bottle-feeding, burping and perhaps most importantly, soothing a baby to sleep at 3am.

Our daughter loves a warm bath and enjoys a ride in the car. She could sleep through a rock concert!

Many aspects of my old life will have to take a back seat for now, but it is worth it. Being a father has brought many challenges, but also many joys.