Parenting 101 – Week 7

So, it turns out that, even at the ripe old age of 40, my small welsh tabernacle of a body can actually adapt to living on 4-5 hours sleep a night, whereby you stay up until 1:30 in the morning.

So, that’s a plus!

On the downside, it turns out that when I’m tired and staying up late, I fill sleeping with eating crap. This, mixed with the fact that I’m still not quite at the point where I’m back into running, and I’m definitely developing what is commonly called the ‘Dad-bod’.

It’s an interesting process having a newborn, which although he’s approaching 8 weeks old, he’s still in the stage where while continuing to get cuter, they are still essentially just an eating/crying/sleeping/pooping machine – so yeah, it is tough sometimes.

It’s hard sometimes because the concept of free time is now a bit different – if I wanted to do something by myself, I have to acknowledge that it will always be at the expense of Jo’s time and freedom – which is making me re-assess my free time in general. It’s a bit tricky and hard not to feel guilty.

He’s got a bit of an issue with wind, which means that sometimes he get’s grumpy and looks like he’s got stomach pain, but then he’ll do a big fart and all will be well. Very much like me to be honest.

Problem solving is actually quite straightforward really

  • Is he due a feed? Insert milk into face
  • Has he done a wee/poo? You will develop a habit of sniffing bottoms….
  • Does he have wind? Burp, then and/or bicycle legs and produce a fart, also sometimes a little water in a bottle
  • Does he want to play? Prepare for an hour of repetitive music

Of course, sometimes, it’s none of that and he’s just grumpy, in which case you just cuddle him and maybe walk around a bit and he will eventually settle down.

Having talked to other parents, it seems like 3-4 months is the sweet spot where you actually start to get things back from babies – at this stage it is hard to see past the constant needs – but eventually it becomes more about laughs, and smiles and all that jazz.

Looking forward to it.

Jason Gilbert Written by:

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