Saturday, 3 May 2008
Fatherhood, one month on
Well with one month of fatherhood under my belt, I can confirm what I had been told to expect: having a baby at home is exhausting. I can nuance that, however, by saying that the first ten days or so are by far the most exhausting part (after which we did more or less get a handle on things), and that it is primarily exhausting for the mother (who, unavoidably, has the heavier load to bear).
In our case, the difference was particularly stark because Emilie had never, until the birth of James, actually spent any time around babies or changed a diaper. Whereas I (having gone through life with a constant supply of infant cousins), had a much greater notion of what babies were like, and had even changed a diaper or two as a babysitter while a teenager. So the adjustment for her was even more unknown and uncertain than it was for me.
That said, Emilie has proven herself to be an extremely competent baby caretaker and at this point, a month into James' life, has already surpassed my diaper-changing experience by at least a hundred diapers! To call her a quick study would be an understatement.
On James himself there is not that much to report in only a month: he's gained about 1 kg, right on schedule, and we have had no health problems so far, for which we are very grateful. At any rate, I've put up a third picture gallery (password required), which can be viewed by clicking here or on the photo above, along with the older galleries and movies that I've posted so far.
