Six weeks with a baby

They say that the first six weeks are the toughest. If you can make it through the six weeks without bodily harm to anyone, and still able to smile, then you’ll be able to make it another couple of decades.

“They”, incidentally, are other parents who’ve suggested this six-week milestone to us. I think they’ve all been beaten down, and the six week mark is where your will caves in and you just become a drone…

Yes, of course I’m kidding. That would be such a horrible thing to suggest about your child, being the end of your free will.

But like I said, it’s been six weeks. At this point, you no longer have a newborn, you have an infant. The newborn-ness has grown (from 9 lbs to a healthy 11.7 lbs) into a full-fledged baby. We’re just ending the second growth spurt (at six weeks; the next is at nine weeks), and both Alex and I are feeling a bit tired.

Alex has the tougher end, obviously. She’s with the wee one almost 24/7. I do try to take the burden off as much as I can, but feeding is still her domain, and she’s the one at home. So I’m kind of secondary.

Although I am the Master of the Diaper. Believe it or not (and most people think I’m seriously sick in the head), I rather like changing diapers. It’s not the toxic-waste that I’d feared (that comes in a few more months, I gather), and even though we use cloth, it’s not a major issue.

Yes, you read that right: cloth diapers are not a problem. They’re barely more work than disposables, and we don’t have extra garbage pails every week. Instead, we do small loads of laundry almost daily. You might argue that we’re being more wasteful than if we’d used disposables, but we’re also using high-efficiency appliances, so the overall waste is minimised.

It’s been a great six weeks so far. We’ve seen so much change in our child since she was born. She actually seems to get cuter every day. Could be the parental instinct, I know, but I’m convinced that she’s just damn cute. (Given the cooing we get from a lot of other people, I’d say our opinions are justified.)

Cathy and Craig arrive here next week, and Mom the week after, meaning a large part of my family will have finally met the newest member.

So what do I think of fatherhood so far? When you start to get smiles, when your child recognises you entering a room, that’s enough to get you over almost anything. She’s apparently laughing now, too. I haven’t heard that yet.

But I can’t wait until she’s ticklish.

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