Louis Update: The First Week

We are beginning to adapt to life with Louis! He has quite an easy-going personality, happy to be awake and alert at night, but also to calmly observe the hustle and bustle throughout the day. Maddy is starting to adjust to him, although I think we encountering the inevitable problem of the second child which is the first being a bit insecure and even jealous. Many people have advised us that no matter how many kids one has, the second is the hardest. Perhaps for that reason.

We are much calmer parents than before. Having a home birth helped the whole family adjust quickly to the new presence of Louis in our lives. We were blessed to have Wendy's mother staying the night of the labour, and managed to introduce Maddy to the situation downstairs just after Louis had been born. It was a truly magic moment when they came in to see us.

The day after Louis' birth was Maddy's third birthday, and this gave us some impetus to get dressed and face the outside world, to take her out for lunch with some friends. Maddy has been treated to lots of presents and outings over the last few days, as I have been on Paternity Leave and Wendy has needed rest from the relentless night time feeding regime. 

This time of year in the Church is the time after Epiphany, with the cycle of feasts relating to the Nativity almost coming to an end with Candlemas on Tuesday. What a special time of year for us to be drawing the inspiration of the Holy Family into our lives, and we feel very much like our incessant prayers have had a wonderful outcome. There is still some way to go before things reach an equilibrium, if they ever do: we started things with minus one nights sleep and we feel a constant debt with lack of energy and occasionally my own impatience coming forth. 

But as a parent, with such great responsibilities, it is always easy to strive on. Maddy brightens our lives with the beautiful remarks and clever wit she is beginning to show ("the caterpillar built a raccoon to live in!"), and Louis has re-introduced the tender sense of nurturing a small helpless life to achieve its potential, and meeting all his basic needs with a warmth of satisfaction it is often too easy to take for granted.