Approaching 2nd month of being with Bryan

The fact that im writing this actually means that i have come to terms with being a parent reasonably well to this point, especially since my free time doesn't automatically become nap time.

Whenver Bryan cries, we usually go through our mental checklist of reasons why he might be crying:

1)He might be hungry, so tease his chin and lower lip, if he forms an 'O' with his mouth, find some way to stall time while making milk.

2)He might have pooed or peed so much he's uncomfortable, so change diapers. Make sure we don't remove his soiled diapers immediately, because that will almost be an invitation for him to pee at us, and for a little one, hes got an incredible range, and an incredibly innocent look to match.

3)He is just restless. So the tactic is try to ignore him and see if he quietens, if not, assume one of the following positions.

a) Cradle hold – lasts the shortest.

b) Over the shoulder hold – falls asleep the fastest but works only half the time.

c)Koala hug – variation of 'b'

d)Put him in baby carrier – works most of the time. And this frees your hands to grab a quick bite.

As you can see, these two months have been really hectic, as most parents would concur, and we have been trying to constantly cope with wresting ourselves away from the feeling of trappedness, of not letting the feeding/caring/cleaning cycle consume us like a cyclone. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed, especially just after our confinement nanny left and we were left alone to bear the sudden responsibility towards a completely dependent human being. I'm happy that we've come this far not feeling frightened and jaded with the repetitive duties of caring for a baby Recently i came home from work to be greeted by wide cheery smiles from Ade, an expression which slowly but steadily replaced the tired numb expression from a month ago. Finally, the both of us are able to take mental time off to appreciate the beautiful kid in front of us, time off to laugh at the little scrunched up face whenever he is about to cry for attention, rather than sigh with resignation. Everyday i come home from work, i look forward to giving Bryan his evening wipedown, he used to cry for 10 minutes the moment i place him on the changing table, but now, he seems to know that these 10 minutes will turn him from a smelly monster to a fresh smelling flower bud.

Its been great. Super tiring, but damn satisfying. Also, Bryan's grandparents and grandaunt had come a few times to take over from us on some days like christmas eve and christmas day, so Ade and I had some personal time to ourselves during which we went out for a nice dinner at the mall. This time off is so important.

Now, Bryan is significantly different from his early infant stage. He starts getting expressions as though he is having thoughts in his mind, his body frame has firmed up somewhat, the general feeling of fragility has slowly faded. We are starting to miss the chaotic/fragile stage of early infanthood.... NOT. Well, yeah.. actually, in a way. Heres a message to all parents, hard as it may sound, enjoy the first 2 months, guys, take it like its BMTC of parenting or something. Ahahahaha.