Becoming parents - one month on

Our little Devon turned one month old last weekend! Although it seems only yesterday we brought him home from the hospital, I'm also starting to forget what life was like without him!

It's been a steep learning curve for Nick and I, and at times looking after this little person is hard and quite overwhelming! For the first few weeks getting out of my pyjamas was an achievement. And while for the first few weeks he was sleeping well, he has started to sleep not so well resulting in a very tired new mum and dad.

Here's some of the things we have discovered on our journey through parenthood so far:

1) Living with a set of grandparents definitely has its perks. It's so handy being able to hand Devon to my Mum so Nick and I can relax or eat dinner together. Mum has a good knack for getting him off to sleep too.

2) Baby carriers are the best. Sometimes Devon won't sleep anywhere but my arms. I can strap him in the carrier, and let him sleep while I have two hands free for making a cup of tea. Genius. I wish I could wear him all day but the little chunk starts to get heavy!

3) A Hyundai i20 isn't going to cut it as a family car. With the car seat, pram and other required baby paraphernalia we will be needing something a bit bigger. We have bought a Mazda MPV this week that has tonnes of space and will also be useful for camping trips. It also means I will be able to get out and about with Devon during the week while Nick is at work, as we only had one car before.

4) Devon changes every day. He has already grown out of his first baby grows, notices things around him and I'm almost convinced he is starting to smile. He does not stop eating, and he is getting chubbier and chubbier. We can't wait for him to become more social, but at the same time want to relish each day in this short stage of his life.

5) It's rather frustrating that you have to convince an over-tired newborn that he needs to go to sleep! Why hasn't nature sorted that one out!

6) I really shouldn't attempt making anymore baby clothes. This face says it all:

Later today, Nick's parents are arriving from England for three weeks and the weather is looking better so I'm really looking forward to taking Devon out and about more.

Sunday Picnic

It's been very wet and windy recently, but we had a welcome day of sun on Sunday when we went to a picnic for our friend Jo's birthday. Of course little Devon came along, for his first ever picnic! 

He slept for the first hour or two as he charmed all the lovely ladies he got passed around.

Jo was giving everyone name badges to help all her guests mingle! Devon's said: 'youngest munchkin, totes adorbs, little aussie'. Because little Devon has the benefit of dual nationality (British and Australian; lucky little thing).

Poor little man was a bit bewildered by it all when he finally woke up. What a little chunk he is turning into.

Jo's amazing birthday cake!

 

The first few weeks

This week our little Devon is three weeks old!

For the first few days, he was a little wrinkled pink thing, who didn't do much more than sleep and feed. Now he is getting chubbier and bigger and more alert by the day, and looking so much more like Nick! His beautiful long hair is now starting to come through blond at the roots too!

Looking after Devon is pretty demanding! Although I think we are mostly getting enough sleep (albeit in broken chunks), as I've decided to breastfeed it's mostly down to me to cope with the regular nightfeeds. Devon and I seem to be getting the hang of it though, and we have invested in a pump so Nick can feed Devon every now and then.

Nick's back at work this week, and I'm really missing him being around! I'm quickly becoming used to drinking my tea cold and eating my lunch one handed. But in only three weeks Nick's parents are coming to stay and Nick is taking three weeks holiday so we are all looking forward to that.

I've already been acclimatising him to the outside by taking him for walks around the garden. He loves looking at the trees contrasted against the sky and the bird songs seem to soothe him, all good signs because I'm sure it won't be long before we take him on his first camping trip!

(We are using a really cool app called 23snaps to regularly record and share pictures of Devon with friends and family around the world. It's like Instagram for baby pics. If you would like be included in the (almost) daily updates, then please let Nick or I have your email address and we will send you a invite).