New Lifestyle

So Mayuki has been home for a couple of days, and I’m trying to get used to my new lifestyle. I’ve changed a few nappies, helped with a bath, and managed to get a full night’s sleep despite the presence of the baby. This was due to Yuriko keeping Mayuki quiet, and thus getting very little sleep herself. So Yuriko sleeps during the day.

And this blog entry was just interrupted because Mayuki started crying.

I’m not sure that Yuriko and I will get to eat together very often. Yesterday evening, Yuriko looked after Mayuki while I ate, then I looked after her while Yuriko ate. This morning, I took first shift, holding her while Yuriko ate breakfast, and then Yuriko took over while I did the same.

There is, of course, a fundamental asymmetry between us. We’re raising Mayuki on breast milk, so I can’t do the feeding. That means that Yuriko will inevitably do more than I do, but I’m doing my best to make sure that she doesn’t feel as though she has to cope with the baby all by herself. And, of course, I want to have chances to cuddle my daughter.

Mayuki is already showing changes. She is much more active than she was immediately after birth, waving her arms and legs around a lot. In the last couple of days she’s started grasping with her hands, and trying to put them in her mouth, but she’s not really co-ordinated enough to manage that yet. Still, it’s surprising how much change we can see in such a short time.

Parenthood is good so far. I gather that there’s quite a lot more to come, however.