We met our Health Visitor yesterday and she confirmed what we, and our friends and family have all been thinking for two weeks (two weeks?!), that newborn Ben is astonishingly like newborn Sam. The Health Visitor was a nurse on the Health Visiting team when Sam was born and she remembered the baby rages and my frazzled outlook on life!
Leo looked like Sam at birth but had a completely different nature. He was all about eating, burping promptly and sleeping at civilised hours. After our preparing for a colicky, sleep dodging infant with new carriers and a cosleeper crib, Leo was something of an anticlimax.
Ben however, has not disappointed. He slept through most of his first day, recovering from his rapid and business like entrance and since then he's had some pretty active spells between 2am and 6am. Over the past couple of days he has been holding onto trapped wind like his life depends on it whilst simultaneously raging at us and popping on and off to feed at around the same time every evening.
We officially have another colicky baby. The good news is, we are no longer first time parents. My mood has been low with hormone surges and tiredness at some points but at non point have I thought Ben crying was a result of an error on my part. When he wails, the first thing he gets is milk. If that doesn't work he gets a cuddle on Euan's burp persuading shoulder. Then he gets a clean nappy and if none of that works we start again. Colic holds no fear for us any more. We're totally zen. Well, about that. Everything else is chaos.
This time around is dramatically different in another way. Ben has not one but two big brothers. The next in age is a little abrupt in his affections but affectionate nonetheless. When Ben cries, Leo fetches things, blankets, muslins, pieces of duplo. He never passes without patting Ben and saying "awww". And he learned his name the day he was born. He still just yells imperiously when he wants Sam's attention but Ben or "bibeeBen" is said quietly and clearly.
Sam is taking the role of biggest brother very seriously. He holds and cuddles Ben at every opportunity. He listens to every baby gurgle and sigh intently and often asks for a translation, sighing in frustration when we admit we can't actually speak baby. He supervises nappy changes and tells everyone that this is our new baby and "him is a cutie-pie".
The two of them and their love for Ben make my heart swell. They also climb furniture, stash toys everywhere, randomly refuse food that was previously a favourite, shout without warning, bash each other and themselves and act up spectacularly just when we think we have things under control. But this too shall pass and once it has, they'll still be brothers. And that is all kinds of wonderful.
Leo looked like Sam at birth but had a completely different nature. He was all about eating, burping promptly and sleeping at civilised hours. After our preparing for a colicky, sleep dodging infant with new carriers and a cosleeper crib, Leo was something of an anticlimax.
Ben however, has not disappointed. He slept through most of his first day, recovering from his rapid and business like entrance and since then he's had some pretty active spells between 2am and 6am. Over the past couple of days he has been holding onto trapped wind like his life depends on it whilst simultaneously raging at us and popping on and off to feed at around the same time every evening.
We officially have another colicky baby. The good news is, we are no longer first time parents. My mood has been low with hormone surges and tiredness at some points but at non point have I thought Ben crying was a result of an error on my part. When he wails, the first thing he gets is milk. If that doesn't work he gets a cuddle on Euan's burp persuading shoulder. Then he gets a clean nappy and if none of that works we start again. Colic holds no fear for us any more. We're totally zen. Well, about that. Everything else is chaos.
This time around is dramatically different in another way. Ben has not one but two big brothers. The next in age is a little abrupt in his affections but affectionate nonetheless. When Ben cries, Leo fetches things, blankets, muslins, pieces of duplo. He never passes without patting Ben and saying "awww". And he learned his name the day he was born. He still just yells imperiously when he wants Sam's attention but Ben or "bibeeBen" is said quietly and clearly.
Sam is taking the role of biggest brother very seriously. He holds and cuddles Ben at every opportunity. He listens to every baby gurgle and sigh intently and often asks for a translation, sighing in frustration when we admit we can't actually speak baby. He supervises nappy changes and tells everyone that this is our new baby and "him is a cutie-pie".
The two of them and their love for Ben make my heart swell. They also climb furniture, stash toys everywhere, randomly refuse food that was previously a favourite, shout without warning, bash each other and themselves and act up spectacularly just when we think we have things under control. But this too shall pass and once it has, they'll still be brothers. And that is all kinds of wonderful.
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