Dad's diary:
week two
diary - week one
diary - week three
diary - week four
I go into work for half a day on tuesday, mainly to catch up on things and prepare for next week when we go live with a software upgrade. I didn't have to go in, but to be honest yesterday (monday) I was a little bored so decided to go into work today. The weather was miserable yesterday which didn't help matters. I'm still getting a decent night's sleep and generally things are easier than I anticipated.
I look after Joe in the afternoon so Deborah can have a sleep. In the evening I go to 5-a-side football, which is great as I can run around for an hour and use up loads of energy. It makes me feel better.
Wednesday is a full day at home, I tell Deborah that I will look after Joe as much as I can so that she can rest. We are also trying to get the little chap to stay awake for longer during the day, so I walk around with him, shaking in front of his face a little Winnie the Pooh , or a mobile with three toys hanging off it. He seems to concentrate on the figures with his eyes wide iopen. It's not exactly chess, but it's the nearest thing to a 'game' that I can play with him. I try to sing to him as much as possible. Amazingly, given my tuneless voice, this seems to keep him interested and even stops him crying. It's lovely to have him, and in the evening I bath him which is the highlight of our day together, though I think it will take a few more sessions before I convince him that bath time is good fun. After his bath, we I have the England match on, but he sleeps through it, probably the wisest option.
Deborah has a couple of difficult days with the breastfeeding lark; Joseph doesn't always make it as easy as it might be, causing Deborah some pain and no little frustration. Makes me feel a little guilty, though I feel I'm doing all I can, helping with Joe when I can and doing all the cooking, shopping etc.
Not much exercise on wednesday or thursday. Still watching plenty of the Olympics though (and on thursday cricket starts up again, the final test at the Oval.)
On thursday afternoon we go down to Wells to visit Great Grandma Peabody, which is both a happy and sad experience. The drive down to Wells is fine, as Joe is soon asleep, and stays that way for most of the afternoon, so when Jane and the children visit at mums house he is still dopey. He does finally wake up about 5.30, so mum gets an hour or so of him in his waking state. Mark pops over when he gets back from work.
I go to work about midday - I walk most of the way in order to get some exercise - and then after work I meet members of our 7 a side football team in the Parade Bar for beers. Of course I get the necessary permissions first. I feel I can't stay out too late, so I leave everyone in the Pig and Fiddle at about 9 o'clock. I've still had enough time to have 7 pints. When I arrive home I feel a little guilty having been out boozing. This guilt is on top of the other mild guilt I feel about not feeling as tired and as stressed as people seem to expect me to be. People keep asking me whether I am getting any sleep, to which the answer is yes,actually. In fact I've probably had only slightly less sleep than usual over the last couple of weeks, and thanks to Tony Blair's offer of paid paternity leave, I've had plenty of days with little to do but loaf around, watch television and think of songs to sing to Joseph.
So, with all this guilt floating around, I thought I'd better offer to stay up and let Deborah have a few hours of undisturbed sleep. D gives me a bottle of milk and tells me to feed Joe around midnight. He has his milk - hard to describe how lovely it is to feed him - whilst I sip away at a large bottle of lucozade, trying to prevent a hangover. After midnight Joe falls asleep on the sofa, and I settle down for some late night cinematic entertainment. At 1am the late night BBC horror begins, but this weeks offering, 'The Fiend' is a grave disappointment, and not a patch on last weeks Vampire Circus.
Joe wakes up; I could take him upstairs but feel that Deborah needs her sleep, so I lay him on top of me on the sofa and I sleep fitfully with lying on my chest. It's very hot and I sweat from all the beer and humidity. About 3.30 a.m. Deb comes down and relieves me, saying she had been waiting for me to bring Joe up.
Still, I feel I have done my bit of not-sleeping, so can go to bed guiltless. It's saturday tomorrow anyway, and I have no plans.
So, today I feel a bit spaced out after the sleepless night last night. Late afternoon I go for a long walk for 2 hours or so whilst Deborah takes Joe up to Stacey's for the afternoon. I feel better for the walk. I get a good nights sleep on saturday, and on Sunday am able to go out for a swim, and then in the afternoon I take Joe for a walk in his buggy around the streets of Upper Weston. He sleeps through it.
This coming week I will be in work every day, which will be a 'test' - but I have 9 hours of Tony Blair's paternity leave remaining, so will be able to work a few short days.