New Year

Well here we are - the first official photo of us as a new family!

We went away for New Year with a university friend of mine, his wife, and some of their friends - all in all a small crowd of people. My friend and his wife were house-sitting for other friends, in their lovely large house in the country. It meant that we could have a large open fire, go for walks, and that there was plenty of space for everyone.

We did have one very trying night, when I ran out of milk for Janel, and she was still crying for more, and (of course) it was 2am!! Brave Daddy went out in the car in the rain and cold, in an unfamiliar area, to find a 24hr shop that sold formula, and then came back and bravely let Mommy sleep while he fed the hungry munchkin. Not a night to be repeated if at all possible!!

While it was rather daunting to meet about 10 new people and spend concentrated time with them all at once, we actually had a fabulous time. After the formal dinner we played Cranium, which resulted in a lot of raucous laughter. Come New Year, someone had typed up song sheets, so we had a little sing-a-long, and Janel, little angel that she is, slept through it all.

Only 3 weeks to go now till my dad, and later my mom and step-dad, arrive to stay with us. Fortunately, they will only overlap by 2 nights, as our little flat is rather cozy. Even more fortunately, they all get along well, so being in close confines shouldn't be too much of a stress. I think Graeme will be the worst off as I will have to feed Janel in our room during the night (with all other rooms taken by parents) so will have 2 rather disturbed nights' sleep. Still, it will all be worth it for the grandparents to be here!! I can't wait!

We're starting to settle into some sort of routine - it seems that between midnight and 3am is Janel's hungriest time, and she feeds roughly every hour then, so I don't get to sleep till around 3am. Consequently I've been sleeping (in between feeds) till at least mid-morning, if not noon. She seems to be growing well though, and is starting to outgrow her smallest babygrows. When she was born she had lots of rolls of skin, rather than being a chubby baby. To me she is feeling positively large now as she's putting on weight and filling out.

Friday is her next out-patient appointment to check on her jaundice, so here's praying that she'll be given the all clear!

Nicole