Countdown over… with a new kid on the block!

... The countdown ended on 4 November just 2 hours after the official due date - very good timing for a Dad who likes to be on time and likes order / organisation! We had a (now very smiley) little boy and are now 8 weeks into the new “normal”! What a whirlwind busy time with Paternity leave and Christmas all in the mix.

We had the excitement of introducing the new baby to his sister the afternoon after he was born… the main phrase and gesture from her has been around how “cute” and “tiny” he is! What’s been incredible has been seeing just how gentle and kind a toddler can be, even though it’s clear there are challenges around a new person in the house taking up Mum and Dad’s time, and also he always seems to be on someone’s lap so logically she should be too!

It’s amazing to see how a baby develop so so quickly from a little bundle of confusion - too many lights, new noises, so much space! And then as they unwind and stretch over the first few weeks you can catch real life glimpses of how their body and mind is developing and changing. Their sight changing to focus on our faces, ears registering and recognising our voices and the cheeky smiles (especially the ones that aren’t wind!) as a mini personality develops.

Spending time as a family and the Christmas break, both my wife and I have had “eyes open” moments when you realise just how exciting the most seemingly mundane activities can be, if you haven’t seen or done them before! We had a trip for a Cream Tea out which was of course popular with the whole family, but the most exciting part for our toddler was the walk from the car park through Reading town centre - seeing a Giant Panda, HUGE puddles (which Peppa would love to jump in)... going through the tunnel under the station with hints of a Bear Hunt and the tiptoe tiptoe through a cave… and then… to top it off, it rained and hoods needed to be put up and it was just the best and funniest time! And that was just the walk to and from the car - on reflection, if I was doing the walk myself it’s a time I would dash through perhaps with head down, the obligatory phone check (which is hard to escape - just look around on a bus or train and everyone has heads down looking at their phones - perhaps missing the views from the window) and jog under cover from the rain…

Makes me think of the time before I had a phone, on the walk to school, a 25 minute walk everyday… I walked and “head up / eyes-open” meant I noticed when number 72 had a new car, the drive at 104 was relayed and a new family moved in at 222! Simple, local observations, but things we easily miss in our ever-connected world.

I suppose the take home from it all (other than a full tummy of cakes and coffee - thanks Patiserie Valerie!) is a stark reminder to take time to enjoy and take pleasure from even the simplest of tasks and activities. All too often we get wrapped up in specific timings, clock watching, travel delays and stress of everyday life, but if we can take a moment to see rather than just look and listen rather than just hear, the world seems amazing all over again!