Hayden at 6 & 7 months old

A Letter to Hayden

Dear Hayden,

You’ve been in our lives now for nearly 3 months and you have taught me what unconditional love means. It takes a lot of patience, strength and plenty of love to cope with sleep deprivation, 24×7 hands on care and yes of course, the dreaded nappy change, particularly when you just did an explosive poop or even worse, when you projective poop in the middle of a change and it splatters on us!

I’ve to admit, when Mummy and I first brought you back from the hospital, we didn’t know much about newborns. When you cried, we’d to figure out whether if you were hungry, needed a nappy change or simply just a cuddle. There were some frustrating moments where you were screaming and we just didn’t know what you wanted. Google also came a lot in handy at times (eg: what to do with nappy rash, how long would it take for your umbilical cord to heal, etc)

Parenthood has been a tremendous learning curve. Before your arrival, all the baby books and websites frowned upon co-sleeping so Mummy kept insisting that you’re not supposed to sleep in our bed. Hah! The first new nights when all 3 of us were settling into our new routines, there were times where we were so exhausted, we’d wake up to find you sleeping in between Mummy and me even though we both swore that we’d tucked you back into your cot.

You practically lived in your swaddle and when it got unexpectedly dirty, we’d panic because that meant no uninterrupted sleep for all of us until it got cleaned. There was also a time where you insisted on being cuddled to sleep and Mummy and I took turns using pillows to prop ourselves up in bed, sitting and sleeping as we hugged you to our chests. Mummy nearly went bonkers – from a minimum of 10 hours sleep a night, her sleeping time was slashed down to nearly just 2 – 3 hours now.

So far we’ve managed avoiding getting you a stroller yet though I’m skeptical as to how long that will last as Mummy keeps saying that we can get away with babywearing you. You seem to love it each time Mummy slips you into the pouch we’ve got and snooze away many afternoons spent at quick lunches and grocery shopping trips.

You’re now learning how to smile and laugh at us. You’re also exploring how your little hands works and we’ve caught you staring at your fists countless times. You love sucking and even though you refuse to suck on your pacifier, you enjoy sucking on everything else, from our arms as we carry you, our knuckles to even sucking at the air which Mummy dubs as your “invisible pacifier”. You’re also trying to cram both fists into your mouth though it requires more dexterity and practice.

We love you lots, kiddo 🙂