6 weeks already!

I spend nap times de-swaddling myself.

Let's ignore the fact he doesn't like his cot and focus on the beautiful good morning smiles I get.

Time flies when you have a newborn, which is such a pity really because I love this stage so much - the eye-gazing, finger-holding, cooing and first smiles. As much as I've tried to soak it all up, the reality is that Flynn is now 6 weeks old and already I feel like he's leaving his newborn-ness behind in what has been a blur of feeding, settling, sleeping, Christmas, Bushfires, School Holidays and house guests. Maybe it's nature's way of making you forget how tiring these early weeks are.

And tiring it is. We've been taking things one day at a time, spending time at home, feeding the ducks and playing cricket. No grand summer holiday plans. I've been making the most of the relatives staying with us and have managed to frog my first attempt at knitting on circular needles by getting an entire skein tangled to start a new knitting project.

A little update on the past 6 weeks. Flynn is feeding well, stacking on the Kilos and now smiles and chuckles. He was just starting to get into a good routine but this last week has been challenging as he hasn't been very settled. It has been taking lots of cuddles and rocking to calm him down and settle him down for his naps. Personally, I think all the overstimulation from the kids and having visitors staying with us has caught up with him. You don't realise how noisy your household is until a newborn is on the scene.

Although I'm pretty relaxed about all things related to parenting, sleep is my one exception and a good sleep routine is the one thing I work really hard on from the beginning and have never had any sleeping issues with the children over the last 8 years as a result. Seriously, not a single problem. Until now. I hope it's just a bad week.

Now I realise all Children are different but when you have a sleep routine that worked like a charm for all 4 previous children then you kinda think you're onto a winner. Not so! (Feel free to insert evil Karma chuckle). Remember the cradle I lovingly restored for him? He doesn't want a bar of it! I've tried pulling it right up against our bed so we are a mere 5cm apart. Nope! He senses the thin piece of air between us. Cheeky boy.  I'm not overly worried, just tired from the hours of settling it has taken this week. School will go back in 3 weeks which will make things easier and it should be easier to get him back on track since the visitors left yesterday.

All of our family live interstate so we have had them staying with us for 4 out of the 6 weeks since Flynn's birth. The other 2 weeks were during the Christmas period and The Pianoman was home so I have not been on my own with all 5 Children until today. It has been wonderful to have the support of our families who have been a huge help with cooking, cleaning, playing with the other Children and ticking things off the never-ending list we have on the fridge. It has been help of the very best kind and I am truly grateful. My Mother-In-Law fell off the balcony last night and while we were pondering whether she had broken her foot or not she joked that at least she was considerate enough to do it on her last night here and then proceeded to hang the washing out. They all know I will be a very busy Mum without any help from today onwards. No dropping off the Kids to Grandma for an hour or two here or there when things go pear-shaped.

However,  as I hung the washing on the line today I was feeling ready to get on with things on my own, get the house back in order and especially get Flynn's sleep back on track. Wish me luck!