One whole month of Tabby. How has one month passed? But equally, it feels like she’s been in our family forever. She’s an absolute joy.
This first month of Tabby’s newborn haze has by far been my favourite out of the three children. With Busby, we were so overwhelmed as new parents, and spent most of the time terrified we’d do something wrong! With H-Bear, his silent reflux and pre-diagnosis of allergies meant that he was a very unhappy baby who struggled to sleep or really do anything but cry, which was intense. But Tabby (so far!) seems to be quite a chilled baby.
We are much more relaxed this time round. I don’t know whether it’s because she’s a relaxed baby, or because she’s our third and therefore we (sort of) know what we’re doing? But I’ve actually found myself enjoying the fourth trimester. I appreciate most of the night feeds because, although exhausting, I know that they won’t last forever. And I love cuddling her in my arms at 3am, with the fairy lights on our bed twinkling, watching her eat and holding her gaze. It’s magical and it’s time that I know I’ll never get back, and never experience again.
Tabby is not keen on sleeping in the bedside crib at night, and prefers to sleep on me or cuddled up next to me. She doesn’t like the cold at all, and our house does get pretty cold at night, so I don’t blame her! On Saturday night, after winding, she shuffled her little body across my chest, rolled herself over and snuggled herself into the crook of my arm where she promptly fell asleep. It was adorable!
We’ve had a couple of intense nights, where she hasn’t really slept at all, but equally we’ve had a few nights where she’s slept for 3-4 hours straight. We’re tired, but I’m not worried as I know that this will pass… and there’s always coffee for the nights where she wakes up every hour!
She can go from 0-hungry in a matter of seconds, and gets very upset about having trapped wind, but that’s normal. It’s been a trip down memory lane re-employing techniques such as the ‘bicycle legs’ and the ‘poo throne’! You forget all this as they get older.
Tabby has slotted into the family wonderfully. She happily sleeps through all the noise and chaos, which is a miracle as our house is LOUD! Busby has been the doting big sister; wanting to help me during nappy changes, or get her changed after the bath. H-Bear isn’t so sure yet, and has been acting out a fair amount… which has been more exhausting than the sleep deprivation to be honest. He asked me the other day “when is Baby Tabby going back in your tummy?” and we’ve had a bit of a potty training regression, but I’m assured that this is normal for boys. He’ll soon realise she’s here to stay, and I think he’ll become more interested in his little sister when she becomes more interactive.
Much like H-Bear, Bertie is fairly perplexed by the whole thing, and isn’t a fan of the crying…! He is quite curious about Tabby though and is getting a little braver each day.
Tabby is definitely starting to have more awake periods now, and has been trying to touch things near her face (like my face!) which usually results in a tiny punch. Her eyes are still a dark blue and her hair is still brown, so my dark genes may well have a chance this time!
Overall, she’s a gorgeous little creature and I spend every day feeling so completely in love with her. We are so lucky to have her in our lives and I can’t wait to spend some one-on-one time with her as we return to routines over the next few weeks.
Click to catch up on Tabby’s birth announcement and home birth story.
