You are fifteen weeks old. Fifteen weeks since you arrived in the world, wearing an awe-struck expression that most probably mirrored my own. Fifteen weeks of slowly learning how to read you; interpreting your different cries, trying to work out how to help you fall asleep, discovering what will make you smile. Fifteen weeks of getting to know each other, of being mesmerised by you.
I was looking at photos yesterday of when you were born. Those early days when you were a tiny, curled up newborn seem like a very distant dream now. That you could ever fit cradled across my body with your feet tucked into the crook of my arm is a wonder to me now. I look at those photos closely, staring at the little baby in scratch mitts and sleepsuits, and try to figure out how he is you.
The memories of those first few weeks seem hazy now – the fog of exhaustion clung to those days like low-lying mist on the hills. Now that the fog has lifted, I look at those photos and then at you, and realise how much you have grown and changed in such a short time. The sleepsuits have been replaced by dungarees, jeans and hooded sweatshirts. (Yesterday you wore a shirt and a pair of cords. A shirt! You looked like a miniature gentleman). In the blink of an eye you have become a little boy, so animated and alert. Now you spend your days chatting to me, looking at me intently to check I have understood the goos and boos. You pick up various toys, soothers and rattles and stuff them into your mouth, grabbing onto the giraffes and ladybirds that dangle above your head on your play mat. You smile at your reflection. You almost launched yourself off my shoulder a couple of days ago trying to get closer to the pretty light that had caught your attention. You can even hold your own head relatively steady and sit up on your own in your new snug chair from your grandfather.
You are fascinated by this strange world with its sounds and colours, and you gaze at your surroundings, taking everything in. And if you think that it’s all so exciting now, just imagine what the next fifteen weeks will bring…
