10 Things I've Learned As A New Daddy This Week (Part 6)

1. Mara made a new friend in the Monkey Mansion this week. And he's a boy! (And I said no boyfriends, EVER!)

Little Joshua is a wee star though and he has an awesome hairstyle! We'll hopefully be meeting up with him and his parents Keren & Stephen for a play date soon!

2. Baby tired? Baby not feeding because she's asleep?

Parents! Go sit down, kick back, have a meal and a cup of tea and relax.

One mouthful and guaranteed it'll be baby feed o'clock! 30 minutes later you'll be able to go back to your soggy dinner and cold cuppa.

Forget Weight Watchers! Have a baby!

3. Mara is quite the joker. On her second sleepover with mummy and daddy last night she broke with her usual cycle of Eat, Sleep, Poop, Repeat.

The new regime is Cry, Cry, Eat, Cry, Scream, Poop, Cry, Scream, Poop, Repeat.

An anxious Caroline asked a nurse to take her temperature and just check her over. The result? "She's fine, she's just taking the piss!" And that is a medical term!

4. Babies can hide a multitude of things in their chubby skin folds...

Smell Brie? It's likely just some old milk trapped in a cheesy chin crevice signalling that it's time for a bath!

5. Having Mara to get back to has made me infinitely more efficient at other life chores. I left the hospital yesterday to go home and give the house a clean. The jobs done in those three hours, less travelling time, were many and to a high standard if I do say so myself. Incredible time keeping and top notch efficiency, like Speed but cheaper and less of a come down! 

We watched 20 minutes of Limitless on TV last night and Caz commented that the house cleaning scene right at the start was now our life!

6. Talking of Limitless, those 20 minutes were welcomed like a fortnight in Las Vegas! 

"Look Mara! We are watching TV! Look at the three of us together, chilling out!"

It felt like such a lovely glimpse of normality. Sofa and Disney films here we come!

7. Mara had her hearing test yesterday, looked a bit like Craig David, I'm not gonna lie!

8. When you look at the notice board in SCBU to see which night shift nurse is looking after Mara, and see that it says Parents. You then spend 20 mins looking for this weirdly named nurse before the realisation sets in...

9. This.

Ignore the lovely hospital bedding!

10. After 33 days of care and attention from the Aunties and Doctors of the Special Care Baby Unit we are pleased to report that Mara is finally getting to come home today! The staff here have been amazing to say the least. We could not have done this without them and we'll be eternally grateful for all their support.

And of course we'll be back to visit everyone on a regular basis!