An A-Z of Infants Part I

Accidental discovery – This is how babies learn. The first time Tricky rolled over from front to back at three weeks old it was an accident – he just lost his balance and toppled over to his side then wriggled to be on his back. But it obviously started something in his brain because then he did it again... and again... and again. The ability to control his arms is his next accidental discovery – he has started swatting in the general direction of the toys that hang on this bouncer chair. He manages to connect with one about 10% of the time but each success makes him a bit more excited and his little legs kick furiously in delight!

Blinking - Or more accurately, lack thereof. One of a newborn's reflexes is to blink... can someone please inform Tricky that it is rude to stare please? I'll never win a stare-off at this rate.

Crying – You should expect a lot of this if you have a newborn in your house. Tricky is considered an 'easy baby' and doesn't really cry very much, but he does whimper. It's a sad and pathetic sound, but because he's mine I naturally think it is absolutely adorable. In the middle of the night it is these whimpers that wake me up, letting me know I have about five minutes to get up and get him before the proper crying starts - such a courteous young man not to wake me with a piercing scream.

Dummies – No, not referring to myself, I'm talking about the ones that you stick in their gob to shut your kid up. You could use nicer terminology and say they are there to soothe your agitated babe, but that's just being pedantic. Some people are for, some people are against. We didn't buy any dummies to start with, having heard that they can interfere with breastfeeding due to 'nipple confusion'. Other than trying not to laugh every time I heard that term, I didn't think any more about it until he was born and wanted to nurse every five minutes but was obviously not hungry. So we bought some and haven't looked back since. It's his plug.

Eyes – Because he's not blinking I get to stare at Tricky's baby blues all the time. All Caucasian bubbas are born with blue eyes that can change colour anywhere up to a year. Because he is currently a clone of his father, everyone thinks they'll stay blue. I'm not sure since my eyes are brown (I tell everyone they're hazel because if I'm looking directly in to the sun or other massively bright light, they are a beautiful green colour) and that's a dominant gene.

Feeding – The fastest we ever grow in our lives is in our first year. In order to do all this growing a baby needs a lot of food. In the first two weeks Tricky wanted to feed every hour or so and because his sucking action wasn't developed yet he would take almost an hour to have his 'meal'. It was one hour on the boob, one hour off. It's not surprising they got sore! Now that he's older he goes approximately four hours between feeds and is only on for fifteen minutes at the most. Phew.

Giggles – Little baby giggles are, in my opinion, the most amazing thing I've ever heard. A sound of pure joy. The snort that can follow is not quite as gorgeous, but still kinda cute. However they are quite elusive... Tricky has only managed to giggle once when awake but twice whilst asleep! He must have some very funny dreams.

Hands – At around three weeks old, Tricky found his hands. As a result they are now constantly in his mouth. Sometimes he tries to get both of them in there at once which is quite the spectacle – they may only be teenie weenie fingers but it's only a teenie weenie mouth too and he's yet to figure that out so keeps trying. Because he still isn't in full control of his arms he will move them from his mouth and get a little bit upset that 'someone' has taken them away.

Immunisations – OUCH! Having a baby means taking them to get immunised. Whilst it's not compulsory, it's pretty hard to get your child enrolled in a school without them... and I'm not up for home schooling. Holding your child still while someone jabs them in the thigh is hard enough, but holding them still for the nurse to do the second thigh, all whilst they are screaming the roof down, is even harder. I don't know how I managed to not cry when Tricky's face turned bright red and he let out the loudest scream he's ever done. Sorry, my angel.