Perhaps walking is not the right term here. She waddled slowly towards the car. We waited for the green pedestrian light to come on, but we still didn't make it across the street in one go. But, we were in no rush and I had brought a backpack with supplies, just in case we had to camp overnight.
It was wonderful to have the whole family together again, despite the hurdles we know lies ahead of us; sleepless nights, nightly feeds, diaper changes, bellybutton changes and of course the ever lasting sterilizing bottles.
Of course, most of the family invaded our house that evening, welcoming home our daughter, which is a great way of celebrating; laughter, alcohol and good company. The house was full of joy since late afternoon and late into the night. We should have known better!
Slightly intoxicated from the wine and beer, I laid down on my pillow looking forward to a nice long sleep. Did I not learn from our two first kids? Was this still a weird surreal dream about having 3 kids?
Any parent of young kids must understand that kids have no respect for hangovers or the fact that you have not had your full beauty sleep. Well, beauty sleep would take way too long for me, and I would not get any prettier.
Having a new person in your house, especially a baby, reduces your capability of falling into deep sleep. You know, the sleep where you fight off giant ogres, dive into the unknown abyss or simply floating in space totally relaxed. For what ever reason, all your senses are alert and you'll hear if the baby farts, breathes slightly faster or whines a bit.
Our first two kids were born 5 and 6 weeks early, and were kept in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for two weeks, so having our little baby home after just two days was a VERY new experience to us.
Approx. 30 minutes into my dazed journey across the plains in Never-ending Story, I was pulled back to reality, as our little baby squeaked. Strangely, I managed to get out of bed, stood in the middle of the bedroom very confused, looking for where this new sound was coming from. The pain shot through my shin, as I walked straight into the corner of our bed, blindly looking for our baby's bed. I finally arrived, only to find my wife sitting with her, breastfeeding. Like a zombie, with only one instinct left working in brain, I limped back to bed, having no difficulty returning to the adventures of Sebastian - 01.28
01.37 - My dream quickly changed, I was now being chased by Ring Wraiths, expect their screams sounded more like muffled mouse sounds. Soon, I was awaken by a stinging pain in my left arm, and woke up with a scream, only to find my wife sitting next to me saying it is my turn to hold her. I wonder if that was the pain Frodo felt when he was slashed with the morgul blade? I just felt the pain from my wife's knuckles!
My zombie "skills" kicked in again, and I crawled towards the baby's bed - leg was in too much pain and I had no use of my left arm. Using my Ray Meare's survival skills, I used my remaining limbs and teeth to get into a standing position, and grabbed the little wonder. Quickly, as she calmed down, my heart melted just by looking at her. 01.49
This was going to be a long night indeed. But, keep in mind, this was all new to us, so every like squeak or fart from the baby, and we would come to her rescue. Natural parent instincts I guess, but in hind side, probably slightly over worried. She's fine and we know it - just difficult not to react.
So, the first night of being reunited with the family, my wife and I had probably 3.5 hours sleep each. At 06.55 I was gently woken by our oldest daughter "whispering" in my ear that she was hungry. Wow, had I really slept for 16 minutes straight? A new day started by making breakfast for the two oldest kids, as if nothing had changed. Somehow, my wife managed to get another 2 hours of sleep, which she fully deserved.
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