New baby

The baby's beautiful cousin was in attendance at the engagement party last night - providing plenty of chances for reminiscing about the baby when she was younger, as well as some cuddle time.

It's such a cliche, to look at a new baby and be completely unable to remember your own being that small. But I was that person. Apart from the fact that I can remember that she used to only be as tall as my forearm, and because I have my favorite photo of her and the husband when she is only a few days old and I am physically reminded each day of how small she used to be.

Their crying is different. The cousin makes single cries, with a bit of a gap in between. I seem to remember the baby just giving loooooooooooooong cries with no break. Of couse, that could be my memory... the single little 'meeps' seemed easier to stomach, but there is a big difference between nursing a baby for 10 minutes at a party, and being the one sitting up with her at 4am when she hasn't stopped all day and night and you're so tired you feel physically ill.

The butt patting does seem to be a universal baby soother (hot tip courtesy of the husbands sister) - of course, much softer on the cousin than works with the baby, but it still worked its magic.

I was looking in to her little face, and hearing her little cry, and could feel her pulling up and straightening out, and I thought it was gas. But stuffed if I could remember what to do (we rub the baby's belly, but I know the cousin has an outie and I wasn't sure if it would be sore still?!) and I know that there's nothing that new mothers love more than having people tell them what their own baby is doing.

But I gotta tell you, there was that moment of 'perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to go through all this again'...

But all I can I say is that when the baby was three weeks old, I was out with her for the first time by myself (after getting out of bed at 3pm) and having a tantrum in a carpark. It was the first time in like a month I was in 'proper' clothes, and probably the first time in ages that I'd even done my hair.

There's no way in heck I could have stuck it out in a crowded house full of people until 11pm (with a husband getting merry and a stomach full of stitches)!!!