6 weeks (Anna)

This morning, after a long night of being up with Emma, I turned to Caroline and asked her if she wanted to go for a walk along the sea wall. At 6.30 on a Sunday morning. Unheard of - I am absolutely not a morning person. Parenthood has changed me. But it was lovely :)

In other news, Emma now has a library card. Turns out that there are no late fees on children's books taken out on a children's card. Quite a relief. Library fees could have been dire.

Emma is six weeks old. In many cultures, the forty days or six weeks after birth is regarded as sacred time, after which the mum can rejoin normal society. Hopefully, we can define what "normal society" means.

Emma has been developing emotional needs. For the first few weeks, her demands were mostly physical - needing to burp, be changed, feed, sleep etc. And now, her demands might well be "I need you to bounce me awkwardly on your knee until your muscles go into spasm. And if you stop, I'll cry again" or "I need you to rock me rigorously from side to side so that my neck flops around, while singing to me in your made-up language. And if you stop, I'll cry again." She gets bored easily and demands a new view periodically ("And if you don't move me, I'll cry again"). She's developed a dislike of being naked. And she is very aware when our attention is split - no more watching tv while feeding her, or rocking her to sleep with a book in hand ("And if you don't pay attention to me exclusively, I'll cry again.") Her repertoire of cries has extended to accomodate all of these needs. We're very proud of her.