The One Week Old Star

"Do you know what? Julien is one week old!" Daddy Low exclaimed to me early this morning (For of course, we are up in the wee hours doing a morning feed [ME] and a change of diapers [HIM]).

"Actually, he is one week and 2 days old," I said.

Henry went on as though he never heard me, "How did the time pass so quickly? I think we need to take photos of Julien everyday, so that we don't miss any moment of him growing up."

"Everyday?! We won't be able to see much difference; he would look largely the same," was my reply.

"Yes, everyday," he said absent-mindedly.

"Then, why don't you take a photo of your wife everyday? You might miss a moment of me in your life otherwise," I teased him.

"Nah, I see you everyday and you are not as interesting as Baby," he drawled...

Hallo??? Did I hear that right?  Haha... So, that is how it is - pre-delivery, I am the star, but post-delivery, Baby is the star!   No problem, Daddy, because Julien is now my priority too! Haha...

But well, this is not a piece about a fight between Mummy and Daddy, cos there was no fight.  Rather, it is about what a difference one week makes.

Making this baby has taken more than nine months. Nine long months. And yet, overnight, this little baby just appears and plops smack into our lives; in just one week, it feels like he has always been there. I can't seem to remember how it is like having him inside my belly anymore despite those nine long months. All the past entries, where I have described my discomforts, just feel like a work of fiction - unreal. And even if we have to wake up a few times every night to feed and change him, it feels like I've always been doing so and the start-stop sleeping pattern feels strangely like an established routine all along...

Can I see any physical changes in him? No, I can't really say I can. But what I have noticed is that there are little signs of progress, as Julien seems to learn new things every day. Since coming home, he has started to slowly open his eyes, as he adjusts to the light. And now, he even opens when requested, at least it seems so to me anyway. He also seems to have recently learnt to twitch his smiling facial muscles, seemingly to form a hint of a smile. Of course, when I tell the visiting midwife these, she smiled at me indulgently and went,"Are you sure, dear? He is a bit young for that..." Well, I do feel quite sure, but then again, isn't every child just an absolute genius to his own parents? :)

All I can say is that, in between the crazy constant feeding, the milk burping, the peeing and pooing, there are also the sweet sounds of his cooing and his long satisfied sighs after feeding, the heart-melting moments when he opens his little beady eyes and looks intently at you and the amazing picture of his cute little face crinkling into a multitude of expressions despite his eyes being closed most of the time. These are the moments that convince you that you are holding a star, that nothing he does can be wrong, and I suppose that is why every proud first-time father feels the irrational - the need to take at least one photo of his darling child every day.