Another New Family Member

At 47 years old, I finally managed to produce offspring. For the last 20 years or so, I didn’t think children were in my future, and now I have one in the present.

Malcolm was born on September 9th at 9:09am (yes, that’s 09-09-2015 at 09:09am) a few weeks earlier than we expected. He spent a short while in the hospital before coming home with us.

While being a parent is nothing new to anyone who has kids, this is my first experience having children and it’s eye opening.

The late night feedings, the crying for no apparent reason, the diaper changes and the lack of sleep are all very real now. Many of my friends have already made this journey, some of them more than 20 years ago. I serve as a reminder of the wonder and horror that is a newborn and the effort it takes just to stay alive.

Of course, I feel fortunate that my son has so far proven to be a fairly easy baby to take care of. His crying fits are limited (for now), the diaper changes are pretty easy (for now) and his needs are few (for now).

I was speaking to a friend the other day about having children (hers are both grown and in University) and she said, “Don’t wish for future days, they’ll come. Live with your son now, because these days will soon pass.”