Last night I hit the hay at around one thirty. As I have said before in this blog, I have always been a night owl. Less than three hours later, I was woken by a small voice in the darkness. It was Little Phoebe... "Grandma? Grandma!". Not in distress and certainly not at full volume.
I went to the bathroom to urinate, intending to look in on Phoebe but two minutes later she wasn't making a sound so I crept back to bed. Ten minutes later, the voice in the dark became louder and more insistent delivered in a happy singsong style - "Grandma! Grandma!". It was 4.30 in the morning.
Shirley got up and went into Phoebe's room and for a little while it seemed that she might go back to sleep. But no such luck. At 5am, she was ready for the day ahead with Grandma as her bleary-eyed but faithful chaperone. They went downstairs.
I put the radio on as news about war always has the effect of sending me back to sleep. And I returned to The Land of Nod but at seven o'clock Shirley's smartphone went off - alarming me at first because I didn't know what it was. I don't know how to answer smartphones and once again failed miserably to take the call. I found out later that it was Shirley's sister Carolyn, phoning to say she wasn't feeling very well.
So shaken was I from my slumbers that this time there was no chance of me returning to what Shakespeare called "Nature's soft nurse" - sleep. So I stumbled downstairs with less than five hours of unconsciousness behind me though I am used to eight hours.
Little Phoebe had been watching episodes of "Peppa Pig" but now she was on "Highway Rat" - closely based on one of Julia Donaldson's brilliant story books. I watched it with Phoebe while Shirley took the opportunity to have a shower and get dressed.
We didn't know just how long we'd be looking after Phoebe today. It all depended on when Frances was allowed to leave the maternity hospital. In the event, she was let out at 5pm and Stewart drove her home with Baby Margot.
After an evening meal of steak pie, homemade chips and garden peas with gravy, we took Phoebe home to meet her little sister for the first time. It was a beautiful encounter. Margot was lying in her crib just snuffling around as newborns are wont to do. The smile on Phoebe's face was priceless as she touched her sister for the very first time. Of course Phoebe clarified that Margot had come out of Mummy's tummy and remarked on how small she appeared. She gave her a cuddly penguin that she had, with her daddy, picked from a shop that has a few shelves laden with cuddly creatures.
And for Shirley and I, it was naturally a most lovely thing to hold Margot in our arms for the first time. I sang "Scarborough Fair" to her and she seemed to look up at me feeling comforted. Shirley said she loved the smell of her - the unique smell of a newborn child and I touched the remarkable softness of her cheeks. As I click the "Publish" button, Margot is thirty two and a half hours old.
I hope and expect to get my full allotment of sleep tonight.
A very exciting time for your family.
ReplyDeleteIt's a special period that will never be repeated.
DeleteIt's nice to know that it's not just Jack that likes to wake up so early in the morning.
ReplyDeleteI think it was partly to do with this country putting the clocks back last weekend.
DeleteThe smell of a newborn and the wonderment of a small sibling meeting their baby brother or sister for the first time ... the world needs more of this.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get your sleep, Mr Pud.
I did get eight hours sleep last night and I feel like myself today. Thank you SM.
DeleteI've just caught up on the baby news! Congratulations to all!
ReplyDeleteI'm super impressed that Margot wasn't evicted from the womb cl8ser to her "due date" and she obviously used the time to grow bug and strong
Given concerns about Frances's low platelet count, it is quite surprising that Margot was allowed to grow so big but it was a straightforward delivery. Four big pushes and she was out.
DeleteThe joys, and the minor pains, of grandparenthood?
ReplyDeleteI guess so Doctor Bob.
DeleteI do love the feel of a newborn baby, so soft and almost weightless (in my family anyway) and the fresh new smell, teeny tiny fingers wrapped around your own. It's the most wonderful experience.
ReplyDeleteYou forget how small new babies are.
DeleteDo you remember how your own firstborn‘s encounter with the new sibling went?
ReplyDeleteI have a picture of me and my sister in my baby album, when I was just a few weeks old and my sister just over a year. She loved to snuggle me in my crib, nuzzling me and mumbling „Mannamannamanna“, her way of trying to say MeikeMeikeMeike.
I took Ian to a toy shop so that he could pick a cuddly toy for his sister then I drove him to the maternity hospital where he met her for the first time and he was immediately besotted. That picture in your baby album is precious.
DeletePS: I forgot to say I always wonder how parents of babies and small children cope with the ongoing lack of sleep. When I have had too short a night or have been interrupted several times, I am like a zombie the next day.
ReplyDeleteI guess that Nature gives them an extra boost. I am also like a zombie if only get a few hours and not my usual eight and yet I played a big "hands on" part in raising two children from babyhood.
DeleteWell I bet you are loving every minute of three grandchildren, even though Peppa Pig might get a bit monotonous. In my time with a young grandson it was 'Brum' that got played over and over again. Sleep well tonight.
ReplyDeleteOh Neil, I had a little something in my eye as I read your last two posts. It’s always precious when a pregnancy that has been fraught with anxiety culminates in a wonderful birth, and, oh my, what a gorgeous baby Margot is. She looks perfect lying there with her milk filled cheeks, and what a gorgeous name Frances and Stuart have chosen – so elegant. She certainly is a ‘pearl’ of great price.
ReplyDeleteI’m with Shirley – there is nothing that compares with that mushroomy smell of a newborn.
Your letter to her is also beautiful. It is so lovely to see how you’ve mellowed in the years you’ve been writing this blog, and to read of your love for your family and your desire to show them the things that really matter in this life.
May all three of these beautiful little ones know how very, very much they are loved and cherished, and may tiny Margot know that the big grandad arms she is held are strong enough to support her as she grows.
My love to you all. x
She was asking for Grandma, so you were quite justified in sending Shirley and going back to bed.
ReplyDeleteSent me to a calculator, I am about 570,000 hours old, maybe another 200,000 hours to go, if I am lucky.
ReplyDeleteAwww. What a lovely encounter between Phoebe and Margot. As an only child and mother of an only child, I have often wondered what that encounter must be like when a child meets its sibling for the first time.
ReplyDeleteAs we speak there are two wild boys in my house watching TV with their grandfather. When I walked through their room this morning it looked like they'd had a rodeo in there. I asked them- Did you two have a rodeo this morning?- and August said, "Probably," and Levon said, "What's a rodeo?"
ReplyDeleteI surely hope you got some pictures of Phoebe meeting her sister. The first moments of a life-long relationship.
It isn't amazing how quickly they send the mothers and babies home. It's better than having to stay a few days in the hospital when you would rather be back in your own bed. I think my Mom had to spend the whole week in the hospital back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI think I had to stay 2 nights when I had mine but I don't really remember now!?!
When my sister and I were born (1967 and 1968), it was perfectly normal for mother and baby ro stay in hospital for at least a week and up to ten days - without there having been any complication at birth or afterwards. And of course, fathers were not allowed to be present at birth.
DeletePhoebe meeting her new sister was such a precious moment, I hope there are some photos as a reminder.
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to tell the tale of meeting her younger brother for the first time. She was around three years old, and apparently she took one look at him and told her mother to send him back! One of the reasons I suspect I'm an only child!
I wonder what on earth made Phoebe wake up so early? I know little kids get up early but that's crazy! Poor Shirley (and you). Still, it sounds like the day ended on a beautiful note and I hope you got some decent sleep last night.
ReplyDeleteAs the son of a farmer, I've always been an early bird. Today I was up by 3:30 am. I expect, I'll be in bed well before 9 pm tonight.
ReplyDeleteOh, I am so sorry that I missed your post about your newest grandchild and Phoebe's new little sister. Congratulations to Margot's parents and to you and Grandma Pudding. May her life be filled with peace and happiness and love beyond measure. I had forgotten that most wonderful of smells....the scent of a new babe....until I read this posting. I am filled with hope for the future as we all must be with a new baby in the family. Best wishes, Grandpa!
ReplyDeleteSweet dreams, grandpa!
ReplyDelete