Our little boy was born ten days ago. Sorry it’s taken me so long to put him down and write a post to announce it. But if you smelled his head you’d understand. He is, like a Christmas blockbuster novel, unputdownable.
His name is, you can rest assured, excellent, but I won’t be using it on the blog. Like his sister, he’ll go by a pseudonym. His is Garnet. That’s a nod to an ancestor of the same name ( an uncle with some large number of greats preceding) and a nod to the most popular girl’s name this year, Ruby. Precious stone names aren’t just for the ladies.
So Garnet joined us on a Saturday morning in a glorious Caesarean birth, of which I will write more as soon as I have time.
For now you should know that he is so far a calm fellow, who likes breastfeeding, sleeping and being cuddled. He’s pretty bloody dreamy. Of course I know babies change as soon as you say they are one thing, but that’s him right now.
The only time he cries is when his nappy is off. It’s like he cries out his bum and it is silenced by a fresh nappy.
May Blossom adores him, but not so much the divided attention of her parents. Her sleep is definitely suffering, as is ours. (Case in point: I am writing this on my phone while sitting by her bed at 3.30 am.)
But that aside, I couldn’t be happier or more grateful for my amazing little family — not to mention my big old family, who have kept us sane and fed for the last ten days.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Thanks for reading Life With Gusto this year. I hope I can get back to more regular posting soon. I do like this small space and the people who read it.
Welcome, Garnet, to this blog and to this world.
Impressive though it is, I find the miracle of conception, gestation and birth a bit too technical and medical to dwell on.
The miracle I like to conjure with is the miracle that occurs just when you think that your family is small but perfectly formed (like the late John Button). It is absolutely full, like the inn in Bethlehem, to use a Christmas morning analogy
Then a tiny Garnet-like creature comes out and within seconds you find that he has tiny elbowed his way into your family, finding his own place, which you didn’t even know was there. And what’s more, you find that this change, this improving on the already perfect, is permanent.
Unbeknown to anyone, Garnet’s spot will turn out to have just been waiting for him to come and fill it all along. That is the miracle of birth for me,
Salvete Garnet.
What a lovely comment.
I also like this small space where you get to amuse, surprise and sometimes get me to say “oh”…
XXX J
It’s early Christmas morning (in the western States, at least), and my day is off to a great start with a cup of coffee, my cat, a pretty full (still-sleeping) house, and “Life With Gusto.” Knowing all is well is just what I needed. Thank you Jesse!