Sunday, January 25, 2009

Busy times


So, as you can see on the left, Amhlaoibh, now 6 weeks old, has started smiling this week! Yay! We've had hints of it all week but this morning was a smile-fest. Seems to have been practicing overnight. It's nice to get a little reward to make up for the crying and lack of sleep.
We have a busy few weeks ahead of us.
We're currently in the throes of organising Amhlaoibh's christening which is on this Sunday. Somehow we've managed to invite almost 80 people! Family mainly with a sprinkling of friends but it'll be nice to have everyone there. My aunt has sent us my old christening gown which she unearthed from the attic. It's in remarkable condition after being used for my brother and me as well as my cousins. It's now 21 years since it was last used! We'll also use the hand-crocheted shawl that Ciarán's mum made for his christening. Family heirlooms like these are extra special. My brother Niall will be godfather and Ciarán's first cousin Laura is godmother.
The christening was rather hastily arranged since we've decided to take Amhlaoibh to Florida for the wedding of an old friend of Ciarán's in the middle of February. His friend is marrying a second-generation Indian girl so the wedding festivities will go on for a couple of days with both Catholic and Hindi (I think) ceremonies as well as a reception/party. We're flying out early in the week to give us all time to recover after the long journey. Ciarán's parents and brothers are also coming so we'll have plenty of helping hands. Still not sure how we'll manage all the logistics like feeding on planes etc. but hopefully it'll all fall into place. I have to say we've contacted Continental Airlines to enquire about bassinets etc. and they haven't been very helpful so far. Not confidence-inspiring. Despite being well used to packing for long trips, I fear this experience will be unknown territory!
So that's all the current goings-on down our way. It's plenty enough for me! Be back soon.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Beginnings

So I thought I'd give this blogging lark a go. Now that there are lots of exciting changes happening, I just thought I'd share some of my musings on them.
One month ago I gave birth to our first baby, a little boy Amhlaoibh (pronounced Ow-leave). Life is suddenly unrecognisable. Nothing anybody told my husband Ciarán and me beforehand could have prepared us for this.
Days are flying by. Already Amhlaoibh is loosing his newborn look and growing out of his small baby clothes. The initial shock meant the first month went past in such a blur that a lot of the milestones went unnoticed in the haze of sleeplessness and helplessness.
But now that we're finding our feet, it's time to start documenting our new life with this little person. I don't know yet what parts of our old life will be salvagable but I'm sure the road ahead will be full of new adventures. All three of us will explore it together.