Two Weeks

Julian is two weeks old today.  One perk (some might say the only perk) of the nationalized healthcare system here is the attentiveness to newborns and new mums.  In the first ten days we had six visits from a midwife who examined Julian and ensured that Jackie was getting along ok.  Then, yesterday, we had our first interaction with a ‘community health visitor’–basically an itinerant nurse.  She (or her colleagues assigned to our district) will look after Julian at regular appointments until age five (if we’re here that long!). At yesterday’s appointment Julian performed marvelously.  His best event was the scales, where he weighed in at a whopping eight pounds; that’s 7.5 oz. more than birthweight.

Two weeks after a massive (happy) life-interruption, we’ve begun a steady pursuit of normalcy with a semblance of a schedule and a return to work.  If we didn’t know before, we’re now convinced that the happy life includes at least one afternoon nap!