Baby Talk

It's been a while

2007-03-11T21:42:00.001Z

I realised today that a whole month has passed since I last posted to this blog. It feels like now or never if I want to keep it going, so here I am, back for more. Not sure how much or how often I'll post, but I don't want to 'lose' what I've done to date and I do like to think of Dan reading this when he's older.

Talking of Dan, he's now able to sit upright - with a little help, he can roll over and he's started trying to grab things. These include a glass of water that went flying over me in the pub yesterday lunchtime.

We were in the Harbour Inn at Southwold on the Suffolk coast, as part of my friend Peter's 50th birthday celebrations. We stayed at the wonderful House in the Clouds in Thorpeness - as you might imagine from its name the views from the top are stunning. Yesterday morning we had a lovely walk along the coast at Aldeburgh and visited the lovely shops at Snape Maltings - without spending a penny. Whether that makes us disciplined, prudent or downright mean, I'm not entirely sure but it felt curiously virtuous.

What else have we been up to? We've signed up for having an extension built - not least to accoommodate Dan's growing mountain of books and toys. Preparations for Dan's christening at Easter are in full swing and best of all my sister Wicki is coming over from Denmark and will see Dan for the first time.

No photos this time, but will do soon.

Hey, how about that for a hat?

2007-02-07T15:33:00.000Z

Posing for the cameras...again

2007-02-06T21:01:00.000Z

The art of getting things done

2007-02-06T19:28:00.000Z

OK, I still haven't managed to post those photos I promised, but my latest excuse is that I've gone down with a cold and am feeling a bit lousy. This kept me at home today, but I was still working, finishing a board paper that needed to be in by the end of the day. How on earth did we cope with such things before email? The pace of life must have been slower. Twenty years ago I remember writing reports longhand for my secretary to type up and my boss resisting splashing out on a fax. Thankfully, the boffins have not been idle in the meantime.

Anyway back to those photos - yet another thing that I've failed to get done. Now if like me you tend to procrastinate and are not very systematic or organised, you eventually look around for something to help you. And suddenly you discover a whole new industry out there. Firstly there's a book called 'Getting Things Done' by David Allan, that has spawned countless variations on its basic theme. Look on Technorati and endless people are blogging about GTD, planning and organising systems. I've been particularly taken with some of the homespun, low-tech approaches that people take to personal orgnisation.

The tool of choice rejoices in the name hipster pda and there are multiple variants of it, from plain old index cards to trendy Moleskine notebooks as used by the likes of Chatwin and possibly Hemingway. People have devoted whole slidesets to sharing their personal variations on this theme. Best of all there's this japanese guy with his Pile of Index Cards - fascinating stuff!

So, being a sucker for new distractions I intend to get a Moleskine reporter's notebook and a Moleskine concertina notebook, plus a whole heap of index cards and clips, and I'll muck about with them until I have my new life enhancing organisational system.

Here I am after a few weeks of dedicated GTD...

If this stuff catches your imagination take a look at this ultimate GTD index of resources. Among them you'll find a great blog called Zen Habits, written by a guy who has six children and is in training for a marathon. He has some great no-nonsense advice on GTD, including ridding yourself of clutter, being a great parent, sorting your investments and getting a flat stomach. No wonder one of his success strategies involves a 4.30am start to every day!

Willpower must be a wonderful thing - what about those photos?

As long as the mood takes me

2007-02-05T19:02:00.000Z

I've been neglecting this blog of late. All of a sudden ten days have flown by without a single post. So what's been getting in the way?

Well firstly the novelty value has worn thin. I catch myself thinking about doing my blog and then feeling it's a bit of a chore. That certainly isn't how I want it to be. And of course once you get into that mindset it's amazing how easy it is to lose any sense of creative spark.

What else? I've been tired. A combination of too much work and too little rest takes its toll. While Dan sleeps much better than he used to, there are still one or two interruptions most nights when he needs feeding.

Also we went away one weekend to my mum's and then I had to spend most of the following weekend working. So we've not had much of a break. Oh and yesterday we went to church as part of preparing ourselves for Dan's christening at Easter. For someone who barely sees the inside of a church from one year to the next, it was OK but hardly my preferred way of spending a Sunday morning.

So, there we go. I'll add a selection of recent photos later and I resolve to blog more often - as long as the mood takes me.

Will you be staring out of the window this weekend?

2007-01-25T19:09:00.000Z

Around half a million people across the UK are expected to spend an hour staring out of the window this weekend. And far from idly daydreaming they will be doing something useful - taking part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch.

This annual survey is by far the biggest of its kind in the world. It has been running for 27 years and provides valuable data on trends in garden bird populations - useful stuff when it comes to monitoring the impacts of climate change and the like.

Already thousands of children have been participating in the Big Schools Birdwatch this week. I know Dan is going to enjoy this when he gets older - the headline message for this event is 'I must stare out of the window in class.'

It doesn't get much better than that for kids.

Deep and crisp and even

2007-01-24T20:45:00.000Z

It snowed last night.

I'd almost forgotten what snow looks like, but here it was again - a couple of inches coating everything in a satisfyingly crunchy blanket of the white stuff. With all the evidence of rising temperatures, I sometimes fear we'll never have snow again, so despite the cold and a bit of minor hassle it's something to be welcomed.

Here's Dan tucked up in his snow suit and pictured at the front of our house. I promise he was only there very briefly - or so Liz assures me - so there's no need to report us to the NSPCC.

This was of course Dan's first experience of snow - and hopefully not his last. Whether he'll be able to enjoy the same amount of sledging, snowball fights and snowmen building as I did as a child is highly unlikely. But for now a night of snow feels like a positive reminder that the world's weather hasn't gone completely bonkers - at least not yet.

A parent's wishful thinking

2007-01-21T18:19:00.000Z

"Thank you for screaming. Both your parents are busy right now. Your scream is important to us and will be dealt with as soon as a parent becomes free."

Marriage guidance anyone?

2007-01-17T22:13:00.000Z

No, I'm not suggesting that Liz and I need this.

But I have just read a hugely entertaining article with some great tips on improving relationships. The article is linked to from a blog post with one of the most enticing headlines you'll ever see. You can find it here.

I'm starting to experiment on Liz already. Some of it may also be relevant to Dan, so he's next - followed by my team at the office!

Not exactly Grand Designs

2007-01-14T16:20:00.000Z

If you're anything like Liz and me you'll enjoy watching Channel 4's Grand Designs, presented by the very engaging Kevin McCloud - pictured here promoting National Gutters Day no less. For those of you who haven't seen it, this is the more acceptable face of reality tv - a programme that follows the fortunes of people with unthinkably ambitious schemes to build their dream home. Tempting as the idea is, it's far too scary a prospect for people like me who find even the most basic DIY jobs challenging.

However, with Dan's arrival we are contemplating how we can create some additional space without having to spend a fortune in the process. So we spent yesterday morning wandering around the house with an architect, exploring various options for extending and converting what we've got.

If all goes to plan we'll have significantly extended our lounge, converted the garage to a playroom and created some proper eating space in the kitchen by the autumn.

That's grand enough for me, for now.

In the meantime there's no escape from runing repairs such as fixing the shed roof felt, part of which was ripped off in the recent storms. So here I am, testing those limited DIY skills to their extreme. Quite a tidy job by my standards - if you ignore the cup of tea that took an unfortunate tumble!

A good meal goes a long way

2007-01-07T18:46:00.000Z

It's no good moping about your team's FA Cup defeat for too long - especially when there's a birthday to be celebrated.

In fact we had double cause for celebration - it was Liz's mum's birthday and she's just bought a house. Being a gentleman I'm not going to reveal how old my mother-in-law is - except to say that Paul McCartney wrote a rather famous song about being this age.

The Three Horseshoes at Madingley is a rather splendid gastro pub and we enjoyed an excellent meal. Dan behaved himself very well. We enjoyed the views of Madingley Hall, where King Edward VII stayed as a Cambridge University undergraduate. And Daniel got his grandmother some entertaining presents, including a pair of pink fluffy dice for her new car, plus a pink sign saying 'Princess on Board.'

And to make life even sweeter Everton were thrashed 4-1 by Blackburn.

It still hurts after all these years

2007-01-06T20:39:00.000Z

As a young child it used to make me cry myself to sleep. As an adult I manage to exercise a bit more restraint, but I'm not sure that I feel any less miserable about it.

I am of course talking about football and seeing Liverpool defeated in a crucial game. In my book every match is a crunch match, but today's was especially so - our first defence of the FA Cup since we beat West Ham in a thrilling final last May. Today saw us soundly beaten 3-1 by Arsenal - and at Anfield to make matters worse.

Two years ago en route to winning the European Cup for the fifth time, there was a Liverpool fans' banner that read 'Make Us Dream'. We dreamt of winning then, but without any great expectation. We simply wanted our team to perform in a way that filled us with hope.

On that occasion they didn't disappoint us and won in unprecedented style in Istanbul. Today a dream was shattered for another season.

The legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly was one of my boyhood heroes. He is commemorated with a statue - based on this photo - at the entrance to Anfield.

It bears the simple inscription 'He made the people happy'.

You can't ask for more than that.

Weighing in

2007-01-06T02:09:00.001Z

Dan now weighs 12lbs 9oz (5.7kg), which is only just under the average for his age and means he's putting on half a pound per week.

When I mentioned this at work one of my colleagues rather uncharitably volunteered that he'd 'soon have a beer belly like his dad' - I don't know, you just can't get the quality of staff these days.

Beer belly is such an unattractive term - which may be entirely appropriate - but personally I'd find it far easier to think of myself with a 'wine midriff'.

And it would a more accurate description to boot.

Young love

2007-01-06T02:03:00.000Z

Here's Dan with his 'girlfriend', Erin.

As you can see they are already cuddling up to each other on the sofa. He's looking pretty pleased with himself and she obviously recognises a good catch when she sees one.

Who knows where it will lead?

Seven up!

2007-01-04T18:49:00.001Z

Dan slept for over seven hours in one stretch last night - beating his previous record by two hours.

The prospect of a return to something approaching normal sleeping patterns finally beckons!

A pussycat and her pink palace

2007-01-04T18:28:00.004Z

We've had to do a certain amount of re-organsiation since Dan's arrival. What was our office is now Dan's nursery and we've just replaced the bed in the spare bedroom with a sofa bed. The upheaval has left one of our cats - Starlight aka Fatdust - without a settled sleeping place.

However, we've now rectified this by providing her with this splendid pink palace.

I don't know, cats have all the fun!

Shit happens!

2007-01-04T18:28:00.003Z

One thing you can guarantee with babies is that they are constantly active at both ends.

A steady stream of dribble trickles from their mouths, with occasional more substantial regurgitations of their last injection of breast milk. While at the other end... well I'll leave that to your imagination.

Thankfully what ends up in their nappies has no significant odour - not until they're weaned at least. And I have to confess I've become rather partial to the smell of the scented nappy disposal bags.

So far so good, but all those nappies present a major environmental problem. According to the Women's Environmental Network, here in the UK we dispose of three billion nappies every year - that's eight million every day. Ninety per cent of these end up in landfill where they can take hundreds of year to degrade and the disposal process is costing local authorities millions of pounds.

I do feel somewhat guilty that we're contributing to this problem by using throwaway, disposable nappies. Then I look at the huge piles of washing we now generate without any terry nappies.

How my mother's generation coped with washing all nappies and baby clothes by hand, I simply can't imagine.

Understanding baby talk

2007-01-04T18:28:00.001Z

Having trouble interpreting your baby's babbling noises?

Well according to one researcher all babies make the same sounds, regardless of which country they come from.

She concludes that the most common baby sounds have the following meanings:
Neh: "I'm hungry"
Owh: "I'm sleepy
Eh: "I need to burp"
Eairh: "I have lower gas"
Heh: "I'm uncomfortable"

Read more about it here

This life or that - it all makes for great TV

2007-01-03T19:23:00.001Z

Ten years ago I was one of millions of avid viewers of 'This Life ' - a lively and often frenetic series about the unfolding lives of a group of twentysomething friends sharing a house in London.

Last night our protagonists were brought together again in 'This Life + 10' - a special, one-off reunion programme. The old chemistry and fireworks were still there. Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, career rivalries, peer pressure and paranoia continued to be much in evidence. And there was Miles posing the question 'Should I be getting all the sex Egg thinks I'm getting?'

While the urge to party - in more ways than one - was still evident, it had been outstripped in the minds of our thirtysomethings by bigger issues - life and death, long-term relationships and personal fulfilment - with and without children.

It seems that even tv characters have to grow up and take on some responsibilities...eventually.

One cure for a New Year's hangover

2007-01-01T18:04:00.000Z

Just ten hours into 2007, I was outside enjoying a beautiful sunny morning with my neighbours and taking part in our annual hangover curing ritual .

No this doesn't involve indulging in a stiff 'hair of the dog', rather some stiff physical exercise. As the lane is privately owned, the six householders are responsible for maintaining it. This means sorting out potholes, raking over gravel and clearing out debris (mostly footballs), muck and vegetation from the stream that runs alongside it.

Here's yours truly working off the after effects of that new year fizz. Even better I was able to soak in a relaxing bath afterwards and listen to Liverpool thrash Bolton 3-0. The new year can't get off to a better start than that!

The most momentous year of my life

2006-12-31T15:17:00.000Z

I've had other momentous years, but I don't think it's an exaggeration to describe 2006 as the most momentous year of my life.

And the second half of the year was certainly the most momentous six months I've ever experienced. The four and a half months from mid July to the end of November, saw me get married, become a father and turn 50 - all for the first time! While there's no choice about the timing of the last one, with regard to the first two it's definitely a case of better late than never.

Liz and I sat down this morning and made some resolutions and plans for 2007 - after all we want to keep that momentum going and we've now got Dan's future to think of as well as our own. And of course I'll continue to blog about or experiences here. In the meantime a very happy new year to those of you reading this.

What do Pele and this blog have in common?

2006-12-28T18:26:00.000Z

Edson Arantes do Nascimento is by many people's account the greatest footballer the world has ever seen, although Maradonna could also lay claim to that accolade.

He was given the nickname Pele at school - and promptly thumped the boy who coined it. He thought it sounded like 'baby talk' in Portuguese. It actually means 'miracle' in Hebrew.

Still, it could have been worse. Read the full story - and the nickname his parents originally gave him - here.

Can't let the kids have all the fun

2006-12-28T18:20:00.000Z

Dan got some lovely things for Christmas, including clothes, games, books and educational toys.

Mum and Dad were feeling a bit left out so we've just bought soome toys of our own - a camcorder and a flat screen monitor for the PC. Still I did get a Jeremy Clarkson DVD, so I'm not doing too badly in the toy department. Must hurry up and get on with sorting the extension so I can set up the Scalextric.

Working out

2006-12-28T18:03:00.000Z

We all need to keep in shape and Dan's no exception.

Here he is in his new 'mini gym', stretching those little arms and legs to reach the various toys hanging around him.

He seems to be having a lot of fun - after all that Christmas indulgence I think his dad would benefit from something similar!

Spot of carol singing

2006-12-25T10:43:00.000Z

Daniel gets into the Christmas spirit

2006-12-25T10:38:00.000Z

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T10:29:00.000Z

Five things you may not know about me

2006-12-24T14:36:00.001Z

Keen blog readers will have seen the 'five things' meme on a range of blogs - usually in response to having been 'tagged ' and thereby invited to participate.

Invitation or not, here's mine:
- I saw the Beatles live at the Liverpool Empire in 1965, when I was just eight. (I think my mum had a crush on Paul McCartney).
- The best job I've ever had was spending a summer selling oriental rugs to tourists in Istanbul's grand bazaar. I didn't sell many rugs, but it was a great adventure.
- My birthday is the same as Winston Churchill - 30 November.
- When trekking in Nepal my companion and I got lost in the mist and ended up sleeping out at c13,000 feet.
- In 1985 I cycled from Old Hall Marshes on the Essex coast to Islay off south-west Scotland in aid of the RSPB's Eric Morecambe memorial appeal.

My name's Paul and I'm an introvert

2006-12-21T10:33:00.000Z

Yes, I am one of the 25 per cent of people who are introverted, usually found in the kitchen at parties (if they go to them at all) and often poorly understood by the extrovert majority. Yesterday I came across this excellent blog post about marketing to introverts.

Introverts are thoughtful, imaginative, tend to work independently and think outside the box. Introverts are keen observers and sensitive listeners. Introverts prefer one-to-one contact, can be loathe to speak up in group situations and are often drawn to life’s spiritual side. Introverts like to stop and think before responding or taking action. Introverts are not antisocial, shy, or aloof.

While introverts may feel at a disadvantage in an extrovert world, well-known introverts in fact and fiction include Clint Eastwood, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Al Gore, Carl Jung, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry Potter and Jane Eyre.

Improving one's understanding of what makes a quarter of the population tick seems a pretty valuable exercise - especially if it helps you understand yourself better. If you want to know more take a look at this website. There's even a book on how to make the most of the special gifts of introverted children.

The ultimate baby instruction manual?

2006-12-21T09:44:00.000Z

Having problems understanding your baby? Well I may just have found that elusive baby instruction manual that so many parents are searching for.

On the recommendation of our friend Justine, we have bought a copy of 'The Social Baby - understanding babies' communication from birth.' This uses stills from video footage of babies in action, to explain the tell-tale visual cues that can help you understand what your baby is thinking. It covers topics such as crying, distress, social contact and emotional support and looks like a 'must read' for every new parent. (Also available on video and DVD).

We've also acquired 'Games to play with babies' - 225 fun-filled games which help to build important developmental skills. Published by the modestly named 'Brilliant Publications', this should ensure that Dan isn't subjected endlessly to the same feeble attempts by his dad to be entertaining.

That's my Christmas holiday activities sorted!

Babies don't last for ever

2006-12-18T17:05:00.000Z

It's true - babies grow up faster than you realise.

In the past week Dan has:
- had his first jabs
- started wearing separates
- begun sleeping in a Grobag
- graduated from a Moses basket to a cot
- almost certainly passed the eleven pounds mark
- slept for more than five hours in a stretch
- acquired this rather fetching new hat

He's more alert, responsive and demanding. He smiles more, gurgles and yells with frustration when he doesn't get what he wants. Before we know it, he'll be talking and moving around under his own steam.

I'm still left wondering, how come I'm responsible for this growing child when I haven't yet grown up myself?

The ultimate prioritisation tool

2006-12-18T10:04:00.000Z

Need to improve your prioritisation skills? Get yourself a baby!

Once you have a baby to look after, you have to make some hard choices. Do I get washed and dressed, have some breakfast or write an entry on my blog? And of course there's feeding the baby, changing his nappy and winding him. Not to mention giving him a bath, washing his clothes, keeping him entertained, getting him off to sleep.

However many things you'd like to do in any one day, you can probably only do half of them. So, think carefully about what matters most - and don't forget to change out of your night clothes before you rush out of the house.

So this is Christmas!

2006-12-17T16:48:00.000Z

Friday was my last day at work for over two weeks. It was also the day of our department's Christmas lunch - here we are at the White Horse at Southill.

I got a very appropriate book in the secret Santa - 'Why don't penguins' feet freeze?', together with a note saying it would help answer all those 'why daddy?' questions in the future. I suspect I'll need more than the one book to answer those, but it's a good start. It's a compilation of answers sent in by readers of the 'Last Word' - a column in the New Scientist - to questions such as 'What is the best way to produce winning conkers?' and 'Why do flying fish fly?'

They're very smart those New Scientist readers. If you want to know the answers you'll have to get a copy.

Born in the apple time

2006-12-17T15:51:00.000Z

The apple tree in our garden was in full leaf and heavy with fruit, ten weeks ago yesterday when Dan was born. Today the leaves are all gone, but as you can see many of the apples remain.

Nearly eighty-five years ago my great-grandfather in Denmark planted a tree to mark the birth of my mother. He went on to plant four more to celebrate the arrival of each of her sisters over the following twenty years.

My mother has given us some money for a tree to comemmorate the arrival of Daniel - her third grandchild, born some forty years after the first. Family traditions and continuity take on so much more meaning once you have a child of your own.

Improve your relationships by blogging

2006-12-10T18:24:00.000Z

What makes a great relationship?

Understanding what makes each other tick is high on my list.
Occasional surprises is another one.
Having a few laughs along the way helps too.

I mentioned my sister in my last post. As she is in Denmark we only see each other about once a year - sadly the last time was at her husband's funeral. Yet despite the distance and the infrequent nature of our seeing each other, we have a great relationship. And I think it's fair to say that me blogging has helped to make it even better.

Reading personal blogs is a great way of catching up and finding out what makes people tick. If you're anything like me you'll probably write stuff on your blog that you're unlikely to come out with in conversation. There's something about the more intimate and reflective nature of writing that encourages me to say more about how I think and feel than I'm likely to do face to face.

Which brings me to young Daniel. At just nine weeks old he isn't very interested in much beyond his next guzzle of breast milk, staying warm and comfortable, and sleeping for around fifteen hours each day - though not necessarily at the times we'd like to!

What will Daniel make of this blog in years to come?

I never really knew what made my dad tick and once he was gone there were no diaries, blogs or podcasts to provide a better insight into his life, his aspirations and his motivations. He didn't share much with me in his later years - other than long silences over the occasional beer. Hopefully my relationship with Dan will be rather different. I hope that we'll be able to say and do things in a way that I didn't with my dad. But if not - or we simply run out of time - I hope this blog will help him to better understand his father.

In the meantime I intend to enjoy my blogging - and I hope that you as a reader will enjoy it too. And that we'll have a better relationship as a result - whether I see you every day, once a year, or only 'talk' to you through this blog.

Does traffic matter?

2006-12-09T10:25:00.000Z

Yes - but only if getting lots of traffic (or visitors to your blog) is your primary objective.

'Baby Talk' is just one of 62.2 million blogs being tracked by leading blog search engine Technorati. And this number is steadily growing. That's a hell of a lot of people around the world tapping away on their PCs and laptops.

Many of us are doing it simply for fun, or for creative expression, some are doing it for commercial benefit.

You can put any blog url into Technorati's search facility and see how that blog ranks - largely based on how many other blogs have chosen to link to it. The top 100 ranked bloggers are known as 'A listers' and some people's main mission as a blogger appears to be to break into this elite club. 'A list' blogs I enjoy reading include Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki, PostSecret and Treehugger. If you want to keep up with a range of blogs you need a newsreader such as Bloglines to alert you to new posts in your chosen blogs.

Put 'Baby Talk' into Technorati and you'll find that it's currently ranked at 2,291,044 and no other bloggers have chosen to link here - yet. Being a guy, I'm not averse to a bit of competition, so I'd love to see my blog climb up the chart. However, rankings are not everything and are certainly not my main motivation. I spent 20 minutes this morning talking to my sister Wicki in Denmark - free of charge thanks to Skype - and she told me just how much she enjoys reading about my new family's adventures.

So, I do have at least one avid reader and her feedback, combined with the satisfaction I get from doing this, is enough justification for me.

Actually I have a few more than one. At the top left of this blog you can click on the Sitemeter button and find out who's been visiting. In addition to the UK and Europe, I've had visitors from California, Alaska, New South Wales and South Africa - some of them have even come back! Quite a few of my regular visitors I can identify as family, friends and colleagues. Other than those in Denmark, I don't know who the overseas visitors are. Do they stumble across this blog by chance? do they know me or Liz from somewhwere? are they looking for stuff about parents and babies?

If you're reading this blog I'd love to hear from you. You can leave comments at the end of any post or you can email me at myzornis@yahoo.co.uk

If you're a fellow blogger please consider linking to here. Oh, and if you happen to be an 'A lister' do give me a plug.

Ten things I didn't know before I was a dad

2006-12-06T06:27:00.000Z

Some of them I did know once, but had forgotten. Also there are far more than ten, but here's my 'starter' list:
- Mothercare does actually serve a useful purpose
- singing nursery rhymes can be fun
- the joys of gurgling
- how wonderful my son smells
- work isn't as important as I thought
- just what a difference a day really can make
- prams don't fit into cars as easily as they should
- the expression 'sleeping like a baby' is an oxymoron
- what miraculous stuff breast milk is
- how great it feels when people say 'what a beautiful baby!'

Anyone care to add their own?

And Daniel enjoyed it too

2006-12-05T21:40:00.000Z

A very special weekend...

2006-12-04T20:51:00.000Z

Going away

2006-11-30T12:08:00.000Z

We're off to Southwold on the Suffolk coast for a few days, staying at the rather splendid looking Seaview House. Some friends are joining us for part of the time and I'll post a selection of birthday photos on my return.

On this day 50 years ago

2006-11-30T09:32:00.000Z

I came into the world in a Liverpool hospital, born to a danish mother and an english father.

Among the many lovely things I've received this morning is this photograph, taken about 35 years ago of me (on the right) with two of my danish cousins.

What can I capture in a short blog entry to give a flavour of all that's happened in those 50 years? I thought about setting myself the challenge of summarising 50 years in 50 words, but it would probably have been meaningless to anyone else.

What are the things that have mattered to me most over those years? Family and friends, special places and special people. As you get older your life is increasingly punctuated by significant events - weddings, funerals, births, journeys, some shocks and surprises.

Most painful among the memories is the loss of two special friends, each of whom committed suicide before reaching 40. While I was no longer particularly close to either of them when it happened, both had been very important to me at different times in my life - such a tragic end.

I could equally write about many happy times with many special people, but they know who they are and those stories won't mean much to you if you weren't there.

So, I'll finish by recalling some special places and special experiences, which you could choose to share if you haven't already...
- travelling along the Bosphorus by ferry from Istanbul
- walking in the Lakes and north Wales
- dawn on the Ganges at Varanassi
- evenings in downtown Havana
- trekking the Langtang valley in Nepal
- dinner at sunset in Gumusluk, with the sea lapping your feet
- a summer selling oriental rugs to tourists in Istanbul's grand bazaar
- cheering on Shankly's Liverpool from the Kop
- cycling in heavy snow through the mountains in Majorca
- close encounters with eagles and otters on the Isle of Mull
- dinner with Clint Eastwood
- strolling along the sand at Holkham
- the interior of Rustem Pasha
- camel trekking in the Sahara
- dusk in the Djemma el Fnaa
- watching whales and albatrosses off Monterey and Kaikoura
- the bar at the Infante Sagres hotel in Porto

I could go on...

I very much hope that by the time Daniel reaches the age of fifty he'll have experienced at least as rich a range of special places and special people. And that he will have his own family to share them with.

Your baby needs feedback

2006-11-29T07:35:00.000Z

Successful relationships are built upon effective feedback.

At work and at home we need to feel, valued, respected, listened to and loved. We all enjoy getting encouragement, praise and rewards. Whether it's in the boardroom or the bedroom, we can all benefit from constructive advice about where and how we can do things better.

The Gordon Ramsay school of feedback, with his constant effing and blinding is somewhat extreme. He knocks people down, then builds them up. His feedback style is always blunt and often brutal. He makes the X Factor's Simon Cowell look like a pussycat. Yet he leaves people in no doubt where they are going wrong and what they need to change to get the results they want. Judging by last night's Kitchen Nightmare, this can be a recipe for success.

Babies need feedback too, although not of the Gordon Ramsay variety. They need to feel that the world is a happy and safe place where all their needs will be met. They're constantly getting signals from you and others around them. How you speak to them, look at them and hold them. How you respond when they cry, when they pooh and when they feed - it all shapes how they feel about the world, which in turn must influence their psychological development.

With babies of Daniel's age it's pretty simple. They need unconditional praise and unconditional love. Get this right and you'll be rewarded by the greatest feedback of all - your baby's smiling face.

Let's hear it for the sound of silence

2006-11-27T21:38:00.000Z

I'm not sure you can fully appreciate just how glorious the sound of silence is, until you've endured a baby screaming uncontrollably for half an hour.

I write this having just listened to Daniel do this for the first time. This was no ordinary crying fit, but a deep, guttural and gut wrenching succession of screams, punctuated with occasional, all too brief seconds of respite.

I found myself desperately flicking through the pages of Penelope Leach's Your Baby & Child, looking for a swift and miraculous cure. Could this be colic? Is there something seriously wrong with him? Is my baby about to explode?

And then - just as we were contemplating going for a drive as a last resort - he stopped. Actually he seemed to respond to us turning the main light on, suggesting he got panicked by being put down on his own in the near dark.

Managing your baby's performance

2006-11-27T20:44:00.000Z

Spent most of today in a training course about performance management.

Lots of useful advice about how to ensure you get the performance and behaviour you want out of the people around you.

It did start me thinking about 'managing' Daniel, but Liz assures me he's still a little too young for written objectives and appraisals.

Mothers and babies

2006-11-27T20:31:00.000Z

We've just been watching a BBC programme about incredible animal journeys. Apparently a female gray whale swims with her calf all the way from Mexico to Alaska.

Puts a rather different perspective on the trip to the local supermarket.

Not that I'd try to compare Liz and Daniel with a whale and her calf.

All dressed up and ready to go

2006-11-26T21:39:00.000Z

Water baby

2006-11-26T21:04:00.000Z

Elusive smile

2006-11-26T20:09:00.000Z

Over the last few days Daniel has begun smiling, with occasional longer 'chuckles'. And no, it's definitely not wind.

I'd love to post a photo of him smiling. However, whenever I point the camera at his face he puts on his rather serious 'fascinated by camera' expression and his smile remains elusive.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy this photo of some smiling kids having fun.

Piling on the pounds

2006-11-23T19:45:00.000Z

Breast milk is clearly powerful stuff. Dan has gone from a modest 7lbs 3oz to a chunky 9lbs 2oz in a fortnight. That's a pound a week, which is not inconsiderable if you started out only a few weeks ago at just over 5lbs.

All that guzzling is paying dividends. So much so that he needs to ease off the bodybuilding a bit within a couple of weeks. I'm sure Liz won't object - feeding a baby on breast milk must feel a bit like having a ball and chain.

Just how long is five years?

2006-11-22T19:52:00.000Z

Yes I know this sounds like a stupid question, but do bear with me.

Yesterday I was in a meeting of senior managers discussing the RSPB's next corporate strategy, which looks ahead for five years. When you're talking about an organisation that has been around for nearly 120 years, five years is a relatively short timescale. Which isn't to suggest that a lot can't happen in that time, but at the end of it the organisation is unlikely to be radically different.

When you're talking about a six week old baby, five weeks is plenty long enough to experience radical change. At this stage of their development no two weeks are the same, which is all part of the fun. Every single day young babies experience something new and do something different.

In five years' time Dan will certainly be radically different from how he is now - he'll be walking, talking and going to school. His personality will have emerged and we'll have some strong indicators of what his future might hold.

Of course as adults we have much more control over lives - five weeks, five days, five years or five minutes - they can be as long or short, as radical or predictable as you choose to make them.

Here's to reaching 50

2006-11-20T20:28:00.000Z

Yes, in ten days time - at the end of the month I'll turn 50 - on St Andrew's Day no less.

It feels both exciting and scary, rather like becoming a parent. I guess both of them are signs that I may finally be growing up, which arguably is a 'good thing'. So, I'm older, fatter, greyer and slower than I used to be. Each day I destroy more of my brain cells and my arteries get harder.

Last week my boss Mike said he could barely remember what it was like when his children, who are now twenty somethings, were babies. I retorted that by the time Dan is twenty something I'll be lucky if I can remember anything at all.

And yet, despite being older, fatter, greyer and slower than I used to be - with fewer brain cells and narrower arteries - I am also happier than I can remember being before.

So, here's to being fifty - bring it on! (But please, no photographs...)

Five things that get up my nose.

2006-11-20T20:05:00.000Z

How honest is your blog? I ask because you may feel there are limits to what you can and can't say.

If like me you flatter yourself that your partner, mother, mother-in-law, colleagues and friends read your blog - at least occasionally - then you're probably going to take care about what you say about them. The thing is that - wonderful as they all are - most of them get up my nose from time to time.

And of course if I say what it is that's getting up my nose, then whoever I'm referring to is probably going to work it out. Should I worry about that? I'm not sure, but I do. So, here's a reasonably generic list of things that get up my nose - and my readers can work out which if any apply to them.
- unnecessary mess
- sloppy work
- lousy spelling and grammar
- whingeing on about the same old things
- lack of consideration for others

Looking at that list again, I can see I'm guilty of all of them - except number three I hope - myself at times. Still, it's been a long day - time to chill out with another glass of wine.

So, that's what gets up my nose - what gets up yours?

Do psychotherapists think we're all barmy?

2006-11-18T16:16:00.000Z

I was reading a leaflet this morning about newborns' crying and sleeping habits. According to psychotherapists it is important to meet all of your baby's needs in order to help his or her emotional development.

So, should we accept this at face value as sensible and objective advice based on years of experience and detailed research? I always imagined that psychotherapists - however well balanced they may be themselves - would prefer us to pay them to fix our emotional problems, rather than helping us to fix them for ourselves without their expert intervention.

I'm sure I do them a disservice. What's more I recommend the work of the Child Psychotherapy Trust for providing clear, well-presented guidance about the everyday problems that beset parents everywhere. You can find their excellent Understanding Childhood leaflets here.

What is it about Children in Need?

2006-11-17T20:32:00.000Z

Here we go again - Pudsey bear, Terry Wogan, naff soap stars, ancient actors, egotistical newsreaders, the Sound of Music and artificially-enhanced 'models'.

Yes it's Children in Need, the BBC's annual fundraising extravaganza. Yet there are some bright spots among the dross. Right now I'm listening to Westlife singing 'Easy'. Ok, it may not rate as cool, but it is one of those songs that puts a smile on my face.

Coming later...Emma Bunton. She's not exactly Petula Clark, but hey here's to 'Downtown' - it doesn't get much better than that! Rather uncharitably the Daily Record suggests this year's event would be more appropriately entitled Unemployed-Spice-Girl-In-Need.

It's certainly a mixed bag, but I don't mind admitting that there was a clip just now that brought a tear to my eye - as a new parent it seems to be hitting a spot that wasn't there previously.

So, whatever you think of some of the performers - and it is all just a bit of harmless fun - just remember that all that money can make a real difference for children who really need and deserve it.

(Emma - whose idea was that ridiculous little hat?)

Top tips on getting your baby to sleep

2006-11-16T22:39:00.000Z

As you may have gathered, I have no claims to any great expertise on this subject - in fact quite the opposite.

Fortunately the internet is a wonderful resource and there is no shortage of helpful advice. Take this page of sleep links from The Mother of All Blogs for example. In addition to the practical stuff there is also a link to a Flickr pool of sleeping baby photos.

It has to be said that many of them are extremely cute - almost as cute as Daniel (when he's asleep that is).

And here is a Squidoo lens featuring answers to the top seven baby sleep questions - sweet dreams!

Yes it is all true...

2006-11-14T22:51:00.000Z

Surprise, surprise, I can confirm that looking after a baby sometimes feels like an endless round of feeding, nappy changing, wiping up sick and not getting enough sleep.

As a first-time parent it's easy to fret about whether or not you're doing the right thing, whether your little darling is unwell, tired, hungry or simply giving you the runaround. At five weeks I don't think he's quite reached that stage, but I suspect he'll be making mischief before too long. And of course I'd be disappointed if he didn't. After all he is his father's son and he's got things to live up to.

His sleeping patterns have been somewhat erratic. Liz looks forward to the time when he starts to make more of a distinction between day and night. He's also being 'sick' quite often. However, a bit of online research suggests this is more 'spitting up' after feeding than anything else.

Apparently the time to really worry is if they start projectile vomiting over distances of three to four feet. Part of me is intrigued by this prospect and part of me most definitely doesn't want to witness it - especially if I'm in the line of fire!

A cat called Fatdust

2006-11-14T22:44:00.000Z

Poor old Starlight has acquired a rather unfortunate new nickname.

It's not the first time her name has become the subject of some amusement. Latterly Liz's dear old dad got a bit confused and began calling her Skylight. More recently various visitors have commented on the fact that she's become a bit tubby of late.

Then my mother referred to her as Stardust when she was here over the weekend. Being a boy I can't resist a bit of teasing, so I've taken to calling her Fatdust. Luckily she can't understand, but then again she has been giving me some strange looks...

The generation game

2006-11-13T19:09:00.001Z

I was going to post a photo of my mum, Daniel and myself, but looking at it again I'm sure neither my mum nor I would have thanked me for doing so.

Instead here's another and far more attractive photo of three generations, photographed at Waresley. My mother being danish, prefers to be referred to as 'farmor', which is the danish for 'father's mother'. I guess this helps to avoid any possible confusion that might otherwise arise between sets of grandparents. And there aren't many babies here in England who can claim to have a farmor.

Grannies are a good thing

2006-11-13T18:44:00.000Z

Here's Liz's mum with Daniel.

In the last few days we've had separate visits from both grandmothers. They are now of course understandably more interested in their grandson than in either of us - he has considerable novelty value whereas they've had to put up with us for years.

I guess Daniel is also something of an unexpected bonus, as probably both mothers - mine especially - had pretty much given up on the likelihood of either of us producing any offspring. Unfortunately neither of them is close enough to see him as often as they might like, but that makes the time they can spend together all the more precious.

So it's lovely to see them enjoying this somewhat belated gift in their lives.

Talking of gifts, here is a photo of Daniel with presents from his auntie Karin - letters for his nursery door and hand-knitted socks to keep his feet warm - I'm sure he'll grow into them before too long.

The price of parenthood

2006-11-10T19:11:00.000Z

You know how everyone tells you that being a parent is expensive?

You get those jokes about a father being someone who has a photograph where his money used to be. Of course as an expectant/new parent you nervously laugh these off as scare stories, reassuring yourself that for all sorts of reasons your own children are going to be 'cheaper to run' than suggested.

Well, a new report confirms every parent's worst fears - £180,137 is the current cost of raising a child until the age of 21. Although by most accounts it's not as if the bank of mum and dad becomes magically redundant once this milestone has been reached.

"Raising a family requires careful financial planning and regular saving, as well as a great deal of hard work," said Liverpool Victoria's communications director Nigel Snell.

So, my thoughts are already turning to how Daniel might make a fast buck or two.

While he's small enough to go up chimneys quite easily, I don't think it's a particularly lucrative option.

Being adopted by a multi-millionaire pop star is another obvious option.

Or given that he's so cute maybe we'll hang onto him in the hope of landing a well-paid child modelling contract.

You can buy an awful lot for one hundred and eighty grand - two Aston Martins for a start. Though why you'd need two I'm not really sure - his and his maybe?

Or how about that villa on the turkish coast, luxury house, early retirement... Still, I'm sure he's going to prove worth every penny...no really, I am.

Is Disneyland taking the micky?

2006-11-09T19:05:00.000Z

Catherine, one of my colleagues has just returned from Florida. Well Disneyland to be more precise - I'm not sure she and her family got beyond the magic kingdom.

Now you can call me a cynic if you must, but it feels to me that if you haven't taken your child to Disney at least twice by the age of ten you're likely to get reported to the NSPCC.

Still, people say the rides and the service are fantastic. But so would you if you were paying all that money....

Daniel and the albatross

2006-11-07T19:29:00.000Z

Will Daniel ever see an albatross?

That was one of the questions in my mind at the end of today's premiere of 'Race to Save the Albatross', a documentary made by TVE with support from the RSPB. Prince Charles - a passionate supporter of the save the albatross campaign - kindly hosted the premiere in his newly refurbished private cinema and an accompanying reception at Clarence House.

It was rather entertaining to see inside the royal residence - a surprisingly cosy feeling set of elabrately furnished rooms adorned with paintings by the likes of Monet, Sickert and Lowry, and lots of family portraits and photographs. It's not often you go to someone else's home and can instantly recognise everyone in the family photos!

Sadly the world's albatrosses are threatened with extinction. These are amazing birds and as the Prince said, their demise would be 'an appalling commentary on the way we treat the world.'

Reaching new heights

2006-11-06T21:38:00.000Z

Daniel was measured today for the first time.

This will please my Danish relatives who couldn't understand why he wasn't measured as soon as he was born. Apparently they don't do that here because of the difficulty and discomfort of stretching babies out straight.

He came in at 50.5cm or just under 20 inches. His head circumference is 36.5cm - compared to 33.2 at birth four weeks ago. And he now weighs 3.3kg or 7lbs 3oz, which means he's put on a kilo in four weeks.

What's more the health visitor said he's in perfect proportion, so he might yet make a world class footballer!

A tale of a troll

2006-11-05T19:58:00.000Z

My very dear sister Wicki, who lives in Denmark (in Odense home to the great fairytale storyteller Hans Christian Andersen) , has sent Daniel a very special present, a mobile of a 'puffing troll'.

Legend has it that many, many years ago when trolls were still to be found in Denmark, it was common knowledge that if you fell and hurt yourself, you simply puffed at a troll and the pain stopped immediately.

'Puffing at trolls when feeling sad, lessens pain and makes you glad.'

Today's mobiles - inspired by a stone carving of the original - retain this special ability.
Apparently it is very important that the troll is given a name by the family with whom the troll comes to live. Leroy - one of the names we joked about giving Daniel before he was born - is one possible option .

Daniel in the lion's den

2006-11-05T10:22:00.000Z

We have our very own two 'lions'.

Here's Daniel pictured with one of them - Charlie, aka the Great Gransden panther. I'm not quite sure what Charlie and Starlight make of our new addition, but I think they've begun to realise that this particular visitor is here to stay.

In any event I'm pleased to report that as in the biblical story our lions seem happy to accept him.

On the march to stop climate chaos

2006-11-05T09:33:00.000Z

Great day in London yesterday, supporting the I Count rally in Trafalgar Square. We kicked off with a gathering of over 1,000 RSPB members at the Emmanuel Centre and then went on to join an estimated crowd of 25,000.

The noise, the colours, the banners, placards and costumes were tremendous - people of all ages coming together to voice their concerns about the urgent need to tackle this huge threat to our future. We were entertained by Razorlight and KT Tunstall and heard from activists, a bishop and an actress.

If you care about the world we leave to children like Daniel, please sign up to the I count campaign here - together we can make a difference. There are more great pictures from the rally here.

Turning up the emotional volume

2006-11-03T23:22:00.000Z

'The highs will be higher and the lows will be lower than anything you've experienced before.' Wise words from a colleague and friend, describing the emotional changes involved in becoming a parent. So far it's essentially been highs with the odd dip - plenty of time yet for the full rollercoaster experience.

A few years ago I used to practice shiatsu, which is a bit like acupuncture without the needles. A fellow practitioner said having a child would open up my heart channel - I'm beginning to appreciate what she meant. Acupuncture points can play a useful part in childbirth - for more information see here.

Making connections

2006-11-03T23:11:00.000Z

Becoming a parent gives you a stronger sense of history and family connection.

I certainly find myself thinking more about both the past and the future. It makes you look at your own parents in a different light - and potentially gives you a better understanding of why they did or didn't do certain things.

One can but try to do one's best - and I daresay it won't always be good enough.

Tired and grumpy

2006-11-03T23:07:00.000Z

There are many fabulous things about being a dad.

Going without sleep, listening to your baby screaming and having no time to yourself are not among them.

Other than that it's great!

Cot death research breakthrough

2006-11-01T08:04:00.000Z

In the news today is a story about US scientists having found a link between Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and brain stem abnormalities. The findings provide hope that future treatment might help babies who are likely to be vulnerable to SIDS because of their reduced ability to control their temperature and breathing.

Daniel's fan club

2006-11-01T07:37:00.000Z

Daniel's already proving a hit with the girls and here he is with his newest three fans - Farrah, Gemma and Caroline, colleagues from the RSPB.

The scream of death

2006-10-31T07:29:00.000Z

Getting things done takes on a whole new dimension once you have a baby. Simple things that you used to do in a few minutes can take hours. My rule of thumb is to allow three times as long as you did before - and hope for the best.

Under these circumstances, cultivating a reflective, zen-like acceptance of things as they are, sounds like a sensible strategy. How exactly you do so at three in the morning when confronted with a small screaming thing is an entirely different matter.

The vocal utterings of babies are specifically designed to reach parts of you which no other sound is capable of. Heaven help us if Daniel suffers badly from colic. This daily pattern of unstoppable screaming can go on for hours at a time. Apparently the word itself comes from the German 'karlech', which translates as 'scream of death' - nuff said!

In search of the big sleep

2006-10-28T20:40:00.000+01:00

'Sleep while your baby sleeps' is a very good maxim - especially for mums recovering after childbirth.

One of the great things about being on paternity leave was being able to go bed at any time of day. Now that I'm back at work the 'paternal siesta' is a thing of the past. Thankfully, I haven't yet had to resort to crashing out on a nearby bench.

Still, today being Saturday it was like being on leave again - and after a bad night last night I think we earned a very late lie in. The other great thing about today was a cracking 3-1 win for my team - things are looking up!

Talking of toys

2006-10-28T04:30:00.000+01:00

Naturally dads use babies as an excuse to buy new toys and kit.

Don't tell Liz, but I'm already planning a giant Scalextric set, with all the flashy pit stops and other extras that I didn't have with my modest, two lane, figure of eight track. Still, some things don't change, not least the enduring power of childhood heroes. You can keep Senna and Schumacher - I'll still be pretending to be Jim Clark!

2006-10-28T04:01:00.000+01:00

Daniel is all of 21 days old today.

It's been a remarkable and eye opening three weeks, full of highs and the occasional 'oh my god am I ever going to get a decent night's sleep again?'

One of the great things about having a baby is the response of family, friends and colleagues. The house has been filled with cards, flowers, chocolates, toys and baby clothes. At work people I rarely speak to normally, stop me and ask how it's going. Everyone reflects a collective sense of joy, optimism and support.

Of course the 'babymoon' doesn't last for ever, but these first three weeks have certainly been very special. And he's making great progress. He was weighed yesterday and is now 6lbs (2.7kg), which is a very healthy gain on his birth weight of 5lbs 2oz (2.3kg). All that guzzling at the 'milk bar' appears to have paid off. He'll be measured for the first time next week, which will please my danish relatives who can't understand that we no longer measure babies at birth over here. Apparently they wriggle too much!

Being proud parents Liz and I have been avidly following his progress and noting those 'firsts' that parents always bang on about. I shan't bore you with all the details, other than to say that when he was born his Apgar scores (Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Appearance, Respiration) - taken at one minute and five minutes - were nine and ten, which is pretty exceptional. ;)

Children's TV - not what it used to be!

2006-10-27T20:28:00.001+01:00

So Daniel may be too young to enjoy children's tv, but that doesn't stop his dad indulging in a bit of nostalgia. Here's the intro to one of my all time favourites. If you enjoy this look for the youtube clip of Mister Ed surfing off Hawaii - I kid you not!

Bargain home entertainment system

2006-10-27T19:49:00.000+01:00

Here's Daniel enjoying his very own 'home cinema' system. For a few quid he gets a choice of twelve 'screens', a mirror to admire himself in, it's all completely portable and it goes most of the way around his Moses basket.

Who needs multiplexes and surround sound when you've got this?!

The milk bar is always open

2006-10-26T22:05:00.000+01:00

Being breast fed, Daniel is fortunate to have food available on tap 24/7 - subject to mum being awake of course (and if she isn't he knows exactly what to do about it!). Dad's role in this process is somewhat limited - making encouraging noises off and supplying mum with tea, cushions and words of encouragement before rolling over and going back to sleep.

Hopefully we'll get underway with expressing soon so I can also do the milk thing.

The main thing is he's getting lots of healthy nutritious food - so there's no cause for Jamie Oliver to complain about his diet just yet.

Daniel's transport policy

2006-10-26T20:19:00.000+01:00

Being something of an environmentalist, I feel a responsibilty to ensure that Daniel gets a good grounding in being a green citizen. So, where better to start than ensuring his personal transport has a minimal carbon footprint? The pram and the sling certainly pass the test.

As you can see, he occasionally has to do a few miles in his car seat - albeit in a relatively modest and energy efficient, family saloon.

If you want to do something about climate change - not least for the sake of children like Daniel, please sign up to the I Count campaign, co-cordinated by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition.

For more news about fun action to save the planet from global warming do take a look at my colleague Mairi's entertaining and informative blog - Climate Counts.

Daniel and the three bears

2006-10-24T11:20:00.000+01:00

Daniel has already acquired three, rather special teddy bears.

The largest - bigger than Daniel - is getting on for fifty years old and is the one that I had as a child. The other two - a Steiff and a limited edition Gund - were both given to him by our dear friends, Paul and Liz (another of those coincidences).

It is thought the very first teddy bear was made in the US in 1902. The first Steiff bears were made later the same year and had their debut at a toy fair in 1903. For more about teddy bears see here.

Oh, and as you can see Liz's Sweep also joined in the fun.

Back to work

2006-10-24T09:05:00.000+01:00

The 'babymoon' is nearly over. It's been a fantastic couple of weeks and I'm back to work tomorrow.

I'm lucky. I work for the RSPB, a wildlife conservation charity supported by over one million members with a shared interest in saving birds, wildlife and the environment. Here are the grounds of our HQ at Sandy in Bedfordshire - not a bad place to go to work every day.

We'll be signing Daniel up to the RSPB's junior section, the Wildlife Explorers club. If you want to encourage your kids to take an interest in the natural world this is a great club for them to join, with quality magazines and lots of activities.

What's in a name?

2006-10-24T08:38:00.000+01:00

So, amazing coincidences aside, why did we opt for Daniel Jensen Lewis?

Lewis of course is a given. Jensen was my mother's maiden name and therefore carries on the family line from my danish grandparents. It's also the name of a world famous danish jeweller and this classic seventies sportscar. Not to be confused with Jenson as in the racing driver, Jenson Button. We figured Daniel was pretty versatile - Daniel for a professional, Danny for a footballer and Dan if he wants something plain and simple. And of course, if he's suitably cool we can simply call him DJ.

Sex, names and coincidences

2006-10-24T07:58:00.000+01:00

We chose not to find out whether we were having a girl or boy. There aren't enough surprises in life and I wanted this to be one.

Liz was convinced from the outset that we were having a boy. So, we gave 'him' a working title of Stevie Gerrard. Some of my family and friends were worried that if it did turn out to be boy he'd be named something ridiculous like Stevie, Kenny, Rafa. Ok, I am a keen supporter of Liverpool FC, but even I recognise that you can take a good thing too far.

We did the usual thing of trawling through a book of baby names and shortlisting our favoured options for a boy and a girl. We'd pretty much decided on Daniel Jensen Lewis for a boy, but that we'd see how it felt before confirming it. Then something rather amazing happened.

We arrived at the hospital at 5.30am, Daniel was born at 1.45pm and I left the hospital at 9.30pm. I got into the car - exhausted but elated - and switched on BBC Five Live. There was a football commentary on Denmark v Republic of Ireland - and the first danish player to touch the ball was called Daniel Jensen. Now I'm half danish and I like my football, but I'd never heard of this guy before. That's what Liz calls a 'sign' - and who am I to argue?

The other remarkable coincidence that day occurred in the delivery room, when the midwife asked to check Liz's full name and address. Her patient labels carried her maiden name -Elizabeth Rose - since when we'd got married. Turns out there was a woman called Elizabeth Rose giving birth in the next door delivery room. You can imagine we kept a close eye on baby Daniel to ensure there were no mix ups!

Incidentally, I see that Daniel Jensen joined his current club two years ago on 15 July - the same date as our wedding...

A special gift for special babies

2006-10-24T06:27:00.000+01:00

Because Daniel weighed in at under 2.5 kilos, he was obliged to spend his first night in the Special Care Baby Unit - 'skiboo' for short. While you wouldn't elect to have your baby go there it does have some advantages. It's very quiet, the lighting is minimal and the staff are wonderfully attentive. Best of all skiboo babies get a special gift when they leave.

The lovely ladies at Cambridge Quilters supply the unit with their colourful, baby quilts. Daniel is pictured with the one we chose for him. It was made by a lady called Sue Morris.

Thank you Sue - it's beautiful and such a lovely idea.

The scariest night of my life

2006-10-24T05:59:00.000+01:00

Is how one of my colleagues described his first night at home with his first child.

Thankfully, bringing Daniel home wasn't quite so frightening. However, lying in bed at night listening to him snuffling like a hedgehog (well they are both in constant search of milk ) makes you very aware of the responsibility you've taken on.

Because he was low birth weight, he and Liz spent four days in hospital. This isn't such a bad thing as you have 24/7 expertise to draw on. In my experience hospitals aren't exactly fun - hot, noisy and depressing are words that spring to mind.

The staff at the Rosie Maternity Hopsital were tremendous, both during the delivery - not straightforward - and afterwards.

Taking your baby out

2006-10-23T19:37:00.000+01:00

Today we went for our first proper outing with baby Daniel - other than a brief visit to work a few days ago. This time we we took the shiny, new pram - a lovely Silver Cross Freeway. Getting the carrycot, chassis and car seat in and out of the car takes a bit of practice.

You soon realise that you can't do anything in a hurry.

We had a lovely walk around the delightful Moggerhanger Park - designed by Sir John Soane, who among other things designed the exterior of the Bank of England and the dining rooms of 10 and 11 Downing Street. The house boasts an excellent tearoom and we enjoyed a very tasty lunch under the autumn sunshine in the courtyard.

The art of changing nappies

2006-10-23T19:18:00.000+01:00

I'm sure there must be an art to this - or is it just a question of practice making perfect? Or at least more bearable to both parties?

Getting up in the middle of the night, half asleep faced with an unhappy - indeed possibly screaming - baby, is not hugely conducive to effectively manoeuvring around delicate and fragile parts of your precious child's anatomy.

And of course if you have to organise a complete change of clothing as well...?

Those tiny arms and legs are waving around, your little darling is screaming and you can't manage to get the poppers done up properly. Surely there is an easier way, or am I just an incomepetent, cack-handed, dad who needs to work on his co-ordination skills - and develop a zen-like acceptance of the here and now ;)

Perhaps you've mastered this particular art? Perhaps the boffins at Mothercare are about to come out with an easy change, one-piece babygro and nappy that requires a couple of simple strips of velcro and magically reduces the risk of squashing those delicate baby limbs.

Not to mention soothing the nerves of anxious, tired parents. Do let me know if you have the magic solution.

Three great baby books

2006-10-22T16:01:00.000+01:00

It's really helpful to read up in advance and to have some quality reference material. Here are three very different books that I've found useful -

Peter Downey's So you' re going to be a dad (Simon & Schuster) - very funny and informative. Promoted as 'The bestselling book for new dads.'

Jack O'Sullivan's He's having a baby (BBC) - great photos, great layout and very easy to dip into with lots of helpful anecdotes.

Penelope Leach's classic Your baby & child (Dorling Kindersley) - according to Claire Rayner 'There's only baby book that really works - this is it.' Looks pretty comprehensive to me.

Please do add your own recommendations.

Five things you should know about childbirth

2006-10-22T15:47:00.000+01:00

Approach it with an open mind - whatever you anticipate and plan for be prepared for things to be different on the day.

Trust the experts - they've done this hundreds of times before. This isn't to say you should relinquish all responsibility to them, but the delivery room is no place for improvisation!

It's OK for dads to cry - and what's more it's good for you.

It hurts - and not just for the mother!

Leave the camcorder at home - at times it was scary, bloody, distressing and exhausting. Yes it was a fantastic experience, but I have no desire to re-live it, nor does my wife.

Birth of a baby...blog

2006-10-18T13:37:00.001+01:00

It's nearly two weeks since baby Daniel weighed in at 2.31 kilos - or 5lbs 2oz for those of you who like me are more comfortable with using 'old money'. It feels timely to reflect on an amazing experience and share it - especially with other first-time fathers.

I hope to provide some helpful advice, maybe some reassurance and certainly a place where you can exchange ideas, questions, and concerns. I'm hoping that those of you who've been there and done it already will make it easier for us by sharing your top tips and helping to put things in perspective.

Let the adventure begin...