Silence!

Made a new discovery today whilst out driving with the family. We'd bought a packet of sweets at the supermarket and most had been shared out. The noise levels started to rise whilst 11yo 7yo and 5yo scrabbled for positions as the sweets diminished in number. After all, everyone knows its Who Gets The Last One thats important.

Well, mother announced two left. Three ashen faces in the mirror. How will Mum and Dad decide?

Dad speaks - "The next one to talk doesn't get one".

Silence. Blessed silence.

For five miles. Even after we pulled up to drop 7yo at his drama class. He started to exit the car with a questioning look - but was still silent. Only baby 1yo had made any noise at all.

I answered his unspoken question - "5yo doesn't get one!".

"Why?!?!?" they all chorused now that the peace was broken. "Because I saw you hit 11yo in the face and glasses to get a reaction!" Her plan failed.

Kids. You've got to keep an eye on them - the rear-view mirror helps.

Male Midwife?

Why aren't there many blokes doing midwifery? Traditional I s'pose - women look after women during childbirth. Would it be better if more men were midwives? Now there's a thought......

When I qualified as a male midwife last century, I was one of only two fellas in my training group. And the other guy - well, let's put it this way, he wasn't planning on rearing any children of his own making. I have now gone on to have four children of my own, so that makes me a Male Midwife Father. And Aussie. And thick skinned. And proud as hell at how nicely my children are growing up like - damn that's bad grammar, but djanowaddimean?

And I know it all - not(!). But I have some ideas about being a dad that I've given away FOC previously. Like - start early. My wife and I value our sleep (remember that HORRIBLE feeling when you get rudely awoken, scan the bedside clock, see 4:12am, and silently fume?) So we have always started a regular bedtime routine at about 6 weeks of age, resulting in sleep-throughs by bubba at about 3 to 4 months of age. That's four children. All sleeping through. Every night. Serious. If we get woken in the night, it's because they need help, not just a little "attention".

F.a.b.

Sleep is (mostly) an uninterrupted 7hrs for us.