Lucy Art!

Anna was very vocal last night and I did the night shift. I am knackered so consequently there will be no sarcastic comments, lovely comments or typical Hammond analytical clap trap. Without hopefully running the risk of copy right infringement and utilising the name 'Lucy Art' (posh china my wife likes to buy), I leave you tonight with some pictures that Lucy drew in the bath.....

Beware the emotional wrath of a toddler...

There is no other way of describing this. Lucy is giving me a really hard time at the moment. She continues to hit me and I am finding it hard. She is clearly competing for attention since the arrival of Anna and is taking out her frustrations on me. I have tried telling her 'no hitting', but this has not had a positive impact. Amy and I have talked it through and from now on I am simply going to have to walk away and not give her a reaction. It's really getting me down, but I must persevere. I know she will settle down. Amy says she is a daddy's girl and she is taking it out on the one she is closest too. I think that means I am supposed to be flattered!! Don't get me wrong - she's still my Looby and I love her dearly.

Anna continues to blossom and my wife continues to dazzle. She is such a natural parent and I really do feel it is her niche. Since having Anna she seems happier and more relaxed than I have ever seen her. It is lovely. You can tell by the constant smile and dazed, loved up contented look on her face that she is clearly loving being a parent again. I had a lovely walk with Anna today and despite the fact she was asleep for most of the time, it was nice to share that time with her. She is simply beautiful.

I think I just lost my dignity and credibility...

Being a parent can be an interesting and slightly bizarre experience. You have to do things you never imagined yourself doing. This week for example I have been bathing and washing a plastic doll with Lucy. This is all part of the 'learn about being a big sister' project week. Ably led by Gestapo mummy (my wife) I am undertaking all the parental jobs in this great escapade that involve me looking a bit silly! In short I cannot believe I am doing this. With two girls in my life now there are going to be many more moments like this. Best moment of the day - Lucy lent over Anna's carry cot and bent to give her a kiss. Anna thinking that Lucy's face was a breast, tried to suckle her nose!

Just when you thought youv'e cracked it!

Anna slept on Friday night for most of the night, but last night was not quite so successful (please denote sarcasm!). You can really pick through her breathing that she is winding up for a big cry. I impressed myself that I let her cry for nearly half an hour, I found if I breathed with her breathing I could block out her shrill cry. We had tried everything else - milk, nappy, cuddle - the works, so we decided to see whether she would settle herself down. Please see the photo attached for the impact this tactic can have on our household. Amazing that Lucy slept through the whole experience without stirring once. The noise was immense! Lucy and I have been watching 'Finding Nemo' this morning. Really nice to hear her speech developing as she interacts with such a colourful and imaginative film. Sentences like 'Nemo's daddy needs to get out of the whale, cause he needs to find Nemo in the fish tank' and 'here comes the scary fish, he's got big teeth!' Have been trying to explain the phrase surfer dude, but she has not quite got it!

It has still been a few hard days and I am looking forward to a day with just the four of us and no visitors. Just me and my family and hopefully I can begin to get to know Anna quietly....Although quiet is not a common word used in this house of late!!!

A little wind bucket!

True to form and family genetics, it turns out that my three day old daughter can fart for England! There is no doubt she is a Hammond! My wife is a parenting god and at the moment I am quite simply stuck for ideas. Amy seems to have remembered everything we learnt from when Lucy was a baby and my brain and powers of retention have turned to mush.The routine that Amy is putting together seems to be working already and Anna is really benefiting. Last night Anna slept throughout the night with one feed. On the night three. I don't know how Amy does it. I don't want to anger the parenting gods and end up not sleeping at all tonight, but credit where credit is due. I have to confess to still struggling. I think work has finally caught up with me and I am slowly winding down to the point that I can begin to come to terms with being a parent again. I think it is going to be a log journey for me.

Looby, despite the angelic photo attached has been difficult with me today to say the least. She is clearly already competing for attention and trying any way she can. She has even developed a habit of hitting out a little bit. It has been very nice to see her slowly building a relationship with Anna though, wanting to be involved and giving her many kisses and cuddles today. It was also a sheer delight to once again see her interact with her cousins and run around the campsite like a free spirit without a care in the world...

Gratuitous photo shot!

Am delighted - we got our camera back from the hospital and I can begin a complete celebration of all things Hammond. My neighbour has just popped in with a certificate stating that I am the proud father of the two most scrumptious Miss Hammond's in the land. I need to seek permission from my wife re.whether I can post pictures of her post labour. I think she looked beautiful and she was amazing, but she may not agree. Conversation had and conditional permission granted. Can't get the photo she wants me to post to rotate so shall put on the blog tomorrow.

I'm still shell shocked and coming to terms with things. Anybody would think I gave birth. At times I feel really emotional and tearful. We have been through so much as a family this year to get to this point and it seems like a huge release. I am a very private person and have found it difficult to cope with all the visitors and phone calls. Have spent a bit more time with Anna and have already gained some confidence in what to do and how to help her. She is a real screamer. She had a noisy night till about twelve thirty and that has not helped general levels of fatigue. I know it sounds like I am ungrateful for all our family and friends wishing us well and the lovely gifts/cards. I am not, I promise. I think I just need time to calm down and take stock. I am surprising myself a bit this time though. I have always found crying babies very stressful, but I seem a bit more calm this time round. At the moment. Today had been a slower day and has given me time to reflect. Lucy seems to be finding her feet in the big sister stakes and my wife has already become gestapo mother. So things are going well! Anna had her fist bath today, she clearly was not impressed and expressed it too! Living in a house with all these free spirited and tenacious women could prove challenging! I may need back up.........

Welcome baby Anna!!!

What a day we had yesterday! Fantastic, exhilarating, exhausting, worrying, amazing and overwhelming. These are just a few words to describe Tuesday 1st July 2008. At 4am my wife woke me up and indicated that she was in pain, as the hour progressed it became very clear that that was the day and we were going to have a baby! I was overcome with fear and excitement. the only thing I could do on the way in the car (I don't drive) was text every single person I know and let them know we were off and running. Amy was brilliant. She was calm and took everything in her stride. Clearly having the tens machine helped and I would recommend using one to any prospective parents out there. We arrived at hospital and the midwives were amazing. Calm and reassuring. After four hours of extreme pain and virtually no pain relief (much respect and completely in awe) baby Anna Kate was born into our family. She weighed 9lbs 6ozs and is simply scrumptious. I say again 9lbs 6ozs. Oh my god that must have hurt. I am truly not sure how effective and supportive I was, but we got through it. I found the whole thing a very emotional experience and a day later I am not sure I can find any words to describe it properly. Two things - I had no choice but to capitulate on the argument re names - the one who had the pain should choose the name. Without a doubt - no argument. At present there are no pictures as we left the camera at the hospital and have not yet got it back. Believe me there will be hundreds for the reader to view!

Secondly, I am going to allow my wonderful wife to buy a new buggy (she has been bugging me for the last NINE months!). My blog has been invaded by the evil and completely destructive virus that is materialistic wife. It's capable of buying anything on the Internet and is not stoppable by any known virus software. What I actually said to my wife is let's take the current buggy we have to beyond the stage where we do not need the car seat that comes with it, then buy a more lightweight one to use with Anna. I am beginning to think she lied and snuck some drugs into the birth process that I did not know about.

Offspring number one Lucy - had an interesting day. She spent the day with granny and must have been a bit confused when she woke and neither Mummy or Daddy were there. When we arrived home at 7pm with baby in tow we made sure that she had the biggest ever cuddles and she was rewarded with a doll as a present. Which she called Bella. So far she has reacted well - although on occasion she does swing into denial that she is not a big sister. It must be a very unnerving experience for her. She will always be loved, as will Anna. My family is complete.

It's not really sunk in yet that I am a dad again. I am sure it will soon. I can already feel that confidence panics again about what to do with something so small. I had to go to work today and make sure all was well. Have felt a bit left out and have not seen much of Anna yet. We have a whole lifetime to get to know each other...There is so much to tell you and I don't know where to start. I am really knackered and am going to call it a day. Picture found courtesy of Anna's Auntie Kate!