A letter to Sofia Faith (part 2)

The time since you've been with us Sofia has been fraught and fractious. You began to scream when you were 24 hours old and you screamed constantly for the first four months, until pretty much Christmastime, when your present to us was a new found calmness.

Yes, like Esme, you've had tummy troubles too. The wonderful paediatric consultant that we saw with her, would later tell me with you, that to have a first allergic baby was rotten luck, but to have a second… was just rotten. Oh poor me!

So you both had tough starts, and I guess because of that, so did Daddy and I too. Just like Esme, you were lactose intolerant and allergic to dairy. But it was by Christmas that I'd managed to work it all out. I managed to breastfeed you by being dairy-free myself. Although breast-feeding came with its own difficulties. My kahunas were so so massive, it was difficult for you to feed without suffocating! 

In time, you were on a prescription formula that suited you, taking baby Gaviscon for the terrible colic and silent reflux that plagued all our days and nights.

I survived on four hours sleep a night for the first six months. Daddy spent many a night on the sofa with earplugs. You took ages to loose the foetal position. You kept your hands up in your face for the first two months, maybe a little more. 

You loved a dummy. It certainly brought you comfort. Just as well. You didn’t smile for three months due to pain. And then your smiles were sporadic. You were dubbed a disgruntled Churchill, and earned the nickname Winnie. 

Bless you. You had it hard. But then I think we all had it hard...