Camping with the Mediocre Dad

Camping tips, tricks and advice from a fairly average parent and a reformed dad blogger

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Camping
  • Family Days Out
  • Sponsorship
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Why celebrate mediocrity?
Menu

Fatherhood²: Two Weeks In and it Could be Worse…

Posted on July 15, 2011March 3, 2018 by Henry Elliss

Two weeks ago today I became a father again for the second time – as you’ll doubtless know if you’ve found this post by any method other than a Google search. It’s been an interesting experience so far – well, by interesting I of course mean tiring – but it’s certainly giving me a lot of food for thought.

I haven’t blogged as much as I’d have liked to, mainly due to not really having a lot of time free to do so. Last night for instance, we got Robert (first son) to bed by about 7.30, tidied up a bit and were in bed by 9 – simply because Freddie had just had a good feed, so we thought it would be best to get a couple of hours of sleep in before he woke up for the next one.

Most evenings have been similar to that – though I’m pleased to say the daytimes have been getting a bit more back-to-normal now. It’s not quite the relaxed joy of the daytimes after Robert was born mind you, when we’d spend most of our relaxation time playing Mario Kart Wii and could have lie-ins in the morning if we didn’t get much sleep. But even just getting back to some semblance of normality is comforting enough.

I’m very grateful to my wonderful employers for letting me have three weeks of paternity leave – something which a lot of other fathers in other countries don’t get, as I’ve been reminded a few times.

Whilst I think non-parents sometimes don’t appreciate what paternity leave is for (I’ve even heard a few people referring to it as a holiday!), I count my blessings that I have these precious weeks to a) get to know my new son and b) assist my wife in the immensely tiring job of coping with a newborn baby. I can’t imagine how tiring it would be if I had to go to work just after Freddie had been born!

A while back I blogged about some of the issues that I recalled from our first pregnancy, including in particular the midwives that we encountered. I should probably add to that post to say that the midwives we’ve worked with this time have been a lovely bunch, particularly during Sara’s time in hospital before the birth. I’ve been a little less impressed by the “community nurses” who visit you after the birth. Not because of anything they’ve done particularly, simply because it’s been a different one every time – and we’ve been visited by at least 4 so far!

We’ve not had too many other visitors to speak of really, after the initial family surge – I suspect the novelty of a new baby has worn off for a lot of people compared to last time, though it could just be that they’re giving us plenty of time to get used to our new increased-workload! I’m sure Frederic doesn’t give a toss anyway! :)

This post doesn’t really have much of a point to it I’m afraid – just a random collection of thoughts. As soon as I’m a little less tired I’ll get back to blogging on more interesting topics, I promise!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Print

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

henweb

henweb

Pun-loving, 👨‍👦‍👦 dad-blogging, 📷 photo-taking, 🏰 Lego-making, 🎅🏿 beard-wearing, 👶 child-caring dad of 2. 💍 Husband of 1. 💩 Strategist

View Full Profile →

Instagram Gallery

Spent a few hours in a client meeting this week wh Spent a few hours in a client meeting this week where this was the view from the meeting room. I’ve definitely seen worse views.
Swipe to see where I spent today. It got busier, I Swipe to see where I spent today. It got busier, I promise
Good morning from a frosty Brimpton Good morning from a frosty Brimpton
Had the absolute pleasure of seeing @actualbenfold Had the absolute pleasure of seeing @actualbenfolds again last night, this time at the @royalalberthall. Not only was it an amazing concert, there was a big surprise at the end when he bought out both @doddleoddle AND the legendary @realmattlucas - what a treat!
Went to the ‘Spectacle of Light’ at @welfordpa Went to the ‘Spectacle of Light’ at @welfordpark (where they film @britishbakeoff) and had a lovely autumnal stroll amongst the lights
As today is ‘Back British Farming’ day, I want As today is ‘Back British Farming’ day, I wanted to give a shout-out to all the farmers in the local area, especially Brimpton’s own @mbowden1954. One of my favourite aspects of living where we do now is being surrounded by countryside and farm land - and being able to see an actively-farmed field at the end of our garden. Every time something’s being done to the field I’m out with my camera, usually trying to figure out the names of all the machinery - and it’s so nice to see a product being grown right from seed to harvest. I know it’s not easy for farmers at the moment, and I dearly hope ours are able to keep farming for many years to come - so if you have one near you, make sure to show them all the support you can!
Load More… Follow on Instagram

A little ad for some stuff




Subscribe by RSS

RSS Feed RSS – Posts

Recent posts

  • The 7 Reasons I don’t post as much as I’d like to October 31, 2023
  • 5 Tips to Make Family Travel Easier December 2, 2022
  • 5 Great Camping Blogs You Should Follow August 18, 2022
  • Summer Holidays in the Mountains? 4 Reasons Why You Should Go for it! June 7, 2022
  • Family Camping for Beginners – A Guide to Buying a New Tent May 31, 2022

A bigger ad for some stuff

Recent Comments

  • RayCaldereta on 5 Great Camping Blogs You Should Follow
  • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | Camping with the Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Food, glorious food
  • Tiana on Fatherhood²: The Ultimate Octonauts Quiz
  • The best camping gadgets for your next trip with the family | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide for first time campers
  • Dynamite dad blogs | Samuel Windsor on Family Camping for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide for first time campers

My Brimpton Village history website

My Mastodon profile

© 2025 Camping with the Mediocre Dad | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme
Find me on Mastodon