Wake up and smell the nappies

Tonight is a peaceful evening.
I can hear the tumble dryer tumble drying noisily in the kitchen. Occasionally it stops and I hear other sounds; the tap-tapping of Violetta (my wife) as she knocks out another email to friends and family. She's been doing that a lot just lately - at least when she has a spare moment.
Then every now and then my thoughts are punctuated by another sound - one that I need to go and investigate. This sound is owned by a new addition to the household - and the owner has been taking rather a lot of our attention other the last week and a half!

Our daughter, Julieanne Elizabeth Nash (we call her Liea for short) was born at 11:54 on Friday December 29th 2006, weighing 6lb 0.5oz (2.73kg). Fingers=Toes=10.

I return from checking her again. Her new Slumber Bear seems to have kicked in and soothed her. I hope it is effective because she has only just over an hour to her next feed and she hasn't slept much yet. But today she has been good in that respect. A couple of days ago she worried us a lot more.
Overall, though, she is healthy and happy (at least that's how we interpret it). She was delivered by ventouse due to being in an awkward position, and as a result still has some bruising on her head. These will soon disappear - they have already faded dramatically by comparison. Initially there was a large ugly purple mark over a large part of her head and she suffered headaches for days. She also started out with a little jaundice and spent some hours in ultra-violet light therapy, which seemed to have done the trick. As a result of these problems she has been less settled than she might otherwise have been - but in general is doing very well.
Mother and baby were discharged from the hospital on tuesday 2nd January 2007 and have been at home since. Some nights have been as peaceful as tonight, but others have been more exhausting.
As I write this I am still off work on paternity leave (technically just annual leave as I don't yet qualify for paid paternity leave in my current job - despite what the HR guy said when I joined). Next week I return to work full time and am wondering how we will cope if the problem nights (and days) persist. I'm sure we will manage. And I'm sure the on-site Starbucks at work will be doing good business!
That's the technical stuff out of the way. As for how I feel - well, I'm afraid most of what they say about fatherhood is true! It's incredible. I'm still amazed at how something that gives us so much trouble can be so wonderful - but there it is. I never thought I would actually want to change nappies (although they are starting to get smellier). At the moment she sleeps most of the time she is not feeding - but every moment with her is a moment to cherish. I would go on but I'm sure you've heard it all before. Either you have had the experience and you know what I mean - or you haven't and it all sounds the same. In any event I am very happy - whether you like it or not!