Back to work......

It is the first few days back to work since the little man was born, what with recovering from hip surgery, paternity time and taking a week off, I have managed to spend all most very minute he's been alive with him.

So, to be away from him over ten hours each day has been a change to the system. The first evening home, when I came through the doors, I barely said hello to Zoe before getting hold of Finn and giving him a big cuddle.

With todays technology, while at work, you can still be kept updated through out the day with what they are up too. Snapchat is wonderful at this and everytime I checked my phone, there was a little picture of him to brighten up the day.

It's hard on the partner when you go back to work as they are baby's "cling too" all day. They can't get a moment to themselves whereas before they could pass baby to partner to take for a walk etc...... to give themselves a little rest. So I do try to make sure that she gets a little time to herself before and after I come home.

Now......would that picture not just melt your heart. These pics I got made it easier to deal with whatever work had in store for me, knowing that at the end of my day I would get home to see this wee man, Zoe and the animals.

Have to say, it was if I had never been off, when I got back, which was a good thing and the cards and gifts Zoe and Finn got from the people I work with were amazing. Flowers for Zoe, gift cards to get Finn clothes etc......and wonderful homemade keepsakes which were just amazing.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram- @becomingdadni

Becoming Dad......

Out of Europe......

Well this morning the UK has voted to leave Europe and the PM David Cameron has resigned.

It's all change and we are definitely stepping into the unknown. Will it be the right move? Only time will tell, I do know it's happened and we all must now work towards a better future because there is no turning back! There will be falls in Sterling, housing and Shares etc...and rises in prices but we have to put faith in the people who run the country, that this is only short term pain for a long term gain. This is where they need to earn the big money they all are on!

The "Out" victory will change the face of politics and the possible future of Northern Ireland. It's going to be an interesting ride.

I ask Finley for his view on today's events, here was his response......

So, like Finley, I'm going to take a laid back view on the developing situation and see what happens. It's not as if my voice is going to change the politics of the UK, that is in the hands of far smarter people than me.

I just know that with my boy growing up he'll be getting his hands dirty in the garden, mucky in the kitchen and arty on the drawing board.

Follow me on Twitter- @becomingdadni

Becoming Dad......

Watching the Euros with Finley......so far!

I have to say that it's been a really enjoyable tournament so far, made better by watching the matches with my little man. We have got to enjoy Northern Ireland's first win at a Euro Championship and looking forward to their last group match against Germany.

The group matches have been great with teams you might think struggle giving the bigger team something to think about. A lot of the countries I normally wouldn't watch unless they were playing Northern Ireland but I have been impressed with a lot of teams. Albania, Iceland and Hungary have impressed but of course the big teams are starting to flex their muscles, France have looked good, Germany are one of my favourites, the England, is young, fast and I think can go far, Spain are just warming up! Poland have a great striker and will get through in 3rd place! 😉

Belgium are starting to warm up and looked good against a solid Republic team, who I hope can get through to the knock out rounds. B(W)ales have impressed to and should get through aswell. Switzerland have a new Arsenal player in their ranks, so I hope they do well.

Italy have surprised me as not too many people were speaking about them but Conte has done a great job and Buffon is just an amazing player!

Portugal, Russia, Austria, Ukraine and Sweden haven't yet showed what they can do, so I'm looking forward to their final group matches when they have to go for it! Portugal have been frustrating to watch, always like them but Ronaldo is too relied on, was hoping for more from Austria as I had heard they were dark horses.

If I have missed any teams, I'm sorry as I know I have but I know who the winners are going to be, so get to the bookies now! It's got Northern Ireland's name written all over it! You heard it here first! 😊

As for my Euro Dreamteam is going, the less said about them the best. I'm currently propping up the table. A better league manager than International by the looks of things but if I win every league then people won't play with me and that's what I'm sticking too! 😊

Happy Father's Day......

Three generations of Malcomson's!

It is near Finley's dinnertime at this picture and he's had a hard day of being awesome with all his grandparents and popping in to see a whole lot of the guys I work with, so he is looking a little like "Feed Me" here!

Happy Father's Day to not only all the dad's out there but to the mother's who do a father's job.

My first Father's Day and it's been pretty awesome as I knew it would be. What better a gift than waking up with my wonderful wife and beautiful son! Breakfast in bed and "Psych" on tv!

I am lucky to have a great Dad and Mum! If I can be and do half as much as they have done for me, then I'll be doing a good job. Growing up I wanted for nothing, they worked hard to make sure I grew up to be who I am today.

I'm extremely lucky to have great males in my life. Two brilliant big brothers, who the older we get the closer we get, four young nephew's that are growing up to be wonderful, strong, smart young men. An awesome Dad-in-law who is an absolute "hoot" to be around and could happily spend time together watching sport or going to games, two brother-in-laws who are just fantastic, great uncles & cousins (in-law) and an uncle-in-law who is one of best guys you'd ever be lucky to meet! My mates are just unreal, the one's I see all the time and the one's who have stuck by me for years, that I may only get to see a few times a year but as soon as we do, it's like no time has past. So all in all, I'm a lucky man.

So to all the Dad's, Dads-to-be and one's in the future have a great day and sneak in that extra cuddle and kiss!

Twitter- @becomingdadni

Becoming Dad......

My amazing wife......

The wee man will be Three weeks old tomorrow and with each passing day you can see him getting bigger and stronger and this is all down to my amazing wife...she's a breastfeeding mum and to be honest if it was role reversal I would have given up and started bottle feeding after the first go. This is by no means being disrespectful to bottle mums, you get told that baby's (should) feed more regular with bottles and (should) have better sleep patterns and let's be honest which fella wouldn't go for those terms.

It's been difficult to stand beside and watch while Finley struggled to latch at the beginning and to see your wonderful wife wanting to give your son the best posible start in life, to never give in, even when he wants to cluster feed from 10pm to 4am and you can see the tiredness in her eyes but also the complete love as well.

When we got Finley home for the first night, no one told us about 'cluster feeding' this would have helped as that night he was so unsettled and we just didn't know what was happening with him or if we were doing something wrong, until the midwife came the next day and said this was perfectly normal. Hearing those words, does make it easier when he has growth spurts and cluster feeds because you realise this is normal. The first few nights were hard, I can't lie, you know you're going to have long sleepless nights having a baby and even to someone who didn't sleep great before a baby came into the house, it was hard. Finn would either be feeding or needing nursed to sleep as he wouldn't go down in his basket or pod but again the midwife explained this is the process of a breastfeed baby. Over the first week, we managed to get a few hrs sleep here and a few hrs there. Then, again because of my amazing wife, he slept in his pod. By Zoe placing him in and picking him out when he cried, once settled putting him back in and repeating this process, he now will sleep 3hrs between feeds. He still has his bad nights and they can be heartbreaking, you think when will he stop! Why won't he stop? He's fed, changed, winded! What else can you do, then all of a sudden, he gives out a "coo" and is suddenly the little boy he normally is again.

I still try to get up through the night to help Zoe with nappy changes and to walk the hallway with him to get him settled again because there's not much else I can help with and this atleast gives her a little respite before he needs fed again.

He doesn't have a dummy either to help settle him as this doesn't help with breastfeeding. So, when normally you could put this in their mouth, we have to rock to settle, sometimes quicker than other times.

We will never say that he won't end up being bottle fed, the majority of babies get their milk this way and also we do have about  a dozen dummies for the day we may decide he needs that as well. We're not stupid! :)

But....until then each day is a new story in the life of Finley and we are learning along side him.

I just wanted the world to know how amazing mums are, whether you breastfeed or bottlefeed, you all do an amazing job looking after our little ones and we are here to help when called upon......

Becoming Dad......

My little Gooner......

Lying in bed this morning with the little man while Zoe had a shower and when she came back into the room, she handed me his latest vest for the day, or until he brings up milk onto it and here it is......

How cool does the little man look in his Arsenal gear? It starts now son. Years of misery and heartbreak supporting the team of your fathers, wondering why he would do this to you. Until he realises Arsenal is more than football, it's a way of life!

I can't say whether he has been enjoying the Euro 2016 football championship but he has seen his country play their first match at World Stage for the first time in 30 years. Northern Ireland it does proud, the Poland team were very strong but bring on the Ukraine and Germany. Remembering all the way that it's a festival of football and the supporters who go out to watch the matches at home or in France to respect the locals and everyone else that is there.

Becoming Dad......

It's been awhile......

It's been awhile since my last blog......things have got busy! Since Finley was born each day and night have rolled quicker and quicker and the little man is now Two weeks and One day old.

People said to me before he was born that life will change and once you see your baby, you will never have felt love like you will. I always thought to myself, yeah, I'm sure it'll be very special but nothing could quite got me ready for how I feel about him. It really is amazing, how you want everything you do to help this little person. It's strange, how you go from looking out for yourself, to then looking out for the person you love, then baby comes along and this feeling moves up a gear to one that you never knew even existed.

We're of to name Finn officially today, it's been a busy week so far. From getting photos taken of him, via health checks needed done on me by my employers, to getting a bank appointment booked to open Finn an account. So, I think we're looking forward to a few days doung nothing and relaxing. I might even have a beer at the weekend when Northern Ireland play their first match at Euro 2016.

Friday- so Mr Finn is official and I've been checked over by an external health care assistant. Which was actually very good, will be interesting to read his report. He was very understanding about my recovery period, knowing that after this surgery, the next I have on the hip would be a replacement.

Finley had a bad night last night, poor man. His wind was giving him terrible issues but thankfully is more content this morning. We're off soon to have a look at the final images from his photoshoot earlier in the week, which we can't wait for.

I'll get more updates done soon but you can catch all the day to day goings on, via my twitter.

Twitter- @becomingdadni

Becoming Dad......