There is a point at which you stop wanting to protect your new child from the outside world and to take him out to face it. For us that point came about a week in when we had to take him for an ultrasound and figured it was high time the government knew about him too and registered him for his paperwork so that if we encountered any "Papiere, bitte" moments we would be ready.
Amazed at how smoothly that all went we took him shopping and since he can't read or talk we breezed past the chocolate and chips aisle and didn't even hesitate in front of the toys. We went to visit his Aunty for her birthday lunch and then took him to his first licenced premises at the local Sports Club. Mindful of the lure of the pokies we had lunch outside but it was such a pleasant experience we ended up becoming members.
We were able to receive visitors as well and the little one was more than happy to be passed around like a, well, like a newborn baby and we marveled at what good parents we were and how lucky we were to have such an even tempered child.
We had lunches at restaurants but that was kind of cheating. We knew that the real test was going to be evenings. He was regular enough that we knew that early evening was his time to shine. By "shine" we mean be a complete cry baby. So we found a familiar family location and tried to see what happened. It was noisy and had many people while we enjoyed a trivia night in our regular haunt. Yes he cried a little but given the circumstance he didn't cry much and most of that was drowned out by all the ambient noise anyway. There's a lot to be said for crowded rooms. A crying baby stands out less and if they're comfy enough they'll just sleep anyway. Again, we kept him away from the pokies but there was Keno at the table. Luckily he can't grip the pencil to fill out the form yet.
Then it was time for some proper socialising by showing up to parents group.
Parents group, normally called mothers group but more accurately parents group because of my presence, is a mechanism where new mothers in a certain area are organised into a group to share their experiences and become a support network for one another. It was as awkward a start as you might expect with everyone testing to see how much they're willing to share with complete strangers. What I didn't expect was that a room full of newborns, and there were about 15 or so, could be as quiet as it was. Infact, and I'm sure we were not the only ones, there was some anxiety about which baby it would be to break the silence. That I don't remember which it was leaves me confident in saying it wasn't NotHeidi.
There were only 4 weeks of this facilitated weekly meeting after which the group was left to organise themselves which they did. In those 4 weeks a few more Dads showed up, I like to think it was my example, but the catch ups at various locations are father-free. It was noteworthy that many of the new mums were also new to the area and lacking the kind of support network that comes with being long term residents in one area. In that sense we fit that profile as well and that shared experience is also something that has helped bond the mothers despite the differences in personality, attitude and age.
NotHeidi thus is familiar with many children all sorts of adults and now it's time to give him access to some new locations. We took him on a bushwalk, though it must be said there was precious little walking done on his part. Where he didn't see a single fan but seemed quite intrigued by a few of the birds he saw. He enjoyed touching leaves and branches with his hands, though less so with the face. There's a price to be paid to have your child facing outwards in his BabyBjorn to see the world.
Having worked up a sweat walking around the bush we balanced it out with an experience of hustle and bustle (at least by Australian standards) of the city and dumplings in Chinatown. The trip to see his Grandma further west might be marginally longer distance wise but in terms of time spent in the car this was the longest one yet.
We went to visit the other Aunty and cousin, then have dinner with friends for what was, to that point, the longest time away from home (some 12 hours). Not once did he complain "are we there yet" or puke in the car. If he becomes someone who is keen on travel this might become chapter one of his book about his experiences.
Then, just before his 2month anniversary we took him back to where his parents were married and celebrated their love before all their friends and relatives. We explained to him the importance of love and finding someone who you are free to be yourself with and fear no judgement from. We kissed him and each other and reflected on how lucky we were to lead such wonderful lives.
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