2am, I hear a cry. I wake up with sleepy eyes and go about helping with the night shift. Usual tasks that I perform are changing his nappy, burping him and making my darling a cup of tea.

This is the usual routine that I have been performing with my son. However it does have a few challenges.

Like changing time. He cries quite alot. And because there is crying it creates a strong sense of urgency.
I have to really try hard to keep calm. The method I use to keep calm is to talk to him throughout the whole process.

Telling him what I’m doing before, during and after. It keeps me focused and on task while making sure I speak in a nice calm voice. On the surface it looks calm but believe me when I say, my anxiety is through the roof and I am sweating like a pig. My darling sometimes gets a cloth and towels my forhead like a doctor doing surgery. It’s funny now that I think about it but its real important for my baby’s brain development to see me doing things with him in a positive way.

Every experience will shape his behaviour in the future. Its a true story. The first few years last a lifetime. So with that I’m willingly giving it my best, to keep calm and make sure most of my interactions with my baby are positive.

If you would like to know more about the longterm effects of parenting positively in the early years click on this link https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17571472.2015.1133012