October 8. Day 281. He must have been a beautiful baby ...

Of  course the pain fades in time - otherwise no-one would ever have a second child. Ever. Not that I did, but anyway. Still while new mothers reflect on the brain numbing exhaustion that comes with caring for a newborn I look back with great fondness. My baby was a delight and I'm sure I thought so even at the time. Sure the round the clock responsibility for every single human need of a little person is relentless but I reveled in it. Parenting in the teen era, not so much. 

The challenges, I find are less physically exhausting, but mentally it's a struggle. I might not have known how to breast feed or change a nappy but I knew I could learn it. The answers for teens are not so easy. So I have to tell myself that while the solution to teen dramas might not be as readily available as a clean nappy or bottle of formula, in the end the teen needs about the same as a newborn - unconditional love, patience and the security of knowing you are there - plus food and clean underwear. That, and the hope that on reflection I will look back on this period with fondness.