Julian soon had to return to Papua New Guinea so I went to Sydney to stay with Jim and Elizabeth Hammond, the parents of two of my closest friends, Meg and Steph. With their quiet support and vast experience – they had six grown children and the first of their nineteen grandchildren – they guided me through the first days of motherhood, keeping me company, and nursing me through yet another bout of malaria. Luckily for us all, George was a great first baby – contented and easy. Elizabeth advised me to try her time-honoured routine of two daytime sleeps – for the mother as well, when possible – and this became my blueprint for the future. George was so adaptable that even when other plans took over, he simply went back to sleep or lay awake smiling. I was coping reasonably well, but I had moments of panic, particularly when I was on my own with him; there seemed to be so much to learn. It was overwhelming to realise, when I held George’s tiny body in my arms, that after many years of pleasing myself, I was now responsible for another human life.
What do You think about A Bird On My Shoulder (2016)?
