Nine and a half weeks in...exhausted but alive

So parenting is officially 'Not For Wimps'! While I expected a crash course in babies and their functions, I perhaps didn't expect to learn quite so much about myself too. The last couple of weeks have been incredibly challenging and hard work. Since week 7, Tasha and I have seen a couple of sudden changes in Gabriel's behaviour and also our own. Gabriel has changed from being a sleepy little angel to a colicky, screaming little angel, and we've changed from "tired and coping", to "exhausted and surviving"!
Obviously, the last 2 months has been a new experience for us and I'm rapidly learning that things like staying up until 3am is fine when you're a student, but that very same 3am hour feels very different from a parent's perspective. I'd be a fool if I hadn't expected late nights and lots of wake-ups as a parent, but I don't think much can prepare an expecting parent for the real fatigue that sinks in after the first few weeks.
Work at the hostel is still very good, although I was starting to feel a little bit isolated for a while. I'm pretty much my own department, so I don't have a natural group of people to hang out with! I guess what I'm discovering now, is that the more I get to know people in other departments, the less obliged they feel to ask the same three questions when I see them! ("How's Gabe?", "How old is he now?" and "Is he sleeping through the night yet?") As you can see by my mild cynicism, the ongoing baby-conversations are tiring. It's becoming almost impossible to have a social encounter without talking about sleeping patterns and the ever-developing bodily functions of a child. I miss talking about the football scores at the weekend, or the last episode of Top Gear, or anything that has no real link to baby-ness!
Don't get me wrong, I still adore Gabe and he makes me very proud and happy, but I'm sure any parents reading this will be able to relate to the occasional need to think outside the (toy)box.
I'm defintitely open to suggestions for coping strategies. So far, I've taken to playing volleyball once a week, both Tasha and I have dusted off my PS2 and played some video games (very brief games), and when I find any "free" time after all that, I've tried to edit some of the footage of Gabriel from our slightly under-used camcorder! (Family and friends, expect a Gabriel DVD with your Christmas cards this year!!!)
When all is said and done, we're still absolutely overjoyed with our gift from God and grateful for the friends we've been blessed with. Gabriel has been impressing us this week with new developments, such as holding his head up, sucking his hand and smiling at us when we smile at him. I love him so much and I've no doubt that when the tiredness subsides, I'll be a stronger daddy and husband from the experiences from the last 2 weeks.