Article: Susan Newham from women24
Image: Tammy Gardner

Okay, the popping out at lunchtime for my Finn fix is no longer cutting it. We're going to have to lobby. What seemed like a throwaway comment of support made by Roxi last week suddenly seems like the only solution.

We have to get the maternity benefits in South Africa changed. Did you know that in the UK, women returning to work after their maternity leave have the legal right to negotiate flexible working conditions such as working part-time, or partly from home? That’s by law folks. I don't even want to mention the maternity policies in certain Scandinavian countries where the norm is up to two years of paid maternity leave. Can you imagine?

What these countries know that ours doesn't seem to, is that future generations need their mommies! It seems we've got a bit of catching up to do. So now we just have to find a lawyer who's prepared to take our case to court for free. Any takers?

Besides the very real need to spend more time with The Bug, I have another pressing concern about why Roxi and I should not both be at work all day. When we arrive home we both launch ourselves at Finn. 'I'll hold him, darling,' I chirp elbowing Roxi out the way. 'No, no, you're tired,' she replies, 'I'll take him.' One of us usually backs off, hovering in the background awaiting their turn. There's just so little quality time left between us getting home and Finn having a meltdown before he's swiftly put to bed, that we want to bond bond bond with our baby boy when we get the chance.

The Finn fix
Finn receives us warmly. He usually lies on his back beaming from one to the other, as if to say, 'Welcome home fans!'

You'd think that being lesbians we would somehow be immune to producing a man who expects women to dote on him. And yet I fear that if we both continue to work full-time, we're going to wreck him with our continual adoration when we are with him. Of course, it's not really our fault. It's hard not to be obsessed with the cutest craziest baby alive (no bias of course).

Finn spends an enormous part of his awake time trying to fling his head back to view the world upside down. The upside-down world is the best, you can tell, because it elicits such gurgles and shrieks of delight. In the mornings, you'll find him wedged into the corner of his cot trying to stuff both his Babysense blanket and his sleeping bunny into his mouth. There is a madness about him that is refreshing and addictive to be around.

Now I've just got to figure out how to be around it more than I presently am.

Are you also craving a fix of your baby while you are at work? Share with us your tricks for spending that extra time with your little one.

Susan Newham is a journalist living in Cape Town with her partner Roxi Blake, who's a graphic designer. Susan fell pregnant after being inseminated with the semen of an identity release donor.