I could lift him more confidently, though I still moved carefully when my ribs ached.

The first time I carried him from one room to another without help, I stood beside the crib and cried a little.

Richard found me there.

‘Good news or bad?’ he asked.

‘Both,’ I said.

‘I can do more now.

Which means I have to start deciding what comes next.’

I had assumed I would go back to my apartment as soon as the doctor cleared me.