Rachael wrote up the notes after Wendy had left, before going to get her final patient.

It was four o'clock on the dot and she thought Declan should have been here by now. Then again, he'd probably stopped at the school library for some books. She forced herself not to worry. 'Bobby Rainer.' There was only one woman with a pram in the waiting room, a screaming baby inside, and Rachael motioned for them to come through. 'Take a seat,' she offered, as she sat behind her desk and checked the name of Bobby's mother. 'Tracy. What can I help you with today?' 'Can't you tell? Isn't it obvious?' The distraught young mother indicated the baby in the pram as she rocked it back and forth. 'Bobby isn't sleeping. It doesn't matter what I do, I can't get him to sleep at all. He just keeps crying.' 'OK.' Rachael stood up and went around to peer in the pram. 'When did you feed him last?' 'Just before we came.' 'He's your first?'

'And last, at this rate.' She sighed. 'That makes me sound like a terrible mother.' 'No.' Rachael smiled. 'It's quite understandable to feel that way, especially when you're probably not getting much sleep yourself. Mind if I pick him up?' 'Be my guest.' Bobby didn't stop crying immediately when Rachael picked him up and she was silently pleased about that. If he had, it might have made Tracy feel worse. 'OK, OK, calm down, mister. It's all right,' she soothed. 'Does he usually quieten down when you pick him up?' 'Eventually, but I've been doing everything the nurses in hospital told me to do.' 'How old is he now?' 'Four weeks.' 'Feel longer?' Rachael smiled as she asked the question. 'Yes. I'm just so tired and I can't sleep and I'm for ever getting up to him, and my husband's been out of town on business for the past week and it's just got worse.' Tears sprang into her eyes and she took a tissue from a box on Rachael's desk and blew her nose. 'I just can't cope and on top of it all I have my nosy mother-in-law hanging around, telling me what I'm doing wrong and how none of her children ever cried like this. I feel so useless.' As Tracy began to cry, Bobby began to settle. Rachael waited a moment before saying, 'I know how you feel.'

'You do?' Tracy looked up in surprise. 'Well, not about the mother-in-law but about being tired and feeling as though you can't cope. I was only eighteen when I had my son. I was at a loss about exactly what I was supposed to do and how to settle him and when to put him down for a sleep and when to feed him.' Tracy blew her nose. 'I can handle a boardroom full of cantankerous old men, I can prepare documents, write reviews, organise functions, but can I handle my own son? No.' She shook her head. 'It's just that they go through all the steps and what to do so quickly in the hospital, and the nurses are there to help you and then they just send you home and it's as though some maternal gene is supposed to click on and mine hasn't and I don't know what to do,' Tracy wailed, and started to cry again. 'And he cries and he's always hungry and then when he sleeps, I'm trying to get all the things done I need to do but he wakes up and,..' she shook her head '...it doesn't work. I'm a failure as a mother.' Another fresh bout of tears followed and little Bobby joined in. 'What sort of help do you have?' 'Help? What help?' 'Friends? Family?' 'My parents are overseas and none of my friends have kids.' 'What about your mother-in-law?' 'I'd hardly call her a help. All she wants to do is criticise me.' 'Will your husband be away for long?'

'He's due back on Friday but I'm at the end, Dr Cusack. I need to do something. I can't take Bobby's screaming any more.' Tracy looked at her imploringly. 'What did you do? Tell me how you coped.' 'I was living at home with my parents. My mum was fantastic. She didn't take over but instead showed me the best way to do things. I honestly wouldn't have coped if it hadn't been for her.' 'You were lucky.' 'Yes.' Bobby had quietened down again, snuffling a little. 'Let's take a look at you, mister.' She carefully placed the baby on the examination couch, one hand holding him as his arms and legs squirmed. The instant he was supine again, he began to scream. She quickly felt his tummy, looked at his eyes