Matthew Knott

Here's a fact for you, February is only the shortest month if you get some sleep, otherwise, it's infinitely long, and painful.

It's been eventful from the outset so here's how my month is going so far.

Here's a fact for you, February is only the shortest month if you get some sleep, otherwise, it's infinitely long, and painful.

Charlotte

She kicked the month off, being born on the 1st. It's been a difficult 3 weeks since she was born, sleep has been something of a memory. Last night was particularly difficult. Knowing that you have to drive for 45 minutes - hour each way to and from work and that first trip is only a few hours away can be psychologically tough. She's a hungry girl, constantly feeding, rarely sleeping.

Worries

It's been a month for killing off worries. Since selling my car I've been strategically clearing certain debts and we're now much better off each month, which is a great feeling! There's much less playing on my mind, which brings me onto my next subject.

Mental Health

Since witnessing my Uncles slow slip into dementia, I'm more mindful of how lucky we are to be of sound mind, and I can't help but wonder what I'll be like in later life. Although I'd consider myself to be compus mentus, various things have weighed on me, most notably the troubles with my neighbours. It's affected me significantly at a psychological level, when they're home, my stress levels are up and I'm constantly on edge, waiting for the thump, thump of the bass to kick in. Everything that makes a noise, be it the tumble dryer or the dish washer, has me stop, listening intently to try and determine if it's their music.

Worse than that I'm using a little voice in my head to tell myself that if it's not loud enough to disturb me it's not worth worrying about. But it doesn't work. If I can hear even the slightest hint of music from them, I've got to either leave the house or turn the tv up. But even then I'm constantly on edge. I think this inability to relax is going to take years off my life.

I'm now seriously worried that I'll have a heart attack before I'm 40. That's the sorry truth of the matter. It's not that I'm frightened of that, or even of dying, I just want to spend every possible minute with my wife and kids.

If I could afford it I think I'd consider legal action against them, no one should have to go through life like this. I'm actually considering selling the house and moving into rented accommodation until we find another place to live. I was so excited about that house, and now it's tainted with everything bad about next door.