Notes from one month
I'll get to Part 3 of my birth and homecoming story soon, promise, but it's taking me a while to process it, as it encompasses the real breastfeeding struggles and challenges and I'm still sort of in the middle of it. (However, for those of you who are worried about me: It does/did get better. Sort of. Mostly.) Meanwhile, though, a few observations on the first month of motherhood:
(Yes, technically Bat Girl turned one month old yesterday...I meant to post then but life with a newborn being what it is, I haven't had a chance to post until now.)
• We've been getting a lot of congratulatory cards with messages along the lines of "Thank heaven for little girls"/"Sugar and spice and everything nice..."/etc., and they always make me snicker a little, because frankly, a newborn baby, boy or girl, is more feral animal than human. The grunting, the pooping, the desperate lunging at the boob or bottle, the ultrasonic high-pitched keening, not to mention the projectile bodily fluids from every orifice...nothing hearts-and-flowers-and-sugarplums about that.
• The liquid forms of fenugreek and blessed thistle are supposed to be more effective than the capsule forms. But they taste like ass.
• When your baby foils your expectations by waking up at 6 am instead of 8 am (she last ate at 4 am! She finally went down at 5:30! She should have slept another three hours!), your consolation will be that after feeding her, you can bring her back to bed with you and your normally anti-cosleeping husband will not make a peep of protest. You will not be able to sleep for fear of accidentally crushing her, but you will snuggle her warm little body and all will be right with the world. Until she wakes up and wants to eat. Again.
• Bat Girl is just four weeks old and already she has changed so much. She has chunked up considerably and I do miss my tiny little baby. I notice it the most in her hands--they are sweet and dimpled and chubby, but they have lost that newborn delicacy. I suppose this is how I will feel the rest of my life--always happy to see her grow, always delighted by each new stage, but always aching a little for what's past.
(Yes, technically Bat Girl turned one month old yesterday...I meant to post then but life with a newborn being what it is, I haven't had a chance to post until now.)
• We've been getting a lot of congratulatory cards with messages along the lines of "Thank heaven for little girls"/"Sugar and spice and everything nice..."/etc., and they always make me snicker a little, because frankly, a newborn baby, boy or girl, is more feral animal than human. The grunting, the pooping, the desperate lunging at the boob or bottle, the ultrasonic high-pitched keening, not to mention the projectile bodily fluids from every orifice...nothing hearts-and-flowers-and-sugarplums about that.
• The liquid forms of fenugreek and blessed thistle are supposed to be more effective than the capsule forms. But they taste like ass.
• When your baby foils your expectations by waking up at 6 am instead of 8 am (she last ate at 4 am! She finally went down at 5:30! She should have slept another three hours!), your consolation will be that after feeding her, you can bring her back to bed with you and your normally anti-cosleeping husband will not make a peep of protest. You will not be able to sleep for fear of accidentally crushing her, but you will snuggle her warm little body and all will be right with the world. Until she wakes up and wants to eat. Again.
• Bat Girl is just four weeks old and already she has changed so much. She has chunked up considerably and I do miss my tiny little baby. I notice it the most in her hands--they are sweet and dimpled and chubby, but they have lost that newborn delicacy. I suppose this is how I will feel the rest of my life--always happy to see her grow, always delighted by each new stage, but always aching a little for what's past.
posted by electriclady at 10:01 PM
9 Comments:
I'm glad to hear that you and your family are doing well. Keep us updated!
So glad to hear you're doing well :-) It is such a shame babies don't have a system that indicates how long they plan to sleep so that we can know when we should even bother *trying* to get some sleep ourselves...
Glad to hear things are calming down a bit. Snatch every moment of sleep that you can, and I am sure your anti-co-sleeping DH will come around, sleep is the #1 priority.
"I suppose this is how I will feel the rest of my life--always happy to see her grow, always delighted by each new stage, but always aching a little for what's past."
Yes, yes, and yes. Sometimes aching a lot. That is the hardest part of parenting for me -- being so proud of who they are, but missing who they were so much.
And I used to scoff at (fertile) moms who'd say "I can't wait to have another!" as their current one was a mere 6 weeks -- but you nailed it. They change SO MUCH. She just got here, and already you miss her 'baby' self. This being a parent gig is bittersweet, no?
I am glad to hear that everything is going well and that breastfeeding is also better! I hear you about the sleep thing..I keep telling myself to enjoy it since they grow up so quickly!
I'm glad to hear that things are getting better. I TOTALLY understand your sentiments about her getting bigger. Zack is 8 weeks now and while I am delighted to see him smile at me there is a part of me that longs for him to stop getting so big so quickly!!
One month! It goes by so quickly, doesn't it? I know what you mean about sleeping with the baby. I actually never thought I'd do it because I always thought that I'd roll over on her or something but I'm not anymore. Sometimes it makes those morning feedings so much easier.
I also miss Aislinn's delicate newborn hands. I was just looking at them a few hours ago thinking the same thing. It's wonderful to see her change but I it's also a little heartbreaking because she's changing so much so quickly.
Anyway, happy one month birthday to Bat Girl and I'm glad to hear that all of you are doing well.
It truly is amazing how quickly they grow. Sounds like you and Bat Girl are doing very well, and I'm so thrilled for you!
Hello there! Thanks a lot, I am also having poblems with B feeding and it is very important to know that i am not alone. I am also seeing Dr. Gabbay and she is wonderful. Great post!
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