Two Weeks Old

This thumb sucking thing might be a problem later!

One Week Old

Surprises

Here are some things I wasn’t expecting…when I was expecting:

The love is instant and incredible. Everyone says this, and really, it wasn’t a surprise. But the sheer magnitude of the love I feel for our Babers…I could never have imagined. I just want everything to be perfect – to do everything right – for our little girl.

The inventor of the Onesie is a cruel, cruel man. I feel so bad for our girl when it comes to changing her clothes. Every time she needs a new Onesie, it’s like she’s being born all over again. Given who her mother is, I expected my child to have a large head, but come on…the neck holes in Onesies are smaller than the head of a pin. Good thing she was born in the North Dakota winter so she has to wear a Onesie under her outfit until at least June.

Being the parent is tough. We are fortunate to be able to sleep well at night, and yesterday was the first day I made it through a whole day without a nap. What I didn’t expect was how difficult it is to make decisions. That’s never been one of my strong points, but it’s even worse now. It’s not that I can’t decide what sleeper Babers should wear – it’s the major life stuff. And we’re only ~3 weeks in. It is crazy to me that R and I are responsible for this child. She is God’s gift that has been entrusted to us.  Not just me. Not just R. Babers.

You swell up like a circus freak after the baby is born. The nurses at the hospital said, “Elevate your feet when you get home because the swelling will get worse.” Um, talk about a gross minimization! The day after we got home, I looked down and saw basketballs attached to my ankles. We’re talking round feet. We almost went to the midwives’ walk-in clinic because I was crying, convinced I had deep vein thrombosis and may not make it through the night…. Literally. Which brings me to my next point:

The post-delivery hormones are insane. Wow! Again, the nurses told me the first couple weeks I would be “a little weepy.” To be fair, I may be an exception to the rule, since I get “a little weepy” watching iPhone commercials. The first 9 days, it took nothing more than a gentle breeze to catapult me into hysterical tears. Good things, bad things, Tuesdays – anything was worth a good cry. Thankfully, with Ryan’s help I was (usually) able to recognize the ridiculousness of the situation and laugh at the same time.

Breastfeedin’ ain’t easy. I have never known anyone as they nursed a newborn. Because of that, I thought the breastfeeding was as simple as a 6-month-old makes it look: Make the food available, lift the baby up, and go about your business. Not so, my friends. As I’m sure I will learn more and more as the months and years go by, this one is a superchallenging yet rewarding experience. I scoffed at the prenatal class’ name “Developing the Art of Breastfeeding.” (Don’t you just do it?) But I hereby offer an apology to the hospital staff. You were right. It’s an art. We’re learning.

I have an instant and incredible new love for my husband. As mentioned in the first paragraph, I wasn’t surprised about loving Babers right away. I didn’t know, though, that I would see R…so differently, so soon! He is an amazing dad and wonderful help. I can’t imagine a better partner to walk through this with. Seeing R with our baby opened up another new world of love I haven’t known before.

So, so many blessings!

A New Adventure

K and I finally got to see the face of our little girl after nine months of waiting! Babers was born at 7:29 pm on January 6th, weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz, and measuring 20 1/2 inches. She was exactly what one would expect, coming from K and myself: adorable, sweet-smelling, and caucasian. We enjoyed two nights at the hospital before coming home on Saturday to brave the art of being a family of 3.

The little miracle has been gracing us with her presence for 15 days now. We've known cartons of milk for longer. However, we've never looked at milk for a solid hour without getting really bored. But our girl fascinates us by just being herself. Our little Babers has been growing by ounces and nicknames. We have enjoyed having her weighed frequently to make sure that she is getting chubbier, because that's what we want for her, to be fat and happy. She is two weeks old and has already gained 14 ounces!

K and I have also been exercising our right to be nickname people. We found this out when we got our dog, Emilio. He has been affectionately called the following: Mealy, Meals, Mealers, and Mealworm. So when Evelyn came along, we decided to do the same, going with: Eleanor Rigby, E-card, Dolly, Punky, Babycakes, and about 6 others derived from her actual name.

We are very much enjoying our new role as parents with our Babers. She has already started to learn skills. I know what you're thinking. "It's too soon for that, Dude!" And you would be wrong. E has already learned to smile, sneeze, yawn, and her personal favorite, poop as soon as Dad puts on a fresh diaper. Next on our agenda is teaching her the lyrics to "Peace Train" by Cat Stevens. It's taking a long time because she has trouble with her Rs, and she keeps falling asleep during our lessons.

(Photos - and labor and delivery details - soon to follow....)