Coming home from the hospital on May 14
Going on some errands, just 11 days later on May 25And now, some things I was not prepared for...
1. How absent-minded I would become.
Moms everywhere warned me about this, but I had no idea it would come to light so quickly (or so profoundly!) Take, for example, the time I picked up a crying Elliott to feed her and realized that I had a completely naked baby hungrily nursing in my arms - and was two rooms away from a diaper and wipes! I had been in the middle of changing her when the hungry wails began, and never put her new diaper on! Elliott is a masterful pooper, and this was a recipe for disaster. Or this morning, while I was sweeping up the kitchen floor. When I stood up, I bashed my head on the counter-top (which would explain the headache I'm experiencing right now and will also help explain the countless other brainless things I will do today.)
2. How much I hate to hear her cry.
I don't mean because it's irritating (though, yes, after a few straight hours I may fantasize about donning a sweet pair of ear plugs.) What I hate is when she cries so much and so loudly from what we presume - from the red scrunched up face of pain accompanied by the explosive farts - is bad gas. I just want to make all her pain go away, and it kills me when I can't. Twice so far I found myself crying right along with her out of utter frustration over not being able to get her settled down and comfortable - not something I'm particularly proud of, but what can I say?
3. How any song becomes fair game when it comes to lullabies.
Prior to giving birth, I read a book called From Here to Maternity, a collection of witty and sardonically charming essays about parenting young children by Beth Teitell. In it, she recalls singing the "Brady Bunch" theme song as a lullaby when she couldn't remember the words to any children's songs. As a children's librarian who entertains little kids en masse for a living, I have no excuse to resort to such a thing, and yet the other day I found myself rocking Elliott in my arms and singing, in my most precious and angelic voice, "Here's a story, bout a lovely lady..." The magic here is that it actually began to work. I was watching Elliott's eyes grow heavy and her mouth turn into a little grin when I thought, why stop there? Soon I was singing the theme song to "Gilligan's Island," followed by a severely lame version of the "Mr. Belvedere" song, of which I only knew the lyrics to last verse. Elliott was passed out in no time! Since then, I've dipped into a reservoir of the most bizarre tunes to use as lullabies, but hell, I don't see Elliott complaining one bit, so I plan to keep it up.
4. How much laundry one little baby could be responsible for.
Between the spitting up, the peeing, the pooing, and the projectile vomiting (fortunately, this only occurred once), I am finding that the washing machine, along with an arsenal of cleaning products like my trusty spray bottle of water and borax and my Holy Cow All Purpose Cleaner, are my new best friends. I know they say "sleep when the baby sleeps," but I just don't see how that's at all possible when there's always a huge pile of laundry (hers and mine, as I'm always caught in the crossfire) to tend to.
5. How few baby clothes we would actually need.
We could have gotten away with a pack or two of onesies. Instead, we have a three-drawer dresser filled to the brim with adorable clothes for 0-6 month olds - mostly gifts and hand-me-downs - that will sadly go unworn. When she sleeps (which is the majority of the time) we swaddle her in a receiving blanket. When she eats (which is basically the remainder of the time), we strip her down to a diaper to keep her from falling asleep. Hence, a vicious cycle of swaddling blanket/nakedness has been born. The only time we clothe her (usually in a onesie) is when she has a visitor or we bring her out on the town. I know this is bound to change as she becomes more active and mature, but at the rate she's going, she may very well be grown out of all her tiny baby clothes before it does!
Here she is, actually clothed!
6. And how many diapers we would need.
No one tells you that one diaper changing session may actually cost you 2 to 3 diapers. You get the new one practically on, when explosive pooing occurs or a fountain of pee erupts, thus soiling the "clean" diaper. Fortunately, I just received a delivery of diapers from Diapers.com as we were about to run out of our stash yet again!
7. How amazing a daddy Ryan would be.
I should have known - he's amazing at everything, after all. But as a parent, he is remarkable, a natural. He is the master of swaddling; he can almost always calm her during even the worst crying spells; he wakes up super early in the morning to feed her a bottle of pumped milk without complaint (I think he even enjoys it!); he is able to bathe her without fear of dropping her slippery little body; he almost always gets a good burp (or fart) out of her when need be; he jumps to her rescue whenever she freaks; he cuddles with her and looks at her with the most adoring eyes; and he treats every new challenge with the utmost patience and calm. Not to mention he has to put up with me! He truly is my rock and Elliott is so lucky to have him as a daddy. I can only hope for her that she one day finds a man as wonderful as my Ryan!
Ryan is a baby whisperer!
8. How long it takes to post new blog entries.
Between feeding her, changing her, playing with her, and getting her to sleep, pretty much every task takes eons to accomplish. This post, for example, has pretty much taken up my entire day! I should be sleeping when she sleeps, right? Or at least folding laundry...
I'm sure there will be many, many things I find I was not prepared for, and many, many mistakes I will undoubtedly make. I've only been a mom for fourteen days, after all! But so far, it's been the most rewarding experience of my life, and I look forward to many years of learning how to be the best parent I can be!
The sweetest baby in the world - but I may be biased! (1 week and 3 days)
1. How absent-minded I would become.
Moms everywhere warned me about this, but I had no idea it would come to light so quickly (or so profoundly!) Take, for example, the time I picked up a crying Elliott to feed her and realized that I had a completely naked baby hungrily nursing in my arms - and was two rooms away from a diaper and wipes! I had been in the middle of changing her when the hungry wails began, and never put her new diaper on! Elliott is a masterful pooper, and this was a recipe for disaster. Or this morning, while I was sweeping up the kitchen floor. When I stood up, I bashed my head on the counter-top (which would explain the headache I'm experiencing right now and will also help explain the countless other brainless things I will do today.)
2. How much I hate to hear her cry.
I don't mean because it's irritating (though, yes, after a few straight hours I may fantasize about donning a sweet pair of ear plugs.) What I hate is when she cries so much and so loudly from what we presume - from the red scrunched up face of pain accompanied by the explosive farts - is bad gas. I just want to make all her pain go away, and it kills me when I can't. Twice so far I found myself crying right along with her out of utter frustration over not being able to get her settled down and comfortable - not something I'm particularly proud of, but what can I say?
3. How any song becomes fair game when it comes to lullabies.
Prior to giving birth, I read a book called From Here to Maternity, a collection of witty and sardonically charming essays about parenting young children by Beth Teitell. In it, she recalls singing the "Brady Bunch" theme song as a lullaby when she couldn't remember the words to any children's songs. As a children's librarian who entertains little kids en masse for a living, I have no excuse to resort to such a thing, and yet the other day I found myself rocking Elliott in my arms and singing, in my most precious and angelic voice, "Here's a story, bout a lovely lady..." The magic here is that it actually began to work. I was watching Elliott's eyes grow heavy and her mouth turn into a little grin when I thought, why stop there? Soon I was singing the theme song to "Gilligan's Island," followed by a severely lame version of the "Mr. Belvedere" song, of which I only knew the lyrics to last verse. Elliott was passed out in no time! Since then, I've dipped into a reservoir of the most bizarre tunes to use as lullabies, but hell, I don't see Elliott complaining one bit, so I plan to keep it up.
4. How much laundry one little baby could be responsible for.
Between the spitting up, the peeing, the pooing, and the projectile vomiting (fortunately, this only occurred once), I am finding that the washing machine, along with an arsenal of cleaning products like my trusty spray bottle of water and borax and my Holy Cow All Purpose Cleaner, are my new best friends. I know they say "sleep when the baby sleeps," but I just don't see how that's at all possible when there's always a huge pile of laundry (hers and mine, as I'm always caught in the crossfire) to tend to.
5. How few baby clothes we would actually need.
We could have gotten away with a pack or two of onesies. Instead, we have a three-drawer dresser filled to the brim with adorable clothes for 0-6 month olds - mostly gifts and hand-me-downs - that will sadly go unworn. When she sleeps (which is the majority of the time) we swaddle her in a receiving blanket. When she eats (which is basically the remainder of the time), we strip her down to a diaper to keep her from falling asleep. Hence, a vicious cycle of swaddling blanket/nakedness has been born. The only time we clothe her (usually in a onesie) is when she has a visitor or we bring her out on the town. I know this is bound to change as she becomes more active and mature, but at the rate she's going, she may very well be grown out of all her tiny baby clothes before it does!
Here she is, actually clothed!6. And how many diapers we would need.
No one tells you that one diaper changing session may actually cost you 2 to 3 diapers. You get the new one practically on, when explosive pooing occurs or a fountain of pee erupts, thus soiling the "clean" diaper. Fortunately, I just received a delivery of diapers from Diapers.com as we were about to run out of our stash yet again!
7. How amazing a daddy Ryan would be.
I should have known - he's amazing at everything, after all. But as a parent, he is remarkable, a natural. He is the master of swaddling; he can almost always calm her during even the worst crying spells; he wakes up super early in the morning to feed her a bottle of pumped milk without complaint (I think he even enjoys it!); he is able to bathe her without fear of dropping her slippery little body; he almost always gets a good burp (or fart) out of her when need be; he jumps to her rescue whenever she freaks; he cuddles with her and looks at her with the most adoring eyes; and he treats every new challenge with the utmost patience and calm. Not to mention he has to put up with me! He truly is my rock and Elliott is so lucky to have him as a daddy. I can only hope for her that she one day finds a man as wonderful as my Ryan!
Ryan is a baby whisperer!8. How long it takes to post new blog entries.
Between feeding her, changing her, playing with her, and getting her to sleep, pretty much every task takes eons to accomplish. This post, for example, has pretty much taken up my entire day! I should be sleeping when she sleeps, right? Or at least folding laundry...
I'm sure there will be many, many things I find I was not prepared for, and many, many mistakes I will undoubtedly make. I've only been a mom for fourteen days, after all! But so far, it's been the most rewarding experience of my life, and I look forward to many years of learning how to be the best parent I can be!
The sweetest baby in the world - but I may be biased! (1 week and 3 days)
Aww..she's so cute! I love your Brady Bunch song! That's awesome. It's true all the things you don't prepare for as a new parent but what's great is you learn real quick! hehe. =)
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