Happy Birthday to Us!

Right. I wrote this a week ago. And just now have my crap together to blog it. Better late then never!

So today (last Friday) is my 29th and my little girl’s one month birthday. Crazy how quickly time flies! And how different life was on my 28th.


Pic taken before my friend Jill's wedding. The baby is 11 days old.

This month has been bananas. I’ve meant to blog so many times but wow newborns are such a time suck. Either she needs something and I’m on it… or she’s happy baby and I just want to stare at her or play with her. Neither lends itself well to surfing the internets or writing anything more comprehensive than a tweet. So how about I just write a list of stuff I’ve learned?

1.) The only thing more pathetic than a guy with a cold is a newborn with a cold. And I wouldn’t wish being in a house with both on anyone.

2.) The suckybulb aka brain sucker aka I have no idea what the thing is actually called is the best parenting gizmo ever. Throw in some saline drops and even with the worst little sniffles you’re in business.

3.) For breastfeeding a dose of sudaphed has much scarier warnings than a half a shot of whiskey. Also hot toddy’s made with special organic mother’s milk tea are delicious. Oh yes they are.

4.) When the umbilical chord falls off (hers did on April 5) it’s supposed to leave behind a gaping flesh wound. And if you call your pediatrician on a Sunday afternoon and ask them “how much puss is too much puss” they will laugh at you.

5.) Newborns grow really quickly. She’s already starting to grow out of her 5-8lb size onsies which is a bit sad. Those were the only thing that even remotely fit when we brought her home.

6.) Newborns also develop really quickly. She’s already lifting her head all the way up and turning it from side to side during tummy time. And she coos at her little animals. But the best is that she’s so very VERY close to smiling it’s not even funny. Her face makes the motion and sometimes it’s situational. Like yesterday she was on my lap trying to tell me a story and Dexter came over and put his face in her face. She lit up like Christmas. I swear it was a smile. But I think it’s more involuntary than not. Soon it will be real, though.

7.) Everything takes about 5 times longer than it used to. For instance her baptism invites. Still not mailed out. And it’s only a month away (May 17th for all of you friends/family types out there!)

8.) It is possible to survive on less than 6 hours of very broken up sleep over a 48 hour period. Not fun, but possible.

Us on Easter. I am exactly as tired as I look in this picture, and she was flipping adorable in her little bonnet.

And that’s where I stopped writing. But with babies there’s something new every day so here’s a few more observations from this past week:

1.) It is possible to play Rock Band while nursing.

2.) Trust your instinct is still the best advice I’ve ever received. There was a whole thing that went down where after much research and googling and reading and agony we decided to blatantly ignore the pediatrician and stick with feeding her breastmilk exclusively. For so many reasons that was what seemed to be best for her. And since then she’s gained over a pound in 2 weeks time. She’s now up to 7lbs 15 oz. Exactly where she should be. So the pediatrician who told me to supplement with formula? Can SUCK IT. Boob food rules.

And finally:

3.) Curry stains look exactly like newborn poop stains.

Aren’t you glad I’m back to the blogging thing?