Month: February 2008

My parents very thoughtfully arranged for us to have a postpartum doula come and spend some time with us to help with the adjustment to having a new baby around the house. Doula is a Greek word that means “one who requires only a large piece of cloth to demonstrate how unprepared you are to be a parent.”

I am, of course, talking about swaddling. Swaddling is the practice of wrapping your child up like a baby burrito, to keep him feeling secure and contained like he’s back in the womb. Like everything else baby-related, it’s harder than it sounds, especially at three in the morning. When done properly, it quiets him down in seconds, so obviously you can see the value, especially at three in the morning. Not since losing my virginity have I wanted so badly to be good at something I was so bad at.

I feel better knowing I’m not the only person who has a lot to learn about babies. Jean’s cousin Laura and her boyfriend Craig sent Conrad this bouquet of cookies:

I mean, come on. Even I know he can’t eat cookies yet.

Actually we’ve been home for a day and a half, but blogging hasn’t been high on the list. We’re both trying to catch up on sleep and figure out how to run a house that suddenly has a whole new focus. We’ve been so completely in our own world that we were surprised to see cars with snow on them on the road this morning. If you’ve ever been in North Carolina when snow was threatened, you know how hard it is to avoid the frenzy that accompanies even the lightest of flurries.

Also, apparently it’s Valentine’s Day.

Conrad had his first pediatrician visit this morning. He came home from the hospital with a bit of jaundice but it seems to be progressing nicely and he is eating like an absolute champ, after a bit of a shaky start in the first couple of days. In fact, he’s eating now, and has been for roughly 90 minutes straight. The doctor said he had gained a good amount of weight since leaving the hospital. Like the hospital, our doctor uses a seemingly random mix of English and metric units which makes things complicated. I think she said he’d gained 85 hectares.

Jean is doing well and continues to amaze me with her strength and good humor. If it hadn’t been confirmed during her champion performance during a long and often difficult labor, seeing her love and devotion to Conrad makes me realize anew every hour that I couldn’t have found a better person to do this with.

And now, the stuff you came for:

The picture below of Conrad and me was taken a few hours after he was born, but I waited until today “after Jean had finally been able to take a shower” to post any of her. “I also have a series shot for reference during our session with the lactation consultant, but I doubt she’d appreciate me putting those up.”

Jean bought a nice new sweater for the hospital. My only considerations when packing were comfort and the potential for mess, so I’ve been walking around the place looking like the contents of a Goodwill donation box.

Knowing that there are lots of current parents reading this blog, I’ll try to avoid the new Dad habit of acting like I’ve just discovered babies and am announcing their existence to you. We’ve had enough experiences just in the past 29 hours that made me realize I have a lot to learn, but almost all of it is already known by one or all of you. For instance, you already know that gas makes babies cry. I just learned that around noon.

One thing that I think might be new, though. See that cute hat he’s wearing? Five minutes ago Jean looked over and noticed he’d pulled it completely down over his face, all the way to his chin. This after 29 hours of fighting to remove the hat. He doesn’t like it much on his head, but he likes it even less when worn like a ski mask without eye holes.

One last quick note before we get him ready for lunch: Those of you who have told us how cute he is should know that your opinion has been verified by at least six medical professionals who see babies every day. So now we know it’s fact.

Born Feb. 11, 2008
7:00 a.m.
7 pounds, 10 ounces

Mother and baby are healthy and happy. And there was much rejoicing.

That’s what we’ve got on the schedule for today, and so far it’s progressing nicely.

Jean has had two popsicles so far. She’s also determined that two popsicles may be her limit. “Scroll down to watch a riveting motion picture version of the Popsicle Story.”

In one of our birthing classes, we learned the importance of “focal points,” objects for the mother to focus on during contractions. Here are two of our focal points. Note the continuation of the “ear” theme:

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