Today Avery is 12 days old. I guess in the milestone sense, 12 days doesn’t seem that momentous. Not sure why it feels like it is. Maybe it’s because after four days of a very vocal little girl, we got our hands on Dr Harvey Karp’s “The Happiest Baby on the Block“, learned his 5 Ss, and feel like we’re getting on top of things. What was a very loud (and common) mystery is now a manageable phase. “Manageable” being relative. Little bunny might be distracted for a while, but if she’s conscious, she’s really only interested in nipple time. Anything else is protested in no uncertain terms.
Today is a milestone because I zipped down to Babies R Us and picked up a Snugabunny swing, snugged our bunny into it, and… silence. She loves it. We love it. It’s a sure 20 minutes of contentment – before she snaps out of it and wants that danged nipple again. But still. 20 minutes, people. It’s a victory worthy of shouting from the rooftops.
Am I getting ahead of myself?
The story thus far: Avery is growing. She’s grown an inch since she was born – 5% vertical in 12 days! Hey – she eats at the finest restaurant in town. M’s mom has been here most days to help out and has been a godsend. M is healing very well from surgery – she’s not playing volleyball yet, but she can (more or less) stand up in one move. I’m staying ahead of the dishes and cleaning, and always present for diaper duty. I had never quite understood how one baby could exhaust two adults, and I’m still not entirely sure how it happens, but we are both kept busy around the clock, getting in a couple hours sleep whenever we can. Sometimes four!
Insofar as a completely random schedule dictated by the tummy of an infant can be routine, we are finding a routine. I can usually get a couple of hours of work done each day after M and Avery are down. Talk about appreciating my job – everyone is going way out of their way to make sure our little family has some time to find its feet. It really is appreciated – back at Empire HQ they’re juggling bowling balls. Our doctors made it very clear that Marjorie wasn’t to attempt to lift anything heavier than a baby for six weeks, and if I had to be 100% on hand for the whole six weeks, I’m not sure what sort of situation I’d be going back to. So it’s awesome that M is healing well and Avery is… doing exactly what newborns do. I think it’s all going to work out just fine, with a gradual increase in workload.
Avery is amazing. When she’s not obsessing over milk or zonked out in a milk coma, she’s very attentive. She tries to watch everything, especially the lights. Apparently she can’t see blue and violet yet, and depth perception is more than four months off, but whatever she’s seeing, it’s fascinating. For her and for me.
Some other stuff I didn’t know:
- Normally, the mucous in a baby’s stomach is squeezed out as she travels through the birth canal. Caesarian births don’t get that helpful squeeze, and that mucous has to come out somehow. Many newborns manage to sneeze it out safely. Others need help. Be ready.
- For a couple of days, newborn girls can bleed vaginally a bit, but it’s just the hormones finding their starting point. Don’t panic.
- There can be amber crystals in the urine while the plumbing sorts itself out. No worries.
- Poop is the harbinger of healthy development, and you will watch with eager anticipation as it changes from sticky black tar to, well, mustard.
- Babies go through a lot of diapers. Pretty much one feed, one change. And you might feed ten times a day. Or more.
- Breastfeeding may be very natural, but it is not an instinctual skill. There’s subtlety of technique, and it’s important, both for babies and momma’s extremely hard working nipples. New moms – don’t be shy about dropping in on a breast feeding class. You will be amazed how much you don’t know.
- Newborns really do love to be swaddled up quite snuggly to sleep, and don’t have much use for our beloved concepts of personal space and freedom. When those little arms flail out, it’s a panic reflex, just like if you were suddenly tossed out of bed. A snug safe swaddle is a happy place for a baby.
- A Caesarian birth is a great opportunity for Dad to bond with his little girl. Mom needs him to help – a lot. I cannot imagine how a single mom can do it. Respect. Dads – this is your shot. Do not miss it. Be present and committed and forget about sitting down today. You’re on duty. Time to shine.
- Babies can peel after coming home. A whole layer of skin just… sheds right off. Like too much sun but without the burn. Don’t worry about it. And don’t put lotion on it. You have any idea what nonsense they put in lotions these days? In fact, she doesn’t need anything beyond basic hygiene for weeks. Warm, clean water for diaper changes. A weekly bath with the gentlest of baby body wash.
- She doesn’t really need a reason to cry, as such. Her motivations these days are pretty simple – 1) eat, 2) be comfortable. If she’s yelling, you’ll try to feed her. If that doesn’t work, or only works for a minute, she’s just trying to find comfort. See motivation 1. Yikes. So moms find other ways to soothe. Dr Karp’s video really helped. Swaddle, Side/Stomach position, Swinging, Shushing, Sucking (pacifier good).
The tv came on for the first time in two weeks last night. We thought we’d watch an episode of Game of Thrones. Time Warner sucks at delivering a consistent stream though (even at the package rate I’m paying), so we turned it off after ten minutes. Time Warner may hear about it, or I might just cancel. We don’t seem to have much time for tv, and we don’t seem to be missing it. Maybe that’ll change in a few months.
Anyway, despite having nothing pressing to say beyond your classic update, I told myself I would write more often now that I’m a dad. I’m almost guaranteed a readership increase of 1 in a decade or two. And then she’ll demand I destroy it lest her boyfriend should discover it. Or (gasp) her school friends! We’ll see, little bunny. We’ll see. Muahaha.
I’m kidding, of course. I’m totally on her side. I’m the cool daddy. I think. Aren’t I the cool daddy? Hmm.
