New Post

At Karen's request, here's an update on my life with the baby. I NEED SLEEP. I'm doing much better today, but I'm coasting on less sleep than any other time in my life. I never went without sleep--not for finals, not for qualifying exams, nothing. But for this baby, I am sacrificing my sleep, which means I'm also sacrificing emotional stability. Oh well. She's really cute. No really.

I had some horrible bug for two days, which included diarrhea, vomiting, chills, and a 102 degree fever. THAT was quite bad. But Ruby finally went to sleep for longer than an hour at about 9:30 last night, so I was able to sleep a bit and recover some sanity.

That flickr page has more pictures of Ruby, so if you haven't checked it again recently, there may be some new pictures there.

So you really want to hear more about my boobs? Well, they still hurt a lot. After all, the baby gets more hungry and stronger by the day, and she probably sucks for at least 5 hours a day. (Probably more-- I'm just guessing) I like to think that all the extra weight that's still on me is on my boobs. Of course, it's not true, since I can't seem to fit into a single pair of my old jeans. Sigh.

Well, she's awake folks. See ya.

Baby days

So nobody told me that stretch marks are insanely itchy when they form! I've been lucky and only have a few by my belly button, but I had no idea how itchy it would be. I'm usually scratching my belly like a neanderthal throughout the day.

My favorite baby moments: when she smiles into the boob. I'm usually hunched over in the middle of the night, wishing mightily that she would be done sucking already, when she'll stop suddenly and smile with the nipple in her mouth. It's so damn cute. Then the sentimental baby moment is over and I go back to wishing that my boobs were detachable so she can eat while I sleep.

Obviously I'm obssessed with my boobs lately. Overall, they are a bit of a pain. They're too big, too heavy, too leaky. But I can't help being kind of pleased about them all the same.

Craziness

I'm rarely overwhelmed, but this last week has been one of the most intense weeks of my life. Thanks everyone for the congrats. I've never worked harder for anything, and really, it was only because I thought *my* life depended on it. Labor was the worst pain I've ever experienced, and I hollered through almost all 12 hours of it. Poor Jonner and Judy were with me the whole time while I was off in labor land, and they were terrific. My doula was also amazing, and the team of nurses and midwives at the hospital were impressively supportive. There were a few bumps for me-- I got dehydrated near the end and needed an IV after two catheters, and in the end, the baby's head got kind of stuck, so I needed a small episiotomy and some pitocin afterwards to stop the bleeding from where the placenta came off. If anyone is getting woozy, don't worry. I was too.

So Ruby was 8lb 6oz, with one of the biggest heads ever (not really, it just felt that way to my vagina). She had zero problems, with an impressive Apgar score of 9, and no jaundice or other problems. She was a bit of chomper (and still is) with the breastfeeding, but we're working on it.
Lately I feel like one giant boob. The days run together because my schedule is nurse, eat, sleep, pee--over and over and over again. I think Jonner has a little bit of boob envy since that's all Ruby wants lately, but he wouldn't really if he tried. Breastfeeding is often described as the most natural thing ever, but it really doesn't feel that natural to me. It's exactly what it seems--you stick a powerful sucking machine at your nipple. And it's every bit as uncomfortable as you might imagine.

The animals have been great with her. The cats just sniff her every once in a while and then run off when she screams. Bailey on the other hand, has been pretty good, but I think she's feeling a little sensitive. She's been a bit more needy for attention, and sometimes it's hard to get her to stop licking Ruby's head without being forceful. (We're trying to associate good things with the baby, so we're extra gentle with her when she's around the baby)

So there's a brief update. And it *is* brief. If anyone wants to pump me for more gory details, feel free. There's not much else on my mind.

Hello World

Ruby says Hi:


Everybody's doing fine. More information later.