And then there were two: One Dad's slow realization that he is hopelessly outnumbered
While Grace has certainly seen a bouncy house before, she has thus far lacked the coordination to make any use of one. On Superbowl Sunday while Mommy (conveniently) had to nurse Hazel in front of the game, I drew yard duty and Grace rocked the house.
For those of you who can’t just pop in to get some quality baby holding time, here are some virtual substitutes. Enjoy, and see if you can resist calling…
For the first time ever, Grace let me put her ladybug boots on her this morning. Somehow they even seem to go with the outfit I picked out. Even Mommy approved without a hint of sarcasm…which is rare for my fashion choices.
It’s been one week since we brought home our “Take Home Baby”, so now is probably a good time to review how she is doing. Here’s the rundown on her current responsibilities…
Packing on the ounces
7 lbs 4 oz, at last week’s pediatrician weigh-in, Hazel had already surpassed her birth weight by one ounce. It usually takes a week or more to level out the expected decline but Hazel leveled while we were still in the hospital and is now on the road to thighs like croissants. There is still a long way to go to get those flaky, buttery, pastry-like limbs but we know she is getting what she needs from Mommy.
Eating and sleeping
Breastfeeding was such a challenge with Grace, we were hoping that the experience would be different this time around. And it is. Hazel is like clockwork for most of the day announcing that 3 hours has passed since the start of the last session with a high-pitched wail that would make a good deterrent for loitering youths. Since a feeding takes about 45 minutes, that would leave about 2 hours and 15 minutes for Jenn to get some quality sleep...IF…Hazel didn’t also need a certain amount of cuddling to stay alseep. Grace never required or really wanted much cuddling, she just wanted to be left alone to catch her zzz’s and grow. With Hazel, there is a lot of room for our friends who like holding babies to get their fix (please make an orderly line to the right). Fortunately, she lets Mommy get some extra winks as the sun comes up as she seems to like that particular time to catch a few of her own.
Dear Grace and Hazel-
Your mom and I have now spent a week being the parents of two children and we feel like the luckiest, most relieved and tired people in the world. You are both beautiful and completely different from each other and from anything we could have expected 4 and a half years ago, when we met and gave up our “normal” lives.
Grace- you are the most independent, funny, stubborn and loving little girl. You love almost everything and everyone you meet. You say hi and give hugs and kisses to people and trees and cars and dogs and anything else that crosses your path. You love to color, push your toy stroller around the house (with anything from your dolls to your toothbrush to several pieces of cereal in it) and throw memorable tantrums when things don’t go your way. The funny thing (or “fuddy” to you) is that even your tantrums are cute to us. You spontaneously potty trained yourself and then lost interest in the potty. You like to recite the alphabet with us, but you will only do it yourself when you are alone with your dolls. You can count to 10 but you omit 4 and 6 most of the time. You love to watch Sesame Street (but you call it “Elmo”) and you love Cookie Monster, Elmo and Ernie the best. We rarely know what to expect with you, Grace. When we think something is going to make you mad, you shrug your shoulders and roll with it. On the other hand, if we hand you the wrong color cup full of water, you express your disapproval by hitting the ground with your adorable head…repeatedly.
Hazel- Welcome to our little family. Until we met you, your mom and I couldn’t imagine loving anyone as much as we love your sister. We thought there was somehow a finite amount of love that we had to dole out, but we were wrong. You are already so very different from your sister that you simultaneously remind us of all of the things we love about her while still being your own person and you are only a week old. While Grace liked to be left alone in her crib and we thanked our lucky stars that she was “easy”, you like to be held and cuddled and we have found out how much that warms our hearts and the hearts of everyone that has met you so far. You mark a new adventure for us that is both scary and exciting as we try to figure out what you like and what you don’t. Currently your likes include food, pacifiers and the swing and your dislikes include waking up, waiting for food or pacifiers and diaper changes.
Grace and Hazel, you met for the first time a couple days ago. Hazel regarded you, Grace, in the same way she does almost everything she sees, as a blurry blob that is not mommy’s boob. You will most certainly mean more to her than that as she gets to know you. You, on the other hand, have had almost 22 more months to form opinions about things (which you certainly do) and we were very interested to gauge your reaction. Initially, you didn’t know what to make of this new part of your life. You pointed and smiled and were clearly excited that something new had happened but you still don’t quite know what. Over the last few days, we noticed that you start to cry when you hear your sister cry and you have started to say “Hazel” before “Elmo” when you wake up in the morning which is as clear a sign as any that a bond is forming.
Your mom and I love you both very much and we look forward to the coming months and years as you grow up as individuals as well as sisters.
Love, Mom and Dad
Originally uploaded by Lincoln Topliff
Everyone is doing fine here, though the game of 2 on 1 was much easier than this 2 on 2. The first night home from the hospital was challenging, to say the least. Exhaustion and panic set in between 3 and 4am, but we pulled it together when Hazel decided sun up meant daughter down. A few hours of naptime and we were back on track.
Night two was much easier now that we know a little more about our newest team member. Apparently, she likes her back rubbed after a meal. Well, WHO DOESN’T?!? Most of us just don’t refuse to sleep when it doesn’t happen. It’s a good thing nobody else in this house is high maintenance…
Originally uploaded by Lincoln Topliff
A number of people have asked me how the big meeting between Grace and Hazel went. Here it is. We took Hazel to Grace’s Day Care for the first meeting. She was very excited to see her Mommy (which in itself is very heartwarming) then she saw Aunt Julie, then Daddy, and finally, she saw what Daddy was carrying. There is clearly a smile on her face and she is willing to blow kisses to Baby Hazel (a courtesy afforded every object in the house from the high chair to the baby gates), which gives us a strong foundation to build this relationship. Later, she got to kiss the babies toes and commented (astutely) that the baby was “kye-ing”. I think it will take awhile before she realizes that this Hazel-thing is here to stay and a little while after that before she figures out that that is a good thing.
We’ve been a little busy so babies that were born within a day of Hazel get a late welcome. Wesley McManis was born on January 20th in Vermont to our friends Lis and Keith. Where Hazel came out right before her 39th week, Wesley waited until the middle of his 41st week to arrive. That’s what happens when you give the baby a choice. Congratulations to the happy parents! We look forward to introducing him to Hazel but, despite Jenn’s negotiations, I think an arranged marriage is premature, especially given Wes’ inability to be on time for ANYTHING he does.
Hazel slept in the nursery last night giving Mommy and Daddy a much needed good night’s sleep. This morning she was still asleep in the cacophany of fellow newborns. She woke up just long enough to quickly pass her hearing test (pictured below), so we know that she can hear AND she can sleep through chaos. I am on the phone to the pediatrician’s office to see if there is a word better than “perfect” that we can use.
Originally uploaded by Lincoln Topliff
On the advice of our doul-everything (she was our doula but she is also our nurse advice line, lactation consultant, comic relief, photographer, emotional stabilizer etc etc etc) we let Hazel go without a bath for most of the day. Apparently babies can smell two things at birth—money and opportunity breast milk and amniotic fluid. It is in the best interest of that mother/daughter bond that you let some of that smell from the baby rub off on Mommy so they know who they are being handed too and what to latch on to. Otherwise, Daddy is the one with sore nipples and frustration abounds for all parties. It is for this breast feeding voodoo that we let Hazel go bathless for 10 or so hours. It might have been a bit long as we got distracted by her crazy adorableness and only remembered after dinner when we realized her head was still a bit crusty. This is her (mostly) enjoying a good shampoo and rinse. Sadly, they don’t do manicures here—though she is beginning to look a little “Howard Hughesish”— and she has a little too little hair to coif.
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