Sunday, April 13, 2008

Newborn Notes

Tobiah will be 6 weeks soon, and I thought I ought to make a few notes as I have done very little to record his life so far.

I had forgotten..
..about yellow poop
..about the enchanting sound of tiny baby breaths in your ear when holding a sleeping newborn to your shoulder
..about how in Newborn World, a day is 24 hours looong. It consists of day parenting and night parenting. In the morning I wonder how the 3 year old schedule and the baby schedule will mesh or collide that day. Each day is different. Some days baby is grumpy and/or needy and I can scarcely put him down. I can hardly remember that there are other days where everyone is contented and in sync. The day shift of parenting is demanding in the variety and volume of tasks required. The night shift, though physically more exhausting, is simpler as it consists mostly of feeding. One doesn't have to think about juggling the many layers of needs that come from running a household with a newborn.

Some other notes I'll never remember unless I write them down..
..At three and a half weeks Tobiah had grown out of his newborn size clothes and diapers. At six weeks, he has reached the full length of his 0-3 month sleepers.
..When he was first born, T's body fit completly inside my hand span when I held him against my shoulder. Now my hand just reaches across his back with the first knuckle of thumb and fourth finger reaching down his sides.
..In his early days I was struck with T's expression of looking like he was trying as hard as he could to figure out this world he found himself in. For a few minutes he would intently peer around as if he was trying to fit what he saw into his few day old schema of life. Then it would all be too much and he would need to give it up to resume eating or sleeping. I don't remember K having such a "I'm trying to figure this all out" expression. Hers was more of a "I'm taking it all in."

And finally, we must not forget Big Sis..
..The other day as B was putting his deodorant away, he dropped it and it knocked Katya on the way down. After he apologized, she said "got hit by the shoulder stuff."
..Lately, every time we ask her a question that she is replying "yes" to, she instead uses the word "good."
Me: "Do you want to go outside?"
K: "Good!"
Me: "Have you put your blocks away?"
K: "Good!"
..People have asked how K is adjusting to life with a sibling. It hasn't been the easiest, but she's a trooper. She's started exhibiting maternal behavior with her dolls and stufed animals, but it was her beloved blankie that first started getting special attention. She carefully lays blankie near the table at meals so "it can watch." She gently places it in T's swing and snaps it in. Sometimes when she picks it up, she throws it over her shoulder and begins patting it as if she were burping it.
Last night she gathered a large collection of dolls and animals to sit near the dinner table. Each of them had to wear a bib.


4 comments:

Liza on Maui said...

Oh how I wish I wrote down many of my thoughts on motherhood when my kids were little. And the wonderful things they do and just how lovely and adorable they were and the things they say....

I have some written on my journal but I wish I did more ...

I'm glad you're able to do this :)

Singing Ragamuffin said...

Awww, I loved reading this!!! Your children sound so adorable. I think my favorite part was the part about answering with "good" instead of "yes"... and also the part about letting the blanket watch. I just love the way children think! Thanks for sharing this with us!

Anonymous said...

Great post! Do you think Tobiah might grow to be tall like his daddy? :) Love the good = yes story. Audrey shows maternal behavior a lot - feeding, changing diapers, cuddling, rocking, etc. She is always concerned about all the dolls being sad. We need to get them together to play soon!

~Michelle~ said...

Oh my this is so incredibly sweet. I love that you wrote down those moments.