Tired parents

Yea, this is fun. Ada is settling into a schedule pretty well these days. It involves sleeping a lot during the day and not as well at night. Really it’s ok and we’re managing it well but we certainly are tired. Lots of cute third week photos are up now. Go check them out:

We’ll miss you Jill

Saturday was my last day with our wonderful postpartum doula Jill Frink. I am quite lucky to know her as a friend and even more so to have experienced her soothing doula magic (and delectable feasts) these past two weeks. What is a postpartum doula, you ask? Since this is the first time I’ve encountered such a service, I’ll just tell you what Jill does or did for me. One important distinction is that she uses ayurvedic medicine in her practices. So all the food and many of the herbal remedies she prepared for us had an Indian flare. It was fabulous, I felt like I was back in India for two weeks. 

So my day with Jill looked like the following: Jill comes by around 10 AM and starts cooking a beautiful yummy breakfast. She also gives me a very tasty hot milk drink spiced with cardamom and who knows what else. Fatty, creamy foods are the theme here. I gained about 30 lb during my pregnancy and probably another 10 postpartum. It felt really right to be eating her rich warm meals though, very comforting. 

After breakfast we did a consultation. She checks in on how the baby’s doing and mom and adjusts the herbal medicines and food accordingly. Then I um..get a soft tissue, warm oil massage from her that lasts about 1 1/2 hours! Yes, I felt a bit spoiled. It was incredibly soothing, as you might imagine.

She leaves us in the afternoon with some super good lunch (and sometimes dessert!) and I ravage it because breastfeeding has made me a hungry monster. 

I wish I was a very wealthy, permanently postpartum woman so that I could have Jill over all the time. Actually, I wouldn’t wish postpartum permanence on anyone. 

Denise

Some time outside

Ada and Denise came outside for an hour or so today. It was the first time being outside for a significant time since Ada was born. They both did great. Ada just slept.. and Denise was real happy to get some fresh air.

Some new pictures and videos

Things are shaping up around here. Ada is eating and sleeping and pooping and crying like a champ. She actually whimpers more than she cries. Here is a video from tonight (warning: boring unless you are baby obsessed - best suited for grandparents and the like) and some new photos are over here.

UPDATE: There is a cute little fart about 4 seconds in! Worth viewing for that if nothing else.

Click here to watch

Baby with the hiccups.

Pretty cute…

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Toes

Ada has her mom’s toes for sure. Let’s see a comparison:

More feet over here:

Some more pictures

Ok, we’re hearing all over the place that people want more pictures. I’ve put a few up from the last few days… and will try taking more tomorrow.

The bread slicer

Some babies like to be rocked. Ada likes to be shaken vibrated. Like it’s the end of the world and she better wake up quick. Rocking doesn’t really do it.

We are going to go ahead and attribute this to the bread slicer machine at the Manghi’s Bakery, where Denise works. For many hours a day while she was pregnant she would stand in front of this giant vibrating machine that slices the bread. When she first conceived another mother that works there told her that when her toddler hears the machine he gets sleepy. Well, I think it got Ada, too. Pretty amazing.

Three Cheers for Grandma

Hello from babyland. I feel pretty out of touch with the outside world and it’s only been 5 days since Ada was born. I’ll write later about our homebirth, my sweet and loving husband, being a new mommy and my fabulous postpartum doula, Jill.

For now I want to write about my own mom who’s been staying with us since Sunday and generally saving Jason and I from major exhaustion. Although I’m feeling cloudy and tired, I’m also really enjoying these blissful early days with her and Jason. What a trip it must be for my parents to witness their little child whom they nursed and bathed, nurse and bathe the next generation. It’s been quite an incredible experience for me to watch both my parents enjoy our new little girl so much. My Dad’s pretty adorable with Ada as well, he had to go back to work on Tuesday.

Anyway, three cheers for Grandma and all her saintly behavior. She’s really helped Jason and I keep it together. In all of this, I’ve had to learn to accept the help and care that’s offered so that I’m better prepared to take care of Ada. Newborns are quite demanding but I am absolutely LOVING every minute of her. She’s so sweet right now, I secretly don’t want her to change at all.

We have a poo poo diaper, goodnight.
Denise

She lives!

Denise is feeling more chipper this morning so I managed to get some nice pictures. We had a heck of a night last night and are working today on reversing Ada’s schedule a bit. I’m going to go back to pulling on her toes to keep her awake. You’ll find the new pictures on the Photos page.

Jason