Thursday, April 30, 2009

remembering (and forgetting)

We're finding that there are a whole slew of things that, due to some sort of gift of evolution, we had forgotten about having a newborn. (If we remembered these things, we'd certainly not be as successful in maintaining the human race, as most people wouldn't have more than one child.)

  • Lack of sleep? Totally sucks. Going into it, you know that newborns don't sleep good but you don't actually remember how much it sucks until you go through it again. 
  • Babies poop. A LOT. I had totally forgotten how much time I spend at the changing table and washing/drying/folding diapers.
  • Breastmilk leakage. (Don't think I need to explain that one.)
  • On the same note, breastmilk smells bad when it comes back up. And babies puke almost as much as they poop.
  • Family members who want to help but haven't had a baby around for 30 years aren't much help, unfortunately.
  • Labor and delivery? Hurts. 
That said, I had also forgotten the overwhelming emotion that I get when I wake up in the morning and find Cashew wedged in the crook of my arm, sleeping soundly, completely unsure of how she got there but there nonetheless there and asleep and beautiful and perfect in every way. And all those bullet points up there? Forgotten once again.

2 comments:

susan said...

And to go with the forgetting, there's also the denial: "Hmm, that doesn't sounds pleasant. How unlucky that they ended up with a baby that poops and doesn't sleep... I'm sure ours will be fine." :-)

mandy said...

Ahh - that cracks me up. Of course your baby will sleep and not poop! :)