Monday, January 01, 2007

happy new year to you and you and you

We are settling in wonderfully and enjoying munching on Gabriel's cheeks and arms and neck and toes and nose, and I could go on and on and on... He is delectable!

So far, I am ecstatic to report that he has hardly cried, which is a lovely surprise! He is also a surprisingly excellent eater! I am a worrywart, so I asked to speak to a lactation consultant at the hospital, who declared him to be a model breastfeeder. My only complaint was the cluster feeding he was doing from 2-6am for the first three nights he was with us.

Yesterday, though, Gabriel was happy to find that my milk came in, and he has been milk drunk happy ever since. Last night he woke up to eat like clockwork every 2 and a half hours, and then fell immediately to sleep afterward. Alone! In his bassinet! If we all cross our fingers, maybe it'll happen again tonight.

Not at all surprisingly, I also cried for half an hour yesterday at the thought of this sweet baby ever growing up. I'm trying to remember all those wonderful things you told me about watching your baby grow up, but it still breaks my heart just a little bit. I hope these are the hormones talking and I'll feel better in a few days.

I'll try to write up the birth story soon, but it features lots of twists and turns and drama, including heart decelerations during a non-stress test, a kind-of sort-of emergency inducement, hours of pitocin hell and then a blessedly wonderful and fast labor and pushing after an epidural. And a beautiful and healthy baby, of course, all that really mattered. I'll work on it as soon as I can tear myself away from my new lovebug. Hopefully sometime this year.

In the meantime, I wish each of you wonderful joys this year. Joys like this, happy moments of stomach-satisfying-drunk-on-my-first-real-meals-cozy-and-warm-and-loved kind of happiness!

27 comments:

Amanda said...

Just precious! Enjoy every millisecond! Happy and Wonderful New Year to you and your new family.

Suzanne said...

He is just beautiful. I can't wait to hear about the birth. If my experience is any indication, tears are perfectly normal right about now.

Montreal Mama said...

He's too cute. I'm hoping that my son gains weight fast, he was born really tiny, at 5 lbs 5 oz, and then dropped to 4 lbs 14 oz before leaving the hospital. My milk just came in today (I gave birth a few hours before you did!) and I'm hoping it'll be better to allow him to gain weight with milk over colostrum. How are you finding the feeding? Are you enjoying breastfeeding? I am now totally enjoying the time with my son!

mc said...

Oh, HL, he is just astonishingly beautiful. I'm so glad you are getting this time together! And, yes, Suzanne is right -- tears are totally par for the course.

Liz Miller said...

I completely cried over every out-grown outfit. Still do sometimes.

He is so beautiful. Mazel tov and many, many hugs.

jo(e) said...

He's beautiful! Thanks so much for posting photos.

Anonymous said...

Yes. He's a beatiful boy. And, yes, those are just hormones making you cry. That's why I think women these days should have to stay in the hospital until your milk comes in, when they let you go at about 2 or 3 days old you think you've got the hang of things and then BOOM your breasts explode and your hormones explode and the tiredness just starts to kick in. I'm guaranteed to have 2 or 3 midnight crying sessions around that time with my kids.

And about the "growing up" bit, tonight as I was putting our 4 year old to bed, I was singing to her from a cd that has lullabies that I've sung to our kids as infants and I couldn't believe that our oldest is already four and that our third baby will be here before we know it and growing up too fast him/herself. I almost cried myself...

Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

he's just beautiful!
love that perfectly peaceful look on his face in the 2nd photo.
enjoy your sweet babe. rest whenever you can and let josh and your mom take care of you. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, he is SO perfect! I am so happy for all three of you, and especially happy to hear that he is catching on to the 'letting mom sleep' thing early in life - what a good boy!

Also, the crying over him growing up thing TOTALLY sounds like hormones. In fact, crying for any or no reason whatsoever for the next few months is totally normal, so don't worry about it... Just do your best to stay hydrated ;)

Anonymous said...

He is beautiful. Congratulations you guys.

Phantom Scribbler said...

How breathtakingly beautiful he is!

Anonymous said...

He is beautiful! I'm so happy for you and Josh! It makes me want one of my own!!

Anonymous said...

He is gorgeous. POsitively gorgeous.

I still get weepy at the thought of my baby growing up and he is 12 years old and taller than me!

Love to you all.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful little boy! So precious, and gorgeous for a vaginal delivery too (no conehead!). You guys make beautiful babies.

Sounds like he's good-tempered, too, so you're very lucky! Don't worry about the cluster feeding; it's perfectly normal (and good!) and will happen again during growth spurts for the next 6 months. Just grab a good book or put in a (calm) DVD if you feel like it ... after the newness and amazement wears off a little bit, of course!

Enjoy this time, and take good care of yourself. There is a lot going on for you right now, and I wish you all the best!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful boy!! Congratulations to all of you...

nancy said...

Made me all tingly...beautiful. Just everything.

Anonymous said...

He's gorgeous! I love those wrinkly old man fingers new baby boys have.
You'll find so much joy as he grows.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, HL, he is GORGEOUS! What a way to start a New Year, huh?

KLee said...

He is a cutie! :) So glad to hear that he's sleeping well, and that you are all happy and home. Sorry to hear that the delivery got a bit hairy there, but I'm glad that everything turned out well, and that Gabriel is whole and healthy.

Don't worry about the crying over the fact that he'll one day grow up -- we ALL do that. Offspring is getting ready to turn 11, and I STILL freak out every now and again when I look at her -- she's getting so big! We're getting ready to fill out middle school applications! Argh!

kathy a. said...

what a handsome little sweetie he is! glad the first days have gone smoothly. he sounds like a great eater, and such a sweet temperment.

your post brings back a lot of memories, and my firstborn is 19! the crying is completely normal. those wild hormones are part of it, but i think also the huge shift in your life, having such a precious one in your arms.

happy baby, and happy new year!

Sue said...

He's so beautiful!!!

Congratulations!!

Yankee, Transferred said...

OOH, he is absolutely perfect! It may be the hormones making you cry, but I'm not convinced. I didn't give birth, but three days after O.D. came home, I was sobbing over the idea that she would one day be all grown.
Now they're all so huge and they still fill me with amazing love every single day. Enjoy every moment, and mazel tov!

Melissa said...

I agree, he's gorgeous! Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Gabriel is beautiful!

Anonymous said...

"A blessing on your head
Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov!"

He is a beautiful baby! That heartbroken feeling? It will stay with you for the rest of your life -you are the Momma now and so many more secrets will be revealed in the coming days/months/years.

Pssstt ... you make me want another in the worst way and it hasn't been a year yet since I had my own sweet baby boy!

Anonymous said...

He is so beautiful! I am so happy for the two of you. Enjoy!!!!!

Anonymous said...

What a sweet little baby! Hope he settles into a good night time feeding schedule soon...