The Power of Breastmilk

We brought Aurora home from the hospital when she was three days old, verbally wrestling her from the overly-helpful people at the Doernbecher Neonatal Care Center at OHSU. (Gary did that part.)

Hours after we arrived, after Gary convinced the on-call doctor that she WOULD get enough to eat and that we wouldn't inadvertently kill her with our bad parenting skills, we gently placed her in her carseat and buckled her in. Her little 5 pound, 12 ounce body was too small and the straps were loose. Too loose to leave, our nurse said regretfully.

So I drove to Babies R Us, anticipating having to buy a brand new carseat especially for preemies, which was a different brand from our hand-me-down one and which wouldn't fit either of our strollers or the two extra bases we had bought. Damnation!

Just as I was at the checkstand with two new carseats, Gary called. "The nurse who knows all about carseats found another adjustment and she fits now! Come back and let's take her home!"

I sped back downtown and up the hill and we gave Aurora her first car ride on that warm July day. Look how spindly her little arms were! (Above) She still had the wires from her monitoring devices on, too.

Yesterday (7 pounds later, right), I took this shot of her in her carseat, napping contentedly. What a good grower she is.

Still Sleeping

Sorry, folks, but it feels like whenever I have time to shove a camera in the baby's face, it's always when she's sleeping. She was quite angelic this morning before the fussing started, wasn't she?

School Picture Day!

Not exactly, but doesn't it look like she's all dressed up in her white shirt and black vest, smiling her nicest school-picture smile?

A Free Toy

I don't know what's normal, but ever since Smacky's birth, her belly button has stuck out. It makes a crackling sound when I push it in, which amuses me, but I'm a responsible grownup and I don't play with it very often. (Not more than 2-3 times a day, that is.)

Recently, upon the advice of my mom and a nurse I queried, we visited our doctor, who said that her belly button is, indeed, herniated.

Most of them right themselves within a couple of years, she said, and the crackling sound you hear is her intestines poking into her belly button.

Ew, I thought, and vowed to stop playing with my baby's intestines, even if they were a fun and accessible toy.


Above is a photograph of Smacky's protruding belly button, and, by proxy, her crying face. She's not crying because she's in pain, gentle reader; she's simply overly tired (it being 11am, and past time for her morning nap) and she's fighting it as valiantly as she fights any injustice that she takes up as her cause.

Polio, Pertussis and Tetanus, oh my!

Yesterday was the day that lives in moms' minds for a long time: baby's first vaccinations. (dun dun duhhhh)

Smacky has two little scabs on her soft left thigh where the nurse jabbed her. I held her hands to keep them from flailing and the nurse surprised me by getting her leg up on the table and sitting on Smacky's feet. Then two shots, about 10 seconds of screaming, and it was over. Phew! I wasn't sure if she would have a very bad reaction, but this fits with what I've seen so far of her personality- pain tolerant and easy going. What a great baby.

We went downtown to have lunch with Gary today and afterwards she was a little sad and fussy, so I put her down for another nap when we got home. Hopefully she's not feeling too sick because Gary's sister Laurie is in town this weekend and we're planning to spend some time with his family.

Zzzzzzzzz

It's another sleepy morning here at the Raymond Street house.

Smacky and I were up three times in the night, at 12:30, 3:30, and 5, so she's catching up now.

10:17am and counting.

Uneventful Monday

Not much happened today, but in the spirit of updating every day, here is a post.

Smacky is currently making her taking-corners-too-fast squeals, arms splayed on the bed, panting like a dog and sleeping, albeit lightly. Hopefully she'll continue to sleep so I can finish this and slip in beside her, since it's my bedtime, now. (9:30)

Granny came over for a short visit today and then we had a 40-minute nap during which I fed Smacky so inadequately that she finally forced me to awaken and do it correctly. She finds it unacceptable when I fall asleep with the bottle in her mouth because my hand pulls the bottle down and it ends up on the pillow or the bed and that doesn't help her eat, does it! So I wake up, resituate the bottle and fall asleep again, only to be awakened (again!) by her sounds of protest.

Ah, families. We torture each other, yet we can't help loving each other.