This past spring when I was working hockey playoffs, I was on the road for about eight weeks, spending about 6-7 days at home during that stretch. Living in Seattle, it was impossible to get home between games when we were working every other day, but my producer lives outside Boston, and since we spent a lot of time working on the East Coast, he was able to get home a little more often. The first time I saw him after a visit home, I commented that it must've been nice to sleep in his own bed and get a good rest. He said he was up in the middle of the night feeding the baby, his youngest of four. I said, "You're home for one night and your wife makes you feed the baby? Doesn't she know how little sleep we get on the road?" I get it now.
Amanda and I have been extremely lucky to both be spending as much time at home with Lily as we have been. She'll probably go back to work around the end of January, and I'll probably be the stay-at-home dad, traveling some on the weekends. But if I had been working regularly, or if Amanda had to go back to work sooner, I don't know how we would have done it. I suppose we would have managed, but I really don't know how working families take care of newborns, particularly when there are already other kids at home. So much for my plan of tapping in to my bank of sleep stored up from college.
Meanwhile, Lily is doing great, but the reason for my thoughts above is how fussy she can be at times, and how sometimes she won't sleep unless one of us is holding her. At times she sleeps like a dream, like right now, she is sleeping next to me while I write this, and Amanda and Pearl are asleep upstairs. Last week she weighed 6lbs, 2oz (I've been lax in my updates), and should be around 6 1/2 lbs or so by now, and we hope to get her weighed in the next day or two. She is on the verge of outgrowing her preemie clothes and preemie diapers, and is now taking about 2.5 oz of food per feeding. Our recent cold weather has kept us inside more the last few days, but as previously noted, she is quite comfortable in Amanda's sling. Although it's probably a bit soon, she's had some tummy time and is beginning to push herself up a little bit and turns her head already. And as Amanda likes to say, she found her voice. When she's hungry, she lets us know it.
But enough of my ramblings, here's some recent pics.
Don't Forget To Breathe.
Update: We weighed her this evening at 6lbs, 9oz.
Lily, 12/15/08
Finding her voice
Lily and her Mom
Pearl gets her licks in
Just chillin'
Pearl's new best friend
Lily and her Dad
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4 comments:
I was thinking of you guys the other day, wondering what was up with you. Then i remembered the blog. So wonderful to see that little muffin growing "so big". Now I can breathe. Love to you all.
karli
She is the cutest little thing! I love seeing her pictures, she just looks like such a little doll. Very fun. And I hear ya on the wanting to be held while sleeping thing, my daughter had to be held in order to sleep for 6 months...she's 2.5 and still really demanding:) Good luck!
Those pictures made me sigh out loud, but your comment about 'your wife makes you get up with the baby' made me laugh out loud. Men are so funny.
My goodness, scrappy doo keeps getting cuter. I think there has to be an upper limit on that cuteness thing but she may try to break that glass ceiling.
I was sad to have missed seeing you when you came to the hospital. Next time.
Hunker down right now though, man, it's like Sarah Palin came to the lower 48 and spread her Alaskan snow to the rest of us!
Happy Due Date Lily! We miss you at the NICU!
Nurse Terri
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