Post partum post

Amalia doesn't want to hear it.

So Chris was getting all over me to post something!! And I was all like, um, hello? baby just born, must nurse and then sleep or loose my mind.
But in actuality, it hasn't been all that bad. Amalia is a week and 2 days old already, and it's only going to get easier... and harder.

My first impressions this time around are just that. It's easier and harder. It's easier because I just look over at Domingo and realize, "Hey, I can do this! There is the living proof." It's harder because I just look over at Domingo and he's swimming, playing, reading, or crying and I'm attached to a teeny little being who just sleeps poops and cries, and I can't be there the same way for him, or for her for that matter.
Amalia is doing really well. She isn't as jaundiced as Domingo, not by a long shot. I think she may just avoid the whole "breast milk jaundice" thing and we won't have to fight anyone about breast feeding this time around. She is a little peanut, and unlike Domingo, did not surpass her birth weight within the first week. We have another doctor appointment/weight check next week and I'm pretty confident she'll be up past her birth weight by then. (She was only 3 ounces short last time, and she had peed and pooped and I hadn't fed her again which I SWEAR is like at least a 3 or 4 ounce swing). It is so satisfying to see her little thighs plumping up almost before my very eyes, to see her develop a little double chin and chubby cheeks, and to turn from a tree-frog baby into a little toad baby. It's awesome. The other thing that is so great is the little sleep smiles that she gives you, they are THE BEST thing EVER. If I were a really dedicated blogger, I'd have the camera trained on her 24/7 just to make sure to capture it on film. It's the little things like that, that you forget about until of course you see it again in a teeny little baby. You forget how sweet the sleep-smiles are, how painful nursing is at first, how stressful the weight-check can be, how much newborns sleep! And then it's over in a flash. In a few short months she will be a totally different entity.

Like these little monkeys.

The good thing is, I think as time goes by, it'll get easier. We'll get the hang of nursing (she's already figured out how to latch on laying down which is HUGE), she'll gain weight and be able to go longer without eating, so I won't be such a zombie in the morning, but then I'm sure it'll get harder too because she'll be more awake and alert and in need of stimuli so running around after Domingo will be a trick.
Domi overall as been a wonder. Yes, he's a little whinier than before, he's more likely to cry when he doesn't get his way these days, he even grabbed a pacifier that was out and was chewing on it for a day (the first time in his life a pacifier was in his mouth for more than a nanosecond. grrrr.) and he is a willful as he ever was, but he is so sweet and excited about "la hermanita".
He comes into the room in the morning when I'm still sleeping with Amalia and he smiles and squeals with delight "there's the little sister!", "there's Amalia Mafalda!" like it's been ages since he's seen her. He wants to touch her, and imitates the little squeaks and grunts that she makes and laughs hysterically when she opens her eyes and looks at him. It's amazing. And an incredible relief. Not that the sibling rivalry will never come, just that at least the beginning transition isn't as shocking and difficult as I had feared.
It's pretty wild, you worry and wonder for those 9 1/2 months, what will this baby look like, what will she be like, will I be able to love her as much as my other child, will my feelings for my first child change, dear God how am I going to handle TWO BABIES? AHHHHH! etc. etc. until the big day arrives, and all those worries take a back seat to being in the moment, and the moment is actually really good, better than you had thought it could be.
Human beings are really incredible. Our capacity for love is truly infinite, that amazes me. Looking at these guys, it really shouldn't.