Yogi Feet

Okay, I`m a little picture-happy at the moment... but check out these yogi feet!!!!  I can`t stop kissing these toes.

Emily Allium... The Great Thinker.  I love this pose, she's considering something deep I suspect, like when her next feeding will be... or how she can get her diaper changed quickly, or what it`s like to be an astronaut??

So, we've been dealing with gas issues and it's kinda hard for me to bear witness to.  Sometimes she passing wind like the best of 'em, but other times there is such struggle and agony on her beautiful little face that I'm brought to tears with a desire to make it stop.  Thankfully she doesn't cry like I've read about for "colicky" babies, but she's definitely not enjoying herself when she has an ``episode``.  I bought a bottle of organic gripe water the other day and feel somewhat comforted to have it in the house, but haven't been able to bring myself to give it to her yet.  I'm hesitant to put anything other than breast-milk in her... she's only 4 weeks old!  And although it`s all natural, it does contain a bit of baking soda which will affect her pH balance somewhat (more alkaline).  I don`t want to mess with that, although a bit of gripe water now and then will not likely make much of a difference.

My husband and I put a call out to our midwives to get their opinion on giving her a teeny-bit of yoghurt, or perhaps a few drops of whey, to see if that introduces the good intestinal flora she needs to assist with the digestion process.  Will post when we get a response on that.  I know we don't introduce foods until 6 months, but I suspect a few little drops of yoghurt/whey might not hurt and may even help.  I know, I know... this is a process that babies go through as they develop their digestive system, but it's so hard to watch her struggle.  At least the episodes are not long and drawn out, and she does eventually get out a whole lot of gas (how can one tiny belly contain that many farts!).

Apart from that, she's incredibly super.  Not too fussy, and even enjoys a little alert time on her own.  The past few nights have been good as well, with pretty quick feeds and back to sleep for two hours.  She still falls deep asleep when we go for our afternoon walks (in the awesome vancouver early-spring sunshine... I've been in t-shirts and sandals all week!).  I suspect the stimulus of the outside world is still just too much for her to handle, so she sleeps through it all and processes it when we get back.

Babies:  no manual, but a lot of intuition and instinct required.

Babymoon

We are on our "Babymoon"... I love that term, and it is so appropriate!  We are cocooned in our own little world, learning about each other and our rhythms.  I can't believe that the 2010 winter olympics are currently going on in our town right now as we speak, not that I care but just that something so major is happening while we are in our blessed little bubble unaware of worldly happenings.  Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

She is learning about passing gas lately, and the grunts and groans, punching arms and scrunched-up faces are both hilarious and painful for me to watch.  I want to help her with it, but can't.  We do little leg crunches to press against her tummy, the "sleeping tiger" hold, and tummy massages but ultimately she needs to work out her digestive system on her own.  Wonder how long that will take??

Hmmmmm, she's finally gone back to sleep and I know I'm supposed to do the same when she does that so I'll continue this later.  Wish me luck, it's morning time and I have a hard time going back to sleep once the sun is up!!!

It doesn't get more perfect than this.

Such purity, she often brings me to tears (some happy some sad).  How perfect and pure we are when we first enter the world.  Our little tree frog is so incredibly beautiful and I don't mind admitting that I'm biased, but really...!!

The first two weeks have been a huge learning curve, with postpartum blues rearing their head at the oddest things and times.  Not to mention the complete lack of sleep.  I'm dreaming of a full 8-hour sleep... just a few years away I'm sure.

We are learning each others rhythms (well, us accepting hers!); keeping a clear distinction between night and day; how to change diapers in the middle of the night with bleary eyes and not miss a snap (we are using happynappy.ca diaper service); how to multitask like crazy (hold baby, turn on lamps, drink water, make sure her head doesn't bob about, remember to eat, and sleep with one eye open); how to type with just my left hand and a few fingers when necessary; and many other things my sleepy brain can't bring to the surface at the moment.  I think it's time for a nap, baby girl is sleeping and I know I should join her!

I can't thank my girlfriends enough for the visits, for the encouragement, for the food dropped by (that is SO incredible helpful!), for phone calls just to check-in and see if we need any groceries, and for all the other mum's who tell me everything I'm experiencing is normal, most new mum's go through these same things... it helps with my sanity.  I also recognized that I have now "joined the club" so to speak, when I walk down the street with babe in arms... all the other mum's of newborns, babies and toddlers smile and nod with that knowing gleam in their eye, we are all on the motherhood journey together.