:: First Night Home ::

Ten things we learned about Evan on his first night home:

1. If his receiving blanket’s not big enough, he’ll bust right out of it like an American Gladiator out from behind a barrier.


2. His startle reflex (pictured in the drawing at right, which I found at http://www.prekop-institut.com/pix/moro_reflex.jpg, giving credit where it's due), which causes him to throw his arms out wide, makes him look like a televangelist praising god. Appropriate, given the film out right now bearing our little baby’s name.


3. Evan won’t sleep unless he is touching one of us. We have since learned that a larger receiving blanket swaddled super tight solves this problem, but Wednesday night was a long one because one of us had to stay up with Evan while the other slept. We took turns, setting an alarm for one hour of sleep at a time. While Brian slept, I fed and held Evan so that he could sleep, too. Then Brian would get up and change Evan and then hold him for an hour while I slept. That night we each got 3 hours’ sleep. It was hard, but I’m glad we came up with a solution that didn’t require us to tear our hair out, to both be up all night, or to just let Evan cry all night.


4. Baby urine can spray up to six feet in any direction if released when not diapered. Brian got his three times in the first night. Because of the circumcision, we can’t really cover Evan’s penis to protect ourselves, so we went through many clothes, changing table covers, and blankets that first night.


5. He likes my right breast more than my left one. This remains true two days later.


6. You can survive on less sleep over three nights than you’re used to getting in one.


7. That said, it’s not all that fun.


8. Brian is going to be a great dad, and he’s going to have to teach me a lot about taking care of Evan once I’m back to my normal self. Recovery is going well but quite slowly for me and about all the baby work I do now is feeding.


9. Water tastes better when you’re in the rocking chair with a baby attached to you, probably because it’s so much harder to actually get to and enjoy.


10. You can fall in love so fast and then you can keep falling in love over and over, even when you’re getting peed on or the baby is wailing.