No news these past many months has been good news. Anna is now 3 1/4 and has a new sibling, Sam, who is now six weeks old. I'll use this space to tell stories about his early months, just as I did for Anna before him.
Before Sam was born, he was so active I thought I would have a baby who would never sleep. When he was finally born, a healthy nine pounds and three ounces, I found out that he just squirmed in his sleep. This slowed down after about a week, but the first night of his life, I was so excited to meet him and so delighted at the prospect of feeding him, I couldn't sleep a wink. Every time I would begin to doze off, his squirming would convince me he was about to wake up at any moment, and my eyes would flip wide open just to admire him until he might wake.
A gorgeous baby with prominent nose and broad cheeks and gigantic, soft lips, he looked like a tiny little old man - an impression only enhanced by his furrowed brow and constant worry (mostly about milk supply). Sweet-tempered and more likely to yell vigorously than to cry, he was only deeply infuriated by hiccups in those first days. He was a good eater from the first, though sometimes he would yell for half an hour with his mouth at my breast before finally just closing his mouth and eating.
The hospital where he was born had moved to maternity-centred care in the years since Anna's birth, so it was delightful to be able to share a room with Sam and have a nurse to share between us. Visitor restrictions because of the H1N1 flu pandemic meant that Anna couldn't come to meet him and only his Dad and our doula, Sylvie, could come and go from the hospital. We missed having a chance to show him off to others in those first few days, but it was blessedly restful to have limits on the visitation, too, and it meant I could go home with him in record time.
It could be the sleep-deprivation talking, or the little computer chip they put in new mothers that deletes negative memories, but it's hard to imagine more peaceful and joyful six weeks than we've had so far. We are grateful to family and friends for all their help and support and spirit of celebration. More news to come from these special days.
