alikander

Well, gadzooks, Fiona is one month old today. I find it hard to grasp that I haven’t slept for more than two and half hours max at a time (and usually just two hours, or even just 90 minutes) for twenty-eight days. I think that’s why the time passed just seems like a few long days, and not four weeks.

Fiona (should I be calling her Fisander?) still doesn’t have much of a personality. She has four modes: eating, sleeping, needy/fussy, and looking around. The last is usually only good for five to ten minutes once or twice a day. She has also made a few serendipitous flails with her arms, which may or may not be attempts to grab things. She likes to stare at faces, including her own in the mirror.

We had several Andersons visit yesterday (Dougmander’s mom, dad, step-mom, brother, and our niece and nephew). Thankfully, Fiona slept through it all with one calm feeding break. (We paid for all that napping the following night, but it made it much easier to play host and hostess.) Of course F was deemed “cute.” Her lips were singled out for admiration by her grandfather; her cousin, Phil, kissed her hand; and her grandma never wanted to put her down.

In anticipation of this entry (which, btw, it’s taking me a couple of days to have time to write), I’ve been trying to answer the question, What is motherhood like? All I can say at this point is that it’s more of a job than anything else. Luckily it’s like one of those zookeeper jobs where they get to care for the cute baby bears/otters/tigers, etc: tedious and draining 90% of the time, but also a privilege and occasionally rewarded by a front-row seat to cuteness.

So, here’s what I can get done while F is napping (or Dougmander is soothing her fussies): sleep, shower, pee, eat, launder, wash dishes, look up baby-related info on-line, watch TV/movies that have a plot I want to follow, pay bills, attempt to drink enough water. I’ve also managed to take her for a few walks about the neighborhood, either in her stroller or sling, but that will be much easier and enjoyable once the sidewalks are a bit clearer.

Here’s what I can do when F is eating or fussy: watch whatever is on TV that doesn’t require much attention (HGTV is good for this), read a book (but it’s hard to turn pages, and I usually have to stop every paragraph or two for some reason or other; also, so as not to be boring, I read aloud, which slows down the process further). If my right hand happens to be free, I can also browse the web a bit and catch up on the NYT and LJ. If she’s in her sling (like right now) I can do a few two-handed things, but not many, as she’s likely to get smushed.


Some current nicknames:

Fee
Little Miss Peeperzopin
Stay-Pufft Marshmallow Girl (one of her fussy faces)
Entchen or Barjunge
Wigglesworth

Fiona has had truly horrid baby acne, which is slowly getting better. I found a few pictures where you can’t really tell how bad it was.