Post-Partum Musings

Wow.

The whole thing was a bit more traumatic for Naomi and I than I'd ever expected. Who knew that C-sections could go so fast, or be so gosh-awful uncomfortable. I can't imagine that anyone who'd *choose* to give birth this way is in any way sane. Seriously, with the drugs and the pain and the yuck and...just no. But you know something? It was totally worth every minute of it--the unproductive laboring, the nasty Pitocin, the terrifying half an hour in the OR...Naomi's here, and she's healthy, and that's all that matters.

I still haven't slept much. I hear that's normal, too.

My mom was over last night, and she kept the baby with her in the living room. We moved the cradle out for her and shut the door, and Daniel managed to get 10 consecutive hours of sleep. I kind of envy him. I got a brief nap this afternoon, but I'm still feeling rather sleep deprived. Wish my milk would come in so we wouldn't have to keep supplementing with formula. It's only an ounce here and an ounce there, but I really feel inadequate at the moment, since I'm not doing as much with the diaper changing or burping or whatever, so feeding Naomi's all I'm good for--only I'm not actually all that good for it...yet (?).

I have no idea how to catch up with my school work. I have a test on Thursday. I missed one on Friday, but know that there's no make-up for that, either. So here we are, with me trying to figure out what's going on with the school stuff and also heal and take care of a newborn. Family to help out with that is such a blessing.

So my Wednesday morning nurse ordered me a compression band for my tummy, and it works kind of like a back-support band, but I need a smaller one. The nurse who discharged us Thursday evening said that there's not a smaller size, but I know this one is a "medium", so I'm assuming somewhere out there in the world of medical supplies there's a "small", and I'm more than willing to cough up a few bucks for a bit of support and comfort...now where do I sign up?

And the less trivial moment: I'm so in love with my daughter, and my husband (who is, as predicted, the world's best father), and couldn't be happier. It's so wonderful to finally be together as a family, and to be able to snuggle up next to Daniel to sleep, or to fall asleep with Naomi on my chest (and not in my abdomen), or to watch him fall asleep with her in his arms...hmm, speaking of sleep, that's probably a better way to spend my time for the moment.

But really, I wouldn't trade either of them for the world.