The lion sleeps tonight

We put Pequita through the paces yesterday, with more activity and socializing than ever before. Brunch with a friend and her 3.5 year old daughter. Coffee right after with another friend who hadn't met Pequita yet. We ran into our friends from birthing class at the coffee shop. We shared a room with them after delivery - we love them, and seeing each others kids is always a treat. Then home for a nap, and back out to dinner at the house of a friend from work. She has great kids, a great husband, and sweet cats. Through all of this, Pequita was charming and well-behaved. She fell asleep in the car on the way home at 8:45 to the new cd I bought for her, Ladysmith Black Mombazo singing (among other songs) The Lion Sleeps Tonight. I had hoped that our life wouldn't stop after the baby was born, and it seems that we are managing nicely to keep up w/ most things.


She is sleeping like a champ. She falls asleep around 8pm each night, and stays with us downstairs sleeping soundly on us or near us while we clean, eat, catch up on TV. She stays soundly asleep when we carry her upstairs at 10 or 11pm, through a diaper changing & re-swaddling, and is mostly asleep until 7 or 8 am. This is punctuated with a couple of short sleepy interludes in which Homestead Mama nurses her without the baby ever really waking up. We are usually only dozing after about 4 am, as the babe begins grunting, flailing her small arms, and chirping until we reinsert the pacifier. This behavior will get her moved to a co sleeping crib very shortly - I found one on Craig's list locally. Also, I need a bit more space as my bones ache and pop in and out of joint all night, and I need more pillows to nest on. I only have enough room to lay on my back with my arms tucked in with Pequita's bed still between us on the bed, so off to the side she goes.

I am still craving broccoli & grapefruit. I served Homestead Mama a lovely big healthy plate of broccoli and rice the other day. Damn doctors said there was no scientific evidence that what a breastfeeding woman eats affects her baby. Clearly, they aren't testing properly because we told a few other women about this and they were shocked we fed her broccoli at all. Pequita had 2 of the worst days of her short existence, crying, emitting such loud gas that we were embarrassed on her behalf, writhing with discomfort. There will not be a replay of this event - I shall eat my broccoli out of the house from now on.

Pequita is a wonder. A dear. We are mooning over her increasingly each day. I didn't expect this. I love this.