Postpartum ramblings

Smitten doesn't even begin to describe it. I love everything about this kid. Everything. And I think everything he does is adorable, including his 1 a.m. velociraptor imitation, which is spot on.

We're almost a week into life as a party of five, and so far, things are going pretty well. This is due largely to the fact that our moms have been parenting my toddlers downstairs while my hardworking hubby takes care of me and the little guy upstairs. We'll see what happens when the help leaves and I have to start being the mom again. For now, I'm thankful to the family taking care of me and mine, for the friends who are bringing meals, and for this darling little boy that has stolen my heart.

A complication with my epidural has kept me mostly bedridden since we came home from the hospital, but has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. If you've never had a spinal headache, lucky you. Trust me when I say it is no fun to have the cerebrospinal fluid that keeps your brain floating happily in your skull draining out. It was, in fact, painful enough to make me question my decision to get an epidural in the first place. Thankfully it was easily treatable with a simple procedure called a blood patch. And by simple, I mean that they had to repeat the epidural, draw blood from my arm, and pump the blood into my spine to stop the leak. To say I never want to go through this again is an understatement. But if it weren't for the doctor's instructions to lie as flat and still as possible and drink lots of caffeine to help relieve the pressure, I might not be enjoying nearly as much postpartum snuggle time with my newborn. And I certainly wouldn't be drinking this much Cherry Coke.

As for the little guy, he's doing great. Jacob is already falling into a decent feeding/sleeping pattern that is making life blissfully predictable and only wakes us up twice at night. Not bad for a six-day-old. Today he finally woke up for the first time since exiting the womb and spent a few hours here and there with his eyes open taking in the world around him. And speaking of his eyes, the doctor confirmed what I had guessed. After popping out two surprisingly blue-eyed cuties, these two hazel-eyed parents have finally managed to produce a hazel-eyed child. He loves having his head rubbed, hates being cold, and a good swaddle will put him right to sleep.

As for me, I am blessed. Very, very blessed. I wouldn't trade this motherhood stuff for anything in the world.