Week 2 is off to a wonderful start.

Let's get the big news out of the way: we stopped syringe-supplementing 2 days ago because it seemed like we were overflowing her poor little tummy.  And... we just weighed her in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces! That's super reassuring.  Not that we were too worried.  But now we're very unworried.  

In other news: 

1. She's louder.  Those respiratory muscles are getting stronger.  She still doesn't cry very much.  As Megan says, we "may have gotten a super-baby". 
2. She's more alert and more often awake between feeds.  She often stays awake during the day after a feed for an hour or so, gazing at (or sort of towards) us and responding to our voices which is wonderfully satisfying.  Her accidental smiles are more frequent and more full-faced.  
3. Mom and Pop had a big outing last night.  Darnit, I slipped into parental third person...  Elliott and I went out to eat last night with Fiona!  After a 5:30 feed we walked up to 15th Ave, ran into Al and Peter outside the Hopvine (we can't go in with her), and sat down for a pint and a pizza at Harry's.  We totally tempted fate by not bringing... anything...d like, for instance, a nipple shield, diaper, back-up outfit, changing pad.  And it worked!  She needed a bit of pinky comfort but we ate like civilized people, only kind-of chugged the end of our beers, and made it home for nursing before she freaked out.  Score!
4. My internal battle to feel more human than utilitarian has turned a corner for the good.  It's a big and strange transition to the physicality of motherhood.  Yes, Carla, I feel like a milk truck.  I've been thinking of it as magically transforming my pregnancy weight into milkshakes that keep my kid out of the ER and improve her disease-fighting gut flora.  (That Michael Pollen article is great, by the way.)  I also have started feeling much better after the C-section and last night's walk felt much better than the walk two days prior.  I dropped the ibuprofen and am just using tylenol.  I'm pretty much a champ at getting out of bed.  This issue is no joke, though.  It's the thing (in the context of sleep deprivation) that gives me the best peek at baby blues.  In that vein it has been central to my happiness to feel so supported in my need to cry at least once a day.  It sneaks up on me, explodes, and is over as fast as it came.  Crying is awesome.  The snuggly intimacy of breast feeding is a wonderful tonic to bluesy feelings too.  There's not much in this world better than skin-to-skin time with a happy newborn.  

Here's an incredibly boring video of newborn tummy time.  She just lies there.  It's adorable.  

Wuzzup, littlest homegirl?

Chillin' in her preemie Bear onesie.

Note the tell-tale milk dripping down her face.  This correlates well with her happy drunk look.  

We're planning on going hiking in Peru for the month of July with KP, Tobias, and Haven.  We'll leave Fiona with Grammy and this growing freezerful of milk.  We figure after a month of parenting we deserve a month-long break.  That's how it works, right?  I mean, really: is it useful to have this much milk?  Yes.  The answer is "yes" but I'm not sure when we'll tap into it.  I'm grateful to Elliott's foresight (again) in buying this fridge for Fiona's room a couple weeks ago.  He's also researching college funds between naps which I can hardly conceive of but am super grateful for.  

Our friend Megan's sister, Kelly came over yesterday.  She's a civil engineer with a new interest in newborn photography.  So we did her the generous favor of allowing her to photograph our baby.  You're welcome, Kelly.  It was pretty fun.  After a good feed Kelly strung up a (luckily somewhat water-resistant) tablecloth between our bedposts and we plopped Fiona down on it with a towel-covered heating pad under her for coziness.  She was nudie and peed twice, pooped twice, and complained pretty much not at all.  Here are some teasers which may well be featured soon in a birth announcement near you!  Ridiculous cuteness.  

Good lord, I love her.  

xo, liz