Maybe you need this more than me

Last night I was getting Jake ready for bed and reading him stories. After a few books I looked at him and said "you look tired, are you ready for night-nights?" "No tired!" "Well, Daddy's pretty tired," I said. Without missing a beat he took the pacifier out his mouth and handed it to me. "Paci?"

1 week

Today Sadie is one week old, and we've already been overly-worried about something that was probably nothing. We figure there will be at least 50 more of these situations in the next year.

Sadie was born with a tiny bruise in the little spot between her eye and her nose. It seemed to go away, but then reappeared and then got very puffy on Wednesday. She couldn't open her right eye and it looked like she'd gotten into a fight with another baby that had better reach than she does. But after taking her to a pediatric opthamologist we learned that her tear duct was clogged and they were able to remove the blockage and clear out the fluid. Apparently it's a fairly common issue for newborns and we're just so happy to see her getting back to normal. Her eye is still a bit red, but she's able to open it more now and it's getting better each day. Both of Sadie's grandfathers had (correctly) suggested that it might be a blocked tear duct. When we told the opthamologist that, he said "oh, do you have doctors in your family?" "No, but we have a lot of opinions."

Getting past this first tiny scare is a bit of a relief. It's kind of like having a new car (or for us a two-year-old car with low miles) and getting that first ding. It's emotionally tough, but you're better prepared for all those other dings that will eventually come your way. And yes, I know a car is not the same thing as a baby girl. The car came with instructions.

Thanks VDOT

I think Jake has realized that Sadie is here to stay and that he won't always get 100% of our attention, and I think that's made him a little uneasy. We talk to him about how he's the big brother and how he can help us out with little chores, and then he says "BIG BIG BROTHER!" in his deep little voice, but he's still a few months shy of two and it's a big change (BIG BIG CHANGE!) for the little guy.

So, when the four big VDOT trucks pulled into our cul-de-sac this morning I knew it would be a great opportunity to go out and spend some Jake-Daddy time together. They all had their engines idling, so the rumblings added to the effect and Jake was transfixed on the action. He started pointing things out to me - mostly "Truck" or "Big Truck" but also "shoveldaddy" which is what he called the snow shovel I used to clear the driveway this winter. They were using their shoveldaddies to pile asphalt into a giant sinkhole that opened up on Jeanne St. They sent one truck out yesterday, but then realized that erosion had carved a wide cavity under the width of our little street and that the whole thing would need to be dug up and repaved ("You and I could lay down in dere," the foreman told me). In the meantime, they told us yesterday to "drive carefully" over that section, which we presumed meant no late model Chevy Impalas with hydraulics.

We watched them do their thing for a while, and then played with some basketballs the neighborhood kids had left out. I did a very awkward white-man's layup but Jake loved it and gave me the high pitched "Dadeeeee!" that always makes my day.

Click here for some more photos.

Bilirubin

As we get to know Sadie, there are a few things that surprise Ali and me. The first surprise was her dark brown wavy hair, and the fact that she had any hair at all, really. Jake wasn't quite bald when he was born, but he only had a tiny bit of dirty blond hair in the back like a bald man's mullet. Ali was pretty much bald when she was born, and I had very fine, blond hair. So, we're continually pulling off her little blue/pink hospital-issued ski cap and giggling with delight.

Another surprise is Sadie's olive skin. Ali has very fair, Irish skin, and my skin tone is probably best described as pink. Sadie, however, was born with (compared to us, at least) a Mediterranean olive-hued skin that caused the hospital to run tests for jaundice after the doctor looked at the two of us. The results came back negative, but it did get me into a funny conversation with Ali's sister Deni about bilirubin levels and her asking me who this "Billy Rubin" person is. This got me wondering whether Rick Rubin ever considered naming one of his kids William just for fun.

Here's picture of Jake and Sadie so you can do your own skin tone comparison at home:


The most pleasant surprise has been the way she communicates her need to feed. She has a very healthy appetite, as Jake did, but their methods of alerting us are very different. At this early age, Jake was very fond of the popular Screaming Baby method. It is very recognizable and its shrill tones fail to go unnoticed. Sadie, however, has opted for a more subtle approach. At about 3am Tuesday morning, we heard a tiny sound coming out of the bassinet next to our bed. Sadie was smacking her gums together in a sucking motion, just persistent enough to get the attention of a light sleeper. A normal human being would not be able to hear this noise, but Sadie must be aware that we are new parents and can register the even the slightest sound coming from a newborn.

I'm convinced that if we fail to notice her polite request for food even once, she'll revert to the tried and true Screaming Baby method, so we are doing our best to respond to her cute gum smacking.

Homecoming

We arrived home from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. It was great to see everyone, and great to be back home where I don't have to sleep on a vinyl couch and nurses don't poke and prod Ali.

And it was great to be back home with Jake. So far, he's been great with Sadie. As soon as we sat down with her he came right over to check her out. He likes pointing out to us where her nose is, and where her ears are, etc. Sometimes he gets a delirious giggle when he touches her fingers or toes. I have no idea what's going on in his little head. Maybe he thinks we shrunk a regular person down to doll size.

I think he's going to be a big helper. Or at least want to be a big helper. When he heard Sadie cry for the first time, he brought over his little train cars. "Choo choo? Choo choo?" And when we changed her outfit he took the old one and said "laundry?" and then marched off to drop it in the laundry basket. Maybe he just senses the competition and he's turning up the cuteness a notch or two. We'll see.

Sadie had a pretty good first night at home. She's still very sleepy and not much disturbs her except for some rumblings in her tummy. She opens her eyes a couple times a day to check out her new surroundings. She's taking things slowly. There's a lot to absorb.