A Post-Baby Chat
Frequently asked questions, and their answers.
So our baby was born almost a week ago. I’ve of course been busy recovering and taking care of the newest, squishiest member of our family, but today she is grabbing a nice, long nap in front of the fire, so I thought I’d jump on here and let you guys know how things are going. I’ve compiled a list of the usual post-baby questions. I hope I didn’t miss anything.
Q: How did the birth go?
A: Dreadful — amazing . Fast, but not fast enough. I don’t know. It was so cool. But I don’t want to do it again for a long time.
Q: Weight?
A: Don’t faint — 10 lb 9 oz.
Q: *recovers from fainting* Whoa. Did you get the epidural?
A: Nope. But don’t be too impressed. The first 4 hours of labor were easy then my waters broke and all heck broke loose for about 1.5 hours but by then it was too late to stick me even if I’d wanted one. I’m pretty much a birthing machine, guys. Not to brag but it’s true.
Q: Is your baby named after someone?
A: Yes, but not a relative. Just a famous dead person we like. I can’t tell you the name though, for the same reason that I used a stock photo of some random baby’s feet instead of an actual picture of our newborn.
Q: So are you guys thinking about more kids?
A: Right now we’re thinking about this one. If we have some more we’ll let you know though.
Q: How is your oldest daughter doing with a new baby in the house?
A: Not bad, actually. Her first encounter with her new baby sister was in the hospital, where she gave her a perfunctory glance, then promptly forgot about her and tried to eat as many of her father’s french fries as she could weasel out of him (which was most of the box). When we actually brought her new sister home, she began to take things more seriously. She wouldn’t have anything to do with me or the new baby for a few hours, but I think she’s forgiven me at this point and is doing helpful, big-sister things like bringing the baby’s pacifier when she cries. She’s also reaping the benefits of having Papa home from work for 3 solid weeks.
Q: You had family from out of town over the holidays. How did that go?
A: It went awesome. I don’t know how I would have gotten to 41 weeks without going completely bonkers if it hadn’t been for the pinochle games, Walmart walking parties, and long conversations to pass the time. I have an exceptionally nice set of in-laws.
Q: Are you getting any sleep?
A: Thanks to my husband, yes. At night? No, not really.
Q: Is she a nice baby?
A: She’s a very nice baby.
Aaaaaaaand she’s waking up.
