We will survive....

Well, the little Miss is now 18 days old, extremely hard to believe. It feels like it's been less as I was doped up so much for the first week of her life that I wasn't sure if she was an imaginary doll that happened to cry and poop (I really think you can buy those dolls - but why would you want to!) or if Darren just adopted a baby and decided to become a Mommy and Daddy. Darren is still the main caregiver, thank goodness he was able to take the time off, I know we are extremely fortunate to have our salaries paid pretty much in full to stay at home with Greta, but there is no dollar value I could place on the assistance.

It would be unlike me to have no complications - I think you would all be asking where my funeral was taking place if you didn't hear about some silly incident, it could only mean I died if all was perfect (as strange and opposite as that sounds), but I have struggled to rebound from the anesthetic, the actual surgery, the drug use (that the hospital gave me), and to top things off, as I was warned, my crohns came back with a vengeance. Now, my crohns never was in remission during my pregnancy, but it certainly sucks now. Thankfully, on the 23rd I'm back to my Gastro Specialist to see what we can do.

*** UMMM, crying Greta, I'll be back!!! Glad there is no time showing when I started this blog and when I'm coming back to it, Got Greta up, gave her a bath to make her smell all pretty and hoping to convince Darren to yet again feed the little hungry monster so I can relax in a hot bath myself.

SO...back to what I was going to blog about..LIFE. In 18 days, things are changing:

1) The sweet baby girl who slept 5-6 hour stretches now seems to like our faces a bit more and when she is up, doesn't automatically fall back to sleep, seems this now occurs a bit more in the wee hours of the morning. Sweet at 4pm that she wants to coo and look around, but at 4am, it would be so nice for her to just eat and snooze again! Doesn't help that I'm still paranoid and check her breathing 50 times a night, which no doubt is affecting her getting in to a deep sleep and making sleep deprivation a self inflicted issue for myself.

2) The Shit - HOLY Shit...it stinks more every day and thankfully we are putting the diapers on tight, as I'm sure she could blow one off her little body. How can someone so tiny create such a mess? And I'm talking 10 wipes, 2 diapers before we get out of the room and need to lysol the room afterwards kind of shit. Darren who has been happily changing diapers - yes, happily, like a proud Daddy and helper, almost gagged last night....I'm afraid his googly eyes for his little girl may have a few moments where he hands her off.

*** BREAK number two, Wayne made his way over to meet the latest member of the family, after his visit, a very bad episode of power puking as I started to change her, not a pleasant or stress free event...So much for smelling good!

3) Dressing - she is going through the outfits, a bit because of temperature changes throughout the day, other times because we just have her dressed "casually", but when we know company is coming we'll dress her up a bit more (this is the hint to call before dropping by!). Unfortunately, she also spits up at times - okay, it's not graceful, it's a power puke, poor little thing, it's our fault for either over feeding her, or just not getting a burp out, but she is certainly going through the clothes.

4) Where is everyone? A few "Mom's" told me you will be shocked to see who your friends are (and family for that matter). I guess I can leave it at that!! But a genuine thanks to all those who commented on photos, sent us emails, notes, words of encouragement, gave a gift to Greta, or picked up the phone or made the effort to come and visit, it was greatly appreciated. I am hoping to get Greta to NB in the coming week, too bad she can't take a dip in my parents pool. But hopefully she'll have a chance to meet some of her cousins and Great-Great Aunts.

5) My Dog - She doesn't like me anymore. I'm so sad, she looks at me with disgust in her eyes, I have bought her presents, taken her for walks, try to get her to cuddle, and she looks at me like I'm the devil, and the baby is the devil's child. I can tell she is depressed, but we are doing our best to make sure she knows she is still #1!!! And I'm sure it will get better. She does watch Greta in her swing and follows me to her room every single time, maybe it will be better when Greta can actually interact with her. I hope!

6) Shopping - Woo Hoo, I'm back!! Visa and Mastercard are singing my praises yet again. 30 minutes at Winners, 5 bags, $200+ of Size Small...yippee. Now, I still have some pudgy stuff to get rid of, but I got my ass back in to my pre-prego jeans. Now, unfortunately the incision is painful, so I may have to hold off wearing them just a bit longer, but I try them on everyday...ha! I have 4 lbs to go to the pre-prego weight, not a massive accomplishment considering I only gained 17, but things were looking grim when I gained in the hospital, so I feel a bit better.

7) For those who read my posts about my clumsy - ripped the toe nail off incident - it still hurts and I have realized all my adorable and beautiful high heel sandals may be tough to wear this summer. I WILL NEVER again say, I would rather have my toe nails ripped off in lieu of doing something (come on, you have all used this saying) - come up with a new line, nothing (not even a C-section or needle in the spine) can be as bad as ripping off a perfectly good (and quite cute I must add) toenail.

8) Sleep - We are getting a fair amount of sleep I think considering we are now living with an 18 day old baby, and if you can imagine, Scarlet as a puppy was up every 2 hours for months, tiny little bladder and no diapers! But we are pretty darn tired and it's so great to have Darren home and sharing the work (or doing the majority), will be quite the difference when he has to go back to work - I might have to give him weeks from my paternity leave.

9) She is pretty - I must admit, I think Greta is pretty cute. I wasn't holding out an unrealistic expectation, and wasn't going to say she was cute just because she was mine, if she was not cute, I would admit it (even if it was just to myself)...but I really think she is a very good looking newborn baby! She has lovely skin, a perfect amount of hair, and tiny little feminine features...

10) My house - we are doing a great job of keeping the house clean - it was a goal of mine and Darren's to ensure the house didn't look like a daycare centre, so yes, we have a bassinet in front of the fireplace and a swing in the corner, but thankfully, the house is big enough to have a home for the baby items. Now, in my temporarily disabled state, I have been thinking more and more about the housekeeper I hired then didn't go through with last year. I may just send her a quick note and see if she needs another job...Would be nice to have someone do the floors and bathrooms...SHHH, Darren doesn't have time to read my blog anymore, so it will be our secret!

So, that sums up 18 days...tomorrow we are off to Greta's first Dr's appt and hopefully I can steal some of her time and ask about my own health. So the big question - What will she wear to her first appt!?