Finish line

I have a list of blog post ideas but just don't have the focus right now to work on any of them. And trust me, some of them are gonna be great. But tonight I'm just full of other priorities. We gave Ian his first bath last night and it was a success. We didn't drown the baby and it may have gone a small way toward getting him to relax and sleep before midnight. Sleeping is going great except that he's not ready to go to bed when I am.

It's the end of the month and I'm actually pretty amazed that I managed to post every day of NaBloPoMo with a newborn (and no power for a few of those days). Ian has been pretty low maintenance, though. We'll see if I can still succeed with this monthly project in a few years.

When I was pregnant everyone would warn us that the last trimester was going to be the worst. Then when we were cruising through the last trimester, everyone warned us that it was easier when the baby was on the inside versus outside. Then when we had a pleasant easy going newborn, everyone said to enjoy it before he got mobile. I'm sure at that stage we'll be warned of the perils of teenagers.

All I know is we're having a great time so far and I'm in no hurry for any of these stages to be over.

The long and the short of it

When I woke up this morning, the sun was sprinkling through the window shades onto the bed, the baby was cooing ... and Rich was sputtering and choking on my hair as he tried to snuggle up behind me. I need one of those caps like Mama has in The Night Before Christmas. My hair is the longest it's been since probably my freshman year of college. I'm unsure how I feel about this. I noted in my Flickr picture that I had taken the time to curl/straighten my hair for Thanksgiving. It was probably the first time I've worn my hair down with no hair clips, bands or other products in it. My mother commented that afternoon when we got home, "wow you're hair is long. Like, really long." I'm not sure she meant it as a compliment.

My parents both seem to prefer short hair. When I cut my hair in college, my father said that was his Christmas present as far as he was concerned. Rich has always told me he thinks long hair is pretty but short hair is sexy. I know several guys, though, who much prefer long hair over short (none of those guys have ever had to manage that long hair).

I want hair like those doll babies they used to make with the wheel in their back. I want to be able to crank out long tresses sometimes and then reel them back in when I'm done.

I want short hair when I'm in a convertible or out at the windy beach. I want long hair when I'm sleepy and Rich brushes my hair for me. I want short hair when I'm sleeping. I want long hair for special occasions so I can curl and style it. I want short hair for sexy time so it's not in our way. I want long hair when it's cold so my neck is still warm.

When I had long hair in high school and college I kept it in a pony tail or tied in a knot with a pencil most of the time. I'm starting to get to that length now. My curling iron is buying me some time before I decide to cut it all off, but I'm not sure how long it can last. Unfortunately, I can also feel myself getting emotionally attached to my hair which is something I have been largely free of with short hair.

As my old boss Harry said, "a woman's hair is her cross to bear." I'm just not sure how much of my hair I want to bear anymore. What are your thoughts? Do you prefer short or long hair? Do you have some magic solution for me to have both short and long hair without resorting to a mullet?

Reconnecting with family

One of the many questions we get these days, besides "is he sleeping through the night yet?", is "how are the animals reacting to the new baby?" We have two dogs and three cats so there are lots of animals to have opinions about this latest "pack member" but a few of them have surprised us. Sarah the elder stateshound has little to no interest in the baby. If it's possible for a dog to get senile, though, she's done it and doesn't have interest in much beyond her fan, the water bowl and rubbing her face on the leather furniture.

Mollie the dobermutt did a fair amount of worrying and pacing when we first brought Ian home (as did Rich) but has since mellowed into licking the baby's head and bemoaning her being outcast to the guest bed from our bed.

The kitties have surprised us the most. Tobias the busiest cat ever has shown more interest in our baby paraphernalia than the actual baby, attempting to sleep in the cribs, on the changing tables and snuggled inside the Boppy nursing pillow.

Emily the skittish cat we assumed would spend the first month under the guest bed since she hides from any visitors or house guests we have. But she's our only pet that has had offspring so I think she understands that Ian is our kitten. She sits with me when I nurse him and sleeps in the bed with all of us every night. She hasn't shown any aggression towards the baby and has been amazingly brave. We'll see how that bravery lasts when Ian is mobile.

The only pet that seems to be having a hard time is Isis (AKA Ms. Kitty). She has always been my cat and doesn't have much use for anyone else petting her or otherwise interacting with her. Her favorite thing in the world is for me to pick her up and carry her around the house. She's content to sit in my arms for close to an hour if I'll let her and she just snuggles and purrs the whole time. But these days I've been carrying around another kitty all the time and the betrayal and frustration shows on her little kitty face. It's pitiful to watch her follow us around the house meowing plaintively.

She can at least sit on the arm of the recliner while Ian and I are nursing but you can tell she doesn't think it's the same as being held herself. So this afternoon while Ian was napping, I sought her out, picked her up and we had a good hour of snuggle time. It was a nice reunion for us both and I'm going to try to make a habit of it. As wonderful as it has been to bond with Ian these last few weeks it's also good to see he's not the only one who needs me.