day 7

sunday: the end of the beginning

When I awoke for my shift at 1 AM, Clara’s family reported that our child had been successfully put to sleep in a horizontal position for close to four hours. This represented another breakthrough and provided justification for the purchase of the “Snuggle Nest” the evening before. Baby Poogie and I learned a little more about the growth and development of the National Park system and when her mother awoke, we all got to try out the nipple shield (or at least Clara and the baby did). Whereas a “breast plate” was a critical piece of medieval armor that protected a knight’s torso from the piercing blow of a broadsword, a nipple shield is a little silicon sombrero that sits on one’s nipple and allows the child to suck without physically stressing the nipple. It looks absolutely ridiculous but my wife assures me the thing is worth its weight in gold. I’ll take her word for it.

By Sunday there began to be a few moments in between the feeding, sleeping and screaming where my daughter and I were able to interact in a slightly more civil manner. It’s funny, but when she isn’t screaming, she’s actually really cute and pleasant to be around. These moments of “active wakefulness” or whatever they’re called are dew and far between but they do, I hope, hold promise of what is to be.

My parents drove in from north Texas that afternoon and we enjoyed an afternoon of non-narrative entertainment provided by the new addition to our family. I’ve noticed our daughter tends to be much less fussy when visitors are around. Perhaps the additional stimulation does her well or she senses and appreciates being held by a professional as opposed to the amateurs that typically are her handlers. Either way, she gives off the impression to guests that she is quite pleasant to be around. I suppose that at the end of the day she is.