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Introducing Abigail Kalliroy!
Our baby girl, Abi, was born at 9:04AM on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009. She weighed 7lbs even and is 20" long. She was born at Women's Birth & Wellness Center in Chapel Hill, NC, which is a wonderful place with supportive staff. We feel so fortunate to have had this experience there, surrounded by caring midwives. Besides being a week late and then faking me out by convincing me I was in labor all Saturday afternoon, Abi took a good 29 hours to enter the world. Thankfully, I am just as stubborn as she is, so I still managed to have the natural childbirth experience that I wanted. Both sets of grandparents were in town for the event and are here helping us out while we recover. Abi's uncle Mark is here too, cooking wonderful meals for us. Steve & I are tired but thrilled. I know every parent says this, but she is truly beautiful and we feel so lucky at this moment. We thank everyone for their thoughts and congratulations. I will post updates & pictures as I regain my strength and catch up (ha!) on my sleep.
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September 11 at 3:25pm
[Me via Facebook] I am stronger than I ever thought possible. I also have the best husband in the world, but I knew that already.
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From: Me
Subject: How I am
Date: September 14, 2009 3:08:40 PM EDT
To: Mikl
So hard to explain...quite a wide range of emotions for just one week. I don't yet understand how people do this. But I keep reminding myself that much dumber people with fewer resources have reproduced and survived. I am so tired all the time. If I can make myself sleep at every opportunity, then that makes the hours when I can't sleep - like when she decides she wants to feed every hour between 2 & 6 AM - more tolerable. Problem is, everything seems so manageable in the daytime, so I'll get up, feed her and then do other stuff. Then the evening rolls around and I realize, crap, I really should've taken more naps, and by then it's too late.
But the flipside is that she is so perfectly adorable and I already love her so much. And even when I'm crying from exhaustion, I still find myself marvelling over how soft her skin is and how dark her eyes are. Everything we hear about her from the grandparents and various midwives & nurses boils down to us having a very strong and strong-willed daughter, so I am preparing myself to raise a female Liam - a daunting task indeed.
We have pushed back any social visits until next week due to sleep dep, but I guess that's when you'll be getting back anyway. So give a call and we'll schedule something.
-Me
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September 16 at 2:16am
[Me via Facebook] YIKES what am I feeding this kid?!?
[Margaret commenting] What happened?
[Me via Facebook] Oh, let's just say it was a mighty poop. :)
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From: Me
Subject: Nervous new parent
Date: September 16, 2009 7:38:44 AM EDT
To: Laurel
I can't win. If she wakes every hour to feed, I'm crying from exhaustion. But if she sleeps too many hours at a stretch, I'm convinced that there's something horribly wrong. Sigh...
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September 17 at 9:59am
[Me via Facebook] is vacating the house at 9:30AM with a newborn so the exterminators can spray for roaches...not a great start to the morning.
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September 17 at 2:57pm
[Me via Facebook] (Said in my best Dwight Schrute voice) Baby. Breastfeeding. Battlestar Galactica.
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September 22 at 12:43pm
[Me via Facebook] spat on a tissue and used it to clean Abi's face. I guess I really am a mom. Scary.
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From: Me
Subject: Re: Abi
Date: September 22, 2009 8:55:22 PM EDT
To: [My boss]
I think I could adjust to being up every few hours if I could sleep in between. But it takes me so long to get to sleep that if her feedings aren't more than two hours apart, I'm screwed. Steve can fall asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow but unfortunately I don't function that way. The other issue is that she'll have these cluster-feedings where she wants to eat constantly for several hours. But the biggest frustration for me so far is that we have yet to hit anything resembling a schedule. There's little or no pattern to her feedings or the clusters, which is the main reason for my sleep deprivation and the fact that I haven't called/emailed all the people I said I'd call/email. But she's two weeks old today so I'm hoping things settle down a bit soon.
Outings: We took her for a walk on the Booker Creek trail last week, and she seemed to like the stroller but it made my stitches sore so I'll wait awhile before I do that again. Then we braved the germs and took her to Southpoint because I needed some nursing shirts. She got a bit fussy and decided she needed to nurse, but at least we know where the family restroom is now.
In other news, I can wear a lot of my pre-pregnancy shirts but not my pants yet. I'm not too upset about it though. I'm in no hurry to return to buttons & zippers after all these months in elastic.
-M
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September 23 at 4:23am
[Me via Facebook] is wondering if this late-night feeding frenzy is ever going to end.
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September 28 at 6:47pm
[Me via Facebook] Veteran moms: Will I ever feel rested again? Be honest, I can take it.
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October 4 at 11:45am
[Me via Facebook] is being physically abused by her baby. So far today, I've been punched, scratched and kicked in the boob. It's a good thing she's cute.
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October 11 at 12:22pm
[Me via Facebook] Abi just let out a belch worthy of the Katsaounis name. I'm so proud!
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From: Me
Subject: Footy pajamas!
Date: October 12, 2009 10:05:24 AM EDT
To: Stephen
It's a bit cool today so I put a warmer outfit on her. The feet are giraffes! Let's see how many minutes until she spits up on it. :)
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October 15 at 9:09pm
[Me via Facebook] is starting to feel like herself again.
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October 16 at 3:07pm
[Me via Facebook] My daughter smiled at me! What an amazing feeling!
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October 19 at 10:44am
[Me via Facebook] Abi is making up for last night's fussiness by being extra adorable this morning. She must've known I was at the end of my rope.
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From: Me
Subject: The Power of Sundrop
Date: October 20, 2009 7:40:58 PM EDT
To: Catherine, Mikl
Three things happened in this order:
1. I drank the first sundrop I'd had in ten months.
2. I nursed Abi.
3. Abi let out the biggest belch I've ever heard from a baby. No exaggeration, if I'd heard it without seeing it, I would've thought it came from a 13-year-old boy showing off for his friends.
Obviously I can't prove that #3 was the result of the first two, but I want to believe...
2 comments:
That last foto is baby-model level cuteness. Ralph Lauren would think she's too fat, though.
Thanks for the update. That is one beautiful girl you have there. Much loe.
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