Drunken Sailor

David sometimes refers to Teresa's post-feeding look of stupor as "drunken sailor." Here she is displaying it in the changing room of the JCPenney's photo studio, where my sister Beth and I nursed our babies after their pictures were taken together:

Daddy, Papa, Father...

Speaking of Daddy... David is still considering options for what he would like his children to call him. Here in the US, Mommy and Daddy and then Mom and Dad are the default. They're okay, but we've enjoyed considering other possibilities. In the UK, moms are called Mummy and then Mum - that's just weird! Mother and Father seem distant to me, so those are out. I've long liked the term Mama and would really like for my children to call me Mama as long as possible. But Papa would be a bit more difficult to instill because so few children call their fathers Papa these days (in fact, it seems more and more grandfathers are being called Papa). David often calls his dad "Old Man" - that's probably not something we want to pass on!

Although we have quite a bit of time before Teresa will be language-capable, it would be good to make this decision soon because we'll need to practice referring to one another by our name of choice (e.g., "you're such a good Daddy" and "Mama's ready to feed you now").

I'd be very interested to read about your thoughts and experiences with this topic.

On a side note, Teresa's grandparents will also have an interesting mix of relational names. On David's side she has a Nana and a Pampaw. On my side she has a Memere (pronounced "MEM-ay") and a Grandpa. What's most important is that we all love her very much!

Nurse Daddy

What's not to love about a man in a uniform, holding a baby? :D


And if you zoom in, you can see the little sheep all over Teresa's sleeper - so cute!

11 Days Well Baby Visit

Today we saw a well-reputed nurse practitioner at our pediatrician's office (actually, the doctor we chose for Teresa is a family practitioner who also has a great reputation for his work with little ones).

Teresa's stats (at 11 days old):

Weight: 7 lbs 8.5 oz (50th percentile)
Height: 20.5 in (85th percentile)
Head circumference: 13.5 in (39th percentile)

The NP looked Teresa over very thoroughly and gushed at her cuteness (the way she scrunches up her forehead, her momentarily crossed eyes, and her special crookedy toe). In addition to discussing bathing (Teresa's cord stump fell off last night - yay!) and skincare, breastfeeding, and the probable future of that toe, we talked very candidly about vaccinations. The NP recommended The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child (Sears Parenting Library) for a solid education about the nature of vaccines, their importance, and possibilities for delaying their administration to children. David and I still have more research to do (so we're very grateful for her recommendation), but we're pretty sure we'll delay several vaccinations and skip a few others (for a variety of reasons). We're very fortunate to have found a care provider who will allow us the freedom to make these decisions for Teresa. Interestingly, the NP admitted that she is obliged to advise us to get Teresa vaccinated according to national standards even though she did not follow them exactly with her own children. She said what she is required to say about vaccines but made it clear to us that we could ask her what she chose to do as a mom herself. Cool.

Wordless (Ash) Wednesday

Initiating the cloth diapers

Teresa's first cloth diaper (made by my mom). She promptly soiled it.

Teresa's second cloth diaper (not shown). She wet it while we were putting it on her.


Teresa's third cloth diaper. It didn't stay dry long, either.

Challenging though the transition to cloth diapers was (we had - and still have - lots to learn), I am very grateful that we didn't go through 3 disposable diapers in the space of 30 minutes. Yesterday continued to be a "high production" day and we had over 12 diapers to wash this morning. (David did a fabulous job with the washing in our apartment laundry center, by the way.)

More posts on this adventure to come!

Mastering the art of one-handed typing

Okay, so I'm not so good at it yet. But I'm going to have lots of practice, I think. :)

She looks like David

We're of the opinion that Teresa got most of her good looks from David. She has his eyes and mouth, cheeks and eyebrows. She has the same high forehead that wrinkles just so when she moves her eyebrows in oh-so-many cute expressions.

Here's a baby picture of David (that survived Hurricane Katrina, thanks be to God) followed by a picture of Teresa for comparison's sake:



We do see a few features that resemble mine, though: perhaps her chin; definitely her long hands/fingers and feet/toes. I was told that I had "piano hands" and "monkey toes" when I was growing up. Although I haven't picked up an instrument in some time, I did put those fingers to use playing the flute, piano, and guitar for many years. I can't wait to see whether Teresa is interested in music, too!

"Bili" blanket Teresa

On the second evening, Teresa was diagnosed with jaundice. The doctors prescribed the bili-blanket, which was a new tool at that hospital. The light breaks down unconjugated bilirubin in the blood while the baby is allowed to remain in the mother's room. Thankfully, the bilirubin levels decreased and Teresa was cleared to go home on Monday without any further complications.

Teresa explores the world

In the hospital, Teresa remained fairly quiet and took to exploring her surroundings. Enjoy.