Zen and the Art of Baby Maintenance

Our house is officially “babyfied.” Everywhere I look there are pink blankets, burp cloths and little pairs of pants. I have quickly learned the value of a binky and keep them as available as possible. You never know when you will need one.
First let me say that Andria is a Champion. She is seriously like Michael Phelps before he got caught taking bong hits. She went through a lot last week and is recovering well. I honestly can’t believe how hard she has to work just to feed the little Gremlin.
At first we had a hard time getting Amelia to latch on to anything. The first night in the hospital i spent at least and hour trying to get her drink from a bottle. The nurses explanation was that some babies just don’t have a natural tendency to suck right away. While it us good to know that my baby “doesn’t suck,” it really has been difficult to get her to eat. But Andria has a lot more patience then I would. She gets up every two hours and spends and hour and a half trying to get Amelia to “ get her grub on.” I keep telling her that the baby is like her dad and might just want some chicken wings but she won’t listen.
We miss Andria’s mom. She did so much for us while she was here. It’s hard to imagine that there was a time when there was a very real possibility that she might never get to hold little Amelia. A year ago, we thought we would be taking care of her not visa versa. The minute Vicki turned her back to leave, Andria started to cry. I suppose it is all part of the circle of life. I like to imagine that years down the road, Andria will take some time off and cook lasagna and fold onsies for our grandchildren.
I honestly can’t believe that they just let us drive away from the hospital with a baby in a back seat. We didn’t need any kind of documentation, we just put her in the car seat and cautiously drove home.
So here we alone. Like the billions of parents before us, we have kind of been thrown into parenthood. We are trying to figure out the little things. Everybody has different advice. I guess you just sift though it and go with what works.
We work in shifts. Andria does the feeding, because my breasts are not big enough, and i change diapers and sing her to sleep, because Andria’s voice isn’t good enough. Each night has a different theme, Bob Marley night, Bob Dylan night, Cat Stevens night, LDS greatest Hymns night, etc. So far Amelia likes Bob Marley night the most. Maybe she will grow up and be a Rastafarian. It may be to early to tell but i think the kid likes music. She even does a little singing herself. Actually it’s more like screaming. Last night i think she may have been covering the Deftones.
Andria and I are at peace. Andria seems to have filled a void that has been missing for a long time. It’s hard to explain but going through this has made me fall in love with her all over again. Our house feels like a home for the first time. I like the feeling of peace that i get when i am holding Amelia. I stare at her for long periods of time, and when i do i get the feeling that i have done something important. I get the feeling that i am part of something bigger then myself and i am proud what i have helped to create. I am proud of her.
Andria and i don’t know how to be parents, but we do know how to love. I guess that is our plan, to love her to death and hope that everything else just kind of falls into place.