Since I got pregnant, the April 2005 Expecting Club at iVillage has been a lifebuoy. I was able to find out all kinds of information, great "mom" insider information, and best of all, post or read about the totally embarrassing "is it just me?" and "is this normal?" questions that every pregnant woman has. There's a message board on nearly every subject of life and I recommend them. You can communicate with people across America (and in other countries too), and even though we shared the experience of being pregnant, it was really wild to see how varied the experience is.
I like my OB-GYN practice in general, but the doctor who is supposedly "my doctor" is not very forthcoming with information, even when pressed. I do my homework and I like a doctor who will discuss issues with me rather than just say, "See you in two weeks" before my feet are even out of the stirrups. So the message board was quite helpful in filling in the gaps that he left in my pregnancy knowledge base, and no book can fix that either.

P.S.

Today is my 33rd birthday. I am really enjoying it because I don't look anywhere close to 33. I secretly love seeing the shock that comes when strangers learn how old I am. Even a friend of mine the other day was jokingly saying something about how I was not "old enough" for something. I said mock-indignantly, "I'm almost 33." She paused for a long while and I threw in, "You thought I was younger than that, didn't you?" She said, "Definitely." Hey, it's not like I have any control over how old or young I look. Except I don't dress like a frumpy matron -- I suppose that helps.

Vampire Baby

So now I'm almost eight weeks on the other side of pregnancy ... the side where you have a new baby. The pregnancy and delivery were a cakewalk compared to the first couple of weeks of life with our daughter Camden.

Camden was fussy, cranky, crying, frowny, and not as sleepy as I had been led to believe babies are. Breastfeeding didn't work out - she was a "shallow latcher" (don't ask, but it's painful) and we ended up putting her on formula. Long story short, she didn't do well on Enfamil Lipil and is now taking Carnation Good Start very nicely, though it gives her the farts!

When she was first born Camden reminded me of Nosferatu in her middle of the night feedings. She would draw her preternaturally long fingers up underneath her chin and stare distantly with her giant eyes. It was a little creepy. Now she grunts if I stop feeding her and her newest thing is clutching at my shirt and hair with her fingers and grabbing on. I love it.

Life with a new infant had some definite surprises. I thought I had read all the baby books, heard every bit of advice, and knew what to expect. But no. First of all, my little girl looks exactly like her father. Everyone says so and it was the first thing I noticed when I saw her for the first time. Also, I discovered that despite the dire warnings about your baby dying of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome if you allow her to sleep on her stomach, some babies simply will not sleep on their backs. Camden is one of these babies and after we figured this out, life got a lot better for everyone in the household.

With babies you really appreciate the small advances, such as: "Look! She can lift her head up two inches and hold it for ten seconds!" and "Wow, she is starting to look at things besides lights and faces!" Forget walking and talking. We are talking basic motor skills and the beginnings of learning to be happy. Yes, babies must learn to smile and feel happiness; it's not something they are born with. Camden just started issuing the rare smile last week. And I am watching her every minute I can to see all of this unfold.