Mike T. sent this along and I'm reprinting it with his permission (though technically, I only asked if I could reprint the list – I hope he doesn't mind me reprinting the whole e-mail.)
I know that you probably won't believe me, but the first month is
actually really easy compared to months 2-18. They sleep an awful lot
in that month and are darn cute while doing so. I know that you are
enraptured by his eyes and smile right now, but take the opportunity to
take lots of pictures of his hands and feet. You won't believe they
were that small in even a few months.
don't know if I gave you my fool-proof checklist for dealing with an
upset new-born/infant, but I'll give it to you again just in case.
Is there something physically bugging him? (a tag on his sleeper, a
bunched up blanket under him, a toy looking at him funny, etc.)
taking care of those four things doesn't work, then you are probably
dealing with colic, teething, or some other unusual circumstance.
Those four things will take care of it 99% of the time, though.
And always remember that worse people than you have raised wonderful kids, so don't worry too much.
There's that old saying that when it rains, it pours and that's the situation for us right now. In addition to the birth of our son, Shea's had a few (minor) complications from her c-section so that needs to be dealt with on a daily basis.
Then, a week to the day after Pace was born, I got a call that my last living grandparent, Grandpa Peet, had passed away. So I'm flying out to Kelowna tomorrow, the funeral's on Wednesday and I'm back Thursday morning.
I've been asked to do the eulogy (the third of my four grandparents I've had the honour of doing this for) so I might post that eventually.
No need to post condolences or anything – Grandpa was 88, he'd been in ill-health for the last month so, as much as these things can be, it wasn't a huge surprise. He went the way I want to go someday – he was still living at home, still driving, still playing cards nearly every day (but had to cut back on the dancing a bit!), both mentally and physically sharp.
It's my own selfishness but I'm telling myself that part of the reason he held on as long as he did was to hear if we had a boy or a girl and to see pictures of the baby (which he did.) Whatever gets you through the night, eh?
Anyhow, posts might not happen for the next couple days but we'll see. I definitely want to get down to Kelowna Public Library (actually Okanagan Regional I think) and ironically, that's where I sat to write my Grandma Peet's eulogy way back in 1999.
Here's an Ask Metafilter thread on How To Deliver A Eulogy and from there, here's a link to one that's very well-written.
Grandpa liked old-time country music so here's a modern take on the genre featuring a song I'd love to have played at my own funeral someday…
Comments 4
Oh I forgot to add the obvious one to that list. It just seems so fundamental that it shouldn't need to be said but:
5. Does he want a hug/cuddle?
I think that covers the usual suspects.
I guess while I'm here I'll pass on my condolences as well.
Hey — my computer was in the shop for over a week (and no access to personal email/etc. at work) so I missed the Big Event. Congrats to all 3 of you — enjoy the ride. Keep lots of journalish notes cuz as intense as it is to stare at Oscar/Pace, you'll still forget a lot as he changes quickly (and you are sleep deprived). Thanks for sharing so generously with all of us. Also sorry about your loss (grandparent) — remarkable how often endings and beginnings happen together — bittersweet. heather mc
I'm posting this reply a month later but just wanted to say that I repeat your list in my head almost everytime he cries! So thanks for that.
And my computer was gone for about three weeks so I'm just catching up on comments now. Thanks for the best wishes and the condolences. Good tip about keeping notes – we've kept a baby journal since the day we decided to get pregnant although the entries are a bit more rare these days!