Why I like other new parents...

Tonight we spent the evening with our friends from Mosaic: Ian and Clarice Eyre, and their 5 month old son, Jackson.
What a nice time.
It was such a great night for a ton of reasons...
First off, they 'get' what being a new parent is all about and they're able to trade stories with an empathy that no single person or seasoned parent can quite muster.
It is always so cool for me to see Jackson, since I know Harper will soon be developing the qualities/abilities he is now showing - she's only a month or two younger. Tonight, for instance, I noticed how vocal Jackson was - like he was really trying to have a non-sensical conversation with anyone who'd listen. I also realized how strong his lungs had gotten! (I see ear muffs in our near future.) Clarice always seem to have a wistful "walk-down-memory-lane look" on her face when she hangs out with Harper Jo. As if she is remembering Jackson just a few months back. She has remarked that she "misses those sounds" when Harper coos and squeals in her newborn way. It makes me double aware of her sounds now. I want to memorize them, record them, burn them to a cd.
Hmmm.... we just got done hanging out with our pals, Remy & Christina (whose daughter Adelaide June is just barely 2 weeks old now), and we were totally basking in our memories of how Haprer used to be - especially how LIGHT she used to be.

Oh, I forgot to mention...
Jackson and Harper weigh about the same!
She's nearly 12 pounds and he's barely 14.
As Clarice remarked, "She's a dense baby."

Neat thing #2 (about spending time with other new parents) is that they are also prone to here-to-fore inappropriate conversations. You know, the type that no self-respecting single person or childless couple would be caught dead having? Conversations about nipples and poop consistency and gassy bellies and constipation. You get the idea. Well, let me tell you, these are the things we (Kyle and I) have been discussing lately, and it's cool to have another couple's take on each topic.

Neat thing #3 - you can feel free to breastfeed right at the dinner table.

Neat thing #4 - you don't have to feel weird about taking 1,001 pictures of every little thing your child does. Tonight, Clarice borrowed our SD Card (the cameras' memory card) at the end of the evening and downloaded our shots to their computer. We'll pick up a disk they're burning us, with the video Ian shot of Harper and Jackson together, sometime next week! Hey, they have a great blog (you might see some of the afore mentioned photographs on there soon and maybe even an entry similar to this one) - check it out at http://www.eyrelines.blogspot.com

Here's yet another neat thing about chillin' with other new parents: you don't need to bring much with you if you visit them at their home - no bouncy seats, toys, etc.
For example...The Eyres' pad is stocked with good baby stuff and Harper got to try it all out. Tonight, Harper tested out a Bumbo Seat. These are little foam seat pods that assist a little one to sit up straight and be able to see the world around him or her, without an adult hold their waist for stability. Usually kids can't really sit in them till they are 3 or 4 months old, because their necks aren't really strong enough yet. Harper slumped forward a bit, after several moments, but basically she could sit up pretty well in it.
The second thing of Jackson's that we tried out was his Doorway Jumper. Now THAT was a hit! I couldn't believe that Harper was so content, nay HAPPY, in it. And, Man, our kid is strong! If you don't believe me, or if you simply want to see for yourself, go to http://www.totsites.com/tot/harperjo - click on "VIDEOS" - and view a one minute clip of it!!!

Finally, I like hanging with new parents because they are as exhausted as we are. The Eyres totally understood (and I think, were even thankful) that as soon as we got Harper to sleep in her car seat, just before 9pm, we said "Good Night" and excused ourselves to head home.
Yep, it was an early evening, but it was a delightful one indeed.

Now, it's 11:30pm time for me to go pump and go to bed. Hopefully I'll be able to get a solid 3 hours sleep before Harper's 'Hunger Cry' is my alarm clock once again.

This is Mommy McCall, signing off.

Can't beat 'em? Just join 'em!

Crying: A motivational poster, originally uploaded by McKyle.

I wonder if I don't have a touch of Post-Partum Depression. Sometimes when Harper Jo is crying, I can't do anything but join her in tears.

Birth Announcement

Birth Announcement, originally uploaded by DrLuv99.

I am now officially a "Mother". Crazy. I have a daughter. My very own kid. To love and nurture and screw up beyond belief. I had better start a therapy fund for her now.

The birth was everything we did NOT expect.

We planned for:
-A home-birth... a doula and midwife were at our beck and call since I was only about 5 months pregnant.
-A water birth.. in a birthing tub we rented for a whole month and had set up in our dining room awaiting the first pangs of labor to be filled with fresh warm water.
-A natural delivery... I knew with enough support and encouragement that I could make it thru all the pain of labor and delivery sans any medication/painkillers.
-A vaginal delivery... C-sections scared the cr@p outta me!
-Immediate skin-to-skin contact in a loving, warm, low-light environment (our apartment).
-Family and friends around to welcome Harper Jo into the world from her very first breath (and to help me thru the pain/fear of labor and delivery).

What we got:
-Emergency C-section in a cold, bright, sterile operating room at Kaiser Perminente, with only the hospital staff to welcome a very blue and breathless Harper Jo into the world!
-A morphine drip for two solid days to counter the excruciating pain from the incision.