Week 1

Lilah had her first doctor's appointment today. Dano and I took bets on what she'd weigh, extra chocolate for the winner. He guessed 8lbs (she was 7lb 14oz when we left the hospital). My guess was 8lb 2oz. She weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 4oz. She gained an ounce a day, and an inch since birth. My milk came in with a vengeance, and she's growing like a weed.
I'm not sure how we managed to create a child who is so easy-going. She only cries when she's hungry, has gas, or is lonely and wants held. She wakes up only once during the night to eat, and then either goes back to sleep, or just stays in one of our arms, agreeably looking around the room until she falls asleep again. Sometimes she wakes up another time to be changed. It completely caught me off guard to have a baby who eases in with the rest of the family so flawlessly.
My aunt, uncle, and cousins were up for the weekend. It was so nice to be able to have *my* family around. I love Dano's dearly, but sometimes I feel a little out of the loop. There are lifetime-long inside jokes and traditions that I wasn't a part of. Dano said, only half joking, that he's tempted to just tell Lilah that Kelli and Mike are her grandparents. It had crossed my mind, but I won't lie to my child, even about something like that.
I realize now that Dano had a better approach to preparing for parenthood than I did. He did nothing. I studied, and asked other people, and tried to gather as much information as I possibly could about birth, labor and delivery, and newborns. I completely underestimated every single one of them. I went into the whole experience thinking I had a fairly good handle on everything and was as prepared as I possibly could be. I was so incredibly foolish. Things have been good, Lilah has been a better baby than I could have ever wished for, and I haven't had any postpartum depression or problems with my milk. But I can't believe I thought I actually had a good handle on things. I've been a parent for a grand total of six days, and it hasn't been a thing like I expected. It'll be an interesting 18 years or so.