Learning Lessons

Lessons learned in the first 4 (almost) weeks of my first little baby's life:

If she is crying: the fact that I just fed her does not rule out hunger as the reason for the crying. Neither does the fact that I just changed her rule out a messy diaper as the reason for the crying.

She will usually cry during a diaper changing. If she is strangely quiet or suddenly stops crying--look out. She's probably about to pee on you. . . or already has. Contrary to popular belief, having a girl does not exempt one from getting peed on.

Camryn and I have different taste in clothing. My least favorites outfits will last nearly 24 hours. My favorite ones will be immediately peed on, spit up on, or the victim of a blowout.

Baby is boss. Baby determines when (and if) I sleep, eat, shower, or clean.

Sleeping anytime between 3:30 and 7:00 a.m. is not really her style.

She likes The Black Keys. And Jaymay. Not so fond of The Arcade Fire though--we'll work on that.

Something about being on her tummy terrifies her. Even thought the doctor said she needs it to develop certain muscles and keep her getting a flat head and having to wear one of those baby helmets. Her eyes get huge and wide and her breathing gets really fast before she bursts into screams--most of the time. She's getting the hang of it though. Mom's repeated assurances that "we like being on our tummy, being on our tummy is fun" are very persuasive.

She's stronger than you think. When you're burping her--hold on tight. She's got this killer back head dive thing that can take you very off guard.

When she's kept me up all night or just had a pee that filled half the laundry hamper (pjs, under-onsie, blanket, changing table cover, my outfit if i'm unlucky)--she knows. And will be extra good (and extra cute) for the next little while to make up for it.

She's cutest right after she wakes up, but right before she starts crying for you to feed or change her. Don't miss that prime time. She'll give you 80 different facial expressions in under a minute and does the most adorable series of stretches you've ever seen. Love it.

And my final lesson: Have a sense of humor. Babies require it.