Sleep, Poop, Eat-----Rinse and Repeat.

Life with a newborn. Ah. Nothing quite so sweet or so time-consuming. Whenever she's been on me non-stop for 2 hours and I'm itching to get up and take care of things around here I stop and remind myself that her fuzzy head will soon be too big to fit "just right" in the crook of my neck. Before long her tiny body won't be able to fold into a ball on my chest while she sleeps. She'll lose that fresh newborn scent all too soon and take on the smell of baby lotion and spit-up. When I lift her to adjust her position she won't do that move where she stretches her arms and back with pursed lips while her legs are froggied up to her body. And saddest of all, in no time she'll have nursing down and I won't feel those sweet soft lips pecking all over my neck and face searching for a nipple.

We're 99% sure this is our last journey into newborn territory and I want to savor every minute. It's kind of hard to savor a fussy baby who is awake from 3-7 AM, sore nipples where the scabs keep being sucked off, sore back and arms from having to hold myself JUST SO lest she be disturbed and want to latch on to fall back asleep, having to postpone bathroom trips until the perfect moment to set her down and run and hope she doesn't squall before you can make it back and countless other "inconveniences" you tend to forget about once they're out of this stage. But I'm trying. I've been through it twice before and know all too well how quickly this passes and my uterus begins to twitch at the thought of that fuzzy head nestled into my neck.

We're going for the newborn screen today which means a heel stick. My usual role is to hand the baby off to TGTBT to hold while I stand in the hallway crying and trying not to throw up. I think I'm going to man up this time and try to nurse her through it. If I can handle this it'll be more proof of a woman's strength than even going through labor and childbirth. That's just physical pain. Hearing your baby cry while someone jabs a needle into that silken skin rips your heart out and you die a little inside. At least I do.

On to better thoughts! Little Miss (don't get attached----that surely won't stick as a permanent nickname because there are no foodstuffs involved) slept in 2.5 hour stretches last night which means I not only feel human this morning, I'm a veritable font of energy! LOL We went to bed at midnight and were up at 3, 6 and for the day at 9. Compared to the last few nights it was like a week at the spa. Last night we nursed on one side, checked for dirty diaper and then nursed on the other until she fell asleep. Apparently her stomach holds more at this age than my other girls' because they'd nurse one boob at a time and fall asleep for hours. Now that I know she needs something different I'm hoping this continues to work.

I need to get dressed for the torture/trauma I have to endure. I say "I" because I know it'll be way worse on me than on her. She'll be fine as soon as it's over while I'll think about it and cry for days. And Lord help me when it comes time to have her extra pinkies removed. That right there is another of TGTBT's flaws, I suppose. Not that it's his fault he carries that gene but it does mean all our babies need minor surgery. The Nut's were removed at 3 months and Frito's at 5 months so sometime this summer you'll be able to read all about it.

For pics, click on the link to "Leesha'sPhotography" to the right. She came yesterday and we had a photo shoot and some of the pics are on her blog.