A Day in the Life of a Newborn

Acacia continues to enchant us with her amazing cuteness, as we try to settle into at least a semblance of routine. Dave is back at work, leaving the house in the pitch black that is 5:30am and returning in the pitch black that is 5:30pm -- welcome to Alaska in November! Acacia and I, having been up half the night nursing, try to sleep in a while longer (or at least, we lay in bed nursing and pretending we're not awake yet). Tired as I am, seeing Acacia grin and giggle around a mouthful of breast with milk dripping down her chin makes it all worthwhile!

We spend the day mostly in the nursing chair, since my sweet little milk monster is hungry every hour or two. Between meals she sleeps -- unless I try to put her in her cradle, in which case she wakes and is hungry again. For about a total of two hours each day, Acacia is awake and not busy eating (or having her diaper changed). She spends this time just looking around, sometimes from her cradle and sometimes from my arms as we walk around the house or try to get a couple chores done (laundry is a daily occurrence now, as everything near us ends up wet and smelling like milk). She can be fascinated by the smallest thing -- a shadow on the wall, a lamp above her, an interesting pattern, a window -- and stare intently for minutes on end before blinking and shaking her head as if to wake herself. I wonder what she's thinking about...

Invariably, as soon as Dave gets home from work and I set dinner on the table, Acacia wakes from a nap and wants to be held or nursed. I'm getting quite good at eating with one hand. She usually spends the early evening awake and looking around, then drifts off in my arms with an after-dinner snack and spends the rest of the evening napping while Dave and I watch a movie or read or spend time on our computers. She wakes up just in time to nurse back to sleep for bed... for a couple hours. And the cycle begins again.

Life with a newborn can be frustrating at times and is definitely tiring, but it is also beautiful, wonderful, and miraculous. I wouldn't trade it for anything!