La Familia Ellis

We did it. Miss Sadie is now home and settling into life with her two adoring parents who are unabashedly in love with her. She's on to us and she knows that we would do anything for her. I expect to start seeing messages in her diapers that say, "buy me a Mini Cooper," at which point, Jeff and I will pack the car and head straight to the dealership. This child shall want for nothing is our philosophy and it's working for all of us right now, though I can imagine a time down the road when we may have to tweak that a bit in order to raise a functioning and healthy member of society.

I never thought there would be any sweeter music to my ears than Lyle Lovetts, I Love Everybody album, but there is. As I sit here right now typing this entry at 9:13 p.m. on Friday, July 31, 2009, I can attest that the sound of my daughter farting every 30 seconds is as close to aural nirvana as I have ever been. She's been farting like a drunk who just binged at Taco Bell for about 3 minutes and it's starting to stink in here. The delight of my little swaddled bundle of flatulence is something that I have no words for. Jeff has gone to the drug store to fetch a refill of my pain meds along with some meds for my own GI tract issues. I tried to be a hero today and went from 7:45 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. before taking my pain meds. What the hell is the virtue in that? I guess I wanted to be sure I wasn't addicted to Norco or that I wasn't just indulging in medication. It was not a prudent move, because the reason I am on those drugs is because I had major abdominal surgery only 8 days ago and I am no spring chicken. By about 5:00 p.m. tonighht I was slipping into despair about the physical pain: the incision, my uterus, my aching nipples, my hemorrhoids. It's a lot to deal with while also caring for a totally helpless 8 lb baby who can also scream so loud it almost bursts my inner ear. So, off Jeff went to be sure we are stocked up for the next week and for that, I am immensely grateful.

We've had a great week so far at home. The highlights include getting to know more about Sadie and her needs and her budding personality, as well as the sheer pleasure of just being in her company and being her mom and dad. We've also had a loving stream of visitors, each who has been a pipeline to the world beyond our four walls, bringing in love and support so we can heal and get to know our daughter. Our freezer and refrigerator are both full to bursting at this point with the most thoughtful and generous of dishes, including a kugal, a killer apple pie, and some lentil soup that is savory enough to serve royalty.

Happily, we are also getting infinitely more sleep than we imagined we were allowed as parents of a newborn. She's an awesome sleeper, going for 3 and 4-hour stretches, which is a dream. We have some good teamwork going so we aren't running too ragged yet.

There are 100,000 more things to say, but it has to wait, because Jeff just home and suggested that our daughter's farts and the pungent smell in the room means we should change her diaper.