life with baby
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Raise your hand if you've ever gone bathing suit shopping when you're 7 weeks postpartum.I didn't think so.I'm not so much brave as desperate. As I mentioned recently, swimming is an awesome mind-cleanser for me, and Elan is putting us through the wringer, so I need a good mind-cleanser right about now. And the bathing suit I wore all through my pregnancy was starting to put me at risk for indecent exposure so...I started with one-pieces. I thought they would be more flattering. But this was an athletics store, so they were all Speedo and TYR and no no no no no.Surprisingly, my regular fave the 2-piece still felt more comfortable, and looked better, "better" being a very relative term here.In the dressing room, I kept telling myself 9 months on, 9 months off, and laughing. I laughed a lot, actually. Out loud. This crazy body, with its unaccustomed pads and rolls and ripples and soft spots where the muscle might be hiding deep in there somewhere - it doesn't even feel like my body. I guess that's the main difference between last time and this time. This time, ... more
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Rebecca - - One responseThere's a fun new game round these parts. It's called torture the baby for our own amusement. Emry doesn't particularly like hats, but he'll tolerate them so long as they don't fall down over his eyes. Which this Peruvian one does, but it's so gorgeous we put it on him anyway.Sometimes he doesn't notice the indignity.Then there's his bear suit, which is skin-tight because it's a newborn size that fits "up to 7 pounds" and he weighs oh - about 12. But we stuffed him in there anyway, ... more
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Rebecca - - No responsesToday, I got back into the pool. There were a few big hurdles to surmount: 1) the baby had to get his first bottle, an event which makes me tear up with the thought he doesn't need me anymore, but that I know is necessary if I'm going to have some freedom in the many months of nursing to come and 2) I had to deal with the bathing suit situation.I should back up for a minute. The last few months of my pregnancy, after I hurt my back and ... more
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Rebecca - - No responsesAfter both of my sons' births, Eugenia, the matriarch of Mikhail's mom's family, known to everyone as Granny, has sent me this poem.Eugenia and EmryThe Adoration-Adrie KusserowIt's morning.I pull you from the criball warm and yeasty,your hair stuck up like two soft horns,you beaming brighter than a headlightin anticipation of the nip.Silly boy,tender pink niblet,luscious little beast,water nut, love blossom,Panis bulbosa, lactata nippiana.And so beginthe verbal feversof my love-smitten Tourette's,speaking in tongueswild with metaphor,swinging from branch to branch of simile,rooting about for wordsto match your roundness, your just succulency,your ... more
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Rebecca - - No responses
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Rebecca - - 3 responsesLet's get real about the post-partum body, shall we? We don't all look like this:Jessica Alba, 3 months post-partumOr even better, like this:Rebecca Romijn, 6 weeks post-partum after TWINSIn fact, very many of us new moms - I would guess the majority - look more like this:me, 2 weeks post-partumI remember after Elan was born I was a bit shocked by the belly that remained. The same shape as what it had been, just shrunken down, empty and slack. The skin was soft and brown, and I completely ... more
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Rebecca - - No responsesI realized Halloween has come and gone and I never posted pictures. So here they are.Elan was a rainbow bat.Mikhail's mom Karen made the bat wings. Aren't they awesome?He and I came up with the rainbow bat costume idea in the car one day. I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween, and he said "a bat." We riffed for a while about possible bat colors, and eventually landed on "rainbow."I didn't think the idea would stick, but it did.Meanwhile, Emry was world's cutest peepod.And later, when the ... more
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Rebecca - - 2 responsesWe are doing great here with the newborn nursing, sleeping and pooping regime. Even the sleeping part? Well, we are tired, but expectations are low so that so far, no complaints. And when I'm asleep, I'm sleeping better than I did for the last month of pregnancy. We've had lots of wonderful helping hands around too, so that makes everything feel easier. Despite the fact that Elan still gets up before dawn, and Mikhail is still working at least part-time (no paternity leave or vacation time when you're doing contract ... more
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Rebecca - - 8 responsesWe are so thrilled to welcome our baby boy to our family! Emry Isaiah Brams Davis October 22, 2010 7 lbs 15 oz, 20.5 inches Emry is a Welsh name that means "honorable" (Davis is a Welsh name). Isaiah is a name I love and also in honor of David Brower, Mikhail's mentor, who loved to quote from the Book of Isaiah. In the tradition of Mikhail's family, my last name is Emry's second middle name (we did this with Elan too - his name is Elan Joshua Brams Davis). He came exactly on ... more
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it’s a boy!We are so thrilled to welcome our baby boy to our family! Emry Isaiah Brams Davis October 22, 2010 7 lbs 15 oz, 20.5 inches Emry is a Welsh name…
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the end of an eraToday my grandfather, Popa Al Alper, passed away. He was 101 and a half. June 2008 Back when he turned 99, many of you sent him postcards in the mail.…
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new story published!New story in print for the first time in a looonnng time I am happy to say that I had a story published in The Stonecoast Review, Issue 8. It’s… -
In DecemberIt is December now, and I notice that for the past several months I have maintained silence here on my blog about how I have continued to deal with the…
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a goalYesterday I spent a lot of time thinking and writing about what kinds of habits or practices I could put in place that will support my vision of myself as…
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All The Rest Is Just Icing30 weeks Warning: this post involves vomit. You might want to put down your sandwich. I might have mentioned before that I am not a puker. I have not vomited…
