Controlling the Mess
Day 6 – My wife would probably call me anal – though not to my face, of course. Why? I bought my first label maker when we moved into this apartment 2 months ago, and spent 7 days labeling all my file folders – I even have our key hooks in the hallway labeled “his” and “hers” so that my wife can remember where to put them when she walks in. Ever since she became pregnant, she’s always asking me if I know where her keys are.
So for an anal guy, I have to admit that our baby is less than perfect. I can’t keep up. We had breakfast this morning – yes, I cooked pancakes with real maple syrup, fresh brewed tea and fresh cantaloupe for us – and as soon as we finished, we had to plan our exit. We wanted to take Lian to the Berkeley Marina for an outing, and according to my 2-day old Daily Baby Tracker, we had about 2 hours between the start of the mid-morning feed and the late morning feed. Since it still takes Lian ½ hour to feed off both breasts (she’s down to 10-12 minutes per breast, plus a 5 minute burping session as she makes the dash between left and right), that left us with exactly 1-1/2 hours to pack the car, pack ourselves and baby into the car, tackle Saturday morning Bay Bridge traffic, unpack ourselves and baby from the car, get out and breathe some fresh air, and then rush baby back into the car for some impromptu breastfeeding before unpacking her again to enjoy some fresh air again.
In our haste to get out of the house, I packed all the dishes into the sink, where they joined the dishes from last night that I hadn’t yet gotten to because I was busy writing this damn blog ;-). So the kitchen was a mess, and the car became a mess after we spilled first hot chocolate and then tea and sugar water on the backseat as we were trying to install Lian in her carseat. And then after coming home, our office was another mess – I have papers piled up from Monday – mail and bills unopened, and then Michelle has a pile of papers related to Lian that she hasn’t yet gotten to, that I’ve been storing for her on my desk. The mess is getting to me; all-the-more because usually Michelle is our resident clean freak and wouldn’t stand to leave anything out overnight, either papers or dishes – and she’s checked out. Yes, completely checked out. She announced to me yesterday: “Dean, I need some TLC for the next two weeks”. Gulp. That meant no cooking, no dishes, no cleaning. Nothing but bathing, eating and feeding Lian. So I’m learning how to clean dishes double time and it seems like every time I walk into our apartment or even into a room I’m either picking up clothes that we’d dropped onto the floor in our rush to take care of Lian, or cleaning up dirty diapers dropped into a heap in a corner of our room.
New Mama Needs
I was cleaning up her papers tonight – putting them into a pile on her side of the office – and one of them caught my eye. It was a list of things for new mothers to buy, entitled: “New Mama Needs” from a company out of Manhattan called Mama Nurture. Half of the items on the list sounded like ingredients for a witches’ brew: Arnica Montana - helps heal bruised perineal tissue; Comfrey, Yarrow and Witch Hazel – helps soothe in the bath; Fenugreek lactation tincture – to help with milk supply. The other half sounded like a strange mix of Duane Reade and Joe’s Porn Shop: Sitz Bath; Nipple Cream; Booby Tubes; Bravado Bra Pads; Electric Breast Pump.
There was one item on the list, though, that caught my attention: Chamomile tea ice packs. There were instructions: “pour strong brewed tea on maxipads and keep in freezer. Apply to vagina for the first few days after birth to help with healing. Can also be used on nursing pads.”
Yuck! I could just imagine Lian crying in the middle of the night, my rolling over to get out of bed, and soaking my underclothes in some cold herbal tea. I keep telling myself to remember that everything that I just don’t understand would probably make perfect sense if I were a woman. Still, an herbal smoothie poured down your bra and your underwear?!
So imagine my shock when we were finishing dinner tonight and I asked Michelle if she needed any help with anything. No, not really, she said. “What about preparing you a chamomile nursing bra,” I said jokingly. “Oh that would be wonderful,” she smiled, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and then walked away to feed Lian, calling out as she left “that’s so thoughtful of you!” I stood there dumbstruck.
I made the tea, though, and I poured the tea – all of it, an entire pitcher’s worth – into 4 maxi pads and 4 nursing pads. Can you believe it?! Those are amazing sponges. For a guy, that was a real eye-opener. Wow. An entire pitcher of liquid into 8 pads, only to be frozen and then drip back out of them when Michelle’s body warmed them up. I hope I’m not next to her when that happens, I thought selfishly.
The Joys of Nursing
Can I just say something about nursing pads and nursing? As a newborn dad, I can tell you that I’ve witnessed Michelle’s pain first-hand: cracked, bleeding nipples; swollen mammary glands (there are lumps the size of peanuts under her armpits, her sister had rock-sized lumps apparently, incredibly painful!); a painful grimace each time Lian latches onto a breast that continues for the first minute of each feed. This is not a fun exercise. Just imagine this, men: what kind of pain would you have to endure before you slipped a bag of frozen peas into your jock strap?
So imagine my surprise when I went to fetch the nursing pads from the bathroom for the Chamomile tea treatment, and read the label on the box: “Nursing Pads from Lansinoh – Discover the Joys of Breastfeeding”.
So for an anal guy, I have to admit that our baby is less than perfect. I can’t keep up. We had breakfast this morning – yes, I cooked pancakes with real maple syrup, fresh brewed tea and fresh cantaloupe for us – and as soon as we finished, we had to plan our exit. We wanted to take Lian to the Berkeley Marina for an outing, and according to my 2-day old Daily Baby Tracker, we had about 2 hours between the start of the mid-morning feed and the late morning feed. Since it still takes Lian ½ hour to feed off both breasts (she’s down to 10-12 minutes per breast, plus a 5 minute burping session as she makes the dash between left and right), that left us with exactly 1-1/2 hours to pack the car, pack ourselves and baby into the car, tackle Saturday morning Bay Bridge traffic, unpack ourselves and baby from the car, get out and breathe some fresh air, and then rush baby back into the car for some impromptu breastfeeding before unpacking her again to enjoy some fresh air again.
In our haste to get out of the house, I packed all the dishes into the sink, where they joined the dishes from last night that I hadn’t yet gotten to because I was busy writing this damn blog ;-). So the kitchen was a mess, and the car became a mess after we spilled first hot chocolate and then tea and sugar water on the backseat as we were trying to install Lian in her carseat. And then after coming home, our office was another mess – I have papers piled up from Monday – mail and bills unopened, and then Michelle has a pile of papers related to Lian that she hasn’t yet gotten to, that I’ve been storing for her on my desk. The mess is getting to me; all-the-more because usually Michelle is our resident clean freak and wouldn’t stand to leave anything out overnight, either papers or dishes – and she’s checked out. Yes, completely checked out. She announced to me yesterday: “Dean, I need some TLC for the next two weeks”. Gulp. That meant no cooking, no dishes, no cleaning. Nothing but bathing, eating and feeding Lian. So I’m learning how to clean dishes double time and it seems like every time I walk into our apartment or even into a room I’m either picking up clothes that we’d dropped onto the floor in our rush to take care of Lian, or cleaning up dirty diapers dropped into a heap in a corner of our room.
New Mama Needs
I was cleaning up her papers tonight – putting them into a pile on her side of the office – and one of them caught my eye. It was a list of things for new mothers to buy, entitled: “New Mama Needs” from a company out of Manhattan called Mama Nurture. Half of the items on the list sounded like ingredients for a witches’ brew: Arnica Montana - helps heal bruised perineal tissue; Comfrey, Yarrow and Witch Hazel – helps soothe in the bath; Fenugreek lactation tincture – to help with milk supply. The other half sounded like a strange mix of Duane Reade and Joe’s Porn Shop: Sitz Bath; Nipple Cream; Booby Tubes; Bravado Bra Pads; Electric Breast Pump.
There was one item on the list, though, that caught my attention: Chamomile tea ice packs. There were instructions: “pour strong brewed tea on maxipads and keep in freezer. Apply to vagina for the first few days after birth to help with healing. Can also be used on nursing pads.”
Yuck! I could just imagine Lian crying in the middle of the night, my rolling over to get out of bed, and soaking my underclothes in some cold herbal tea. I keep telling myself to remember that everything that I just don’t understand would probably make perfect sense if I were a woman. Still, an herbal smoothie poured down your bra and your underwear?!
So imagine my shock when we were finishing dinner tonight and I asked Michelle if she needed any help with anything. No, not really, she said. “What about preparing you a chamomile nursing bra,” I said jokingly. “Oh that would be wonderful,” she smiled, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and then walked away to feed Lian, calling out as she left “that’s so thoughtful of you!” I stood there dumbstruck.
I made the tea, though, and I poured the tea – all of it, an entire pitcher’s worth – into 4 maxi pads and 4 nursing pads. Can you believe it?! Those are amazing sponges. For a guy, that was a real eye-opener. Wow. An entire pitcher of liquid into 8 pads, only to be frozen and then drip back out of them when Michelle’s body warmed them up. I hope I’m not next to her when that happens, I thought selfishly.
The Joys of Nursing
Can I just say something about nursing pads and nursing? As a newborn dad, I can tell you that I’ve witnessed Michelle’s pain first-hand: cracked, bleeding nipples; swollen mammary glands (there are lumps the size of peanuts under her armpits, her sister had rock-sized lumps apparently, incredibly painful!); a painful grimace each time Lian latches onto a breast that continues for the first minute of each feed. This is not a fun exercise. Just imagine this, men: what kind of pain would you have to endure before you slipped a bag of frozen peas into your jock strap?
So imagine my surprise when I went to fetch the nursing pads from the bathroom for the Chamomile tea treatment, and read the label on the box: “Nursing Pads from Lansinoh – Discover the Joys of Breastfeeding”.
posted by Note Buyer at 11:12 PM
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