Weeks 1 & 2 - vicissitudes, tragedies, and triumphs

Maeby turned two weeks old today, a milestone celebrated with a visit to the Doctor (just a routine check-up), several naps, and plenty of breast-milk.
So far, she's more or less followed the expected formula: eating, sleeping, and defecating. So, for anyone holding their breath for those first words or that first Macarthur grant, you've probably got a couple more weeks ahead of you.
Her Grandmas, and her aunt Karen, have gone home, leaving her to the befuddled care of her parents. She's not a terribly fussy infant, but we do have a hard time figuring out exactly what she needs sometimes (hint: it's probably food.)
She's had a great series of firsts this past week, including her first journey beyond the borders of Corvallis, her first bonk on the head (nothing major, although she did wail bloody murder), and her first time sleeping more than four consecutive hours (she hit six on Monday!)
We're exhausted, but enjoying every minute of it (not to be platitudinous.) Jenn gets less breaks than I do, as I'm at school all day - but we're doing our best to work out a system of shared responsibilities.


Here are pictures, and anecdotes.


We've kind of given up on the ribbons in the hair for a while. Her head isn't big enough yet, and they keep falling off.

She loves finger-grasping. Sometimes she'll take one in both hands, and lie there contentedly.

Here she is in her coming home out-fit, not happy about having to wear booties with no socks.

I don't use flash unless I absolutely have to, as I don't care for all the artificial shadowing it creates - but at home I often have to, as we just don't have good lighting in here. Here, her aunt Karen and I have both employed our flashes at the same time, from clashing angles, creating a rather cool effect, I think.

I love that her hair is far longer and thicker than my own

We had to go back to the hospital a couple days after we brought her home, as she was jaundiced to the point of great concern. They gave us a little light-blanket to put on her at home, but it just wasn't doing the trick. Luckily, they put us all in what they call a "parent room" with her, so Jenn and I were able to stay there with her and enjoy some more of that fine hospital cuisine. Here she is on the lite-brite cart, an experience that she had mixed feelings about.

That's better.

Her first bath at home. She loved the water running over her head. Didn't care too much for the drying-off part, though

That's what her hair does when wet. Instant curls. It's starting to transition to a lighter shade now, by the way. I predict she'll be a blonde by Thanksgiving.

She likes the swing, so long as it's not swinging.

Nap-time. Again.

Grandma Jurgens bought her this cake. Maeby couldn't eat any of it, though - for some reason. Something to do with calories. I don't know.

BIRTH!

Maeby Nelline Jurgens burst into life on planet Earth at 7:05 AM on Wednesday, October 1st, after months and months of deliberations and planning on her part. We, her parents, had hoped that she'd acquiesce to emerge a few days earlier, but, being her mother's daughter, she took the path of recalcitrance - mostly in an effort to add to my burgeoning grey hair collection.

The birthing process itself consisted of a quick escalation in intensity of contractions on Tuesday evening, followed by a hurried voyage to the hospital, several hours of Jenn entrenched in the bowels of mother nature's sadism (she really, to her credit, handled the pain extremely well, and I couldn't be more proud of her - but it just about killed me seeing her in that much distress), and then the sweet sweet relief of the epidural - of which we are now ardent believers in. All hail the anesthesiologist and his shiny cart of magic!

After a short nap, our midwife woke us up to ask if we'd like to have a baby, to which Jenn replied with a cocksure grin: "sure." I, not being quite on the same page, and beginning to realize what "fatherhood" might actually entail, ran down the hall and dry-heaved for a few minutes in the water-closet, before walking collectedly back in and holding up my wife's head while she pushed (being the tigress that she is, she had both a grin and a look of sheer tenacity on her face throughout the whole pushing process): Maeby's hair was the first thing we saw, followed quite suddenly by the rest of her cute little body - a sight that met our eyes just as that quiet little cry she quiveringly murmurs met our awestruck ears.

The process came off without a hitch - no complications; and both Jenn and Maeby are doing very fine indeed. We feel incredibly blessed and fortunate, and our thanks go out to all our friends and family members whom we know were sending their prayers and good thoughts in our direction.

Now for the obligatory infant statistics . . .

name: yes, her name is Maeby (pronounced the same way as "maybe"); no, we're not naming her "after" the character on Arrested Development (even if it is the single greatest television comedy of all time) - we're simply stealing the name from smarter people like Mitch Hurwitz and Ron Howard; and finally, yes - we named her Maeby. Either like it, love it, or deal with it.

weight: 7 pounds, 6 ounces

length: 39 inches

just kidding - 21 inches

temperament: calm and happy and sweet and content

looks: more adorable than any baby yet birthed by a human female (and yes, I am 100% objective on this - however, I won't say that she's cuter than a baby panda because, well, have you seen baby pandas?)

pictures: (note: these are all from her first day, a set that you can check out on Flickr by clicking on any of the below photos, or simply by clicking here, where you see pics taken throughout the day - some of which still need some tweaking, but are on the whole ready for public consumption.)

(further note: Jenn does show off some side boob in some of the shots where Maeby was learning to nurse, but it's nothing more than a little curvature - nothing nipply. You'll be okay.)

Maeby's first photo, moments after emerging from the birth canal. Honestly, the whole process wasn't nearly as horrifying as I'd imagined. I even cut the cord, which I hadn't planned on being up for.

I'm not sure if it's the resplendent peace of new motherhood, or the resplendent peace of the epidural that's making Jenn smile so coyly here - but we'll take it either way.

On the whole, she's a pretty quiet and calm kid, but when she does get upset, her little lower lip immediately juts out and starts in on a fit of quivers. I won't say that it's the most adorable thing ever, but it's a close second to that video of the baby panda sneezing that we've all seen on youtube. I'm not sure why I'm on such a baby panda kick right now, except that they're pandas! And babies!

This isn't my favorite finger-grasping shot that I've taken so far - but it was the first time she did it; and the other photos aren't uploaded yet.

Here I am holding her for the first time, completely at a loss. Interesting that I choose to wear that shirt on Tuesday, as it expresses what I was feeling at this moment rather aptly.

Check out that long dark hair. I hope she keeps it. So soft. And thick.

My two gals taking in a well-deserved rest a couple hours after the delivery (I've never liked that term, it feels like I need to sign for something. Like, "what can brown do for you?" You know?)

Our amazing mid-wife, who we were just thrilled with. She has a great record for avoiding episiotomies (if you're not familiar with that word, you're a luckier person than I am) - a record that got Jenn through the process without a single tear, cut, or rupture.

I've been shooting her in black and white a lot. She lends herself to it well.

Grandma Jurgens holding her newest grand-child for the first time. They look a lot a like, in my opinion, although she doesn't see it. We all see different progenitors in her face, although we all agree that she definitely has an Eskelsen mouth and her maternal grandfather's expressions (particularly those raised eyebrows.)

Nana's turn. Don't worry, JoAnne - I took this one in color, too! Just for you.

Wow, she's tiny. I don't have a lot of experience with babies, so I was kind of expecting her to look . . . I don't know, more like a six-month-old, I think.

editorial note: this posting came to you live from the hospital, where we're tucked in for one last night. I just discovered, a few hours ago, that they've got free wireless set up for everyone - so I broke out my laptop and got this all done in between feedings, rockings, and trips to the kitchen to get Jenn ice cream. Now, since I'm going to be up all night anyways (we've got a little nite-owl here), I'm going to get caught up on some homework! Hooray!