The First Month
It is actually hard to believe it has already been a month. I got up this morning and picked him up and I swear he got heavier over night. He in fact does have a very big head. At our last appointment he was in the 97th percentile for head circumfrence. (I have my suspicions that this may have contributed to our C-section.) His hands seem big already. And his belly grows at every nursing session. We went for a short walk yesterday with Raph’s aunt Cindy. She asked, “So does it feel like you’ve had him forever already?” And you know it totally does.
Some things I’ve already learned from Makili. I mentioned already that I really didn’t know that babies cried a lot. And just when it seemed that we had figured the kid out and were having really good days with him, he got thrush. The medicine makes him cranky so we’re dealing with the crying all over again. I also wasn’t aware that there was such a thing as projectile pooping. I won’t go into great detail on that one but I will say I was glad we were changing him in the rental car. I’ve learned that I can function on much less sleep than I thought and that I actually don’t even mind. I’ve also come to appreciate so much when he sleeps against my chest. There is possibly no better feeling. I like him a lot. As Anne Lamott said, “I think I’ll keep him.”
Makili came a long way this month. Literally, he came 5000 miles from Hawaii to New Hampshire. He was an angel, sleeping on the planes and in the cars. Sometimes it seems like he understands when we need to get things done. He always is good and happy when we’re moving and traveling. When we are home all day, he tends to be super-cranky. He just likes to be out and about I guess. Thank god, because that trip could have been terrible. Raph and I were barely able to carry all of our carry-on luggage, though it turned out to be a blessing that we brought as much as we did because our checked luggage didn’t show up for 48 hours. We must have been a sight with the baby in the front carrier, a big backpack with the pillow strapped to it, a roller, a diaper bag, a car seat. Good thing that people are fascinated with babies and tend to concentrate on their cuteness instead of the fact that you’re holding them up. At one point we were in a tram changing terminals with all of our crap. Raph had the baby and Makili had started crying because Raph had stopped moving. From the other side of the train I watched every eye on the train focus in on Raph. Women with soft smiles and men with looks of amusement. Looks of kind concern and young girls with looks of desire. And it was the same throughout our travel. People are fascinated by babies.
Makili has also been blessed to receive so much love from friends and family. First in Hawaii with his grandmas and one of his grandpas, an aunt and a cousin. Now in New Hampshire, people stop by every day to meet him, and for the last few days try to comfort his upset belly. He falls asleep on the lucky ones’ laps. He went shopping with Raph’s aunt Gina yesterday who spoiled him by buying him “Raph clothes.” Raph’s other aunts stopped by too (from New York) to meet him and give gifts. What a well-dressed, well-loved boy he is. Thank you.
