Bea turned three weeks old yesterday. It was also the first day that I was able to go out and meet Brian for lunch since before Bea was born. It was also an absolutely beautifully warm sunny spring day. Bea was perfectly behaved in her stroller while we had a nice lunch.
Last week there was an article in the Wall Street Journal about “Million Dollar Children” – a trend of children that have every expensive luxury and end up costing a million dollars to raise instead of the 2 or 3 hundred thousand dollars that the government estimates. Well, the article listed a bunch of the luxeries that parents are buying and one of them was Bea’s stroller. Today I’m still balking at the idea that Bea is a spoiled million dollar baby. The stroller was the one thing we splurged on. We didn’t get a new, more practical car, we didn’t move to a house so Bea could have her own room and I didn’t go nuts buying clothes and toys. I admitedly get taken in by well-designed items but it was for a good reason whan it came to the stroller. The stroller performs beautifully and I do a ton of walking here in Evanston so we’ll use it constantly. We go to exercise and get fresh air along the lake and we get groceries, go to restaurants and do many other errands. Plus… did I mention that I can sell the stroller for $500 on EBay when we’re done with it.
So things have been going well and we’re dealing with the huge change of having a baby. Brian is busy at work and it’s made worse because he can’t get a good sleep at night. I feel bad for him in the mornings heading off to work and he says he feels bad for me staying home all day with baby. But I tell him my days are great and I’m enjoying myself. He sees me at my worst – in the evening when I’m feeling tired and grumpy. I’ve been glad we are still able to keep our dinner routine and we try to give each other a little time while we prepare a meal and then scarf it down before baby insists on being the center of attention again.
The part that has been hardest in these first weeks and the part that I didn’t imagine while I was pregnant was how frustrating it is to be slowly recovering and feeling weak. Having stitches down there isn’t like having a cut on your arm. I still have some pain and my muscles feel really weak. It makes me squeemish to think about it and I’m just ready to feel back to myself.
I’m not bothered too much by how little I’m able to get done during the day or by the big band of dust bunnies that have formed around the house. And any frustrations that I have slip away when Bea is looking into my eyes and I hold my breath waiting for a fleeting practice smile to appear among her funny faces. How amazing is it that two little upturned corners of her lips can mean so much. Here are some photos of the few things we manage to get done these days.
Laowai 
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