Three for Three

Last night was a rough night followed by a rough morning. The difficulties of the night were...

1) Tobin sleeping (in his crib) in Josiah and David's room for the first time and taking FOREVER to settle down and fall asleep,

2) my left breast flaring up again with intense pain (accompanied by a slight fever, bone aches, etc...in the night, I pumped to relieve some pressure because Shav hadn't woken up yet to eat...the milk squirted out so ferociously that it went into the air tube that connects to the actual pump and was dripping out the bottom of the pump...that's not supposed to happen!...it's starting to be a little funny now, but I wasn't laughing then!)

3) Shav not going back to sleep right away after his middle-of-the-night feeding.

By morning, I was exhausted physically and emotionally and was feeling like, "I just can't do this." But what choice do I have? Things have evened out since then, and I'm grateful for that; but for the sake of my honest recollection in the future, I think it's worthwhile to note that three weeks into this, I still have moments of feeling like I'm losing my footing and falling down the mountain, rather than triumphantly making the climb.

But what I really wanted to say tonight is that Shav is three weeks old! In honor of the occasion, here are three things that I'm particularly enjoying about him at this stage of life.

1. His hair curls a little when it gets wet. I remember noticing a slight curl to his hair when he was born which made me happy because, with my naturally curly hair, I've always wondered whether one of my children would inherit that or not. All the other boys have hair that's straight as a ruler, and I wouldn't be surprised if Shav's becomes that way, too...but for now, I'm happy to see that after a bath or even when Shav's head gets sweaty, his little curls pop out again, and I think they're adorable. :)
2. His skin is reddish-brown, definitely darker than the rest of us. I think his skin might lighten eventually; but if he does manage to hang onto a darker skin tone, it will come from his Grandma Fisher (who is coming to visit in just 3 days!) since my side of the family doesn't have a bit of color. :)
3. He makes such funny faces--and funny noises, too: little grunts, squeaks, snores, sighs, gulps, etc. Here is one of the silly looks I happened to capture when I was taking some pictures of him yesterday afternoon... :)
Oh, sweet Shav, I adore you more than words can say. I love to smell your precious baby smell, I love to watch you as you grow and change, I love to listen to the noises you make, and I love to hold you and feel your little body curl up like a koala bear against me. Happy three weeks on the outside! :)