My New Arrival

It's been a little over two weeks since I came home from the hospital with my beautiful baby girl. She was born September 15 at 7:53am. 8lbs 5oz and 18 3/4 inches long. She's got my mother's cheeks and my grandmother's chin, and my blue eyes and blondish-reddish hair. Her hair was a matter of contention while I was pregnant and it remains so. My grandmother was so curious about the baby's hair color. We have every shade imaginable in my family, so she could have ended up with anything from midnight black to white blonde. As it is, she really looks like she has three different colors blending on her perfectly shaped head. White blonde around her temples (just like her older brother), a darker blonde at the top (just like her eldest brother as well as her father), and the reddish blonde in the back (from me). Probably by the time she's a year old, it'll look completely different yet again.

Sleeping with a newborn is an adjustment. I've gone through this twice before and with each child, its a whole new game. Each one behaved differently, so I have to adapt to her schedule and try to work the rest of my life around her. Feeding, sleeping and diapering consists of most of her day, where mine is full of taking care of her brothers, her father and our house. Not to mention struggling with my career as a published author.

With all three pregnancies, my mind takes a baby vacation. All I could focus on was the baby and preparing for her arrival. Forget plotting, or character development, editing or even imagining a new story in my head. My talent was completely stripped away. It must be some hormonal thing.

Now that she's here, my muse has returned from her exile and I've been creating new characters and new situations during the baby's nighttime/early early morning feedings during which I stare bleary-eyed at the closet door. The only problem now is trying to find the time to write it all down. Though I'm still not doing much around the house besides recovering from a c-section, I still have two toddlers to entertain in between trying to snatch a few minutes of sleep while they're engrossed in the newest Disney movie I've slapped into the DVD. I know, I know...TV is the devil, but for a mom who is awake every two hours at night and has no one to help watch the kids during the day, I count it as a temporary blessing. Weekends work well and I greatly look forward to them. My husband is home to take over while I catch up on some much needed sleep. He's also here so I can scratch that insufferable writing itch. Like now. Ahhh! I feel better already! Now, I think I'll take that nap.