I'm totally in love with Oliver. He has taken over every aspect of my life, but I have no hard feelings whatsoever! I understand what people mean when they say that a baby will completely change your life. Every single thing that I do now is done AFTER considering how Oliver fits into that action. Pretty profound.

Oliver has been great. He sleeps for 2-3 hour intervals and then demands to eat. He's taken well to breastfeeding, while I constantly work to iron out the kinks. He sleeps almost all of the time, which I guess is pretty common. When his eyes are open, I'm captivated. I love those moments when he's quiet and content, and just gazes around trying to piece together the world around him. These are the times that he will stare into my eyes as if memorizing my features. I don't know how to describe the feeling other than it feels like staring into infinity. In his eyes I see an endless string of ancestors that came before, as well as a whole new life waiting to unfold. I imagine how he will develop and who he will become. I see simplicity, clarity, and peace. I hope to always remember these moments.
- posted by Ma @ 8:26 PM

 
We traveled down to Wausau yesterday to visit family and friends there. It's great to visit with everyone, but I'm beat. All this traveling around is messing with Ollie's sleep schedule a bit, so he's been fussy at night. With all the visiting we've been doing, I've been missing out on those sacred daytime naps. I'm looking forward to getting home and getting completely healed.

So far the healing process seems to be going well. I still have some swelling, so I'm not totally convinced that everything is 100%, but I definitely feel better that I had been over the past couple of weeks.

We gave Oliver his first real bath today (Miller's relatives gave us a baby tub). At first he seemed uncertain, but then he fully embraced the experience. It was fun for all of us! I think this is going to turn into one of my favorite caregiving tasks.
- posted by Ma @ 8:08 PM

 
Yet another epic day...
On Friday, Sept 23:

1) I woke up with very heavy bleeding at 4am. I thought that all the swelling I was experiencing had caused my stitches to rip out. Miller and I packed up Oliver and went to the ER. (My insurance just changed, so I had to go to a new hospital.) The doctor examined me and noted that the swelling I had