Baby Talk

Lillyana Marie Eve Jensen is five days old. And I believe that, using Kaiya’s emphatic question as inspiration (see yesterday’s post), Lilly is saying, “What the……?

Imagine that she spent nine peaceful months in her mommy’s tummy, floating in warm liquid, floating….floating….floating. Suddenly, much to her surprise and consternation, and through no choice of her own, she is flung into the light, into a chilly operating room, hearing loud voices and other noises. She is being handled by these odd creatures wearing blue gowns (though of course she didn’t know they’re blue because she still sees in black and white and anyway she can’t see more than six inches in front of her face, but you get my point).

Now, suddenly, she feels hungry and cold and gassy, and plus she has this bow on her head. Why do I have a bow on my head? Mommy has waited a long time for a girl.....

Yeah, I’m sure of it. She is saying, “What the……?”

The Jensens are all getting used to each other. Three-year-old Austin seems to be quite taken with her, though he likely expects that she will go away soon and he will be happy to walk her to the door. He likes to spend a lot of time bumming around with his grandmother, away from the baby’s cries. Maggie and Mark just have that glazed-over look that is part terror and part sheer unadulterated exhaustion.

They will be just fine. She is the second newborn in our family in the past few months. Faith Naomi Gloor was born at the end of November. She, too, undoubtedly was shocked to be born, but she and her parents have fared nicely.

I have been remembering when I gave birth to my son 33 years ago. I recall when the doctor handed him to me I looked at him like he was a stranger instead of someone who had been a part of me for nine months. Suddenly I realized that his mouth looked exactly like his dad’s mouth, and I understood he really was part of us. It’s an amazing feeling.

But I also remember when we got home after the few days in the hospital. His dad left to go to the store, and I had this strong sense of terror. Don’t go! I don’t know what to do with this baby. I don’t know how to be a mom! There were no classes on motherhood. There might be now, but at that time they handed us the baby and the Dr. Spock book, and threw us in the deep end.

He survived and so did I.

Being a parent is a glorious job – the hardest and most important job any of us will ever have, and the most rewarding. The good thing is that our children are resilient, and for the most part, forgiving. And generally they just simply love their parents, no matter what.

The Jensens know all of this because they have a child already. But right now they just want four hours of straight sleep. That will come. Give it a few years.