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Bragging Rights

In case you didn’t know, my nephew Dean was born recently! I’ve been waiting to say something until I had some photos to go with it.

And on that subject – honestly, John, sleep deprivation is no excuse. Should have had a link to Snapfish or something by now. But I’ll let it slide this time.

dean_first_pics_014.jpgSo here’s a picture of the cutie; the cammo is a nod to his maternal uncle, currently stationed in Iraq. I’m impressed that at even just a couple weeks old, he already has more hair than my daughter. As for Maddie, she’s very eager to teach Dean some tricks she’s learned along the way – how to throw a tantrum, how to pretend not to understand what “no” means, and so on. 




We’re heading up to meet him in a couple weeks; I’m feeling a bit envious as both my parents have already had some face-to-face time with the little prince already. Honestly, aren’t newborns the best? Especially ones that you hand back at the end of the day, knowing he’s going to stay up all night?

Don’t get me wrong – I’m willing to do it all over again. Not because the newborn phase was so much fun, but because the results are so worth it. But I call their house and hear my sister-in-law answer the phone with a bleary, scratchy “Hello?” at 11 a.m., and think, “Oh, I’m glad that’s not me.” They’re in the grit-your-teeth-and-get-through-it stage, which seems to go on forever but passes in a blink of an eye. It’s the getting –to-know-you phase of parenthood, when baby first cries for three hours at a time and you have no idea why or what to do to MAKE IT STOP, and you alternate between thinking you’re the worst parent ever, and thinking this was the dumbest thing you ever decided to do. Then you feel bad for thinking that, which rockets you back to thinking you’re the worst parent ever. Every decision seems fraught with consequence: will Daddy giving him a bottle of pumped milk at 2 a.m. give him nipple confusion, or simply let Mommy sleep more? Is baby screaming because he’s allergic to dairy in my breastmilk, or because he has reflux, or because all babies scream? Should I spend $50 on a sling  and risk his not liking it and that being money thrown away?

There’s no steeper learning curve than the one that comes with your first newborn. So hang in there, you two. You’re doing great. Just keep setting aside a little money each week for therapy – I mean, college – and you’ll be fine.

As for me, I’m going to show off my brag photos and (hopefully) sleep through the night. And if you want to see more photos of Dean, click on the “Madeleine’s Friends” photo on any page of the site; it’ll bring up all the photos that circulate randomly.

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