due for an update

Today is my due date, but yesterday marks two weeks since Caleb's birth. Maybe it's just me, but I'm starting to notice a few trends. First of all, my babies apparently like to come two weeks early. I've never actually reached 38 weeks gestation -- Garrett arrived 16 days early, and Caleb came just behind at 15 days before he was due. I think next time around, instead of marking my calendar for a potential full moon birth, I'll circle sometime near the end of my 37th week, especially if the 23rd or the 30th day of the month falls in that time frame. For reasons I cannot explain, everyone in our little family has a birthday that falls on the 23rd or the 30th of the month: Blake on December 30th, me on January 23rd, Garrett on June 30th, and now Caleb on August 23rd. Add to that the fact that we were married on April 23rd and it just starts to get a little spooky.

At any rate, though, Caleb is two weeks old. In the grand scheme of things, two weeks is not a very long amount of time, but even so, I'm already beginning to forget what my life was like before he was a part of it. Our lives are starting to find their new normal as I'm beginning to get the hang of this business of mothering two children. Our daily routine, if it can truly yet be called that, is a chaotic one, but it's nice anyway to know what to expect from our days together. Since Blake went back to work, I have managed to get out of the house with both boys at least once each day. Our outings are brief (a quick trip to the store or a visit to the park), but much needed. On our walks through the neighborhood, we've been able to introduce Caleb to a number of locals who have been anxiously anticipating his arrival: Peggy at the laundromat, and Frances and Maryann at the copy shop on the corner. One day, as we were coming back from the park, we bumped into our downstairs neighbor (of "mazal tov" fame) and, after he took a peek at Caleb, patted me on the back and told me to start thinking about a third because we make such cute babies. It's not time yet to think about a third, but it's comforting to know that we live above the right kind of people as far as raising a young family is concerned.


My recovery is going well. I feel a little better every day, though I'm still sore where they stitched me up after I tore during delivery. Last week I packed away my maternity clothes in favor of my pre-pregnancy wardrobe. (I'm telling you: all the walking I do here in Brooklyn is not wasted.) Despite being completely drained of energy most of the time, I also feel like I have a decent handle on things emotionally. While on the one hand I miss the relative calm of the days following Garrett's birth, on the other, I wouldn't trade for anything the experience gained then that I've been able to put to good use with a second child. I still, however, am greatly looking forward to my mom's visit in a couple of weeks.

Caleb is still as sweet as sugar, but then, how could he be otherwise? As we've been getting to know each other, I've been surprised (though perhaps I should not have been) to discover just how different he is from his older brother. Don't get me wrong; Garrett is an incredibly sweet boy, too, but the two are far from identical. Caleb's looks, personality, and habits are all his own, except for the fact that he, too, loves a good silky, blue blanket. He's a good eater, and gobbles his hands to tell us he's hungry. Consequently, he still poops like a pro, though thankfully, both for us and for the sad little diaper rash he developed, he's toned it down a bit. Generally speaking, he's been a good sleeper, too. He wakes up two or three times a night, but, after he's full and dry, he almost always falls quickly back to sleep in his cradle. At his first doctor's appointment, a few days after we got home from the hospital, he received a completely clean bill of health; I don't expect his two-week check up, at the end of this week, to be any different. His umbilical cord stub fell off, and his circumcision is all healed up, so we've given him a few baths in the tub, each of which he has screamed the entire way through. To calm him down, he loves to be swaddled tight and held close, a position which melts us both into a little puddle of pleasant happiness. Where Blake seemed to have the magic touch with Garrett, I seem to have it this time around with Caleb.


Garrett is adjusting remarkably well to his status as big brother. He loves Caleb dearly. His first item of business after he gets up from a nap or returns from an excursion is to find where Caleb is. Once found, he giggles and coos over him. Likewise, whenever he hears Caleb's squeaky cries, he rushes to his side to offer a comforting hand, his binky, or a soft blanket. The interactions those two engage in are tender and delightful. One of these days I hope to capture more of them on video. Garrett's new position in the family has come with added responsibilities, most of which he has taken very seriously. He puts Caleb's dirty diapers in the trash and his dirty clothes in the hamper. He helps feed Caleb by holding his bottles. When it's time to go outside, he retrieves my infant carrier and lays out the insert so that I can load Caleb inside. He's become such a helpful little boy, I'm not sure how I'd manage without him. Which isn't to say that he always makes my life easier; sometimes it is quite the opposite. But we are both learning to be more patient with each other, and as a result, the meltdowns (from both of us) are becoming fewer.


Blake is doing a good job keeping up with his many demands. My days at home are long and exhausting, and his days, divided between the apartment and his office, are no less tiring. Add to that late nights of interrupted sleep, and I don't know how he does it. He did get an enjoyable break last week when his team at work got to spend a day at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, Queens. Tennis has recently become Blake's favorite sport, and since his afternoon spent in the grand stand watching the likes of Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal, his love for the game has become almost feverish. I'm happy he's found an outlet to break up the chaotic monotony of life with a toddler and a newborn, but I can't help but laugh when he occasionally sighs and audibly professes how much he loves tennis.


So there's the due date update, a long way of telling you that we're doing well. And in case the pictures spread throughout weren't enough to break up the novel, here's a short video of the tenderness and danger of young brotherhood:

And here's a longer one meant mostly for far-away family who have yet to meet their newest little relative: