Brave New World

So yesterday, Ellen's parents left.  They provided so much support for us during this first week with Safia.  We are realizing that their reminders to eat, and the little snacks and filling meals they provided were essential to our survival.  In the afternoons, Ellen's parents would watch Safia as we took a rejuvenating nap.  Now, we find ourselves taking turns eating and sleeping throughout the day - handing the baby back and forth so that one of us can accommodate one of life's fundamental, basic needs.

So we're figuring it out...

Last night was a little rough.  Ellen and Safia are still coordinating nursing, and they had quite the conflict of interest last night.  Our "night's sleep" was a little rocky at first, but after Safia got a good late-night meal, we were able to get some shut-eye.  We have a co-sleeper, but Safia has not spent much time in it, yet.  For everyone's comfort, Safia has been sleeping on our chest at night.  We switch off in between feedings and diaper changes.  The sum total of sleep we are getting each night isn't great, but it isn't terrible either.  

In addition to taking care of Safia, 
our human baby, we also have a number of vegetable babies under our care as well.  We have a tray of tomato seedlings that are coming along nicely.  We hope this year's tomato harvest is enough to keep us with canned tomatoes through the winter.  It hasn't happened yet, but we're hopeful this is our season!

Safia Rose: 1 week old

It's been one short and fast week since Safia entered our lives. It feels a bit sappy to say, but we all learned so much together in this first week. Perhaps first, a flashback.

Prior to Safia's birth, we undertook a massive kitchen remodeling project.

We solicited the help of a co-worker's father, a master carpenter who had already done some

wonderful work in our house, to transform our dishwasher-less, storage-lacking kitchen into a practical, oodles-of-storage, dishwasher-inclusive, cook's dream. We were definitely tardy in

getting this project underway, but were still hoping to get it finished before Safia arrived...we didn't quite make it.

Enter the grandparents. Along with cleaning, feeding, giving us naptime, and loving on the baby, they painted, sorted, and organized our entire kitchen. Certainly not a restful vacation for them, but hugely helpful! While we're still not finished (just waiting on some countertops), here's how it looks now.

So in this first week we got to get to know our little sprout better. We got to hear her different squeaks, cheeps, grunts, whimpers, and cries. We marvel at her dimples, her velvety hair, her long, slender fingers, and her radiant eyes that we feel fortunate to glimpse when she lets us, during her scant moments of alertness. Here is a choice selection of photos from the past week.

Safia Rose Yen-Kohl Arrives!

On Saturday, April 2, 2011, we welcomed Safia Rose Yen-Kohl into this world of ours. She arrived at 1:48pm weighing 7 pounds 8 ounces and measuring 19.5 inches long.

We spent the night in the hospital (Athens Regional Medical Center, for those keeping score) and brought her home about 28 hours after she was born. We were quite eager to return home as her grandparents, George and Maureen, had driven down from Takoma Park, MD to greet her arrival. Also, the "bed" in the hospital for Rube to sleep in was no walk in the park, and the small size of the room didn't offer much space for him to nervously pace to and fro.

(Thanks Auntie Ray for the ducky outfit)

With baby in hand, we took a deep breath, and said hello to our brand new world. A new life as a family of three (four if you count the dog - and we're inclined to count the dog).