The Three Week Old

So, we've been parents for 3 whole weeks now. And a few days (I tried to get this out before now, lol). Parenthood is.....interesting. I thought everything changed every day when I was pregnant....it did, but this is a whole new set of changes. It's not that she changes so much...we really don't know her personality yet and I'm always wondering about things about her, but literally, she will outgrow her newborn clothes overnight. Babies don't just gain steady weight, it comes in spurts (they tell you to weight them like once a week so you actually see the growth and wont trip when nothing happens for a few days). She was 5 lbs, 13 oz at birth, she went down to 5lbs, 7.5oz before we left the hospital (which is normal) and I weighed her yesterday (I think, I can't keep track of anything now) and she was 8 lbs!

A friend of mine from high school had her daughter a couple of weeks before us (our due dates were a day apart though) and I feel like I stole her sentiment of being in awe, but I REALLY AM! I have either a really good poem or a novel chapter brewing in my brain and I need to start writing it down. This little girl has completely changed everything about my existence. Most of the ways I've changed are good, but I can't deny I've had some of the "baby blues" as they call them. It's not quite postpartum depression (YET, at least) but some of the feelings of being overwhelmed are definitely there (I've never had anyone depend on me like this...even my cats can go a few days without me and not care). Breastfeeding has been the most opposite bag of failtastic wonderment ever too. I'll explain that in another post though.

I'm sitting here listening to Chloe grunt away and try to stretch while swaddled and try to wake back up to eat while watching some tv and thinking about what I'm going to try to make for dinner and whatever else I can get done before I'm restrained to the couch or bed for a while taking care of her. Life is so different now, lol. Here are some lists that explain some of the differences:

Top Ten Questions I Have About My Daughter, As She Develops:

1. What will her personality be like?
2. Will she take after us in a noticeable way or will it come out later in life, or will she just be herself?
3. Will she be right handed or left handed?
4. When will she get this dern head to stay up on her own? (It's not that it's particularly big or anything, she just has to work on it, lol)
5. Will she actually get big and strong enough to sit up or crawl or walk, or am I stuck in this vortex where she stays tiny and cute forever?
6. Did God invent a decibel that her cry hits and makes my heart break, even though I know she isn't in pain but hungry or wet or just wants us, or am I tripping? 
7. Will I actually be able to leave her with someone else?
8. Will I actually be able to leave her with someone else and NOT call them every half hour to check on her?
9. What does she dream about? She smiles in her dreams...
10. Am I doing this right?

Top Ten Things I NEVER Thought I'd Care About, But Do Now, Because I'm A Parent:

1. Another person's pee.
2. Another person's poop. (Literally number 1 and 2, clever, eh?)
3. Another person's spit.
4. Another person's gas.
5. Another person's rashes.
6. If another person had eaten enough, but on a serious level. I TOTALLY understand why a lot of parents/grandparents ask their kids/grandkids if they're eating (or moving their bowels)...for months it's the ONLY way you know your kid is healthy!
7. Where someone else's hands have been, but on another more serious level. I don't let people touch my face or hair for that reason but now? #GermaphobeToTheMax
8. That cloth can be wrapped up in about 8.34 bazillion ways...and then be placed on a person's butt. 
9. How cheap breast milk is, and no matter what I'm going through, I'm going to try my hardest to provide it.
10. Nothing about my hair. No matter what, you could always bet my head would be presentable. It is mildly that at the moment, because we went to the mall today, but yeah. I'm, understandably, a mess.