The Art of an Easy Newborn

Newborns are easy.

They are cute little humans whose new head smell is totally addictive. They make adorable squishy nose faces and randomly smile and stare their eyes at the world long enough to tell you that they know they're not in Kansas anymore an wiggle their bodies in silly wiggly wormlike ways. They remind you that miracles exist.

Santiago is a good sleeper.  Apparently, its his favorite thing to do... in the daytime. He seems to like it more than eating or taking baths or... well, that's kind of all he does right now. But he really loves his sleep. All he wants to do is sleep during the day which makes mommy's nighttime sleep blazingly fun, like the 6 am morning walk home after an all-nighter at New York City's long since closed nightclub, The Tunnel after being awake for incredibly too long.

He likes eating. In fact, he's so good at it that he could both feed and choke at the same time.  Just for fun, I pull the bottle out when he starts to choke and lean him forward to stop him from coughing and then he doe the funniest thing... He gets mad... at me - and cries that there's no milk in his mouth. What a funny guy! I remind him that he's the one who is not focusing on this feeding thing. Then, sometimes when he's drinking his bottle he fills up so much milk in his chipmunk mouth that he is forced to spurt some out of the side of the nipple like a geyser. Nipple still in mouth, eyes shut, milk exploding out of the side, always surprising my face with little droplets of milk. Awesome!

And... I don't know who said that newborns are helpless, either because they're quite good at multi-tasking. Just this morning when I was changing Santiago he started to spit up at one end. When I went to clean his mouth... well we know what happens on the other end. And then to really multi-task, he starts to pee at the same time. Lucky for him I've already been peed at and know better. That and I have quick catlike reflexes and have figured out the best way to change his incredibly expensive circumcised penis with the lowest percentage of getting peed on. Like the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Anyway. That little sucker can definitely multi-task.

Last night when I was getting Santiago's bath/bottle/bedtime ready, I had to put him down. I couldn't get his pajamas out, close the windows, turn down the curtains, set his bed, pull out his diaper, set up his bottle, and carry him at the same time so I had put him down. And then my sweet boy decided to serenade me with his version of Melissa Manchester's Don't Cry Out Loud. Oh did he cry out loud... belted it, actually. Maybe choir is in his future. He sang so loud for me that he turned so red he looked purple. Beautiful voice.

Newborns are... oh wait, did I say easy?
Oh.
No, no. I meant hard.
Newborns are hard.

Santiago at his favorite past time