Sock Food

It's been nearly 6 weeks since my last post. Coincidentally, I have a six week old baby girl who was welcomed into this world only two days after that last post. Baby Bridget is allowing mom and dad to retool our newborn skills and again making us question whether or not we have even the faintest idea of how to take care of a baby.

And that's how it goes, at least for me. One moment I feel like I am the master of the baby. In one fluid series of events, I can feed her, change her, soothe her, and lay her down for nap #18. The next moment I am fluttering aimlessly, like a tiny helpless bird in a ruthless storm, simply trying to find a safe place to land. Crying, fussing, vomiting, and casting angry looks make me wonder how any human being makes it past this stage. But, despite these moments, we somehow trudge our way through and produce beautiful, healthy children.

Here's a sleep deprived poem for my baby girl, Bridget:

Eat, Poop, Sleep, and Cry Baby Bridget

Upon the stately stoop of life
You make your presence full of strife.
You cause many tears of happiness
And make your folks feel truly blessed.

The nurses, docs, and other folks
Help us realize this ain't no joke.
And once they say you're free to go
Mom and dad think, "oh no, we won't go"

But the task is ours, we understand
We have to do this hand in hand.
So, we take deep breaths and sigh real loud
And accept that life has beat its brow

Baby Bridget, let's do this thing
Our job is nurturing
You get to eat and sleep, that's all, that's all
We get to feed and soothe, that's all, that's all

But wait! You're grunting once again
Oh, man, oh man
"I just changed you four times in the last ten minutes!"

Please let's be efficient, let's be systematic
Let not chaos reign, that would be tragic
You're crying again, you're dry and warm,
Oh yeah, it's been two hours since we started this round.

Fine, let's start all over again
Then hopefully you'll be tired and turn in
Eat, Cry, Poop, that's what you do
Eat, Cry, Poop, where's the sleep, where's the sleep.

Ah, the moment's here, you finally sleep,
Mommy and daddy listen for your weep.
And yes it comes, sooner than we hope
You open your eyes and let the world know we're dopes

"Did you really think I'd sleep long, daddy?" You think
At least I'm sure that's your thought when I wink
We start the round once more,
You eat a little....  then begin to snore

Oh no you don't, "you wake up, young lady"
"I'm exhausted, and want to go to bed"
"Finish the task and then you'll be full"
"And we both can sleep for short little lull"

And then you scream because you awoke
You act like it was me but it was your arms that spoke
They flailed around and scared you right
And caused the bulk of your awakening fright

Then you scream and scream and scream
For what seems an eternity
Eat, Cry, Poop, that's what you do
Eat, Cry, Poop, I haven't a clue

Yet somehow we make it and finally sleep a few winks
And I think to myself, "man, this really stinks!" 
And that's when you do it, when I'm close to my wits end
You smile your very first smile and it's all warm fuzzies once again

Eat, cry, poop.... eat, cry, poop.
Eat, sleep, poop, cry, poop, eat, sleep, peat, croop, eat, sloop, pry, ceat, poop, sleep, cry, peat, croop, ......zzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZ