Naveen and us

Well, here he is. Naveen Matthew McNamara. I'll write some about the birth later but he came to us via C-section on Monday May 31, 2010 at 2:12 pm weighing 9lbs, 14 oz and 21.5 inches long. Unlike with Deaglan who was considered an emergency C-section, we were allowed to bring the camera into the OR and I was able to kiss his little face when they showed him to me. He was breathtaking.

Shaune wasn't as nervous this time. When Deaglan was born, his only experience with babies had been with his little sister Chrissy who is 25 now.

Every day we look at each other and raise an eyebrow. We can't believe how much Naveen resembles his older brother.

And speaking of big brother, I can't tell you how surprised and pleased we've been with his reactions. On the first meeting he said these things:

Mommy is that your baby?

and

Mommy did you get a new shirt? (pulling on my hospital gown)

and

Why is baby brother crying? and before I could answer I didn't make you sad baby brother.

On the second meeting he said:

Can I kiss him? (He asked this several times throughout the visit)

and

I love baby brother.

and

Can he come home too?

When I got home yesterday he said these things:

Can I give baby brother some bacon?

and

Can I help feed baby brother? (we gotta start enforcing Naveen's name - the poor kid's gonna grow up with some issues)

and

I want to hold baby brother. (this is said several times a day)

We're laying low this week. Trying to figure some of this out. We've each taken on a kid as you might have guessed. Some of the things I've noticed since Shaune has been 'in charge' of Deaglan are:

• Deaglan's outfits rarely match
• Crackers and cashews are considered lunch (there are a lot of good nut fats in cashews - Shaune reminded me of this when I went to object)
• Instead of carrying around a diaper bag with the travel size diapering needs I use, he uses a plastic grocery bag and fills it with like eight diapers, a full size container of vaseline and the large box of wipes.

I'm not complaining, just observing.

I'm doing pretty well I think. I'm in the normal amount of pain you would expect from surgery. Naveen has caught onto breastfeeding really fast and it all came back to me within a few days. Shaune and I have both been very conscious of how we are interacting with Deaglan. I try to make sure he is the centre of my attention when he's in the room. It's been challenging squeezing onto a chair trying to feed the baby and cuddle with Deaglan while maintaining a position that doesn't have me doubled over in pain.

And here's an errand Shaune never thought he would have to run. I just sent him to Walmart with the largest nursing bra I own and told him to ask one of the associates to find the exact same bra but two sizes bigger. He just grabbed it from me without skipping a beat and went on his way.