!New moms
 --- 
agk's phlog 
20 July 2021 @ 0026
 --- 
written on OnePlus 2 in bed
with my baby and my spouse
 --- 

My first daughter was born last week after 38 
hours of labor. She was over 8 lb and healthy, 
with long feet and fingers and a full head of 
hair. In addition to Evy and me, 4 other people 
were in our bedroom for the last hour of pushing. 
She looks like me and acts like Evy.

We held her awkwardly at first, staring in awe. 
We sent home Evy's overly anxious mother, broke 
bedrest a little, and learned stuff together. We 
enjoyed dinners Faith and Evy's mom prepped, 
changed bloody pads often, leaked so much breast 
milk, and ate breakfast in bed I made the way we 
like, with paprika and parsley on the eggs.

Brother-in-law and Cassie came over for cards and 
mah jongg. They drank pots of jin jun mei tea. 
Evy's mom held baby. I studied with baby suckling 
my breast then asleep in the basket. We drove to 
the store for rye bread and sauerkraut with baby 
in her car seat for the first time. I hung 
diapers on the backyard clothes line with a fan 
blowing bugs away from her.

Faith got home to her husband tonight after 
driving two days. She missed him a lot while she 
was with us. Since everyone left, our days have 
been full of quiet, love, learning, and new and 
old routine. The baby is curious, joyous, even-
tempered, ruddy, and she makes excellent little 
old man faces. We are so in love, so grateful, 
and sleeping as much as we can.