Wednesday January 14, 2026
Dear Sophia,
We woke about three times last night and got you up. We consulted ChatGPT about whether to get you up when you were sleeping and it said yes if about two hours have gone by because otherwise you wouldn’t get into a rhythm and it was good to get even some small amount of feeding done both for your routine and nutrition and for teaching mom’s breasts what to do.
I managed to get to sleep without too much difficulty each time. My job has been to set an alarm, be the one to get up (your mother is still in too much pain to move easily), check your diaper, change the diaper, hold and sing tender nonsense to you, hand you to mom with her head toward the breast to be utilized, and then when mom is done, to swaddle you back up in two burritos’ worth of blankets. I am getting better at both changing and swaddling, which seemed like great mountains to climb just two days ago.
Swaddling I have taken on as a particular challenge. It is not easy to keep those little arms inside! And it is very hard even to straighten them out! I worry I am somehow being too rough in my attempt to put them into position so that I can cross the swaddling blanket around your body. I have gotten the crossing down pretty well and right now at least even with your arms out a little bit you seem to be calm.
In the birth group and my social group chat on WhatsApp:
Leah, baby Sophia, and I want to thank everyone for their love and support, including your wonderful facebooking.
After about 14 hours of unmedicated labor (and the 220 contractions I tracked on an app) here at home, Leah transferred to the hospital on Sunday evening. 36 hours later, we left to come back home.
What a fabulous home to come back to, thanks to Leah’s mother, Froncé, who gave up time with the baby to come back here, without being asked, and organize the place for our return. And then Amanda Louise Ireland arranged for Indian food to appear.
We were happy to get visitors like Auntie Prudence, who flew up from North Carolina for a quick overnight trip; Leah’s father, Mike, who brought food from Angelique and hours of conversation; Leah’s sister and birth support helper, Erin; and my longtime buddy Tedd, who arrived with the much desired sushi, and flowers.
And the same stranger who pointed the way to the hospital parking lot found me later trying to get through the gate without either a ticket or the wallet I’d left in our hospital room, got out of his car, said, “I’m just happy to see you again,” and pulled out his credit card to pay for my parking. I could’ve cried.
We are just so overjoyed about this little burrito, this little hiccup, and all the joy she is already bringing to so many lives.