Magic

Precious tiny creature. In the swing making sounds—like grunts and coos and a kind of squeak. Waving arms. Startling, the Moro Reflex, this primitive thing you do to protect against beasts and dinosaurs. A pure remnant of a long time ago. Little moving mouth, little moving eyes. I sat down to write here, finally, and then she began to cry in her swing and I cannot let her cry in her swing and so the writing was put off, and she laid in my arms and nursed until she fell asleep and I let her stay there, warm and soft with her mouth still open around my nipple. I spend a lot of time in this blue chair. The Giants game is on. We took a nap today, the three of us. She likes to sleep on her side and curl against us, her arms folded in front of her, one leg straight and one bent, the same way I like to sleep. The Giants score. The cat stares out the door. A stack of Thank Yous to write and oh how daunting that is. She squawks and tells me she'll soon tired of the swing. And so I'll stop this and scoop her up again. I am more than happy to do this. Here I come.

I Don't Even Know Where To Begin

That's the problem with blogging, I guess. When you stop for a while, for whatever reason—say you had a baby, and couldn't do much but stare at her for several weeks—it's hard to start back up. You start to fret about what to write, how to catch up on everything, whether you need to detail all that's gone on or whether you can just skip a bunch of stuff. And really, it hasn't been that long—Ivy Cat is only 17 days old. We have had her for 17 days. We've been parents for 17 days. But oh how amazing these 17 days have been. How long and magnificent and unlike anything we've ever known. How quickly one can slide into an entirely new role, a new life, a completely new way of being and orienting and thinking and loving. 18 days ago I did not have a tiny creature rocking placidly in a swing next to me. I did not get up in the middle of the night to nurse a sweet sweet cooing baby (instead, I got up to pee). I did not know how unbelievably good babies smell, or how much we would love laying in bed with her in the morning, watching her make faces as she slowly wakes up. And I most definitely did not know how big my boobs would get, and how important those Lansinoh breast pads would be!

And there's so much more. This is such an amazing time of learning, both on our parts and on Ivy's part. Everyday is new information, new movements, new expressions, and new discoveries. Her poop changes, her coos and grunts change, she uses her hands more, she grabs at her toes. We get to know her better every day. Two nights ago we discovered that playing loud classic rock provokes instant calm and shut-eye in Ivy—so far Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti and the Stones' Exile on Main Street have put the kid to bed in like 3 seconds.

She's a good sleeper and she's not much of a crier—I mean, she cries, but she calms quickly. She's remarkably alert when she's not sleeping, and is an enthusiastic nurser, to say the least. She's getting perfectly chubby. Those cheeks and thighs. Sigh.

We can't stop taking pictures of this child—I'm putting them online at my Picasa site and also on my Facebook page.

So, Dear Readers, I am back, and ready to update you on every single development in Ivy Cat's life.

I'm kidding. I mean almost every single development.

Leave of Absence Due To Extraordinary Circumstances

Dear Blog,

Extraordinary indeed! I'm sorry to have abandoned you, but I'm basking in the wonders, curiosities, discoveries, and challenges of brand new motherhood. A quick update is this: Ivy is 10 days old and totally amazing; we're in escrow on a house; our dear cat Stevie Nicks was struck and killed by a car; and I'm currently on psuedo-bedrest, due to prolonged post-partum bleeding brought on, most likely, by the fact that I have not 'taken it easy' since the birth. I've felt great and have been out and about, up and around, and that may have been too much. So this weekend I'm couch and bed-bound. Boring, but I'm trying to make the best of it while my mom and Jason wait on me and hold the Dear One.

Anyway, I'll be back soon, with so much to say.

Love,

Kate

SHE IS BORN

And we are in love. More soon. Much, much more. But for now, just know that after a long, hard labor full of unexpected twists and turns, Ivy Catherine Schatz Pontius was born on Wednesday July 1, 2009, at 3:26 pm, weighing 8lbs 13oz and measuring 21.5 inches long. She is beyond gorgeous, has tons of light brown/blondish hair, and stunningly long fingers with fancy lady nails. We cannot get enough of her.