It’s a Girl

So another one of those post-partum weirdnesses that nobody warns you about is the problem of lactation overabundance. Everybody worries instead about not having enough, about having to supplement with formula, about being a bad mother because, gosh, your mammaries just aren’t up to the task.

We have the opposite problem: too much milk. Six hours is about the maximum window of time between feedings before aching pain sets in, not to mention leakage. And if Delphine isn’t feeling hungry — especially during her recent 10-day bout with a miserable head cold — well, then, Mom is pretty miserable, too. And not getting any sleep, either.

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Delphine is almost five months old. And in the past few days, she’s started to show her age by spending most or even all of the night in her crib in her own room.

Some mornings, we come in to check on her and she’s already awake, just lying in the crib playing with her hands, watching her mobile, and placidly studying the ceiling. When our heads loom over the edge of the crib, she stares at us for a minute, as if trying to place us, and then, reliably, she smiles in recognition.

It’s the best few minutes of the day.

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