Vegan Baby: Weeks Six and Seven

  Week six brought my maternal grandparents, Tallulah's great-grandparents. They spoiled her with hugs, Christmas dresses, and a hi-tech baby monitor. We both enjoyed seeing them. Plus, we were able to go to few more restaurants. Now, the grandparents are not too keen on all-vegan fare--so, I had to find some places to accommodate both sides. We went to Suzy Wong's House of Yum, Battered and Fried, and Sloco. As much as I prefer a completely veg restaurant, it is nice to know that there are spots in town that we are able to eat and that your omnivorous family approves of. We can fight the go-vegan battle when we have more than thee hour sleep stretches.

  During week six, we hit a couple of milestones. We ditched the preemie stuff. That's right, she wore her last preemie diaper and we really struggled to squeeze her into the onesies. She's a real newborn now! :)

  Her seventh week was a huge milestone--it was the week she was due. I've heard from other preemie moms that the due date is super emotional and almost traumatic. We didn't experience either of those--just a sort of surreal feeling. That's the day she was expected, but we are so much more familiar with each other now. We have been incredibly lucky with her preemie experience, for which I am so thankful.

  These past couple of weeks hit on the center of my maternity leave. I can't believe it's already halfway over. I have to admit, it will be nice to be a part of civilization that gets dressed and speaks in more than coos and euphemisms for bodily functions. Although, the larger part of me is dreading leaving Tallulah. Can't I just wear her in the Moby at work? Or, can I hurry up with these novel revisions? I have been hitting the writing as hard as I can--but it is a challenge with a baby's feeding schedule. I have finally admitted to myself that I can't do it all--if there are some dishes in the sink or clumps of dog hair on the floor, the world will not collapse. I also want to utilize my remaining maternity time for writing. It will be much more challenging when I am balancing work and mommyhood.

  We are finding our routine, or trying to. Sleeping is non-existent and breastfeeding is still a trying process. I know one day we'll look back without bags under our eyes and a well-latched baby, and think We did it. It was so easy. Or something like that.