One Week with Lucia

What a difference a week makes. This time last Monday night, Natalia and I were sitting around watching the final presidential debate, unaware that before we next slept we would be adding Lucia to our family. And tonight? Coverage of Hurricane Sandy is on the TV, and I'm looking at Lucia sleeping blissfully down here in the living room. A lot has happened in 7 days.

Staying home this past week, I've had a lot of time to remember how much I forgot about baby care in the past 2+ years. Changing diapers is onerous. Sleeping in shifts leaves nobody fully rested. A single cry could have up to 12 different interpretations. Burping is essential! A good swaddle has the strength of a straightjacket. The time in between putting a baby down to sleep and knowing that she is in fact asleep is an interminable wait, often pierced by a slow, low whine that indicates failure. This is a lesson most painfully learned at 3 a.m.

But for all of that, it has been a fantastic first 7 days. Lucia passed her initial hospital stay without concern. Since coming home with us, she has been a voracious eater and increasingly good sleeper. She prefers tight wraps to loose-fitting outfits. Like her siblings, she is content to fall asleep in her carseat.

The best thing about the transition home, though, has been the way that Celia and Andres have welcomed Lucia to the family. I've been on the verge of tears a few times watching them gently care for their new sister, each doting on her in ways that reflect the best of themselves.

Very happy to be holding a 2-day old Lucia.

Andres enjoys holding Lucia. Yesterday he held her on his lap for half an hour, slowly rocking her back and forth until she fell asleep. Is there anything better than that? Today, again, he sat on the couch and held her, gently and awkwardly rubbing his own small fingers over her head, lovingly looking down at her. For a few moments I did not recognize my five year-old son who delights in antagonizing his other sister.

True love.

Celia talks constantly about and to her new sister. Oh yes, she has plans for her already--this Halloween, Celia has decided that Lucia will dress as a "baby princess fairy" to complement her own princess fairy costume. Celia sings songs to Lucia, and even lends the inestimable Blankie to her for naps. It seems nothing is too good for baby Lucia.

A doting sister.

Yesterday morning I watched as Celia and Andres together serenaded a sleeping Lucia, reading from a songbook that Andres' class had given to us as a gift. Once they tired of singing, they took turns checking on her, making sure she was all snuggled in. Again, I was left wondering who these well-behaved children were.

Singing, sleeping.

These trends will not continue forever. Andres once treated Celia like a queen as well--now, their relationship is amicable and adversarial at the same time. They are siblings after all. This behavior is to be expected.

I hope to witness their unabashed love for Lucia for awhile longer. She will not remember it, and certainly neither Andres or Celia grasps the distinctiveness of this time in their lives. But Natalia and I do. And at 3 a.m., when the crying starts and we look at each other with bloodshot eyes and heavy heads, wondering whether it is time to feed, change, or soothe Lucia, it is comforting to know that there are a couple of people on the floor above us who love her without limits.