What do you mean mommy is getting tired of breast-feeding already? It's only been three weeks! Where is she anyway? What do you mean "unsupervised"? What happened to all of daddy's beer, anyway? What do you mean it's safe to drink and breast-feed? What do you mean I have blackouts? What are blackouts? What do you mean it doesn't matter? What do you mean by "magic formula"? What do you mean by disambiguation? Who left the back door open anyway?
People are always telling me that my work is too dark. So I've put up this sunnier story, but even it has a shadow, as its original publisher – a fine Atlantic Canadian literary magazine called the Gaspereau Review – is no longer in business. ---------------- It was a simple enough thing and that thing was simply this: Edmund Kelley was a gentleman. Of course his mom called him her 'little gentleman', as in 'Oh Edmund, you are my perfect little gentleman,' which did seem to hold to a certain logic that these type of things often follow, considering her affection for him and the fact that he was, after all, only ten years old. Still, Edmund himself was not particularly fond of the diminutive aspect of that title. Gentleman was enough; gentleman summed up the whole thing rather nicely, thank you. He was definitely a more refined version of your average child. He lived in a state of perpetual Sunday m
OMG. Don't believe him, dear readers! Although I will admit that the whole breastfeeding thing is already a bit tired. Being on call 24 hours a day PLUS being immobile for up to 8 hours a day while someone takes her own sweet time eating and then taking a break from it all by changing diapers and doing laundry and worrying about that thesis that will not get finished by itself...yeah, it makes me want a beer at the end of the day. My doctor gave me her blessing. Ask Darryl how many times he gets up in the night to feed and change his child.
ReplyDeleteoh if you are breastfeeding darryl has to get up each and every time that oona cries - he changes her and then brings her to you... right? he read the handbook, right? that way you can enjoy your beer (of course!) and rest up to make milk, among other things.
ReplyDeletephew, glad to know that he's getting up at night.
your little oona is one cutie patootie!
I think Darryl has a different handbook. He said to me, as he decamped to the guestroom, "One of us should get a good night's sleep."
ReplyDeleteyeah the handbook. I think there are a couple of editions.
ReplyDeleteI remember...about the 2nd week that the girls were home [yeah twins] I was sooooo braindead with being a feeding machine that when their father, [who didn't need to decamp...he could sleep through anything...including the caterwauling of two cranky babies placed strategically and intimately next to each each ear - his snoring didn't break stride] woke up the next morning he found the milk in the cupboard and the corn flakes in the fridge. One of those staggering post feeding snacks...the few times I wasn't anchored to a couch with the phone and the remote.
And as far as a little beer, wine or otherwise goes, you deserve it and Oona won't complain.
Hang in there Christina!
"Anchored to a couch with the phone and the remote..."
ReplyDeleteWow. That's what I feel like and I have only one baby.