Friday, October 8, 2010

New Arrival, Slightly Late Post

The baby is here.

The birth was incredible. I feel so fortunate to have been able to do a birth at home, with safety and comfort. I can't imagine the stress of having a baby in a hospital, because even the midwives' tiny amount of involvement made me nervous. It was really incredible, though, to watch a person come from another person. I couldn't believe it when it was happening, and I couldn't believe it after it had finished.

Now, three or so weeks into the baby being here, I can't imagine life without the baby. Every other thought is consumed with concern and interest for him, and I struggle while at work (I'm working from home, as of late) not to just get up and run into the other room every time I hear him make a noise. Fortunately, my partner is able to spend almost all of her time with him.

My days consist of working 8 hours (usually broken up into two or three hour chunks), doing a load of laundry (it was two loads of laundry a day at first), and doing the majority of the cooking and dishes. My in-laws (whose basement we occupy) have tried to help a bit, but I've been pretty adamant about getting things down as much on my own as possible.

We're not circumcising, which I consider to be a simple matter of consent. Since he can't tell us whether or not he wants part of his genitals amputated, we're going to go ahead and opt out of that for the time being. He can always remedy it later if he wants (who would want to?). The whole thing has made me wonder about my having been circumcised as a baby, and what lasting psychological effects that has had on me. I've heard of people restoring their foreskins, through a number of methods, the most appealing of which is using a weight to stretch the remaining skin over the tip of the penis. It doesn't repair the permanently damaged mucous glands that are destroyed during a circumcision, but it allows for the apparatus to function in a very similar fashion to an uncut one.

All right. The end.  Good bye.

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