How do I soothe thee? Let me count the ways…

I consider myself decent at “being with,” or “being present” with people (especially when I have slept and am not under duress 😬) — that is: calmly being with their energy, intuiting what or who I want to be in the moment to have the most positive, connected experience coming out of that interaction.

Soothing screaming babies at night is a whole other deal. It’s easy to have the TPM (technical program manager) in me go through the checklist — fed? dirty diaper? burped? need some soothing movement or sounds? But when you’ve gone though the checklist and nothing works, then what?

That’s where Jedi-level baby whispering comes in. I had one of those inconsolable Arden moments last night on my shift, and the screaming was loud and long enough for Tandy to come downstairs and check on us. within minutes, Tandy got her in a position she was comfortable in, talked to her and held her (or sometimes not stroking her purposely) and fed her in a way that soothed little Arden, and all was well in the world again. I am so grateful for Tandy and her mad skillz! Watching her be with our baby was indescribably delightful — I am so in love them both 😍

Feeding guidance is 2-3 oz in 2-3 hours. Arden drinks maybe an oz in an hour, every few hours. So from 1230a to 8:15a today, she had a total only of about 2.5oz. That’s not a lot!! But she did have a big poop, and then two little ones after. We go into the doctor today to suss out her bilirubin levels. A reading of 20 requires hospitalisation and Arden got up to 18.5. Hopefully, our outdoor sun efforts, together with trying to get as much food in her as possible, will lead to much lower readings today.

And thank goodness for friends who come by at unearthly hours to do what seems like unreasonable things for us! Ingrid took the 630a-9a shift. As a mother of 3, and associate dean at Vanderbilt Law school, the INCREDIBLE kindness and generosity she has shown us is mind-blowing. She’s like the world’s most expensive and overqualified doula 😬 We love you Ingrid! Thank you so much.