Things I love about our baby

1. His name. Seriously, I can't believe Stephanie went for it. Adoption finalized or not, I totally KNOW this is my baby because his name is Jolyon, and I've tended a raging crush on the name for a really long time.

2. The fact that the nurse in the hospital said, "Jolyon! What a lovely name, and it sounds so familiar to me, I'm thinking an old book!" and she turned out to have read the Forsyte Saga multiple times. We then talked a bit about "Old Jolyon and Young Jolyon" and how ours is totally "Very Young Jolyon".

2b. That Stephanie's adviser apparently loved the Forsyte Saga even though she said never figured out how to pronounce Jolyon.

2c. The answer is either "JOL-yuhn" (where the last syllable is a schwa sound that could also be rendered "yahn") or also "JO-lee-uhn". I think we're tending towards the two syllable version, but even if you watch the BBC version of the Forsyte Saga (and you should, because it's excellent!), you'll note that the two and three syllables are both used nearly interchangably. If you start trying to keep track, you'll note that it's almost indistinguishable, actually, so really, whichever you want.

2d. "Joe, Lion" is not correct, but is accepted for humor, especially if it is followed by a roar.

3. The fact that Stephanie, although objecting to the "Jolly" nickname, lets me sing, "For he's a Jolly burrito, for he's a Jolly burrito, for he's a Jolly burrito, which nobody can deny" when I am swaddling Jolyon.

3b. The fact that Jolyon totally loves to be swaddled and that I have been figuring out how to do it in spite of his Strong Like Conan kicks and flails. (The whole burrito-style bundle sort of sways back and forth sometimes, but then he settles down.) The Miracle Blanket that my parents got us is totally way easier than a rectangle of cloth, since he's pretty squirmy... would get my highest recommendation as a baby product that is worth the money.

4. That Jolyon's kicks in utero felt on the inside of Stephanie's tummy can now be felt on the outside of my tummy when he's lying on my chest, and it's exactly the same. So cool!

5. That Jolyon has tons of hair! It's pretty certainly going to be brown, though it might lighten a bit as Stephanie's hair also did from when she was a baby.

5b. That Jolyon's hair is long enough to be styled into a faux-hawk, or even little spikes.

6. That Jolyon's eyes are currently this really fabulous shade of blue and brown, even though it makes final baby pool scoring challenging. I'm guessing from my knowledge of genetics that it's likely that he'll have brown eyes eventually, though. (Here's a fun link that walks through the genetics of eye color with a simplified two gene model.)

7. The way his head smells. It is awesome. I could smell him all day. Other parts of him also smell good, and even his umbilical stump is not at all foul. Just not quite as fresh and delicious as the other parts.

8. The fact that his howls of rage have this little high pitched whine overlaid that I currently, god help me, think is adorable.

9. That thanks to our baby's timely arrival, my brother is around this summer cooking and cleaning for us. He is an amazing cook. I don't think I've eaten this well in probably forever. Need to keep running because I am NOT breastfeeding and eating for two!

10. My brother came from a half-year stint in Costa Rica, observing social interactions in a colony of capuchin monkeys. He totally codes Jolyon's activities using the same classification system he used there. So far the funniest is "FP = friendly palpitation" which is the boob-grab that baby monkeys do, and baby humans apparently as well.

11. That Jolyon repeatedly tries latching onto my boob through my shirt. Sorry, little guy. Not going to provide you with food. Other places that have been verified not to lactate include my arm, my hands, his hands, and my collarbone.

11b. Stephanie's boob is however lactating quite well. We have been dealing with rather major engorgement successfully by pumping and Jolyon has been having proper breastmilk poos starting this morning, so we're happy that this is starting to work! Still some latch issues to work out, but I think we're getting there.

11c. Lactation consultants are awesome. That our health insurance pushes them so freely is something we really love.

12. That Jolyon has Stephanie's ears, only they look like little Spock ears on him.

13. That Jolyon has, by complete coincidence, a cleft chin just like me! I have had a tortured relationship with my butt-chin during my adolescence, and I think seeing it on an adorable little baby is enough to make me declare my own cleft chin an asset.

14. The way Jolyon goes totally limp after feeding. It's like his entire skeletal system has become the consistency of al dente spaghetti.

15. That he has started doing this half-smile and various smirks in his sleep.

16. That he sucks his lower lip into his mouth so that the bottom has a little bow shape.

17. That he is on the way to becoming legally my baby because our lawyer filed for adoption and we had our social worker interview today. It was a bit extensive and filled with rather strange questions, but the social worker was sympathetic (a mom who used a known donor herself) and let us do the home visit at her office, which was great. Yay for a lawyer that knows the ins-and-outs of the process.

18. That Jolyon totally starts to pee enthusiastically just at the moment at which his diaper is off. (He starts kicking vigorously when his clothing is removed so it's not possible to balance a washcloth over his boy parts as many books have recommended.)

18b. Total number of times that I've been peed on by our baby = 4. Fortunately, I think being peed on is hilarious, and that's exactly why I made multiple changing pad covers. It's just like in all the Hollywood movies with babies, only more voluminous and totally makes me realize that YES I AM A MOM.

19. That I was the first person to touch his head, and that the midwife let me catch him after she worked the shoulders out! Seriously, so great. I am really happy about this. I knew partners could cut the cord (which I did, too) but I had no idea about that until recently. For nonsqueamish partners, I totally recommend this as a great way to be involved in the birth.

20. That listening to the slightly sappy music on the CD that our doula gave us totally made me and Stephanie have a joint crying jag on the sofa with Jolyon (who slept). He's beautiful. I can't imagine a better baby. We're so lucky.

21. That Jolyon totally makes snorty noises like Priscilla sometimes. (Priscilla is overjoyed about the baby because she can hang out on the bed with us when we're awake.)

22. That I've gone almost instantly from being someone who felt that babies needed to be handled very very delicately, to someone who is able to spread peanut butter on toast and do other daily operations with one hand holding up Jolyon. I think watching him make his entrance into the world made me realize he is not that delicate after all.

So, while I know that the whole baby thing will likely become more complicated as he starts to have more of a personality and needs other than food and sleep and maybe burping, I'm really excited to watch him become his own person.