Lift Up Your Hearts!

Joy is one week old today.  She is a remarkably good-natured child, or, as her Uncle Stephan would say, "chill."  She naturally sleeps for two hours at a stretch, and only fusses slightly when hungry.  Yet when she is awake she is alert, bright-eyed, and looking all around, and she eats with great (and noisy) enthusiasm.  Joy puts up cheerfully with being handed around from one person to another, whether in the gentle, even timid, arms of an adult, or the more enthusiastic attentions of her siblings.

Nighttime, naturally, is not quite so perfect.  That's when she's most likely to fuss, and to produce a large quantity of messy diapers.  But the other day Heather awoke beaming and refreshed—and you know you're a new mother when you can be so enthusiastic over having gotten 10 hours of sleep in five two-hour segments.

Joy had a visit to the doctor yesterday, and passed with flying colors.  I had an interesting discussion with her doctor when he did the maneuver-the-hips routine, checking for hip socket development.  He thought the Swiss custom of checking that with ultrasound iwould be more accurate, and guessed that the expense of the machines is probably the reason it's not done that way here.  Personally, I like the manual version better, except that here if there's any question they follow up with x-rays, and I definitely prefer ultrasound to that.

It's a lot of fun comparing notes on pediatric medical practices from one country to another.  Janet had a huge list of foods to eat or not eat while nursing, whereas here the admonition is usually limited to "use caution with strong-flavored foods like garlic and broccoli."  But the Swiss doctor said the latest recommendations for solid food after six months is a great variety, including citrus and eggs, to help prevent allergies, whereas here egg whites and orange juice are specifically held off until after a year—but for the same reason of preventing allergies!  One thing both sides of the ocean agree on is no honey till the baby's a year old, however.

Amazingly, Joy is the only baby I've ever known never to show any signs at all of newborn jaundice.  She's now up substantially from her 8 lbs. 1 oz. birthweight, weighing in yesterday at 8 lbs. 10 oz.

And, thanks for asking, my voice is slowly coming back.  Joy is a week old and she still hasn't heard "Grandma's voice," but I'm making progress.  I have a tendency to set myself back by talking croaking too much:  but Heather comes to my rescue and reminds me to be good.