The Number Field

Jenny and Elena are both asleep now, their first morning at home. We know so little about caring for the baby--what we should do when she cries, how to get her to nurse, how to dress, bathe, and diaper her. However, when I went to Wal-Mart last night to pick up a few things, and got to the baby section, I had a much greater sense of purpose and understanding than I did before Elena arrived.

In the next few days, I'll try to put together an account of Elena's birth that is not too gross. For now, here's just one memory. For nearly an hour after the birth, there was still busyness in the room. The doctor still had to take care of Jenny, while nurses took Elena over to the new baby station and checked her. Eventually they took her off to the nursery, and everyone else left. Exhausted from the effort and focus of labor, Jenny fell into a deep, relaxed sleep. I nodded off for a little while, until a nurse brought Elena back from the nursery. The nurse gave me some instructions which I don't remember very well, except the part about how to clean the umbilical cord area, and then she left the three of us alone together for our first family time. Elena was sleeping almost as soundly as Jenny, and I felt a sense of absolute calm, our own private silent night. It made me appreciate Christmas more. In fact, the Russian word for Christmas, Рождество, literally means "The Birth."