Due Date

On my way to work this morning, I realized that today was The Hybrid's initially forecasted due date. It seems odd that the little bundle we took back from the hospital two weeks ago wasn't scheduled to arrive until today; so much has happened in the meantime. Two weeks might not be that long in the grand scheme of things, but Pegs and I are on baby time, a little-studied phenomenon that occurs when one adds the element of a newborn baby to an otherwise normal household. The result is a suspension of time as we know it, brought on by extended periods of sleeplessness, cabin fever and the inability to converse in anything other than baby talk (especially problematic when dealing with clients). To an outside observer, The Hybrid might not seem that different than she was during those first few days in the hospital, but in truth she has changed a great deal. Here are a couple of the major milestones we've already encountered:

• now producing orange, grainy poop three to four times a day (this is actually a marked improvement over the greenish black, tarry meconium that required a power sprayer to remove from her butt cheeks);
• facial definition increasingly evident as she "dries out" from all the amniotic fluid and vodka in the womb;
• starting to follow movements close to her face and reacting more to sounds, especially gangsta rap;
• umbilical cord has fallen off with the help of some pliers;
• becoming increasingly fussy when not held, nursing or asleep (score!);
• now reciting pi to the 27th decimal; and
• developing manipulative techniques that she will use on her parents all through her teenage years.