Everything has changed

"I was looking for someone to complete me - not anymore, dear. Everything has changed. You've made the moon our mirrorball, the streets an empty stage, the city's sirens - violins, everything has changed." --Elbow, Mirrorball

I love the song Mirrorball!



I used to listen to it a lot when I was pregnant and think of our baby, living (not to mention, constantly flipping) inside of me. Another song I'd listen to a lot was Blackbird by The Beatles - actually, Tim used to sing Blackbird to my tummy every night. Then he'd roll over and fall asleep, while Eleanor would start thumping and kicking (and usually get the hiccups) after being woken up by her daddy's singing. I didn't mind - I absolutely loved feeling her move around! When I was in the hospital, it was so weird to not feel her anymore. It was a pretty big adjustment - one adjustment of many.

Anyway, the song Mirrorball is about the morning after you've fallen in love. The man in the song is walking around and looking at the world in amazement; falling in love has transformed everything around him. I know exactly how he feels! We both have fallen in love with our little bundle of joy and look at the world with fresh eyes. And in my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined how Eleanor's birth would have changed our lives - but she has, totally and completely.

Not to say that this transformation hasn't taken some getting used to. Two days after being released from the hospital, we had to bring Eleanor back to the hospital for a breastfeeding assessment. It was our first time venturing out of the house, and to keep his girls safe Tim drove approximately 10 miles an hour the whole way there (but I may be exaggerating). After the nurse checked Eleanor's vitals, she noticed she had a dirty diaper and asked us for a diaper from our diaper bag. Uh... diaper bag? What's that? Both of us didn't even think to bring it. The nurse laughed and said we were "so cute". Yeah, we're adorable negligent parents.

Another thing that has taken some time getting used to is the whole "can't do what we want, when we want it" thing. I'm sure this is an adjustment for any new parent, but we've been married for 11 years this year, so we've had many years calling the shots. Before E, when we wanted to watch a movie (or - gasp! Go to a movie!), we did. But this week, we rented a movie (Sherlock Holmes) on Monday - and it took us 4 days to finish it, as we had to watch it in bits and pieces. Whenever we sat down to watch it, our gorgeous little girl decided that precise moment was the time to start yelling. I figured she was trying to save us from a really bad movie, but it actually ended up being pretty good. Guess she can kiss that career as a movie critic goodbye!

Our sweet girl - she's changed everything.

Krissy