The Good Life... a weblog about life, technology, and the Opera Web browser

Sara Ellen is now twenty-six and a half months old. Compared to the first two years of her life, the development she's going through now is much more subtle. This week, her hair is falling in front of her eyes for the first time. She's started eating raw carrots, counting, and sleeping more often in her own bed. She has great senses. She is energetic, smart, fun-loving, kind, shy, and gentle; I hope these are the traits she holds on to as she grows up.

She wants to watch movies constantly, though we restrict her to one a day. Her favorite movie used to be "Monsters, Inc" (which she called "Bears and Frog"), but now she prefers "Cars" (mostly because of Mater). A couple of days after she first watched it, Rebekah had become Lightning McQueen, I had become Mack (McQueen's transport truck), and Sara Ellen called herself "funny Mater". Her other favorites are "The Incredibles", "Ratoutille", and "Finding Nemo", though she'll occasional want to watch "Beauty and the Beast". Sara Ellen always cheers for the heroes by exclaiming, "No get you!" and fearing for their well-being.

Twenty-seven months ago, I didn't know what I'd do with our child. Now, I don't know what I'd do without her.

One of the things that's continued to amaze me as I've watched Sara Ellen grow is the number of things she has to learn along the way. For instance, she's started laughing just within the last two weeks. It seems like the only things she knew how to do when she was born were breathe, fill her diaper, and cry. Within the first couple of days, she learned to breastfeed. She had to learn our smell, the sound of our voices, and the way we look. Soon, she learned to smile, bat at objects, and suck her fists. Lately, she's been opening up her fists, attempting to roll, and laugh.

There's nothing quite like a baby's laugh. There's this magical quality to it that can instantly brighten even the dullist day. And thanks to the wonders of technology, you can listen to and watch Sara Ellen's very first laugh to see exactly what I mean. Enjoy.

In Norway, the minimum hospital stay for a woman and her new child is 4 nights. Delivery is performed by mid-wives (unless problems occur). After birth, new parents are given help with changing diapers, giving baths, breast feeding, and more. In essence, it's been a dream for Rebekah and me.

Sara Ellen (and Rebekah) spent an extra day at the hospital because her blood sugar levels kept fluctuating. After several elixirs of milk and sugar and enduring frequent blood tests, they steadied. She also suffered from a bit of Jaundice. As treatment, she lay under a blue light for several hours[1]. Sara Ellen finally left the hospital on December 11th, her heels spotted with black dots from needle pricks. We finally got to bring our healthy baby girl home.

Sara Ellen's just over three weeks old now and full of character. I hadn't been around babies much before having her, so I constantly ask Rebekah and her mother if her behavior is "normal". She has cute little sneezes. She gets the hiccups at least once a day. When she has them, her whole body jerks with each hiccup and she looks around as if to ask, "What's happening to me?" She's not scared of them, but she's not exactly happy about it either. She yawns like a grown-up would. I'm not sure why I expected otherwise. Sometimes her yawns seem to scare her and she starts to cry, but she's usually comforted easily.

Rebekah's mom says Sara Ellen is very mellow. I'm good with that. She likes being held a lot. We try to put her in her bassinet when she's sleeping, but a lot of the time she'll wake up when we put her down or shortly thereafter. She squeakes and grunts a lot. And when she goes to the bathroom, it sounds like a small explosion. It's impressive. Yes, I've changed diapers. I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I'm not afraid of it, either.

I'm surprised at how much character there is in her cry. It's not just "wah wah wah". She'll start out with a couple whimpers or something that sounds like a cough. If we can't figure out what's wrong immediately, she steps up the crying. Next, she makes it sound like someone is physically abusing her. Finally, she gets all choked up until she turns red and can barely cry anymore. Rebekah and I do everything we can to prevent that, but sometimes we can't act fast enough.

Most of the time, she sleeps. When she's not sleeping, she's usually nursing. When she's not sleeping or nursing, she looks around. If we're holding her, she'll focus on us or on something near us. Sometimes she just stares at the wall or the couch. From the day she was born, I've thought of her as strong. She grabs your finger and holds on tight. She's pretty squirmy (I call her "squirmy worm" sometimes), to the point that I'm concerned she'll squirm right out of my arms.

It's still weird for me to talk about "my daughter". Then again, it's still weird to talk about "my wife". Being a father and a husband is just part of who I am, not some label I acquired on a specific day. Rebekah says I'm pretty good at both so far, which is what really counts.

[1] According to Wikipedia, "Green light is more effective at breaking down bilirubin, but is not commonly used because it makes the babies appear sickly, which is disturbing to observers." That cracks me up.

Update: OK, so I confused bilirubin and blood sugar problems when I originally posted this. I thought there was just one issue, but apparently there were two separate problems. No worries though, since she's healthy.

Rebekah's water broke on Friday, unbeknownst to either of us. A routine check-up on Monday led to a hospital visit to check if things were getting started. They were concerned for the health of the baby since the water had broken several days previously and asked her to return today so they could induce labor. Shortly after she arrived at the hospital today, her contractions began naturally.

I left work around noon, reassured by Rebekah that I should take my time getting to the hospital (i.e. take mass transit instead of a taxi), since these things usually take time. She even asked me to stop at the store for some snacks. I arrived by 1pm to my wife admirably weathering her contractions, which were now coming every two minutes.

Shortly thereafter, her contractions became stronger and more frequent and the second stage of labor began. Rebekah gritted her teeth, pushed with all her might, and gasped in air during her contractions. She had no interest in pain killers, preferring to work through the pain, yet she hardly made a peep until the very end. Slowly, Rebekah pushed our baby into this world. Her contractions were short, but she used all the time she had to its fullest.

Finally, I watched as this new, little person arrived. Tears ran down my cheeks as I heard our child squeak for the first time. Rebekah radiated happiness, overjoyed at her accomplishment, grateful that the worst was over. The mid-wives went to work on our new child, so it took a minute or two before we found out that our little person was a girl.

Sara Ellen Juliana Altman was born today in Oslo at 3:49pm CET (that's 9:49am EST for y'all East Coasters). She's 3718g (8lbs 3oz) and 50cm (19 2/3 inches). She's our first child and the first grandchild on both sides of the family.

I was overwhelmed as our baby girl rested in my arms while Rebekah recovered. I'd never held a baby before, yet Sara Ellen didn't seem to mind one bit. She squirmed and squeaked, hid from the light, and cuddled against my chest for warmth. She lay in my arms many times throughout the afternoon, re-energizing after her first big ordeal.

I know that something huge has just occurred, yet I don't feel that different. I wonder if that's thanks to the nine months of preparation we've had. Whatever the case, I'm thankful that our little girl came into this world healthy, happy, and beautiful. May God bless you, Sara Ellen.

See more pictures in our gallery.

Rebekah has been surprisingly devoid of cravings. I'm a bit disappointed, actually. I had this great picture in my head of late night runs to the store for pickles and peanut butter or Doritos with strawberry jelly. It's not that I mind—I'd be making those late night store runs—but I feel like I'm missing out on part of the ambiance of being the husband of a pregnant woman. Then again, maybe she'd want fish or liver paste. Eww. It's probably for the best.