It crept up on me, this wistfulness. A feeling that these days are slipping away like pearls through my fingers. The way he looks at me and the wiggles settle into stillness. The way his whole face lights up when he smiles, just because I looked at him and said hello. Moments that make my…
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Twenty-Seven Days
If you knew you only had twenty-seven days, how would you live life differently? I spoke recently to a friend whose daughter gave birth to a child they knew was not going to live. Indeed, it was a miracle that the child was not stillborn. “People tiptoe around us,” she said. “They’re afraid to ask.…
Read MoreA Half-Month In Pictures
I already wrote Michael’s birth story, but since I did it from the hospital on an iPad, I couldn’t put any pictures with it. Today is picture day: a half-month (almost) of my life, and all of Michael’s: November 30, 2011 Christian killing time as we wait for the walk to the OR, around 8:15…
Read More7QT–the NICU report week 2
1. We have now been in the NICU for over a week. 2. The lactation consultant tried to take pictures of us on the iPad,but somehow we ended up with video. Try this link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=547452427 3. My husband reached his limit on Wednesday. This was THEBIG WEEK of Advent for us…and trying to handle it…
Read MoreWorry: A Birth Story
Worry is a parent’s natural condition. especially a new mother. Even if you’ve been through it many times, the circumstances are never identical. Worry began for me in an hour-long discussion last Wednesday, in which we weighed the risks of a C section at 37 weeks: the possibility of a not-quite-“done” baby vs. the risk…
Read MoreThis Hallway
This hallway has figured in my dreams for months. I’ve always loved the hospital stay post-baby. Yes, there’s the pain and the constant interruption, the cramped spaces and bleary-eyed exhaustion of post-surgery and new baby. But there’s that sound, of plexiglass cribs on metal frames rat-a-tatting down the hallway. The knock on the door: “Nursery!”…
Read MoreUpdate/weekend
For those following the saga of Michael’s birth, whe is still in the nICU on oxygen. He is no longer under the “hood,” but on a cannnula. I got to nurse him last night at 5–absolutely Heavenly, for him and for me both. He was so calm, his breathing so regular and his saturation so…
Read MoreJust Before You Start
“The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better.” Stephen King You know what already worries me about my upcoming C-section? I’m terrified of the back shot. You’d think repetition would inure me to the experience. But I’m so ticklish. What if I jump at the wrong moment…
Read MoreStanding at the Precipice
Amazing, how long it takes to write 97 words. Ten days of near-constant brainstorming, while driving, washing dishes, walking, putting kids to bed, lying awake, showering… And that’s a quick write, for me. But it’s done now, and I get to go on to the fun part—writing out the musical arrangement. *** I spent…
Read MoreGoing Home
Today’s the day that the Basi 5 go home. Christian has had an interesting couple of days corralling two kids by himself. He’s used to it for a couple hours at a time, but not the whole day…and night…two and a half days running. 🙂 Meanwhile, I’m just trying to take care of myself post-op.…
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Kathleen M. Basi 