I have to say this: babies are beasts. Kris and I like to refer to the first three months of our son's life as the End of Days. There is no way really to prepare for it and no way to properly describe what it is like to bring a human into the world (MIRACLE OF LIFE!) then take that human, who will die without you, home to integrate into your previously DINKy life. Here's the thing. You don't integrate them into your life. You change everything about your life to accomodate their needs. At least we have. People have different experiences and perceptions and babies are different. Our son, not surprisingly, is a sensitive little guy who doesn't adapt well to change and whose mood will change from the best time ever had to murder cries in a matter of 0.05 seconds. He really got the best of our genes. Lord knows I am crazy and set off by the smallest thing and I wouldn't exactly describe Kris as a "go with the flow" kind of guy. So I can't really fault Max for the mood swings and need for routine. Also, I understand now why governments use sleep deprivation as a form of torture. After weeks of sleeping an hour here or there, a person changes. They become angry and terrible and think about taking off all their clothes and laying outside in the snow overnight because at least they might find some peace. But it really actually doesn't last. You feel like you will never sleep again and will probably die but then one day it's all over and your baby sleeps 10 hours at night making it possible to watch Hawaii 5-0, eat a meal and sleep for six hours straight. So now that we have emerged from that initial shock and have started sleeping again, life feels pretty good. Max smiles and has started giggling and every time I'm like "I HAVE THE SMARTEST BABY EVER!!!!!" It's awesome and I love it.
