...it's so quiet...

[WilliamPitt]

Big night in the Pitt Compound, folks. Cailen is wiped out, so Daddy Will has volunteered to fly the night shift solo. Lola is clean, fed, and zonked out in the new bassinet/rocker I picked up yesterday. I have three feedings worth of meals prepared, all bottles washed and sterilized, and Cailen is sleeping the sleep of the righteous on the other side of the house.

It's kind of funny. I think maybe the nicest thing I've ever done for anyone ever was to let my wife sleep tonight...and it's just that simple, isn't it? As a reward, I get to hang out with my badass daughter and listen (very softly) to the Dead all night. They call that a win-win scenario.

(...and a small confession: my love for my wife has no limit, and has in fact expanded by whole universes since all this happened. We have been together every minute since she took her leave from work more than three weeks ago, and especially since the delivery, which has essentially parked her on the couch for the foreseeable. She is my best friend, we have had a wonderful time, and our time together has been the farthest thing from a burden imaginable...but as an only child who came to love solitude long ago, and as someone who has worked from home for more than ten years and thus has had hours to himself every day, I must confess that the absolute stillness around me right now is a balm, and will be fully appreciated...especially since I am beginning to understand just how rare it will be from now on.)





Oh, almost forgot the most important part: My mom, a.k.a. DUer Raven, made a special trip to Boston today to meet Lola for the first time. Here be a snap of this most auspicious event:

[Baitball Blogger]

1. Very cool getting all this from someone who writes for a living.

Good stuff.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

2. Beautiful!

How very fortunate that you can appreciate the gifts that are your wife and daughter!

[annabanana]

3. Ah Raven.

What a lovely granddaughter your children have given you....

and edit:
sleep is more precious than gold for the foreseeable future

[elleng]

4. Congratulations to ALL of you tonight!

[calimary]

5. Awww...

Welcome to the club, Will!

One of the hardest, most frustrating, most perplexing, and most exhausting jobs you will ever LOVE.

[LuckyLib]

6. Aww-w-w! Congrats to all. A full night's sleep for Mom is a rare gift.

I remember sitting in a rocking chair many a night sobbing from sheer exhaustion while nursing, but deliriously happy. This is a magic time. You feel like you are in a bubble. My "baby" is now 25.

[turbo_satan]

7. Three things, William...

1. Congratulations, dude. She's beautiful.

2. Every age is the best age. Sounds cryptic, I know, but you'll get the point.

3. Savor every friggin' moment. This is the best thing in life, period. There may be moments that seem interminable while they're happening, but time whizzes by.

[MannyGoldstein]

8. A new child, so precious, so easily contented by her parents, food, and a few small comforts.

The still pre-dawn hours after she's been fed and bundled back to sleep, such innocence in her face. I remember the light and joy so well, a brightness in my soul.

And very soon:

I won't tell you the rest, but you know the "It Gets Better" videos? This ain't that.

(But it's still the greatest thing I've ever done.)

[nolabear]

9. You remind me so well of that state of profound wonder that is new parenthood.

My boys were raised on The Dead. They used to sing Uncle John's Band from the car seats. We worked hard to keep Casey Jones down, because what little guy doesn't love a train? Lol!

Ah, Raven looks like a happy Gram.

[GoldenOldie]

10. Daddies little girl!

My great-granddaughter Bella who will soon be 4-yrs old, just told her mother, that "her daddy is the sweetest boy she has ever known." You remind me of her daddy who spent her first two weeks of life, with Bella glued to his chest, as her mother rested. It was good, because he r spent a following year in Afghanistan.

Enjoy each and every moment, it goes by much to fast.

[madfloridian]

11. Will and Raven, lovely post, beautiful picture.

Thanks for sharing.

[Iggo]

12. Ha! Bebe!!!!

[olddots]

13. Thank you Will

You made think about how much I love my daughters and they're both adults but they're still both beautiful babies .

[Crewleader]

14. A Beautiful Beginning

I am so happy for you Raven, and for your precious grand daughter.

[femmocrat]

15. Waving to Raven!

Congrats! I am also a new grandma! My angel is now 8 months old. Aren't grandkids the greatest blessing yet? to all at the Pitt home.

[Raven]

16. Waving right back at you! Lola Jane is

one beautiful little baby.

[patricia92243]

17. You're a good man, WilliamPitt! n/t

[lunatica]

18. Thanks so much for sharing!

I'm really looking forward to all your threads now!