Metrics Old and New
Harry's arrival brought with it a new obsession with numbers. By comparison, the numbers we watched during pregnancy were few and far-between: how many weeks along Sarah was. Dilation and station didn't come until the very end, and their significance was fleeting.
Pre-parenthood, there were numbers we watched, but they somehow don't carry the same weight as the metrics we carefully montior today.
There were the numbers that we knew were important but found it easier to ignore, like our respective weights, blood pressures, and cholesterol levels.
There were the numbers we were strangely obsessed with, like the amount of fiber in various comestibles.
There were the numbers that for some reason we made us feel good about ourselves, like the interest rate on our mortgage.
There were the numbers we couldn't do a whole lot about, like the car's miles per gallon.
And there were corresponding numbers that we couldn't affect and pissed us off for other reasons, like the price of gas.
And yet, these metrics lost most their (already limited) interest when Harry was born. A new set of numbers took their place:
In the coming years, this list will only get longer. We're *those* kinds of parents.
Pre-parenthood, there were numbers we watched, but they somehow don't carry the same weight as the metrics we carefully montior today.
There were the numbers that we knew were important but found it easier to ignore, like our respective weights, blood pressures, and cholesterol levels.
There were the numbers we were strangely obsessed with, like the amount of fiber in various comestibles.
There were the numbers that for some reason we made us feel good about ourselves, like the interest rate on our mortgage.
There were the numbers we couldn't do a whole lot about, like the car's miles per gallon.
And there were corresponding numbers that we couldn't affect and pissed us off for other reasons, like the price of gas.
And yet, these metrics lost most their (already limited) interest when Harry was born. A new set of numbers took their place:
- Harry's weight: the most important number to us since he's had so much trouble putting on the ounces in his first few weeks. I'm proud to say that he broke 8 pounds over the weekend.
- Harry's meals: Sarah's been recording start times and durations for each breast. Because of his weight-gain issues, we needed to make sure Harry was getting at least 8 feedings a day for at least half an hour.
- Sarah's milk production: Last week, Sarah starting using the breast pump and giving Harry a bottle once or twice a day. Bottle feeding is, for better or worse, more efficient than breast feeding, but it appears to satisfy the baby less. On the other hand, as Sarah pumps more and Harry eats more, we see more and more milk in the collection bottles.
- Harry's poops: Nothing speaks to what's going in more than what's coming out. We've learned to distinguish between Little Poos and Big Poos, Recordable Poos vs. Incidental Poos. Poo ontology is very complicated, and the baby care classes really skimped on poo education.
In the coming years, this list will only get longer. We're *those* kinds of parents.
posted by dan at 8:52 AM
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