Wild Feminine

After two weeks of welcoming Buddy Rio into the world marveling over his mild temperament and sweet disposition, the heavens seemed to be smiling upon us.   This little guy would be easy going we thought, and baby-rearing would be a comparitive piece of sweet cake,  like a calm stretch of River flowing from bend to bend.  Aaaaaahhhh...

However, I returned to work last Monday, and suddenly we hit a  spell of raging rapids.  Sure, he's Mister Mellow, except when violently spitting up Mama's milk.  For two days straight, he was a big ball of fussy cheese as random projectiles resulted in frequent wardrobe changes for everyone involved.

Finally on Wednesday afternoon, there was a slight reprieve as Dr. Judy gave him a tummy adjustment, from rock hard to soft and supple.  Afterwards, while refilling his new found belly in the Doc's office, a book on the shelf caught Bunny's eye, Wild Feminine: Finding Power, Spirit, & Joy in the Root of the Female Body.  

Lori, the receptionist, raved about the wonders within and promptly passed it on.  Then, at Bunny's next appointment, a postpartum check-in, Dr. Mary recommended treatment by a physical therapist located across the street: Tami Kent who also happens to be the author of Wild Feminine!  This string of coincidental events is so tightly wound that it all happened over the course of two hours within 10 blocks of one another all in our neighborhood.   Bunny walked home refreshed and hopeful.

That evening, little Rio returned to his normal meekiness and after dinner I reminded him, "We're working really hard to help you feel better Buddy."  He responded with his first big, wide-eyed grin.  Whew!  But, the next two days were spent back in the projectile cheese factory.  More treatments from Dr. Judy and emphatic burping advice from our postpartum doula were hapless.  At one particularly low point, Bunny hit a wall of exhausted and humiliated auto-repeat, "He covered my crotch.  He covered..."  

By Friday, I came up with a hypothesis and noted an empirical pattern:  Buddy laying on his back = Buddy spitting up; Buddy laying on his belly = happy Buddy boy!  Problem nearly solved except when he needs a diaper change, or we follow a primal urge to cradle him in our arms.  Friday, was also a particularly lovely Spring day (for Winter) as Lilly and I relished a chance to cruise the Springwater Corridor trail returning from a playdate in Sellwood.   We stopped our bikes along the banks of the Willamette River for a short break admiring a pair of bald eagles perched on Ross Island as the warm sun set.  Once again, a sweet stretch of calm has flowed back into our lives as Buddy Rio charts our next course.  

Although sleep-deprived and chore-ridden, we had a lovely family weekend and tonight Jill is planning to attend a Powell's Book reading by none other than the aforementioned Tami Kent!  The auspicious timing of this literary event is a blessing in Bunny's birthing recovery.