Less than one week

Last Sunday morning my neighbor stopped by. It was an impromptu visit and I was lounging in my pjs. I had nowhere to go that morning and was enjoying a lazy start. As my dog stood on her mountain (the back of the couch) with the hair on her spine raised, I rushed into the bedroom to throw on clothes. Skip that, I decided, and grabbed my bathrobe.

My neighbor had brought his six-day old daughter over, I had no time for serious dressing, after all the newborn was swaddled in a blanket and onesie of some sort. No need to be overdressed for the occasion, eh? Of course he responded as I opened the door "You're still in your pajamas at 10am?" I replied that I had a dog, not a baby.

About the baby. She was perfect - full head of thin black hair, delicate little features including the tiniest little finger nails that needed to be trimmed. It's amazing how they have fingernails in the womb. Makes sense I guess, but it's still a wonder.

His wife had to have a c-section (something she didn't really want) but the baby's heart rate was slowing. I do agree with her that c-sections seem so much more common and probably unnecessary in a majority of cases, but they do make a newborn's head look less like a dented, blotchy, partially deflated balloon. No alien look to be had - as if babies are supposed to be Glamour Shots ready at time of exit.

Pretty damn good way to start the day - at least my interactions with the outside world. That fresh from the oven baby smell, look and feel. It's not often in this life that the average person sees, holds, interacts with a baby that is less than a week old. And the baby came to me - right on my doorstep - on a lazy but amazing Sunday morning.