Probably the number one question I get now is, “Sleeping much?” Surprisingly, the answer is, “Yes, a bit.” That’s not to say we’re getting long stretches of continuous sleep, but Ellie tends to sleep in larger chunks during the night (3-4 hours), so we’re only up a couple of times.
For now. We’re now in Ellie’s second week, and our doctor said that week two is when she stops being the adorable sleeping cuddlebug and can start to develop colic or other sleep issues. He said that the first two weeks are a bit of a honeymoon, genetically designed so that humans don’t eat their young.
Leading up to her birth, I spent several months working long, long hours on book projects (the latest was my Photoshop Elements 6: Visual QuickStart Guide). I went to bed at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning every night, sometimes pushing to 3:00 or even 4:00 depending on my stamina and the workload, in order to get things done before the little lady arrived. At the time I joked that I was looking forward to the baby, so I could get some sleep! It turns out, I think I was somewhat correct. Working that grueling schedule has made me more able to deal with her in the middle of the night.
Another surprise is that my caffeine intake is way, way down. I did have some nurses’ coffee at the hospital for the two days we were there – strong, industrial stuff designed to keep them alert for 12-hour shifts – and didn’t have a decent espresso until we got home. I know, hard to believe. Since then, I haven’t hit the espresso train very often, partly because I want to sleep when I can, and partly because we bought a new coffeemaker (a Cuisinart DCC-2000) so that we have plenty of readily-available coffee for Kim’s mom, who is staying with us for a couple of weeks. It’s been easier to simply pour a cup of drip than to make a doppio.
Speaking of coffee reminds me of the second part of this post: muffins! Our dear friend Lynn dropped by the other day with freshly-baked blueberry muffins. They’re small, about three bites’ worth, which are perfect when you want to grab a little something to eat in the middle of the night or early in the morning without preparing something. I never would have thought of this, and is yet another example of how the tips and tricks of the baby trade are passed along from parent to parent much more than in books or articles.
Roo 
I think Lynn has made on the order of 1,000 muffins since the months before Ben was born 4 years ago for the “quick, tasty, middle of the night or first thing” eating.
Could it be 1,000? About 20 at a time, 50 times. Probably 2,000. (I have eaten no more than 500 of those.)
Oooooh, shiny coffee maker! Better keep the french press somewhere it won’t see and get jealous.