We've had Lucy for two weeks, which qualifies us as experts, which means it is time to write about parenthood. (In all seriousness, consider the below descriptive and not prescriptive: mostly, it's a notepad filled with things that were remarkable or surprising or divergent from popular consensus.)

• American pop culture puts too much emphasis on the onus of diaper changing. Diapers are easy; swaddles are slightly more difficult (we've gone with what we refer to as "the three corners method"), and the true endgame foe is the onesie. Sleeves are difficult!
• We were nervous about Telemachus not adjusting well to having a baby sister in the house; instead, he is enamored with her, and already quite protective, and mostly just annoyed at my wife and me for getting up so often in the middle of the night.
• Common wisdom says that babies sleep for eighteen hours a day, the mechanics of which are hard to really internalize until you're amidst it. There is more downtime than you expect — it's just that the downtime comes in a random, somnambulant staccato.
• There is a surprisingly deep amount of variation amongst baby bottles. (We've gone with Dr. Brown; the form factor of the bottle itself is easy to wash, and the nipples are the right size.)
• You will spend so much time going up and down stairs; you will spend so much time washing (bottles, pumps, blankets, etc.)
• We have never been more vividly aware of our luck and fortune. DMs and texts and emails, hand-knit hats and blankets, embroidered sweaters, Doordashed lobster rolls and hand-delivered pots of 冬瓜海鲜羹, words of advice and encouragement: all of these things are glittering gems; our coffers overflow.