scheduled
The days just seem to float together lately. It’s almost noon, and I barely remember the morning.
Spice and I have gotten into a bit of schedule now. We wake at 6am-ish, feed, change the diaper and go downstairs to sleep in a bit more in the womb room, her in her swing and me on the futon. Wake up again around 8, feed and change, spot-clean with water & cloth wipes and dressed for the day (or at least until the next spit-up explosion, usually not until the afternoon). Wander around the house trying to see what can be done one-handed: move laundry from washer to dryer, get water to drink.. umm, that’s about it so far. More burping, then loose-swaddle and down to sleep again. I can usually squeeze in a shower during this nap; if I’m really fast on the shower, I can also get breakfast, but often a long shower is more of a priority for me, mentally.
Wake, change, feed.. wake, change feed. Spice seems to barely sleep for an hour at a time in the afternoons, though swaddling and the swing can stretch it out longer sometimes. I use her sleep times to wash diapers, get something to eat, check mail. Yesterday, I managed to get basil from the garden, wash it, and toast some pinenuts, almost making pesto entirely.
Around 6 or 7, depending on how rough the afternoon has been, I feed her on one side, burp, feed on the other side, burp, and start running a bath. Spice loves the water and so it’s a good way to transition from screaming bloody murder to peaceful sleep. I bundle her up in a sleeper, swaddle her and feed her down to sleep. Because I’ve already fed her so much, she really just nibbles as she dozes; the spouse can sleep her down with rocking and singing, with or without a pacifier.
Lately, we’ve been lucky – she sleeps somewhere between 7 – 9 hours straight. Sometimes, we do a change & feed at 3/4/5am, but I can often get a few more hours of sleep out of her. I figure she sleeps more through the night to make up for the awake afternoons.
Right now, she’s playing under her activity gym. Very cute. The spouse has graciously given me permission to “have the afternoon off” while he takes care of the baby. Very sweet.. but I’m struggling to think what to do with it. I know I should try to book a massage for myself or even just go see a movie or something, but I’m a practical freak. I keep thinking that we’re out of olive oil, the dog should probably make it to the groomers, … the list goes on.
Oh, well. Even errands would be a nice break.
