Precious time, feverish teething toddler and late night bubble baths
All day now, I wait for it ...
That blessed chunk of time with no babies.
No screaming. No whining. No nursing the newborn (I actually get to walk around!). No trying to find something (anything!) the toddler will eat. No endless changing of diapers (sometimes I think Nathan purposefully waits for a clean diaper before pooping). No saying no to the toddler who is determined these days to only get into stuff she's not supposed to.
Free time, it's called. It should be wonderful.
But as soon as it begins, I feel like there is a giant clock overhead, ticking down the seconds. I really should rest (maybe even nap?!) but I become seized with anxiety, suffocating with possibilities. What should I do first? Take a shower? Eat? Read a book? Cook a meal? Fold baby clothes? Actually unpack my suitcase from last weekend?
It usually comes down to productivity vs relaxation and sleeping is the one thing I can't do any other time but how can I relax when there's so much to do?!
And nothing seems good enough for this precious resource to be spent on. I sometimes end up frittering it away because I can't focus on one thing and instead end up doing 20 little things all over the place that aren't even that important. Last week I reorganized my kitchen cupboards in a panicked frenzy. Yesterday I polished Mela's shoes.
And I spend a lot of the time trying not to go to the bathroom, since simply walking up the stairs sometimes is enough to wake Mela. And then the party's over. It's crazy what you'll suffer for the sake of freedom.
Right now, obviously, I'm posting on the blog. Clearly a low priority, time suck but it's the first thing I thought of. Because, of course, you need to see pictures.
Update:
It's been three days and I still haven't had time to post this! Turns out, simply grabbing some pictures from the camera is too much to ask some days.
Meanwhile, our girl Mela is sick. Had a high (104 F) fever yesterday and was very cranky-pants. Wouldn't even look at me when I said good morning to her! We figure it's the terrible, terrible teething that's causing it (red, angry, swollen lumps in her mouth) ... when will it ever end?!
Because of this, sleep in this house is a scarce resource right now. She was up Friday night (lucky Chris was with her from 3 - 5 am while I was feeding Nathan - these are the days, right??) and then again last night. Mela and I actually had a great bath together at 1 am (bubbles!) and then I took her to bed with me for a few hours, though we didn't get the comforting snuggle I'd hoped for (mostly just squirming and jabbering).
At one point, I had both kids in bed with me and was struck by how much times have changed ... when did my husband move out and two kids move in?!
Chris and I did still manage to get out last night though (Mike and Jill's Going Away party - couldn't be missed). It's amazing how much time can go by now without seeing people. There were a couple people there who didn't know we'd had another baby and thought Nathan was Amelia!
Not sure if that's a sign that we don't see people often enough or that we're having kids way too close together. Probably a bit of both ...
Mela is having a MASSIVE sleep right now though (it's almost noon and she's still asleep from last night!), so hopefully she'll wake up feeling better.
Ah, weekends. How I miss them so ...
Photos:
Mela is not happy about the onset of hat weather:
Get this thing off me!
Okay, maybe I do look cute:
Nathan displays his advanced physique in a 3-6 month sleeper (thanks, Aunt Cathi!):
Supermodel Mela shows off her pigtails:
Okay, just because you're cute, doesn't mean you get to play with my cellphone:
Nathan was asleep with one arm in the air. Call me crazy, I thought it was cute:
Nathan and his dad, watching soccer on a Saturday morning. Nathan was fascinated - maybe all the green was a good contrast??
Sickie girl, beached on the couch, eating a teething biscuit (who are they kidding - it's a cookie!) and watching Dora.
Mela calls her grandma (on the remote) to tell her that she's sick, while Nathan keeps an eye on the ceiling fan:
A rare sight - the parents at a party. Notice that Nathan is holding my baby finger hostage, as usual:
That blessed chunk of time with no babies.
No screaming. No whining. No nursing the newborn (I actually get to walk around!). No trying to find something (anything!) the toddler will eat. No endless changing of diapers (sometimes I think Nathan purposefully waits for a clean diaper before pooping). No saying no to the toddler who is determined these days to only get into stuff she's not supposed to.
Free time, it's called. It should be wonderful.
But as soon as it begins, I feel like there is a giant clock overhead, ticking down the seconds. I really should rest (maybe even nap?!) but I become seized with anxiety, suffocating with possibilities. What should I do first? Take a shower? Eat? Read a book? Cook a meal? Fold baby clothes? Actually unpack my suitcase from last weekend?
It usually comes down to productivity vs relaxation and sleeping is the one thing I can't do any other time but how can I relax when there's so much to do?!
And nothing seems good enough for this precious resource to be spent on. I sometimes end up frittering it away because I can't focus on one thing and instead end up doing 20 little things all over the place that aren't even that important. Last week I reorganized my kitchen cupboards in a panicked frenzy. Yesterday I polished Mela's shoes.
And I spend a lot of the time trying not to go to the bathroom, since simply walking up the stairs sometimes is enough to wake Mela. And then the party's over. It's crazy what you'll suffer for the sake of freedom.
Right now, obviously, I'm posting on the blog. Clearly a low priority, time suck but it's the first thing I thought of. Because, of course, you need to see pictures.
Update:
It's been three days and I still haven't had time to post this! Turns out, simply grabbing some pictures from the camera is too much to ask some days.
Meanwhile, our girl Mela is sick. Had a high (104 F) fever yesterday and was very cranky-pants. Wouldn't even look at me when I said good morning to her! We figure it's the terrible, terrible teething that's causing it (red, angry, swollen lumps in her mouth) ... when will it ever end?!
Because of this, sleep in this house is a scarce resource right now. She was up Friday night (lucky Chris was with her from 3 - 5 am while I was feeding Nathan - these are the days, right??) and then again last night. Mela and I actually had a great bath together at 1 am (bubbles!) and then I took her to bed with me for a few hours, though we didn't get the comforting snuggle I'd hoped for (mostly just squirming and jabbering).
At one point, I had both kids in bed with me and was struck by how much times have changed ... when did my husband move out and two kids move in?!
Chris and I did still manage to get out last night though (Mike and Jill's Going Away party - couldn't be missed). It's amazing how much time can go by now without seeing people. There were a couple people there who didn't know we'd had another baby and thought Nathan was Amelia!
Not sure if that's a sign that we don't see people often enough or that we're having kids way too close together. Probably a bit of both ...
Mela is having a MASSIVE sleep right now though (it's almost noon and she's still asleep from last night!), so hopefully she'll wake up feeling better.
Ah, weekends. How I miss them so ...
Photos:
Mela is not happy about the onset of hat weather:
Get this thing off me!
Okay, maybe I do look cute:
Nathan displays his advanced physique in a 3-6 month sleeper (thanks, Aunt Cathi!):
Supermodel Mela shows off her pigtails:
Okay, just because you're cute, doesn't mean you get to play with my cellphone:
Nathan was asleep with one arm in the air. Call me crazy, I thought it was cute:
Nathan and his dad, watching soccer on a Saturday morning. Nathan was fascinated - maybe all the green was a good contrast??
Sickie girl, beached on the couch, eating a teething biscuit (who are they kidding - it's a cookie!) and watching Dora.
Mela calls her grandma (on the remote) to tell her that she's sick, while Nathan keeps an eye on the ceiling fan:
A rare sight - the parents at a party. Notice that Nathan is holding my baby finger hostage, as usual:
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