Back to reality

There's some new pics and video here.
Flickr


In the six weeks since Theo's birth, Greg and I have been on vacation, hanging around at home, figuring out the needs of a newborn, and the needs of parents of a newborn. Greg went back to work a week ago and it's definitely weird without him. So THIS is how it's going to be, moving forward.

It's interesting trying to get chores and errands done within Theo's requirements. Now, I can't just hand him off to someone when I need my hands, or leave him at home when it's time to go out. I take showers with the monitor in the bathroom. I keep hearing phantom crying in the drone of the bathroom fan and drumming of the shower but the monitor shows me he's asleep the entire time.

I did a full market run with Theo in tow and I have to say, I was pretty proud of it. One of my bigger fears is him melting down in public and me not able to handle it without bailing. I tried to have him asleep by the time we got there but he was cranky when we arrived. It took a few laps in the shopping cart outside the market to get him to sleep, and from then on, I just had to keep the cart moving to keep him napping. At one point he roused a little and a few laps in the bread aisle got him to settle again. Go, mom, go!

I cooked dinner nearly every night last week and plan to do the same going forward. This may not sound like much but for me it's a triumph. Greg used to be the chef around here. I mean "plan" literally, as meal planning and shopping for a full week at a time is the only way I can stay on track.

I didn't realize how little I would get done in one day. Between his feedings and doing the basics of cooking, cleaning, and caring for myself (oh yeah, I have to eat too) there isn't much time for anything else. This blog post took a week to write. A big time eater is my afternoon nap, which is beyond necessary after my long nights.

In the last few days Theo has developed a routine (!) of being wakeful at around 9am for well over an hour. During this time we got the newest video you can see above, of him actually playing with purpose. He's beginning to react to the mirror, too. After his happy morning time he usually has a sleepy day and a cranky evening. His night feedings are shorter and more sleepy as well. (All trends subject to change without notice.)

His cranky periods require diligence. Feed, burp, feed, burp, diaper, feed, burp...it can go on for 2 hours or more. These marathon sessions can be exhausting. It helps if I have a bottle ready to assist, as he conks out quicker from the steady, easy flow of the bottle. It's also less wear and tear on me. When he's finally too ramped up to eat any more, we wrap him up and get him to nap. He responds very well to white noise which we try to keep as a last resort tactic.

In any case I feel I have completely given myself over to my new way of life. Waking up at odd hours and sleeping at others has stopped feeling wrong. Wrestling with him for 2 hours a day has also become routine. I continue to be amazed at human adaptation.