Thursday, March 31, 2011
How Many Kids Do We Have???
We went grocery shopping on Sunday morning (yup, same trip as when Ree did her best to pull down my pants), and Jeff loaded the kids into the car while I was in the bathroom with Leon. When Leon and I emerged from the bathroom, the house was quiet. I looked around, was pretty sure we had everything, and Leon and I went outside. Before I climbed into the car I asked Jeff if he had the baby. He said he thought I had the baby. Oopsie. I headed back inside and I didn't spot Natalia in the hall by the front door or in the living room or in any of the other obvious places where she would be before a car trip. I finally found her sitting quietly in her carseat in our bedroom, looking at the windows. She was perfectly content and not the least bit concerned that she had nearly been forgotten. As Jeff pointed out, at least we remembered her before the kids had to ask where 'Talia was.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
They Love Me. They Really Love Me!
They're on to me. At some point, I think it was last Saturday, it became abundantly clear that the kids had all figured it out. Mommy is returning to work. And they are not happy about this at all. They have become clingy little monsters. While part of me is flattered, there is another part of me that is a bit overwhelmed by all of this...love. Michael has stopped sleeping again and is getting up early and taking short naps. Leon just wants "Cuddle!" and is constantly by my side. Natalia wants to nurse or be in the sling or both at all times. Even Ree is trying to attach herself to me. On Sunday morning we went grocery shopping. Yes, the whole family was out and about again. Ree opted to walk with me rather than ride in the cart with the boys. Ree wants to hold hands with me at all times now, even when walking from the couch in our living room to the bathroom. As we were walking down the freezer aisle at the grocery store, Ree decided to stick her hands in my jeans pocket since I was using one hand to hold food and the other to steady Natalia in the sling. This would've been okay except I was wearing maternity pants with an elastic waist, her hand was firmly in my pocket, and at one point I decided to walk when she decided to stay and look at something. This, of course, resulting in Ree managing to pull my pants partway down. Thankfully we were the only people on the aisle at that time. I still walked away murmuring my affirmations that this is all about love. Really it is.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Mmm...food
Jeff and I have developed a rating system for meals at our house. Everything we eat can be rated from one to five stars. However, unlike others who use stars to rate the quality of food, we use it to rate the number of people in our family who will actually eat it. Consequently, ramen with shredded cabbage is a five-star meal in our house because we are all weird like that.
The rating system is helpful because it prevents us from serving crazy things like lasagna (three-star) or hamburgers (sometimes only two-star) too often. Our biggest challenge is feeding Ree. She is picky by our standards, but it's hard, because we know we have no right to complain. Ree's food rules include no tomato sauce or cheese in any form except on pizza and almost no bread products. (This one kills me. How did I give birth to a non-carb eater???)
In trying to figure out how to keep everyone healthy on a budget, we also have to deal with the facts that we try to limit meat consumption to no more than a couple of meals a week and dinner time in our house in insane. There is never a guarantee that we can cook anything around 5:00 p.m.
One of the greatest things about being home on maternity leave, though, is that I've had time to plan meals and I can cook them in the afternoon while the kids are napping or Jeff and I can divide up cooking duties at dinner time. And so, for the past week, we have been able to indulge in Ree-approved, often five-star meals. We've had vegetable fried rice, minestrone soup, curried lentils, shrimp fajitas, and a couple of recipes from Ree's kid's cookbook including Chinese meatballs and one called Chicken and Couscous with Juice Juice. In my final week of leave we are having bangers and mash, stir-fry, baked fish and chips, another dish that happens to involve chicken and couscous, and a quinoa pilaf. It's going to be sad to return to a world of chicken nuggets or a child refusing to eat and starving because we are having something crazy like spaghetti for dinner when I return to work.
The rating system is helpful because it prevents us from serving crazy things like lasagna (three-star) or hamburgers (sometimes only two-star) too often. Our biggest challenge is feeding Ree. She is picky by our standards, but it's hard, because we know we have no right to complain. Ree's food rules include no tomato sauce or cheese in any form except on pizza and almost no bread products. (This one kills me. How did I give birth to a non-carb eater???)
In trying to figure out how to keep everyone healthy on a budget, we also have to deal with the facts that we try to limit meat consumption to no more than a couple of meals a week and dinner time in our house in insane. There is never a guarantee that we can cook anything around 5:00 p.m.
One of the greatest things about being home on maternity leave, though, is that I've had time to plan meals and I can cook them in the afternoon while the kids are napping or Jeff and I can divide up cooking duties at dinner time. And so, for the past week, we have been able to indulge in Ree-approved, often five-star meals. We've had vegetable fried rice, minestrone soup, curried lentils, shrimp fajitas, and a couple of recipes from Ree's kid's cookbook including Chinese meatballs and one called Chicken and Couscous with Juice Juice. In my final week of leave we are having bangers and mash, stir-fry, baked fish and chips, another dish that happens to involve chicken and couscous, and a quinoa pilaf. It's going to be sad to return to a world of chicken nuggets or a child refusing to eat and starving because we are having something crazy like spaghetti for dinner when I return to work.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Adventures
Yesterday Ree's preschool took a field trip to the main fire station in town, and we took the whole family on this adventure. Ree seemed to like it, but she was her usual shy self and didn't want to climb on the fire truck or jump on the giant beanbag chairs in the firefighters' lounge with the other kids. She was content to sit back and observe. Michael wanted to be in the middle of everything. He wanted to touch everything and climb on everything and enthusiastically responded when Fireman Mike wanted to give him a high five because they had the same name. Leon wanted to climb on the fire truck, but as soon as he got up on the chair in the front of the truck and realized he was about six feet in the air, he froze, and he was pretty content to ride in the stroller the rest of the day. And in case you were wondering, Natalia spent the tour in the sling rooting, not understanding why I would deny her food when we were outside and it was in the 50s and windy.
On our way home from this epic adventure, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up fried chicken for lunch as a special treat. We, of course, stopped to get every sample in the store, and the kids nibbled on apples, strawberries, cheese, ham, blueberry pound cake and cookies.
It was an epic day. As I was tucking the boys in last night, we talked about the day. The highlight, or at least the only part they would discuss, was when Mommy got them cookies at the grocery store. That is usually Daddy's job and the change was just crazy.
On our way home from this epic adventure, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up fried chicken for lunch as a special treat. We, of course, stopped to get every sample in the store, and the kids nibbled on apples, strawberries, cheese, ham, blueberry pound cake and cookies.
It was an epic day. As I was tucking the boys in last night, we talked about the day. The highlight, or at least the only part they would discuss, was when Mommy got them cookies at the grocery store. That is usually Daddy's job and the change was just crazy.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Birth Order
The night Natalia was born, she ate and ate and ate. Newborns typically don't eat much during the first 24 hours. Birth is just as hard on them as it is on the mom. (Can you imagine having your house crush you and force you out?) This was certainly true for Ree. She freaked me out by sleeping for 8 hours straight her first night. (She then more than made up for it by screaming until after 5:00 the second night.) But Natalia didn't get that message either, and so she cluster fed, meaning she would eat for awhile, take ten or fifteen minutes off, and then eat again, that whole first night.
And I certainly didn't want to stop her from eating. Natalia was born just before midnight. She had low blood sugar shortly after birth, and it was being checked intermittently until 4:30 a.m. If she could make in through that time without any problems, she would be left alone. If not, it meant more monitoring and a possible trip to the NICU. I don't think it's necessary to say how much I did not want her to go to the NICU.
So I fed her. And fed her. And fed her. She wanted to eat, and it kept her blood sugar stable. But I did start to get tired as the excitement of having a new baby wore off. Jeff and the kids left the hospital around 1:30, and Natalia and I got to go to our room around 2:00. Once Jeff got the big kids tucked back in, he and I texted from about 2:30 - 4:00, and that's when I really started to crash. We made it through the last blood sugar check with no problems, and I was ready to pass out. Natalia was in her bassinet next to my bed, and she started to fuss a little and root around for some food. I looked at her, told her those cries weren't serious yet, and passed out. I woke up ten or fifteen minutes later to the sounds of her still fussing a bit, and had a good giggle. Did I really tell a few hour old baby her cries weren't serious? And that's when I really realized that things really are a whole lot different with baby number four than they were with baby number one.
And I certainly didn't want to stop her from eating. Natalia was born just before midnight. She had low blood sugar shortly after birth, and it was being checked intermittently until 4:30 a.m. If she could make in through that time without any problems, she would be left alone. If not, it meant more monitoring and a possible trip to the NICU. I don't think it's necessary to say how much I did not want her to go to the NICU.
So I fed her. And fed her. And fed her. She wanted to eat, and it kept her blood sugar stable. But I did start to get tired as the excitement of having a new baby wore off. Jeff and the kids left the hospital around 1:30, and Natalia and I got to go to our room around 2:00. Once Jeff got the big kids tucked back in, he and I texted from about 2:30 - 4:00, and that's when I really started to crash. We made it through the last blood sugar check with no problems, and I was ready to pass out. Natalia was in her bassinet next to my bed, and she started to fuss a little and root around for some food. I looked at her, told her those cries weren't serious yet, and passed out. I woke up ten or fifteen minutes later to the sounds of her still fussing a bit, and had a good giggle. Did I really tell a few hour old baby her cries weren't serious? And that's when I really realized that things really are a whole lot different with baby number four than they were with baby number one.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Chef Leon's New Kitchen
I am a big fan of freecycle. In an effort to keep things out of landfills, it's a place for giving and getting items that no longer have any monetary value and couldn't be sold in a yard sale or donated to Goodwill. For example, I've posted (and found new homes for) the wax left from burnt out candles and a crock pot that was missing a dial causing you to need a pair of pliers to change the temperature setting.
I like freecycle for getting stuff too. I recently saw a post for a Melissa and Doug wooden kitchen, and I was picked to be the recipient. On Friday, while Natalia and I were out running errands, I went to get it. We got a minivan in January (yes, we finally succumbed), and my plan was to just throw the kitchen in the back. Unfortunately, I quickly realized I wouldn't be just throwing this kitchen anywhere. The thing weighed 40 or 50 pounds. So I dragged the dang thing about 15 feet from the nice donor's carport to the van. Phew. In addiiton to being heavier than I anticipated, it was quite a bit larger too. I realized I would have to take the double stroller out of the back so that the kitchen could sit all the way down in the well behind the last seat. Because we have four carseats all buckled in, there isn't much room in the passenger area. So the monster stroller got to ride shotgun in the front. I hoisted the kitchen up, and realized it wouldn't fit the way I originally planned. So I finagled it and turned it around. Still wouldn't fit. Turned it on its side. No go. Finally put it back on the ground. Fifteen minutes, and numerous attempts later, I got it all the way in the van and was able to close the doors. In the process, I learned the value of a "stow-and-go" rear seat and discovered that wit a little Tetrising, carseats can be stacked.
As I started to pull out of their driveway, the van started beeping frantically at me. The stroller, wedged into the front passenger seat, was not buckled in. Go safety features.
All of this seemed like an awful lot of work and a much bigger pain than anticipated. But then I brought the kitchen home. Leon's reaction made it totally worthwhile. He didn't smile or thank me. He just went straight to work. The kids were all excited about it, and while they explored, I fed Natalia. I checked on the kids after about 15 minutes, and I noticed the kitchen was stocked with toy dishes in the cabinet, toy food in the fridge and freezer, and a tray of cookies on the oven. I asked Ree who had done all that. She quickly replied that it was Leon, and she used a tone like I should've known better. Later, Leon grabbed my arm and dragged me to the toy room while saying, "Show me!" He wanted to show me his kitchen. As he pointed out the sink, refrigerator, freezer, oven, microwave, and stove, I figured out his reaction. Chef Leon was relieved to finally have his own kitchen.
I like freecycle for getting stuff too. I recently saw a post for a Melissa and Doug wooden kitchen, and I was picked to be the recipient. On Friday, while Natalia and I were out running errands, I went to get it. We got a minivan in January (yes, we finally succumbed), and my plan was to just throw the kitchen in the back. Unfortunately, I quickly realized I wouldn't be just throwing this kitchen anywhere. The thing weighed 40 or 50 pounds. So I dragged the dang thing about 15 feet from the nice donor's carport to the van. Phew. In addiiton to being heavier than I anticipated, it was quite a bit larger too. I realized I would have to take the double stroller out of the back so that the kitchen could sit all the way down in the well behind the last seat. Because we have four carseats all buckled in, there isn't much room in the passenger area. So the monster stroller got to ride shotgun in the front. I hoisted the kitchen up, and realized it wouldn't fit the way I originally planned. So I finagled it and turned it around. Still wouldn't fit. Turned it on its side. No go. Finally put it back on the ground. Fifteen minutes, and numerous attempts later, I got it all the way in the van and was able to close the doors. In the process, I learned the value of a "stow-and-go" rear seat and discovered that wit a little Tetrising, carseats can be stacked.
As I started to pull out of their driveway, the van started beeping frantically at me. The stroller, wedged into the front passenger seat, was not buckled in. Go safety features.
All of this seemed like an awful lot of work and a much bigger pain than anticipated. But then I brought the kitchen home. Leon's reaction made it totally worthwhile. He didn't smile or thank me. He just went straight to work. The kids were all excited about it, and while they explored, I fed Natalia. I checked on the kids after about 15 minutes, and I noticed the kitchen was stocked with toy dishes in the cabinet, toy food in the fridge and freezer, and a tray of cookies on the oven. I asked Ree who had done all that. She quickly replied that it was Leon, and she used a tone like I should've known better. Later, Leon grabbed my arm and dragged me to the toy room while saying, "Show me!" He wanted to show me his kitchen. As he pointed out the sink, refrigerator, freezer, oven, microwave, and stove, I figured out his reaction. Chef Leon was relieved to finally have his own kitchen.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Smarty Pants
A few weeks ago Ree looked at me and very seriously said, "Mom, we need to do more science activities." Um, yeah. I will get right on that. Just after I figure out how to bathe everyone in a single day. Thankfully, Ree is as ambitious as she is curious, and she took it upon herself to learn more about the natural world when Jeff and I failed her. The other day I found her planning a lesson because she was teaching at "Abby's (stuffed animal/imaginary friend) preschool." She had all her science books out - they would be learning about nature and senses and animals - and she was supplementing with pictures from National Geographic kids. This child knows how to plan an integrated, cross-curricular lesson! We also spend all our car rides, and occasional moments at home playing a game she made up called Guess That Wild Animal in which you give clues to describe a wild animal. The other day I started listening to the clues. This is a mammal...this animal is nocturnal...this insect undergoes a metamorphosis. It occurred to me that it won't be long before Ree is much, much smarter than us. Like before she goes to kindergarten.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Sturdy
Natalia has apparently not yet got the memo informing her that we are a family of little people. Even though she was born 10 - 14 days early depending on how you count, she weighed nearly 8 pounds and was in the 63rd percentile for weight. The pediatric nurse practitioner who examined her the morning after she was born proclaimed her to be "sturdy" which was a kind way of saying my baby clearly resembled the Michelin man.
Her weight took a dip, and she was still not back to her birth weight at her two week checkup. Thankfully, we have a wonderful pediatrician who assesses the entire situation, and she was not concerned once she factored in that Natalia had gained 5 ounces in the past 10 days, was not a first child so we knew what we were doing food wise, had grown an inch and a quarter in length since birth, and was REALLY active. Even at two weeks old, Natalia was always moving when awake. She's been lifting her head since the night she was born. It's like she knows she has three older siblings to keep up with.
After the dip in weight at two weeks, we assumed she'd figured out that we were little, but so far she's proving us wrong. By the time she was a month old, she had outgrown all of her newborn size clothes. By last week she was wearing outfits Ree got for Christmas when she was four months old, and Natalia's feet no longer fit in her size 0 - 3 months sleepers. Over the weekend I had to actually go shopping for her, and I bought her size 3 - 6 months sleepers. I expected them to swallow her. While there is still plenty of room width wise, they are about the right length. This is weird!
Her weight took a dip, and she was still not back to her birth weight at her two week checkup. Thankfully, we have a wonderful pediatrician who assesses the entire situation, and she was not concerned once she factored in that Natalia had gained 5 ounces in the past 10 days, was not a first child so we knew what we were doing food wise, had grown an inch and a quarter in length since birth, and was REALLY active. Even at two weeks old, Natalia was always moving when awake. She's been lifting her head since the night she was born. It's like she knows she has three older siblings to keep up with.
After the dip in weight at two weeks, we assumed she'd figured out that we were little, but so far she's proving us wrong. By the time she was a month old, she had outgrown all of her newborn size clothes. By last week she was wearing outfits Ree got for Christmas when she was four months old, and Natalia's feet no longer fit in her size 0 - 3 months sleepers. Over the weekend I had to actually go shopping for her, and I bought her size 3 - 6 months sleepers. I expected them to swallow her. While there is still plenty of room width wise, they are about the right length. This is weird!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Terrible Twos
The time has finally come for Michael to hit his terrible twos. With Leon, it wasn't easy. I'm sure no parent ever thinks it's easy. Leon's power struggles mostly involved him hiding, impish smile firmly in place, and refusing to do things. Like refusing to get his diaper changed. Or refusing to put on shoes so we could take him to the park and to get ice cream for a day of super fun. It was an interesting time. We mostly dealt with it by learning to hold him with one arm away from our bodies so he couldn't kick us. I'm sure I looked extra funny walking around with a gigantic pregnant belly and a toddler bicycling his legs in space like he had just run off a cliff in a Road Runner cartoon
Michael, however, is convinced the world is out to get him. Michael can also talk, unlike Leon who was still fairly silent throughout his fun phase. And Michael lets us know just how unfair life is many, many times every few minutes. He's even resorted to full meltdowns. You know those obnoxious kids you see at the store or a restaurant that are wailing away? Yup. That's Mikey. Even visits from grandparents aren't fully curing the drama.
So this is when we remind ourselves that this too shall pass. And look really forward to a round of green beer.
Michael, however, is convinced the world is out to get him. Michael can also talk, unlike Leon who was still fairly silent throughout his fun phase. And Michael lets us know just how unfair life is many, many times every few minutes. He's even resorted to full meltdowns. You know those obnoxious kids you see at the store or a restaurant that are wailing away? Yup. That's Mikey. Even visits from grandparents aren't fully curing the drama.
So this is when we remind ourselves that this too shall pass. And look really forward to a round of green beer.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Clean!
Just some late night rambling...a lot of it was typed one handed...you've been warned...
All I wanted to do today was clean the bathrooms. Ironically, I was cleaning them because we have guest coming in this weekend, and they are coming to help and do things like, oh, clean. But the bathroom were toxic. They hadn't been cleaned since we last had help in town, so I thought I would at least remove the outermost layer of ick and make sure they didn't smell. The hardest part of the process is scrubbing the tub in the master bathroom. We have a garden tub (love it! People always say you will never use it, but when all is well, I'm sitting in that tub at least once a week. It is what got me through this last pregnancy.), and it is a pain to clean. Partly because I am short, and it is really hard for me to stand on the bathroom floor, reach across the tub, and clean the bathroom. It's also a pain because it's one of those one-piece things instead of tile (very technical terms here), and it's made of some weird plastic that dirt and mold cling too. You have to SCRUB it to get everything off. But I had already cleaned that last week, so the hard part was done. This actually seemed like a chore that could be accomplished.
For most of day, I really didn't think it would happen. Looking back, I have no idea what we really did today. The kids did all get haircuts. Jeff decided to take a turn at trying to cut Michael's hair. Michael has a lot of hair. That is all there is to it. And he actually sat pretty still for Jeff, so he got a lollipop at the end of his haircut. After that, Leon and Ree, of course, demanded haircuts so they could get lollipops. Leon's was funny. I had just cut his hair a couple of weeks ago, so all I could do was cut off his curls. When we were done the floor was covered in little circles and "C"s of hair. Ree got a much-needed trim on the back. One of these years the side that she cut herself last fall should finally catch up with the hair in the back.
After the haircuts, I gave Michael a bath since he was COVERED in hair trimmings. While he was in the tub, I started cleaning the bathroom. Before long, he had a potty emergency. The good news is that he recognized he had to go and was able to hold it. The bad news was that he didn't want to use the potty, so I had to stop cleaning and hurry up and wash him so we could get a diaper on before he had an accident. (Michael is definitely a candidate for the cold turkey, throw away the diapers and just wear underwear method of potty training.)
I thought I would quickly finish cleaning that bathroom after his bath, but I realized it was already 12:15, and the kids usually eat lunch by 11:30 on the days when I'm making food. (Oddly, they don't eat until at least 12:30 or 1:00 on daddy days.) I did finish cleaning that bathroom while the kids ate.
By the time I was ready to sit down and eat lunch while the kids finished, Natalia was ready to eat. Actually, now I know what I did most of the day. I fed Natalia. Same thing I've done all day every day this week. I've been told babies have growth spurts on the "3's and 6's" meaning the growth spurts occur at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. Apparently she got the memo, since she turned 6 weeks today. The days are running together now, so I'm not sure when it happened, but after two nights of sleeping well, she got hungry. That third night she ate on and off all evening, with more time on than off. Then she ate from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. Continuously. I went to make some breadsticks because I was a bit exhausted from all that life sustaining. Before the things came out of the oven (and they only baked for 10 minutes!) she was up again, and she ate for another hour and a half. Got up twice during the night to eat too, and was up for the day at eating at 7:15.
Today was more of the same. As a result, baths were late, and instead of getting everyone tucked in by 8:00 or 8:30 at the latest, it was 9:10 when I finally got Ree to bed. Went to clean our bathroom, but Natalia needed to eat again, despite Jeff having just given her a bottle while I helped Ree get ready for bed. While I was feeding her, totally zoned out and watched Million Dollar Listing on Bravo. What a worthless show, but it gave me the motivation I needed to clean. Finished feeding Natalia, tucked her into the swing (yes, she too has become a swing sleeper), and gave the bathroom a 5-minute cleaning. The day was a success.
All I wanted to do today was clean the bathrooms. Ironically, I was cleaning them because we have guest coming in this weekend, and they are coming to help and do things like, oh, clean. But the bathroom were toxic. They hadn't been cleaned since we last had help in town, so I thought I would at least remove the outermost layer of ick and make sure they didn't smell. The hardest part of the process is scrubbing the tub in the master bathroom. We have a garden tub (love it! People always say you will never use it, but when all is well, I'm sitting in that tub at least once a week. It is what got me through this last pregnancy.), and it is a pain to clean. Partly because I am short, and it is really hard for me to stand on the bathroom floor, reach across the tub, and clean the bathroom. It's also a pain because it's one of those one-piece things instead of tile (very technical terms here), and it's made of some weird plastic that dirt and mold cling too. You have to SCRUB it to get everything off. But I had already cleaned that last week, so the hard part was done. This actually seemed like a chore that could be accomplished.
For most of day, I really didn't think it would happen. Looking back, I have no idea what we really did today. The kids did all get haircuts. Jeff decided to take a turn at trying to cut Michael's hair. Michael has a lot of hair. That is all there is to it. And he actually sat pretty still for Jeff, so he got a lollipop at the end of his haircut. After that, Leon and Ree, of course, demanded haircuts so they could get lollipops. Leon's was funny. I had just cut his hair a couple of weeks ago, so all I could do was cut off his curls. When we were done the floor was covered in little circles and "C"s of hair. Ree got a much-needed trim on the back. One of these years the side that she cut herself last fall should finally catch up with the hair in the back.
After the haircuts, I gave Michael a bath since he was COVERED in hair trimmings. While he was in the tub, I started cleaning the bathroom. Before long, he had a potty emergency. The good news is that he recognized he had to go and was able to hold it. The bad news was that he didn't want to use the potty, so I had to stop cleaning and hurry up and wash him so we could get a diaper on before he had an accident. (Michael is definitely a candidate for the cold turkey, throw away the diapers and just wear underwear method of potty training.)
I thought I would quickly finish cleaning that bathroom after his bath, but I realized it was already 12:15, and the kids usually eat lunch by 11:30 on the days when I'm making food. (Oddly, they don't eat until at least 12:30 or 1:00 on daddy days.) I did finish cleaning that bathroom while the kids ate.
By the time I was ready to sit down and eat lunch while the kids finished, Natalia was ready to eat. Actually, now I know what I did most of the day. I fed Natalia. Same thing I've done all day every day this week. I've been told babies have growth spurts on the "3's and 6's" meaning the growth spurts occur at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. Apparently she got the memo, since she turned 6 weeks today. The days are running together now, so I'm not sure when it happened, but after two nights of sleeping well, she got hungry. That third night she ate on and off all evening, with more time on than off. Then she ate from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. Continuously. I went to make some breadsticks because I was a bit exhausted from all that life sustaining. Before the things came out of the oven (and they only baked for 10 minutes!) she was up again, and she ate for another hour and a half. Got up twice during the night to eat too, and was up for the day at eating at 7:15.
Today was more of the same. As a result, baths were late, and instead of getting everyone tucked in by 8:00 or 8:30 at the latest, it was 9:10 when I finally got Ree to bed. Went to clean our bathroom, but Natalia needed to eat again, despite Jeff having just given her a bottle while I helped Ree get ready for bed. While I was feeding her, totally zoned out and watched Million Dollar Listing on Bravo. What a worthless show, but it gave me the motivation I needed to clean. Finished feeding Natalia, tucked her into the swing (yes, she too has become a swing sleeper), and gave the bathroom a 5-minute cleaning. The day was a success.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sustaining Life
I had somehow blocked out how much time is spent just sustaining life when you have a newborn. The hours spent feeding the baby and changing diapers are staggering. At one point when Leon and Michael were newborns, I did the math. I don't remember the results, and I'm scared to look at them, but I know the total hours spent on feeding each day was in the double digits.
Thankfully, so far Natalia has been a pretty easy baby, especially at night. She gets up, eats, and goes back to sleep. She only wakes up to eat or burp. Which has been wonderful, since I don't know what we'd do if we had a super-needy baby right now. But we still spend a lot of time on really basic care.
When we want to get fancy, we throw bathing into the mix. The other kids generally get nightly baths. (Leon and Michael ALWAYS get nightly baths, and Ree is allowed to opt out a few times a month.) Natalia gets bathed every other night, after every else goes to bed. Of all the kids, she probably needs a daily bath the most with the spitting up and pooping after every meal, but it's hard to find the energy to do it, and thankfully she hasn't filed a complaint with child services just yet.
But there's no time sucker with a new baby like the laundry.
Thankfully, so far Natalia has been a pretty easy baby, especially at night. She gets up, eats, and goes back to sleep. She only wakes up to eat or burp. Which has been wonderful, since I don't know what we'd do if we had a super-needy baby right now. But we still spend a lot of time on really basic care.
When we want to get fancy, we throw bathing into the mix. The other kids generally get nightly baths. (Leon and Michael ALWAYS get nightly baths, and Ree is allowed to opt out a few times a month.) Natalia gets bathed every other night, after every else goes to bed. Of all the kids, she probably needs a daily bath the most with the spitting up and pooping after every meal, but it's hard to find the energy to do it, and thankfully she hasn't filed a complaint with child services just yet.
But there's no time sucker with a new baby like the laundry.
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