The many faces of Emma
I understand why maternity leave generally covers the first 12 weeks of a baby’s life. It’s pretty obvious that those are the neediest 12 weeks of their lives. But I can’t help but observe that if, for example, I could take leave from weeks 6-18 or even 12-24…well, that would be pretty awesome.
See, at 10 weeks old, Emma has become somewhat predictable in her daily routine. She eats around the same times, stays awake for an hour or so, and then goes down for a nap. All this means that I’ve finally had time to enjoy being off work by doing things for myself in addition to taking care of my daughter.
(There are certainly exceptions to this. Last Friday, for instance, she decided she just didn’t feel like napping. At all. The entire day. And oh, she fussed accordingly. But in general, we’re settling into a loose schedule.)
Such a fashionable baby!
As I’ve found myself with marginally more free time, my “did do” list each day has gotten shorter — because I don’t bother to write down all the little things that felt like huge accomplishments only a month ago. This is a good thing! It’s starting to feel like life is returning to normal. It’s a NEW normal, for sure, but normal nonetheless.
Here’s what I’ve done today:
- Fed and changed Emma several times
- Pumped twice, with one more to go (I’m in the process of “weaning” from pumping, since Emma goes 100% formula in a week)
- Took Emma to meet Jose for lunch at Jason’s Deli
- Walked 3 miles with Emma in the BOB
- Sewed 4 new burp cloths (these days, we can’t have too many!)
- Did a bunch of laundry and some dishes
- Wrote this blog entry
Yep, we did all that, it’s only 6:00, and I still feel like it’s been kind of a slow day!
