Thursday, February 18, 2010

Baby Mine

I have a problem, in the form of an almost 20-pound, almost 9-month old baby girl who sleeps with me, or more accurately, on me every night. I love this sweet, beautiful child...

 

how could I not? But when she is ready to go to sleep, usually around 8 o'clock, my night is kaput. Things that really need to get done, such as laundry and dishes, are either put off until the next day or else I have to let my darling scream bloody murder while she watches me do my chores. Needless to say we usually wake up to dirty dishes, and the laundry, well...never mind. If I don't plan well, and I usually don't, things like peeing and brushing my teeth become difficult feats. Generally I wind up on the couch with my laptop, my activity choices having been narrowed down considerably. At the moment, I have no books to read, and I'm not too into watching the television. So I spend far too much time on the internet, quite often doing the hunt-and-peck typing technique since Mathilda likes me to cradle her while she sleeps, leaving me with the use of only one hand. If I'm lucky I can carefully remove my (numb) arm from under her (think pick-up sticks) after awhile. My goal is to use this time to blog more often, instead of aimlessly roaming the realms of cyberspace or indulging my crack habit, otherwise known as Facebook. A really good night is when I can transfer my not-so-little bundle to the couch or my bed to sleep on her own for awhile (forget the crib, not happening, especially because I live in fear of Waking the Big Kids). If this maneuver is successful, I generally have enough time to change into my jammies, brush my teeth, use the bathroom, and, if I go into hyper-speed mode, throw a load of laundry into the washer or dryer.

I know I need to do something about this problem. Some nights I want to scream, especially if I try repeatedly to put her down and she wakes up loudly every time. I like to get things done at night when the kids are sleeping, which is not possible as of late. Besides the basics household chores that need to be accomplished, I'd love to get out my sewing machine or my Cricut, or perhaps a Pilates dvd. When I'm ready to hit the hay, I don't so much mind sleeping with Mathilda (most of the time). The truth is, having a little person love you so much and want to be with you constantly is pretty much irresistible. And I know this is just a stage, it won't last forever. In the blink of an eye, my baby will be a big kid. I am going to figure out a way to break this habit, but in the meantime, I'm going to do my best to enjoy every second of it.

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