Quite possibly the most difficult aspect of being a mother is not being able to sleep whenever I want. I have always wanted to sleep longer than the average person, and have been known to sleep for twelve to fourteen hours at a time when given the chance. Of course with little ones, I can't just say, "I'm not going to change your poopy diaper or feed you because I'm just too tired." While I was pregnant with Atticus, there were days when I was so wiped out that I would put a Baby Einstein DVD on the "repeat" setting, put a huge pile of Cheerios and a sippy cup of water on the coffee table, close off the bedroom and bathroom doors, block the garbage can, and sleep on the couch while Netty played, watched her show, and ate her snack.
In some ways I'm not as tired since having Atticus as I was when he was in the womb. And this is a very good thing, since I can no longer afford to sleep on the couch and let TWO babies fend for themselves. What it means, though, is that we have busy days and we have lazy days, and when I feel like I need a lazy day, I have one. We prolong the morning routine, and it gently breaks me in to the day.
Sometimes I pull Netty in bed with me for a little "cuddle time." Usually, it turns into Netty climbing all over me and kicking me in the face and stepping on my stomach and pulling my hair. But while she's feeling snuggley, it's wonderful.
She still drinks a bottle some mornings, and she lounges while she does it.
After finding several bottles all over the house, we made a rule that she has to stay on the couch to drink her milk. This works well, since the two babies wake up at about the same time. I heat up Netty's milk and give it to her while I feed Atticus.
Even lazy days are busy and make me want to scream. One thing that I love about being a stay-at-home mom, though, is that I have moments like this to breathe.
Some days I just feel like this:
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