Getting Back to Routine

Today was probably the first day I was mostly back on duty from the start of the day to the end. I am brushing up on my "newborn skills." I've shifted from being basically in charge of my day, knowing what would happen and when, and being able to make it happen . . . to being at the mercy of a newborn. I have a list of prioritized chores in my head at all time and, when I can get to them, I get to them. The baby falls asleep and, if I can put her down, I rush around doing the chores that require both hands and no baby on my chest. If the baby needs to nurse, I do a task that I can do sitting and one-handed. It's a strange (but familiar) feeling not to know what I'll be doing and when or to have any idea how far down my to-do list I'll be able to get in an hour or a day! For two glorious hours, Margaret slept and I was able to set her down (instead of having her sleep in the sling). So I took the opportunity to let the kids pick a craft for us to do together: they wanted to make puppets! John made two yaks (a mama and a baby named 'Ferdinand') and Mary made a bunny rabbit.

Margaret slept in her Moses basket nearby. I'm hoping she's getting accustomed to sleeping amidst her siblings' noise. Meanwhile, I am working on teaching the children not to touch her when she is asleep.

Referring to my prior post, another mystery in life I haven't figured out is how to make a two-year-old sleep. Mary dropped her nap at something ridiculously early like 18 months old. But she really can't make it through the day peacefully without a nap. If she doesn't nap, she is pretty unhappy (envision screaming and crying over every small insult) from afternoon till bedtime. I've been diligent about enforcing quiet time after lunch for nearly a year, but she rarely falls asleep during that time. I've tried making it a family nap (so she can snuggle with me) and I've tried requiring her to stay in her room alone, but neither usually results in ACTUAL SLEEP. Then sometimes, like today, she falls asleep late in the afternoon in the midst of playing and that messes up her bedtime.

I also managed to take the kids outside in the afternoon, where the weather was beautiful and spring has sprung! Plus we had another nice time drawing chalk and playing fireman on the driveway after dinner. But truth be told: we're still relying a lot on television to occupy the kids! I simply can't juggle it all quite yet--but I will!

I continue to be so grateful for the meals from our parish ladies. Enough ladies signed up to bring us meals for six weeks! That is making all the difference right now. I feel like I'm using all my strength and resources to learn how to take care of three little ones and I still need a lot of daily help from Chris. I'm just thrilled when dinner time comes and I can collapse in a chair and eat food that somebody else cooked.