a day in a mother's shoes

gentlemen,

as my first solo post to this blog, i have to tell you about the incredible willpower, stamina and love my wife displays in raising our child.

first let's set aside the 10 month gestation which includes constant nausea, hormonal (an thus mood) changes, physical and identity crises. this period culminates in squeezing a watermelon through a hole no larger than the circumfrence of a broom handle while an audience of 10 to 12 medical professionals have a clear shot of your wife's who-who in lights.

that aside, we are lucky enough to have amy stay home with morgen. additionally, because of a change in my work, i have been and will be working from the study in our house for the first 9 months of morgen's life.

during this time, i have been able to hear my wife care for and love our child. never one to complain, and not once interrupting my work day, i sometimes listen for her activity with our daughter. i hear playing and giggling, feeding and crying, talking and teaching and shush-ing. i envy my wife for being such a good mother. to give myself credit though, i saw this in her when we met and i knew she would be the mother of our children... and be great.

patience. i have to say that if i were to have to do what my wife loving does for our child, i would run out of the house every few hours speaking in tongues and amy would find me in the park, under a tree, in the fetal position, covered in mud and on the edge of sanity. i now know the definition of patience. let me tell you:

amy's schedule
7 to 7:15am - baby wakes up and is hungry. breast feed while baby chews on nipples. (think of your penis being bitten at the base - and not the good kind of bite...)

7:15 to 7:30 - change wet and smelly diaper (to put it mildly) and dress

7:30 to 8:00 - play with baby because she cannot do so on her own

8:00 to 8:30 - feed baby solids while baby spits and rubs food everywhere

8:30 to 9:00 - play with baby because she can do nothing on her own

9:00 to 9:10 - change the next present in her diaper

9:10 to 9:45 - supervise baby playing alone

9:45 to 10 or 10:15 - attempt to put baby down for 1st nap (stress "attempt")

10 or 10:15 to noon - hopefully baby sleeps the entire time, during which mom reads to educate
herself about baby's sleep patterns

noon to 12:15pm - baby wakes up and is hungry. breast feed while baby chews on now cracked nipples (no penis analogy needed here...)

12:15 to 12:30 - prepare lunch for adult humans

12:30 to 12:40 - change yet another diaper

12:40 to 1:00pm - eat lunch with husband with one hand while playing with baby with the other

1:00 to 1:30 - feed baby solids while baby cries for no reason

1:30 to 2:00 - play with baby and clean up vomit every five minutes

2:00 to 2:15 or 2:30 - attempt to put baby down for 2nd nap (stress "attempt")

2:15 or 2:30 to 4:30 or 5:00 - (hopefully) baby sleeps the entire time, during which mom reads to educate herself about baby's cognition and growth

5:00 to 5:30 - baby wakes up and is hungry. feed solids. hold shield to protect mom's body from flying debris

5:30 to 5:45 - change diaper with a knee in baby's chest so as to not let baby wiggle off of the changing table

6:00 to 6:30 - try to enfore "calm time" as baby seems to have more energy and more cute-ness than at any other time in the day

6:30 to 6:45 - bathtime, holding her the whole time for safety. a good bath is one where baby does not go #2 during this time

6:45 to 7:00 - breastfeed

7:00 to 7:15 or 7:30 - attempt to put baby down for what mom likes to call "1st nighttime nap"

7:15 or 7:30pm to 10 or 10:30 - while baby [maybe] sleeps, write blog on the latest news on baby, read to educate self on what more a mom can possibly do for her child

10 or 10:30 to anytime from 5:30 to 7:30am - be prepared and uncomfortable knowing that the baby will wake up, most likely to breastfeed, at least three times during the night, if mom is lucky. don't even think about a good night's sleep

... and do it all over again the next day. this, my friends, is patience. and for her patience and love, i love my wife and mother of our child even moreso...

JEL