It's Official: I'm Living on "Baby Time"
How can manage my hectic life when I when my baby makes every task take forever?
I've been meaning to find a few minutes to write this blog post all weekend. Three or four times I've sat down to do it. But each time, I've been interrupted by Baby G. She's wet. She's hungry. Her starting-to-erupt teeth are bothering her. Sometimes, she just wants me to pick her up and play with her for a few minutes, or she's not willing to nap in her bassinet and prefers to snuggle up in my arms for the rest of her afternoon sleep. Whatever G needs or wants at any given moment trumps all.
In other words, I'm living on BabyTime.
BabyTime is an alternate universe into which new mothers fall for the first year or so after a new baby arrives. Everything slows down; things that used to take ten minutes take an hour. Trying to leave the house for a shopping excursion or work or church means packing and repacking the diaper bag, undressing the baby to change a diaper, offering a feeding, and finally leaving an hour after you intended to get out the door. The idea of uninterrupted time to clean the house, shave my legs or finish a freelance project are things of the past.
More on Baby's First Year: How Did a Brooklyn Girl End Up With San Francisco Babies?
Baby G is my fifth child - and my last. I've experienced BabyTime after each of my babies arrived, but it took me a while to figure out how to relax and go with it. I sometimes used to find it very frustrating to feel like nothing was getting done, or like entire weekends disappeared into a haze of baby-holding.
But now, I understand that this period of slowed-down time actually goes unimaginably fast, and I have surrendered to BabyTime. To be honest, I'm enjoying every second of it. Every other element of my life too often moves at the speed of frantic. But BabyTime doesn't know frantic.
To read more about how Katie adjusts to living in "Baby Time" and share your tips for managing your time as a mom, head to Baby's First Year.
MORE ON BABY'S FIRST YEAR:
How Can I Alleviate My Baby's Suffering During the Cold Med Recall?
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