Tick tock

Mondays just got a bit more challenging. School started back up for Mark again, and he has class on Monday nights until 8:30. That means that he takes off for work around 7:45 (unless he has a 7:00 conference call with China or Europe, which has been more frequent lately) so it's just us girls until after 9:00 pm. That's a long day for one person to be with an 11 week old!! Don't get me wrong, I love it and we have fun, but between getting my 8 hours of work in while she nurses and naps on my lap (the only place she will sleep these days), keeping her entertained when she's awake, trying to make and eat quick meals here and there...it's exhausting. And this teething thing is adding another dimension to the mix - sometimes she cries because she's in pain, and nothing I can do will fix it. Sometimes being a mom is heartbreaking! And then she looks up at me with a big smile, as if I'm the most important person in the world, and everything in the world seems right. We'll make it through this teething and through Mark's school just like we somehow made it through the colic (I seriously thought that would never end). And then I'll complain that I miss my baby, and where did the time go? heh

I just joined a local walking group for babywearers. They meet at the Mall of America and the skyways downtown (and local parks when the weather warms up!) which will be a really nice excuse for me and Claire to get a change of scenery. And it will be nice to meet some more moms who think and parent like I do. Most of my current friends are on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to a lot of parenting issues, or they don't have any kids so they don't even care about my views on vaccines or co-sleeping.

I better go and relieve Mark. He's been walking around and bouncing Claire since I left for the gym a few hours ago. Now that I've had a little time to unwind, it's time for a shift change. I cannot wait for summer...I think we'll both have more energy when the sun doesn't set at 4:00, and we can spend time outside.

Maybe tonight will be better than last...Claire and I went to bed at 8:30 (before Mark even got home - we were tired!) and she woke up about every hour to nurse and/or fuss until 4 am when I put my arm around her and felt a wet spot on her back. She had wet through her diaper and her little outfit was damp. So I fumbled in the dark and found another one in the clothes basket (full of clean clothes I haven't had time to fold or put away...). It was a footed onesie/pajama number that I snapped from the feet up to the top, but when I got to the top set of buttons I realized that it was too tight and wouldn't reach. The rest of it fit fine, so I left it and we went back to bed. When I woke up this morning and saw her laying there, grinning, with the ill-fitting outfit I couldn't help laughing. The collar had folded out and was laying flat like an adult button-down shirt - she looked like Career Claire, as if she just needed a strand of pearls and a blaser and she was ready to head to the office. I guess we'll need to get some more 6 month outfits, as the 3 monthers are getting too small! Mommy's little chunker... :)

Ok, really, time for bed!