Back in the swing

Finally, we seem to be settling back into our normal routine. As nice as it was to have Joe around for three weeks, I was beginning to miss the easy rhythm that Lily and I had established. And because I'm such a neurotic neat freak, having another person around meant more dishes, more clutter, more stress. 


Last week was pretty rough for Lily. I think it was the transition back home plus a growth spurt. I swear she's like 3 inches longer. The first night we were back she slept very soundly, but used me as a punching bag for most of the night. Maybe she was just working off some of the stored up energy from being in the car for two days. She was kicking and hitting and squirming. I kept trying to get out of her way, but I still ended up with bruises in the morning. She slept all the way through baby yoga on Tuesday morning (along with the other babies which meant we got to do mama yoga instead. Musta been the phase of the moon or something.). Wednesday was awful. She started doing this weird groaning and pushing back thing interspersed with bouts of screaming. Nothing seemed to help and I tried everything. I haven't been so relieved to hand her off to Joe ever. She continued to be cranky the rest of the week. This made it hard for me to exercise, which makes me irritable. Also we were eating lots of frozen meals and take-out because I couldn't cook. 


This week has been the complete opposite. Each day has been better than the last. Lily is sleeping great, nursing great, and having lots of fun playing with her new toys. She's even tolerating sitting in her highchair while I cook and clean. I got a new cake book, and a rotating cake stand is in the mail on its way to me. Right now I have some yogurt culturing in the kitchen, all the dishes are done and Lily is sitting in my lap trying to fit both her foot and the ear of her Purple Bear in her mouth at the same time. 


With the swings back and forth between good and horrible, I've been thinking a lot about going back to work. I've even gone so far as to send my resume a few places. I really don't know what to do. Part of me is definitely ready to be doing something other than just making silly faces and changing diapers all day. Another part of me doesn't want to be gone a single minute. And yet another part of me knows that I would be totally stressed out because I wouldn't be able to do the things I like (exercise, cook, and clean) as well as work even part-time and take care of Lily. And realistically, in any part-time job I could get I would only earn enough to pay for childcare. It's a zero-sum game. Sigh. 


Lily has a bunch of new tricks. She rolls over in both directions and likes to scoot around on her tummy if you put your hands behind her feet to push off of. She is also working on sitting up by herself. And she's suddenly become a lot more vocal. We must be using her squeaky giraffe chew toy too much because she's started emitting a high pitched squeal all of the time. Her little hands are getting to be very dextrous and quick. We had lunch at Chili's on our trip to Nebraska and she got ahold of the paper liner under the tortilla chips. Before we could stop her, she yanked the whole sheet off of the tray. She managed to do it so fast that all of the chips stayed on the tray just like when a magician pulls out the tablecloth from under the place settings. It was awesome. She was very proud of herself. 


Anyway, things are back to normal. Joe's back at school. I'm cooking and exercising. Lily is changing and growing. Life is good.