My Housewifely Duties

When the babies were brand new, and had no semblance of a predictable routine, I used to daydream about when they were on an actual schedule, with naptimes and bedtimes that went off without a hitch every time. I thought about all the things I could get done during their multiple daily naps - why, that would be hours and hours of free time...right?

Fast forward to today. A week away from 9 months, and little miss Avery Cays still only naps for 30 minutes at a time on most occasions. Oh sure, I can get lucky with a 2 hour nap every once in a while - but those are few and far between, and there's no way to predict when and where they'll strike. So I've come to terms with the fact that I have to squeeze all of my chores into 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. It's made me very aware of the priority of chores - bottles first, floors second, dishes third, laundry fourth. Everything else is on a "when it gets to the point I can no longer ignore it" basis :-) No matter how tempted I am to fold laundry on the couch while Regis & Kelly keep me company, if the top 3 choices are not done, it cannot be so.

I do sometimes try to get my chores done while the girlies are awake. It just means that I have little helpers... or little leg-clingers, whatever you want to call them. The dishes are a particularly fun chore to attempt. Unloading is usually fine, as long as I remove the silverware basket as soon as I open the door. Loading, well, that's another game altogether. The gist of it is me, removing babies from their station at the dishwasher door, putting them back in the center of the playmat, running back to the dishwasher, and loading as much as I can before they're back on top of me. It's super fun. Laundry is another fave - I fold, they unfold...it's a riot! I don't try sweeping and mopping as much when they're awake anymore, Avery likes to chase the broom and/or mop, making it nearly impossible. Vacuuming makes Lauren cry, but also wakes them up if they're sleeping - so I choose the lesser of the two evils and let her face her fear (builds character, right?).

American Baby magazine assures me that around my babies first birthday, they will switch to taking one "gloriously long" nap after lunch that lasts anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours. All I have to say is, I'll believe it when I see it.

My Little Helpers:



I'm a Physical Therapist!

Ever wondered what having an 8-month-old in physical therapy is like? Let me enlighten you :)

For an hour every other week, Avery gets to play with new toys, but has to allow a strange lady to knock her off balance, stretch her neck, hold her in positions she hates, and just generally annoy her in exchange.

Then, mommy gets to continue the fun at home and annoy / piss her off 3 times each day - it's so much fun!

My repertoire of PT moves so far:

The Claw - Avery's least favorite, where I hold down her left shoulder with 3 fingers while pushing her neck into a straight(er) position with the other two. She does evasive maneuvers to try and escape.

The Tipsy Kiddo - When she's sitting, I tip her over to the left so she has to use the muscles on the right side of her body to sit back up. She also hates this one.

The One Legged Baby - When she's standing, I lift her right leg so she's standing on her left - this one is pretty much a joke - she usually just sits down when I try this one (since, shocker, she hates this one too!).

The Look-At-Silly-Daddy Stretch - This one requires the assistance of dear old dad, and he must perform whatever silliness is takes to get her to look all the way over to him over her left shoulder while I hold her chest so she can only turn her neck, not her body. If there is no daddy to look at, this one doesn't work!

The Office Max Special - This one we like! All it involves is sitting Avery on a binder, with her left side on the low side, so that she has to work with her right side to stay balanced. Usually drama free!

So what's the goal of all of these lovely annoyances? To correct an ever-so-slight tilt of her lovely head to the left. They were calling it Torticollis, but it's so mild, it really doesn't even count. The therapy is mostly a precaution, so that she doesn't develop a permanent preference to always tip to the left. I am doubtful of the need - it certainly hasn't hampered her mobility in the slightest - but the therapy was recommended, so to therapy we go :)



The Office Max Special



P.S. Lauren loves going to physical therapy - to her, it's a torture-free wonderland of new and fantastic toys to play with for an hour :)