Perfecting Life at Home

Although daily life has gotten better over the past few weeks, there is certainly room for substantial improvement.  There were some dark days for me; I was bogged down with repetition, boredom, and discontent.  But, I have since emerged from the depths thanks to Kira.  Among many things, the greatest improvement with Kira has been the establishment of a daily schedule.  I never imposed a schedule on her, she simply started following a routine all on her own!  Each night, Kira falls asleep anytime between 11 pm and 1 am, a range which works for me because I am a late sleeper.  Sometimes she wakes during the night, and sometimes she doesn't; if she decides to wake during the night, she will start whimpering anytime between 3 am and 4 am.  If she decides to sleep through, she won't call for me until 5 am, 6 am, and on occasion, 7 am.  

And the rest of the day goes accordingly:

5/6/7 am - nurse, sleep

9/10 am - nurse, play

11 am - play while I make brunch

12 - nap, or bath then nap

1/2 pm - nurse, play or walk

4/5 pm - nap

6 pm - play with dad, watch mom and dad eat dinner

7/8 pm - nurse, nap, play

10/11 pm - nurse, sleep

The day is still very full of "Kira activity" but the structure is nice.  I can count on her taking at least two naps in the afternoon, during which I can check email, or do things around the house.  It's not a lot of time, but it's time that I can count on!  That makes a big difference in my outlook for the day.  Other little things have made life at home easier, too.  Such as, Kira cries less.  Her outbursts have a lower intensity than what they were a few weeks earlier, and she is more easily soothed.  Also, Kira now religiously wears bibs.  They are not the greatest fashion statement, but it is infinitely easier to change a bib rather than a whole outfit.  Finally, I'm starting to appreciate her personality.  I can sense the tones in her "speech", I know exactly what to do to make her laugh, and I can see her curiosity, which is so cool.

Despite these improvements, there are things we need to work on:

- Better diet for me.  After getting sick, I lost way too much weight.  While at the doctor, I weighed myself (we don't have a working scale at home), and I weigh 102.  I'm not sure how I have energy to get out of bed.  Even though I'm no longer sick, I still feel tired and drained of energy.  I need to work on fast meal prep, and an effective diet.

- More time with Trevor.  We're definitely out of touch.  I think things have been a little crazy for Trevor.  He's constantly running out to buy things for the baby, taking the dog places, and going to work.  Based on that, I think he's pretty busy.  But I'm not sure!  Trevor and I should definitely make the most of Kira's evening nap.

- Working Logan back into my life.  Since Kira was born, I've had a lot of help taking care of Logan.  I haven't figured out how to take care of Logan and Kira at the same time.  Logan is still a puppy, and needs attention.  That's something I can't give him right now.  As he gets older, he'll need less attention, and as Kira gets older, I can give them both attention at the same time.  I'm really glad that spring is here because it means I can walk with Kira and Logan at the same time.  But besides that, Logan stuck in the house with nothing to do while I take care of Kira.