A Day in Life of a Two-and-a-Half Month Old

This week, things are starting to get easier. Of course, they've been getting easier all along, but this week is the best so far. Lucas is happier after breastfeeding and during the day he has more / longer periods of happy looking around and making little baby sounds.

Today was a typical day...

12:00 am
Lucas and I go to bed a little bit later than usual (I usually aim for 11 pm). We nurse on one side, then J comes to bed and we turn over to nurse on the other side. I always keep Lucas on the far side of the bed once J comes to bed so that he's between me and the co-sleeper; I don't want J can't roll over in his sleep onto Lucas.

1:30 am
While Lucas continues to sleep, I wake up and move him to the co-sleeper. I always think he's about to wake up when I make what is always a clumsy transfer, but he just shifts and goes back to sleep.

7 am
Lucas' grunting wakes me up. Usually this means he's about to wake up, but this morning a pacifier puts him back to sleep. I get up and feed the cats, have my drip of coffee (a half inch of coffee, the rest is milk), and work on a conference abstract.

7:30 am
Lucas wakes up for real. I change him and then nurse him while I watch a recorded episode of Angel.

8 am
Lucas is in a GOOD mood, as he always is after his first nursing of the day. I bring him to J who is still in bed, and they hang out while I shower.

9 am
Nurse Lucas again (and watch more Angel). Change him again. (J showers and gets ready for work.)

9:45 am
Lucas is in a good mood again and lays in the crib admiring the fish mobile, while I eat breakfast.

10:15 am
Lucas is bored with the mobile. I change him again and put him in the Baby Bjorn and walk around with him until he starts to get sleepy.

10:30 am
I move to the computer, where with a little bit of swaying, Lucas falls asleep. I manage to finish a draft of the abstract and send it to my bosses.

11:30 am
Nurse Lucas again (this time I watch The Office). Change him again.

12:15 pm
Lucas is in a good mood. Again! He hangs out in the swing in the living room while I cook lunch (steamed spinach from last weekend's farmer's market and pan fried seasoned wild turbot from Trader Joe's).

12:30 pm
Lucas is bored with the swing but is happy again in the crib looking up at the mobile. I eat my food while Lucas squirms and coos at the mobile.

1 pm
Lucas is bored with the mobile. I change him and put him in the Baby Bjorn and walk around with him until he starts to get sleepy.

1:30 pm
I move to the computer, where with a little bit of swaying, Lucas falls asleep. I check my email and start composing this blog post.

2 pm
I change him one more time and we head out the door to meet JCM at the train station to hang out before she heads home from work. We sit on the benches so she can eat lunch while watching the information board and I nurse Lucas (yes, again) while I sip an orange-pineapple-coconut smoothie.

As always, Lucas got a lot of attention while we were out. He was a real hit in the post office, where he was delighted with the bright lights overhead and the simple lines of the boxes and envelopes on display. If I thought I attracted attention when I was pregnant, it's nothing compared to now. Everyone loves a baby. (The other day, a guy on a bicycle even waved and called out "Baby!" as he rode past.)

4:30 pm
Lucas and I get back home and now he's fussy. I try changing him (multiple times) and nursing him (multiple times) and swinging him and lying him in his crib and holding him and bouncing him and carrying him around the apartment. Three hours later, just as J comes home from work, I've just given Lucas a diaper change (complete with a dusting of baby powder which he seemed to like) and brushed his hair (which elicited some smiles), and finally (of course - now that J is home) he's doing better.

8 pm
J makes dinner and just as it's ready, I am done nursing Lucas (again). Lucas is in another good mood (again!), so I lay him in the crib to admire the mobile (again) while I eat my dinner.

8:30 pm
Lucas is bored with the mobile, so J holds him and plays some Jobim, which is apparently Lucas' current favorite soothing music.

10 pm
Nurse Lucas again. Since he got home, J has been taking care of Lucas so I haven't had to do any more diaper changes and I have had a chance to process a few pictures of Lucas, finish writing this post, and continue to work on revising that abstract.

11:30 pm
Time to head to bed for some final nursing and hopefully another good night of sleep!