Life Mackenzie Marriage

Minutes

December 2, 2010

First Megan did it, then Keli, and then Erica.

The days seem so full and go by so quickly that at the end of the day, I honestly couldn’t tell you what happened. So yesterday I tracked it, minute by minute. I’ll warn you, there is a lot of repetition. Here we go:

Minutes:

10:30p on 11/30: Bed & sleeping.
11:30p Wake up to nurse Mackenzie. She is fussing.
12:05 Finished nursing Mackenzie and put her back in her crib. Decided to try to go back to bed instead of sleeping in chair & waiting for inevitable wakeup. Maybe tonight she will sleep.
12:05-12:20 Edit & publish blog post.
12:20-12:40 Check Twitter/blogs.
12:40-12:43 Hungry. Eat one of Grandma Wilcox’s cookies, consider a PB&J. Walk by crib on way to kitchen. M is sleeping and moaning softly. Go back to bed. Inform Sydney she cannot have my cookie.
12:43-3:39 Sleeping
3:39-5:10 M is crying. Pick her up – she’s soaked and cheeks & hands are cold. I hate when she’s cold. Change diaper, outfit. Still crying. Chris wakes up & offers to help. I ask him to pull off sheet & waterproof cover. He pulls off sheet, insists that’s all that’s there. I know better but don’t say anything because it’s 4 in the morning, thank him anyway. Nurse M until she falls back asleep. Set her on chair while I pull off WP cover. Amazingly, she’s still asleep. Put her back in crib with blanket. She stretches & fusses. I wonder how long this will last and get comfy in chair to update Minutes. I am wide awake; Sydney is, too, and comes and checks on me – lays down on the rug in M’s room.
5:09-5:19 M fusses in crib. Sit in chair & listen, check email on my phone.
5:18 M is getting quiet. Maybe she’s asleep?
5:26 M is awake. Pick her up, try to nurse her, but she falls asleep. Rock her until 6.
6:10 – Put sleepy (asleep?) M back in crib. Creep back to bed. She starts fussing loudly. I ask Chris to get her; he brings her to bed, holds her for a bit, then puts her next to me. She’s still fussing.
6:30-7? M and Chris are both awake. M’s cries sound like pain. Chris pedals one leg, I pedal the other. Doesn’t work. Try nursing her; she is done less than 10 minutes later & semi-falls asleep.
7-7:50 Attempt sleeping and comforting sleepy fussy M. We do not co-sleep her, but I am desperate.
7:50 M is awake & semi-happy, semi-fussy. Spits up twice. I ask Chris to check her diaper. Dogs are whining, too. He let’s out dogs, checks M, reports dry diaper.
8:10 I’m groggy but awake. I pick M up, sing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” to her, and take her to nursery.
8:11 Nurse, burp, rock M.
8:30 Think M is done. Hold her in my lap, tickle her toes, and play with her. Realize she’s still hungry.
8:34 Nurse M, post twitter update, hear trash truck & realize we did not take trash can to curb last night. Realize we must have missed the November recycling pickup, too, because today is December 1.
8:38 Holy moly, December 1?!? (Realize this is why I am tracking minutes.)
8:39 Chris checks on us and we talk about ways to celebrate that she is TWO MONTHS OLD!! He heads to his office.
8:43 Burp M. She falls asleep on my shoulder. Know I should put her down for a nap & start my day, but I would rather fall asleep in the chair with her.
8:48 Check Twitter
9:05 Chris comes in to check on us. We pray about direction & work projects.
9:08 Chris puts M in crib; I straighten nursery, start coffee, put dishes away.
9:15 Hear M fussing in her crib, but no crying.
9:23 Check on M. She’s awake & grumpy. Bring bouncer into kitchen, let Sydney out, put M in bouncer. Sing to her.
9:26 Mmm, French-pressed coffee.
9:27 M is asleep in the bouncer. I play Winter Songs by The Hotel Cafe on my iPhone. She smiles in her sleep.
9:32 M wakes up grumpy, I talk to her and try to make her smile.
9:36 Consider that today is a good day for quiche. Find great recipe on Epicurious, realize a great quiche takes a long time to make.
9:38 Verdict: Starbucks’ Christmas blend is NOT as good as Verona. Momentarily resent the barrista who sold me on trying it since they were out of Verona.
9:39 Very fussy M. Pick her up, attempt to keep putting dishes away, realize most of top rack is still dirty. Argh. Put less fussy M back in bouncer.
9:46 Keep working on dishes.
9:50 Eat one of Grandma Wilcox’s cookies. Finish unloading & reloading dishwasher. Wipe down counters.
10:12 Sort laundry, start load, tell myself to make the bed later.
10:24 Warm up coffee, pick up Mackenzie. Very patient baby!
10:25 Nurse M, finish coffee, check bank acct, scoff at inaccurate iPhone banking app, check email.
10:45 Finish nursing M, start client work. Mental note to check laundry in 15 min.
10:50 Check Twitter. Consider that I need to get a sleep sack for M.
10:50 Working
11:02 M makes a dirty diaper, Sydney is crying. I let Sydney out, put clothes in dryer. She paws to come in. I open door, she runs out, gets something, and drops it on laundry room threshold. I let out high-pitched gasp, she runs away. It’s a fully intact dead bird that appears to have been living moments before. I get Chris to help me deal with dead bird. I almost throw up.
11:10 I write bird story. Consider that Sydney has a “soft mouth” and would be a great hunting dog. You know, if we were hunters.
11:13 Change Mackenzie’s diaper. Get her dressed, set up tummy time, take pictures. Put her on her tummy, and she can totally hold her head up – yay! She starts fussing – weird b/c she usually loves tummy time. Pick her up to comfort her. She starts mouthing her hands.
11:27 Nurse Mackenzie.
11:32 Discuss lunch & dinner plans with Chris. Research crackpot chicken recipes.
11:42 Mackenzie is finished and is sleeping. Update Minutes.
11:46 Burp & rock sleeping Mackenzie.
11:48 Still thinking about dead bird. Remember we need white vinegar from the store. Call Chris & leave voicemail.
11:50 Still rocking M, even though she’s asleep. Check email.
11:53 Still rocking sleeping M while researching work problem. Consider that I would get nothing done without my iPhone. #thankful
11:54 Consider that I think in terms of hashtags now?! WTF?!?
11:55 Still rocking/researching.
11:58 Call back from Chris. He is done at store but will go back in and get the white vinegar. Appreciate him.
12:07 Respond to work email. M starts to wake up. I consider whether I’ve missed my window to put her down for a nap.
12:08 Hear garage door open. Attempt to put M in crib for lunchtime nap. She wakes up as I’m putting her down.
12:10 Rinse out M’s dirty diaper from earlier, pick things up, put chicken in microwave to thaw, put groceries away. Eat a few chips.
12:20 M cries. We pick her up, Chris puts her in bouncer. I help Chris with lunch.
12:29 M is asleep in bouncer. I keep shredding cheese, eat a lot of chips.
12:39 Put chicken in crackpot. Clean up, put chips away, drink Glass of juice, let dogs in, tell Chris I am going to get a shower.
12:50 Move M to crib so Sydney can’t lick her. Bird germs. Mackenzie wakes up, cries.
12:51 Pick M up, rock her.
12:54 M still fussing. Starts to cry.
12:55 Nurse Mackenzie.
12:56 Check email, research problem.
1:00 M finished, burp her.
1:02 M is still awake. Burp and rock her. Think about all the things I have to do today, feel so behind. Remind self it’s only 1:00.
1:07 Still rocking. M is fussy. Research work problem. Feel pool of spit up on my neck. Yuck. Wish for 2nd set of hands.
1:11 Chris comes in and offers to take M. Get her settled in bouncer with a pacifier.
1:18 Shower & dress self. Lunch in oven smells amazing.
1:52 Put diapers in washer. Hear M crying. Get lunch from stove & set up spot on couch.
2:00 Taste food. It has cayenne pepper in it. My mouth is on fire. Wonder why everything Chris cooks is spicy, why he does that when he knows I don’t like it, remember how long it took him to make, feel bad & decide not to say anything. Suddenly everything is frustrating.
2:05 Starving & decide to eat food anyway. Nursing M.
2:12 M falls asleep. Set her on boppy & wish I could take a nap, too. Attempt to ear super spicy hot food. Hungry & frustrated. Wonder why sandwiches aren’t good enough for lunch.
2:15 Re-read Minutes and consider not publishing after all.
2:17 Eat as quickly as I can. Check Twitter. M is awake. Take plate to kitchen, put lunch away, make 2nd cup of coffee, eat another cookie. Play with M and see how much I can make her smile. We decide she has baby super powers. The afternoon looks better already.
2:40 Chris asks about food. I tell him it was good but too spicy for me.
2:41 Nurse Mackenzie.
2:48 M falls asleep. Decide it’s probably not for real & try to burp her.
2:51 Check email.
2:56 M is asleep on my shoulder. Carefully set her in crib so I can check on diapers. She doesn’t wake up.
2:57 Put diapers on another cycle & let Annie out. Warm up coffee and set up laptop. Hear M wake up as I walk by door to let Sydney out.
3:02 M is awake. Pick her up, rock her, she falls asleep on my shoulder. Put her back in crib.
3:07 M is awake again. I put phone on charger & check again – now she’s very awake. Pick her up after a few minutes. She falls asleep on my shoulder.
3:18 Keep holding Mackenzie. Hands are tied up, so I catch up on a couple of blogs.
3:32 Chris comes in and asks me to review a web proposal. Holds and rocks M while I read it. He sets her back on boppy. We hold our breath and hope she doesn’t wake up right away.
3:45 Working. Coffee is now cold. I drink some anyway. Yuck.
3:47 Mackenzie is awake. I decide to check her diaper.
3:58 Nurse M. Try to work.
4:17 M is asleep on my lap.
4:30 Move M to crib. She wakes up. I go take trash out & get mail anyway.
4:40 Chris swaddles her. We watch her for a few minutes to see if it works.
4:50 M is wide awake. Put her on boppy next to me in living room.
4:54 Call friend & explain we aren’t going to small group tonight. I am worn out.
5:00 Nurse M. Check email.
5:16 Burp M.
5:20 Set up PS3 & turn on last night’s episode of Glee. Take coffee cup to kitchen. Turn on dishwasher. Check chicken. Unsure about it, turn off crockpot.
5:36 Mackenzie is fussy. Nurse M.
5:49 Attempted to burp M.
5:56 M spits up down my shirt. Decide now is as good a time as any for playtime.
6:04 M is not interested in playtime. Nurse her.
6:13 Get call from Chris – he’s running an errand then heading home.
6:17 M falls asleep. Move her to crib. Start picking up & putting away. She fusses. I pick her up & change her diaper. Realize we’re running low on clean diapers. Move M Back to crib. I put blankets away, move unfolded laundry to bed, let dogs out, bring clothes in, put diapers in dryer, bring dogs in, rinse out M’s last two diapers.
6:48 Chris home, M is still awake. Move M to bouncer in kitchen so I can make rice for dinner.
6:58 Chris takes M with him in LR. I sterilize bottles & do dishes.
7:26 Go into living room & find M laying on Chris’ lap. Move her to boppy & sit next to her.
7:36 M starts fussing. Chris entertains her while I put my plate away.
7:39 Nursing M. Burp, rock, nurse again. Watch Criminal Minds, check Twitter. Regret watching creepy TV.
9:00 M is asleep, but restless. Decide to put her in her crib so I can get diapers from dryer.
9:05 Bring diapers to nursery, see that M is wide awake. Finish laundry, let dogs out, bring them in. Check M’s diaper, it’s dry. Put her in a sleep sack and put her on bed on boppy while I fold laundry.
9:45 Nurse M. Burp her.
10:08 Move to nursery, Chris goes to bed. M is still hungry. Nurse her again.
10:25 M is asleep. I keep rocking her & finish blog post. Fall asleep while it is updating.
12:18 Wake up with M still asleep in my lap. Put her in crib and creep back to bed.

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2 Comments

  • Reply Megan December 2, 2010 at 9:06 am

    Well done. I need a nap every time I read these things. Happy two months!

    [Reply]

  • Reply keli @ kidnapped by suburbia December 2, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    it will get better. i promise, the sleeping will start falling into a regular pattern, and the fussiness will get better. did you decide to try dairy free or no? i tried to sneak some in a few days ago and had a HORRIBLE day, so i guess i’ll be DF for a while. it has definitely helped lucy with her fussiness.

    also, have you tried swaddling before putting her down? like i swaddle lucy for EVERY nap or sleep in her crib, now. even if she falls asleep on the boob, i swaddle her and then rock her back to sleep – it has made a huge difference in the length of her naps.

    your day exhausted me, and i thought i had a fussy baby! 😉 the early days are hard, but you guys make a great team.

    [Reply]

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