A Mom's Life

I have a dirty little secret. It's about what happens behind the closed doors of my bedroom at night. I know what you are thinking! Get your mind out of the gutter! I'm a mother! Some of you know my secret already so it's not really a true secret which is why I've decided to share it with everyone. Here goes: my baby turns six months old this weekend and she still sleeps in the bed with me. That's right, my little baby bun snuggles right up next to me each and every night so that she has easy access to her midnight (and 3 and 5 and 6:15) snack. Our little bed situation means a number of things: First, I go to bed at 8pm because that is when Charlotte goes to bed and I fall asleep while she nurses and if I try to get up, even for a shower, she wakes up and screams. Second, Andy sleeps anywhere but in our bed. Half of the time, before baby, he'd fall asleep in Caroline's bed during her story, or on the couch, to then wake up at 3 am and crawl into our bed for ...

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of vacation is a respite from something or a time away from business in travel or recreation. I have not enjoyed Merriam-Webster's version of a vacation in five years. To celebrate our first anniversary, Andy and I traveled to Tuscany and Rome for eight days. We drank, we ate slowly and savored our meals, we dreamed in piazzas while watching passersby, we stayed up late, we slept in and we let time slide by. This is not to say that since then we've not had time away from business in travel or recreation. As a matter of fact, we spent Caroline's fourth week of life on a beach in Puerto Rico. We took full advantage of the lap baby/free under two airline policy and have traveled to numerous weddings and family and friend gatherings. During these vacations, however, we did not drink. We did not eat slowly or savor our meals, we did not dream and admire the crowds, we did not stay up late, or sleep in and time flew. Before we knew it ...

Besides the whole "flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood" thing Charlotte and I have going on, we have a great deal in common. Which is good because we spend a lot of time together. We both love to sleep. Let me elaborate: We can fall asleep at any time, even when people are talking to us; we go to bed really early; we like to eat in bed; we'd rather be sleeping; we fall asleep on long car rides (when I'm the passenger); we like to snuggle. We love naps. Our favorite drink is milk; mine has to be flavored and in coffee; hers has to be warm and come from a nipple. Our favorite yoga pose is happy baby. I, however, am unable to suck my toe. Caroline makes us laugh and smile but she also pushes our buttons. Same goes for Andy. We like to watch a little TV but not too much. We don't like shots or getting our blood drawn. We are easily amused. For twenty minutes she stared and smiled at the dish towels drying on the rack in the laundry room while I stared at the wall and...