The simple routine: feed, sleep, repeat.

We're settling in to a routine at the Linnaeus Corriveau-Kuehn residence. This week I feel surprisingly able to manage quite well on five to six hours of sleep, gained in three or four chunks during the night. I'm getting used to waking up about every three or four hours dreaming that I'm breastfeeding, only to discover that I'm still in bed, with a grumpy baby in a bassinet next to me. Little L is honestly quite patient with me--he usually doesn't wake me up until he's fairly hungry & will actually quiet down when he hears that I'm getting out of bed. He'll then resume squalling a bit while I change his diaper & remove his sleeper (this is to wake him up more thoroughly so that he'll nurse more vigorously) but isn't loud enough to be heard downstairs, apparently.

Life happens during the two hours or so between feedings. This is when we sleep, eat, pee, shower, go out for walks, get laundry or other chores done & endlessly wash pump parts & bottles. Not to mention cut his nails, give him baths, try to soothe him as he cries & whimpers, thrashes around & makes terrible grimaces in the throes of a gas pain attack.

Though I can't say I don't enjoy the breastfeeding, I do have to put most things on hold while I do it, particularly now that we're working on getting him to nurse more strongly & a bit longer. It is work. I need to listen for the sounds of him swallowing, do breast compressions & tickle him to keep him alert & drinking actively. But to have this tiny little person pressed belly to belly with me, usually with a small, soft hand laying on my chest, is so amazing. It's bonding time & I talk to him constantly as he nurses, sometimes encouraging him to keep sucking, sometimes telling him how much I love him.

When people say that having a child changes your life completely, they aren't kidding. Little L & his needs are my world.