Stay-At-Home-Mom: Week 1

I was both nervous about my first week home alone and excited about it. Honestly, I was looking forward to the quiet. I adore having visitors, but those first two weeks were tiring, with some days featuring friends coming by for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I was ready to find some normal routines and get used to just hanging out with Ezra. Here’s how it went.

Showers

Before we had our babies, my pregnant friends and I had been so sure of ourselves. Who can’t make time for a shower, we thought. We’re going to be the kind of new moms who shower. But those first few days home from the hospital, with guests coming and going and trying to figure out how to breastfeed and the constant diaper changing, I sometimes noticed that it was 4:00 and I was still wearing what I’d slept in.

So when Sandy went back to work, I decided to make a point of taking a shower every day. Being alone all day was going to be a little difficult. Being alone and wearing pajamas would be downright depressing.

I’m please to report that I succeeded. It helped that most of the week Sandy stayed around the house until I was out of bed and dressed. But that very first day, when he left early, I still totally worked it out. Ezra went in the bouncy seat on the bathroom floor and I peeked out at him every few minutes, proud of my shower-taking technique.

Dates

Ezra and I managed to get out of the house most days this week. We walked to Lincoln Square twice to see other moms and babies, meeting Claire and Veronica for coffee and meeting Anne and Ben at the Farmer’s Market. The stroller continues to be awesome, and Ezra seems to really be able to relax in it.

Thursday I drove to my parents’ house in Evanston, the longest drive I’ve taken with Ezra alone. It’s hard to get used to having him back there, where I cant see him, and I have crazy paranoia about the carseat not being installed right. Of course, as expected, the more times I drive him in the car, the less freaked out I get.

It was nice to get out of the house and see people, and I’m going to have to make a point of planning a few visits every week. Once my other new mom friends start going back to work it’s going to get harder, though. I’ve started researching mommy drop-in groups and making lists of people I know who also stay at home or who work part time.

Television

After two weeks of blissfully watching Ezra while he nurses, I started to be ready for a little outside stimulation during some of the sessions. I experimented with some Hulu on the computer in the baby’s room, and started researching what I can watch on Netflix for free. Even easier to manage because I can set the remote down right by Ezra’s head and don’t need to lean over to reach the computer, is Tivo. Bless PBS for returning my new favorite British spy show to its lineup, so I can get a weekly dose of my new BBC crush Matthew McFayden clenching his jaw and saving England from terrorists. Truthfully, I love watching TV, and am quite excited to have an excuse to do a little more of it. (“But, sweetheart, I have to add ‘Gossip Girl’ to the Tivo lineup. It’s for the baby.”)

Naps

I know I should be sleeping when he’s sleeping. I know that it’s a trap to think that when he’s asleep I can get stuff done. Nevertheless, I’m still forgetting to nap, and here I am writing this blog post with him asleep in the Moby wrap on my chest.

Medical Drama

None. Seriously. He’s fine.

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