Get a Grippe

Last night around 3am I thought up a fantastic opening sentence for this entry. Last night around 4am I forgot said sentence. So suffice it to say that we have had the flu.

If mucus was a dependable financial commodity, like gold, we would be in the money.

I feel like the past five days have been a lesson to me, and to a lesser extent to Tom, to relax. There's a reason everyone tells you to "sleep when the baby's sleeping;" having a newborn is exhausting! But once I'm up, it's really seductive to just tidy up the living room, and then clean that pile of dishes, and oh, while I'm at it I might as well do a load or two of laundry, wipe down the bathroom and bake cookies. In other words, by the time I've cleaned and cooked and nursed and snuggled the sun is setting and another night of light sleep is descending.

Getting sick has made me rethink the logic of productivity (for the moment, anyway). I don't really like to nap, but starting yesterday I make an effort to share Halle's afternoon nap, or at least spend the time supine, resting. And starting this past weekend, I leave a bottle of breast milk in the fridge so that Tom can do the last nighttime feeding around 4 or 5 am. In some ways it's hard to relinquish my quiet time for afternoon walks or chores, and it's surprisingly emotional to let someone else feed Halle, but these little changes are important. First of all, I want to beat this terrible cold and that means grabbing a little sleep when I can. And secondly, I need to look my type A face in the mirror and admit that a little disorder isn't the end of the world. Besides, if I get a little more rest maybe I won't be quite so mean to the cats when they climb into the crib for the umpteenth time or somehow drag litter all over the house. But those dirty bastards are fodder for another post.