Tonight we gave Kit her first bath. It was a quick one because the Monster was more excited about eating than bathing, but, nonetheless, it was a first — and a sign that things are slowly returning to normal around here.
Truthfully, I miss my routine days. Life with a newborn is a bit unpredictable, and with a hungry baby like Cricket, it seems that every time I look at the clock, it’s mealtime. A week ago my life was about as scheduled as they come, and with that schedule came a sense of calm and direction in my day. Emma Vance thrives on predictably as well (considering it’s all she’s ever known), and the adjustment has been hard on both of us. I miss being able to hear a whine from E.V. at any point in the day and know what it automatically means based on what time it is. In fact, I chuckled when Ryan watched Emma Vance the day before Cricket was born and called to ask me what time her lunch was supposed to be. I looked at my phone, saw that it was noon and responded, “An hour ago.” A moment of silence on the other end was quickly followed by a realization from Ryan: “Oh, so that’s why she was climbing into her high chair at 11.” Yup, that’s my child! These days feel a bit off-kilter as we figure out what life looks like on a daily basis (and if I’ll ever have a moment to myself again!), and it isn’t an easy transition.
The goal, of course, is to figure out what our new routine will look like ASAP, but I know that realistically it’s going to take some time. Cricket’s still adjusting to this world, and we’re still adjusting to her. Our starting point with figuring out this new schedule begins with bedtime, but without a bath-and-bottle routine this week, it’s been a bit of a circus to get everyone to sleep. (And by “circus,” I really mean “cluster,” but that’s not proper. ;) )However, since Kit lost her umbilical cord on Saturday (during our newborn photo shoot of course, although I suppose that’s preferable to how Emma Vance lost hers — that is, having it somehow end up stuck in my hair), I was eager to give her tonight’s first bath as a step in the right direction. Cricket was not a happy camper to be given a bath instead of the meal she was rooting around for, but her crying just released that extra bit of energy, allowing her to peacefully pass out soon afterwards. Not having to juggle Cricket and E.V. at the same time made E.V.’s bedtime run more smoothly, which made all the difference in the world. It’s going to take a few weeks to settle into this bedtime dance, but tonight’s calm settling in gave me a glimpse at the light at the end of the tunnel.
