A Day Just Like I Needed
Andy and I both had to return to school on Tuesday. I confess that even after a lovely Christmas break, I wasn’t ready yet. When I saw snow was in the forecast, I hoped for a snow day – or a delay. We didn’t get as much snow as expected so no snow day – and we didn’t even get a delay like most of the other Fort Wayne schools. The roads were still snow covered so I drove slowly and carefully. I love snow…when I don’t have to drive in it. Even after 11 years of living up North (15 if you count college), I still am not crazy about driving in winter weather. Add Nathan into the mix and I left extra early. The first day back went well, all things considering, and the children were excited to finally learn what our musical for the year would be. By the time I taught music and my piano lessons, and picked up Nathan, it was 6 o’clock when we got home. Time for dinner, bath and bed. It was a busy and tiring day of jumping back into a school routine.
After Tuesday, I needed the Wednesday I had. Nathan slept through the night, before waking at 5:30 am to nurse. He didn’t want to go back to sleep so I brought him into bed with us. He crawled in and cuddled with us for quite some time. He wakes so instantly and so cheerfully! Nathan and I played, ate breakfast, and waved to Daddy as he drove away to school. We played some more before he cuddled and fell asleep in my arms for a brief 30 minute early morning nap. I decided then to make the most of our day and savor as it was.
It was too cold to go out (-5 wind chills in the “warm” afternoon), so we stayed in. It was a no make-up day for me and Nathan stayed in his pajamas all day. I gave myself full permission to just enjoy being at home with Nathan and not worry about my to-do list. It was funny, though, because by doing that, I suddenly had the motivation to accomplish some things.
Nathan’s short morning nap meant he slept over 2 hours in the afternoon so I made the most of that quiet time. I brought down the bins from the attic for our Christmas decorations. I didn’t put anything away but at least the bins are down. I made a loaf of homemade bread. Yum! I sorted through our Christmas cards and updated my address book. I did the dishes and vacuumed. Nathan and I skyped with his cousins in North Carolina. I blogged and read my book for book club. I even closed my eyes for a bit while Nathan napped.
Most importantly? I played with my son. I looked at him – really looked at him – while we nursed. We read stories over and over again, for at least an hour, throughout the day. I laughed with Nathan as he drummed with a cardboard box. I cherished the day and thanked God for the opportunity to be at home with Nathan. I still love teaching music but I need days where I can focus on being the mother and wife that God has made me. It is days like these that I need.
One of the changes I am making this year is more actually blogging like this. I want to share honestly what is happening in our lives. I want to actually blog – both for you and for me. I love being at home but it’s nice to be able to “talk” with other grown-ups…even if it’s online! 🙂 So stayed tuned for more of my musings this year.
Why would Dr. want no bedtime feeding already?
He’s a bit rigid on the scheduling aspect, and I would say, a bit old-fashioned. He didn’t want Nathan to become dependent on the night feeding to fall asleep but I know he can fall asleep on his own, so it doesn’t bother me. I’ve learned to take his advice but trust my mommy instincts. 🙂
I loved reading this post and hope you do similar posts more often. You will never regret more time paying attention to or playing with your child! This is such a fun age where they actually start playing. And books to read for this age are so fun too! I hate to mention this, but you really don’t know when his last nursing session will be. It seemed to me like one day they just decided they would rather play than spend the time nursing. Thankfully bedtime nursings go on longer than daytime ones. It does go by really quickly so enjoy each stage. Thanks for giving those of us that now have grown up babies a glimpse into those fun days again.
Ah, thank you! I’m so glad to hear it. And thanks for the warning! I’m starting to realize that about nursing, as we’ve already cut out all the night feedings. I like sleeping more but I’m well aware the quiet, nursing moments will be drawing to a close sooner rather than later. My doctor wanted me to cut out the bedtime a couple months ago already, but I’m holding onto that one for a while yet. 🙂
What a great day! I’m doing Nancy Leigh Demoss’s 30 Day Mom Challenge. One of the challenges last week was to give up one distraction for the day and focus on my child instead. I gave up everything online, and couldn’t believe the difference it made. The rest of the week I was much more intentional about why I was getting online, not just to spend time scrolling through Pinterest or Facebook.
That’s a great challenge. It is so easy to get online and be distracted. I need to work at being more focused on Nathan, too. I’ll have to look into that Mom Challenge!