"Playin' baby"

Every time our neighbor Gail stops by these days she asks, "So, whatcha been up to?" To which I reply with a smile, "Not much." Then she always says, "Just playin' baby?" "Yep," I say. "Just playin' baby."

"Playin' baby" these days means we don't leave the house much yet - maybe one brief outing a day, a walk or quick trip to the store. Most mornings we're in our pajamas until noon, and sometimes (like yesterday) I somehow never make it to the shower. Claire is learning to be content in her swing or on her little "play gym" mat, but at this point that only buys me 10-15 minutes of having my hands free. And then she begins to fuss, calling for attention, a change of scenery or - most often - just to be held close to mom. Thank goodness for my Sleepy Wrap!

Overall, Claire is a good baby, and overall I am much more relaxed this time around. Of course, it helps that we're sleeping a night, usually in two 4-hour stretches or more. Elise didn't sleep that well until she was 7 months old!

Elise is handling the big sister role pretty well. Most of the time she is super sweet with Claire, gently touching her hand or talking to her in a high-pitched motherly voice, and other times... well... Elise gets a bit jealous. She might say, "Put her away, Mom" or lightly squeeze Claire's arm and look at me with two very big, guilty eyes. For the most part though, Elise is doing great and I'm proud of her for handling everything so well. I know our adjustment to being a family of four will only get better and easier for us all as time passes.