A rainy day

Matthew is away. He's chasing Hillary Clinton around Pennsylvania. It's the first time he's been away from us since Jonah was born. And, tonight will be my first overnight alone with Jonah.

Matthew left pretty early this morning, so it's been me and Jonah all day. It was raining when we got up and for that I was kind of glad. Sometimes I really like a rainy day. It's relaxing. It makes you feel totally OK about staying in your pajamas all day. Though, I had a feeling Jonah wasn't that interested in laying around on the couch with me all day watching bad TV or catching up on my favorite blog.

I did get dressed today. By midday, the rain seemed to be clearing. I decided that we needed to get out for a bit. Maybe hit the grocery store. Or, see if the farmers' market was happening. We need food since yesterday, instead of doing errands, our little family went on a picnic. Since I planned on shopping, I took the stroller so I could load the basket underneath with supplies. (I always feel a little guilty when I go out and don't "wear" Jonah. I don't want Jonah to be a "bucket baby." That's what our midwife, Alice, calls the babies who are carried around in their car seats all the time. It's not like we NEVER do that. Sometimes it makes sense if it's really cold out or the baby is sound asleep and you don't want to wake him from the only good nap he's had all day. But, I really don't understand why people do it as a habit. Alice argues that babies should be held close as much as possible and wearing them in a carrier helps with their socialization because you talk to them more, as well as their coordination and balance. Well, that's great, but frankly, it's just easier to wear my baby than to carry him around in a car seat. I mean, first of all, it's just awkward carrying a car seat, even an empty one, because you have to really use your arm to hold it out far enough so it won't bump you in the leg as you walk. But, when you add a baby, it feels like my arm is going to fall off! I mean that thing can be heavy! I think of this when other parents inquire about my Moby wrap when I'm carrying Jonah, as if they can't believe I'm actually doing it. "Isn't he heavy?" they ask, as they plop down their own bucket baby with a grunt.)

It's not exactly easy getting Jonah and the stroller and the diaper bag out of the house and down the front steps. I'm not strong or courageous enough to move the loaded stroller containing Jonah down the steps, so I have to make several trips, in exactly the right order -- stroller first, leaving the 4-month-old baby momentarily alone in the house (eek!), then run back up, sling diaper back over my shoulder ala messenger bag style so it doesn't slide off, then pick up baby, making sure house key is in my hand or easily accessible so I can lock the door with one hand while holding heavy, squirming baby with the other, then back down the stairs, carefully now because I'm carrying the baby and loaded down with the diaper bag, strap Jonah into the stroller (making sure the wheel lock is on so the stroller doesn't roll around as I adjust things), then clip the diaper bag to the handles of the stroller (a very handy feature of our diaper bag). Whew! Then, we're off. Or, we would have been off if at that very moment the skies hadn't opened up again, as a sudden downpour drenched me and the stroller and the diaper bag and threatened to seep into Jonah's area if I didn't act fast. I brought an umbrella but this was one of those downpours when it's just easier to let yourself get soaked in order to get back indoors quickly. I did my best to get Jonah and all our stuff back inside, but I wasn't even outdoors 10 minutes and my jeans (the one pair that actually fits me) were soaked almost to my knees and Jonah was screaming. He calmed down quickly -- I think he just caught a few raindrops -- I changed back into my pajamas and we spent the afternoon listening to his music -- "Rockabye Baby, the lullaby renditions of Radiohead," and "You are my little bird" by Elizabeth Mitchell -- doing yoga and playing on the floor.

Later, Jonah helped me tidy up the house. I wore him in the Moby and vaccuumed. This mellowed him out, I think, and he went down to sleep around 8 with little fuss. Somehow, I managed to feed the cats and fix myself dinner, too. Now, Jonah and the cats are fast asleep, and I'm finishing off some leftovers and hoping that the baby sleeps for several hours or more. (Like, perhaps, through the night? Yeah, right, but a girl can dream.)

Matthew will be back on Wednesday, but thankfully this is the only night I'm home alone. My sister arrives tomorrow and Jonah -- and mom -- can't wait! ~ Nicole