The Golden Hour

In a photographer's world, "the golden hour" is that precious hour right before sundown when the light is just perfect for taking gorgeous pictures. In a mom's world, "the golden hour" is nap time. That beautiful hour, or 2 if you're lucky, where you get to do whatever the heck you want. 

I feel like time works differently now compared to when I didn't have kids. In the space of one afternoon nap I can get dinner ready, work out, change my clothes, pick up all the toys, and still have time to catch up on some work e-mails before the kids wake up. It used to take me 90 minutes just to get in a work out because I would drive to the gym, work out, stretch for much longer than necessary, chat with some friends, then drive home. I've figured out how to squish all of that into 30 minutes without ever leaving my living room. I'm also able to run just fine on considerably less sleep than before. I used to need at least 8 uninterrupted hours or I would wake up feeling groggy and annoyed. Now as long as I get in at least one solid three hour stretch, and 6-7 hours total of interrupted sleep, I have no problem making it through the day and even an hour of Netflix with my husband at night before crashing into bed. And in some ways it seems like time is barely crawling by as I spend my days nursing a baby, changing diapers, arguing with a toddler, and sweeping the kitchen floor ten times a day. But in other ways, time is speeding by faster than it ever has before as my son went from a baby to little boy before I even had time to realize it had happened. 

In my last post I mentioned that giving Nolan probiotics was making this big difference in his short naps and gassy tummy.... it must have been the placebo effect because things have only gone downhill since. I've tried gas drops, gripe water, probiotics, and cutting out dairy. After a visit to the doctor today we may try reflux meds and cutting out onions, garlic, and tomatoes. The doctor was concerned about how firm and bloated his poor little tummy is. He is still a fairly happy baby 80% of the time, but for about 20 minutes after he eats, he is obviously uncomfortable and upset. And I'm getting frustrated by the short naps and frequent eating. I keep trying to remind myself that this seems like my entire world right now, but in a year from now I'll hardly remember it. He'll sleep like a champ if I'm wearing him, but only 45 minutes if he is in his swing. I'm wondering if it's because in his carrier he is upright and that helps with reflux? I'm totally not the mom that is happy to wear her baby all day long and let him nap while I go about my day. As much as I love the cuddles, teaching my babies to sleep well on their own is really important to me. I'm going to try really hard to have him sleeping in his crib and falling asleep on his own by 4 months, especially once we get this reflux/gas issue figured out. Wearing him has been a life saver for now though. He slept in his carrier for 2 hours while Beckett and I bounced around the trampoline gym today, and for an hour at the pool last night while I watched Mark and Beckett swim. It's definitely making going out easy, but at home I want him to sleep in his room. We'll see what the next few days brings.