Sleep, Eat, Poop, Repeat.

As the title may suggest, Safia is living the simple life.  I feel as though we have been prescribed the same daily existence.  We catch sleep when we can get it, forget to eat, get "hangry," devour something, anything, then settle into the couch for the next cycle to begin.  I suppose I should enjoy this period in her life.  Before too long, she'll be teething, then she'll be mobile, then she'll be talking, then she'll be driving, and then she'll be acting like she's smarter than me (we all know that is an impossibility).  Anyhow, I realize this is a pretty sweet chapter in her life.  Sometimes I get frustrated when trying to decipher the cause of her fussiness (nice way of saying inconsolable wailing) or astonished as she scrunches up her face - a sure sign she's making a deposit in the Bank of Pampers - in seemingly 10 minute intervals (in the end, I should be happy about the pooping thing as it's a sign she's feeding sufficiently if not proficiently).  At any rate, all she has to do is open those eyes, and I instantly melt.  I can (and do) spend hours just watching her sleep in quiet wonderment.  She's pretty awesome.

So I'm sure you've been thinking, "I wonder how long Rube is able to stay at home with his new family?"  Well, the answer is that I had to fight for the right to use my sick days I had saved up.  When I return to work on April 25th, I will have spent a total of three weeks on paternity leave.  When I first investigated the school district's policy for paternity leave, I was not surprised that they did not offer anything for fathers, but I was appalled when I learned that they would only allow me to use 5 of my sick days to be home with new baby and recovering wife.  I could go on for days about the damage that these antiquated and anti-family policies have on society, but perhaps that's a different blog.  I will, instead, direct you to an article written in the New York Times almost a year ago.  If you're interested, click here.

Well, we're convinced that the spate of marathon feedings around bedtime are because of a growth spurt that occurs around this time in Safia's development.  The official breast-feeding term is "cluster feeding," and we have embraced it.  I have a new appreciation and love for our house fan (a fan in the ceiling that draws all the hot and stuffy air up and out the attic).  Not only has it been effective in cooling our house down in the evenings, but because it kind of sounds like a freight train, it has done wonders for calming Safia down during those, "I'm not really hungry, I'm not really sleepy, I don't have a dirty diaper ... I'm just not really in a good mood," moments.  The sound of the house fan, coupled with some rhythmic bouncing, and Safia is blobby in seconds.

                              OK...I'm making a to-do list for today!