Naptime and the patriarchy!

I'm finding that as nice as it is to relax with a cup of tea or hot chocolate when Sammy is napping, I feel better if I use the time to get something done around the house as well. Fold the laundry, or load up the dishwasher, or wipe the counters--just something so I feel like I'm making some progress and doing something useful. Which is kind of crazy now that I think about it, because what could be more useful than taking care of the baby? But living in a messy house is starting to drive me a little crazy, so I'm doing what I can to change the way we live.

I'm not necessarily 100% comfortable with the gender-specific roles Rick and I have fallen into, but it's what works right now. I know after he's done with school he'll start to pitch in a little more again. It's not like he's not doing anything--he takes care of the cat's litter box, usually does the trash and helps out with the laundry. I just get a little resentful that after a full day of taking care of the baby and cooking dinner I get to clean up the kitchen as well. But with Rick still working on his dissertation that's often the only time he gets to spend with the baby--and I'd rather have him playing and bonding with Sam than cleaning the kitchen. I know at some point we'll reach a happy medium with the chores, but nothing is more important than Sam knowing both his parents love him and want to spend lots of time with him.

Next week Sam gets his Valentine's pictures taken. I'm taking advantage of all the introductory studio deals I can get my hands on. He has a nice new outfit for the occasion, and hopefully he'll cooperate by giving one of his fabulous smiles. It's absolutely amazing to see my father's smile on my son's face.

Comments

[Michelle]

I am exepecting a Valentine Card with a cutesy little picture in the mail.

[Jenny F. Scientist]

Dear wealhtheow,

I read your comment over at Moxie's but wasn't sure if you'd gotten enough response; anyhow, my two cents. Sleep deprivation also makes me CRAZY so I sympathize deeply. It might help if you could arrange something just so you can get more sleep- have your partner feed the baby during the night? Nap when the baby does and hire a cleaning service? Could you afford part-time daycare? IMHO, it sounds hard to separate sleepless-and-depressed from just-depressed, and if you could get more sleep then maybe it'd be easier to separate out the depression (if any). But seriously, I really hope you can work something out so you get more rest, because it sounds unpleasant on the bad days.

Hope you feel better soon!

[dissertation topic]

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