Life with a newborn--it's coming soon...

Why else would I be up at 4:30 in the morning, wide awake?

For now it's just the myriad joys of the third trimester--the inability to be comfortable (ever), the constant stretching and kicking of the small alien who's taken over my abdominal cavity, and the inability of my brain to shut up and go to sleep.

Soon enough though, it will be because the small one who is causing enough discomfort to keep me awake without any crying whatsoever, will no doubt be awake at this time of night on numerous occasions in the future. I haven't done the infancy gig for awhile--not for about three years. That's plenty of time to have blocked out the worst recollections of it, and to have conveniently forgotten how truly awful it can be (in the moment).

In case I needed any reminding on how it felt the first time around, here's an excellent summary:

"To practice living with a newborn: set your alarm to go off every 15 minutes all day. Every day. Forever. Every time it goes off, completely change what you’re doing. If you’re eating, stop and go do jumping jacks. If you’re showering, jump out (shampoo and all) to make a sandwich. If you’re sleeping, pop up and recite concrete poetry. The inability to do anything for more than 15 minutes (and that’s generous) is your new life."

Yep, that sounds about right to me.

To read more, go here: Living with a Newborn, Naptime Writing (http://naptimewriting.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/living-with-a-newborn)