A Circus Act (Luca's Playground)
I am stealing this post in as L is entertained by his safari mobile. I reckon I have about 20 mins before he becomes fidgety - either bored, wet or needing to burp. In order to get anything done, I have to bounce L from contraption to contraption throughout the day when he is not feeding or sleeping so that he is diverted while I (try to) work. Sometimes, the plan falls through - such as the mobile that I had placed between two couch cushions in our temporary accommodation (we've moved the fam from NY to SF!) that stayed in place by the pressure of me sitting on one cushion, nearly falling on top of him when I moved without thinking, during my conversation with the clerk of the court in a Southern District case I'm litigating at the moment and resulting in some ambient acoustics for the young clerk (who may now think twice about early motherhood). Another diversion, which I can only use when reviewing (or buying more L diversions on Amazon), is to put on the Beatles or the Beach Boys, which L loves and have one of his plush friends, Benjamin the Bunny or Larry the Llama or Marius the Giraffe rock on to their beats, which employs one hand only and leaves the other to click through as needed. The baby bouncer provides some relief, but only works if Sir L can look at me while I am doing something interesting - which to him involves movement and definitely not typing. It worked great while we were moving as he he loved seeing me put things into boxes. A swing is on the way which purportedly will give me more time.
In this way, as L goes from ride to ride in his playground throughout the day and mum goes about her deeds in bursts, a precious hour and change is achieved. I cut a deal with my hubby to be on duty for 90 mins in the morning or evening most days to get more work in. However, if I'm realistically going to continue my practice, now that the grandmothers are gone, we're going to have to find a breathing biped diversion. I'm very nervous about this, particularly as L has vesicoureteral reflux ie if he gets a UTI, he gets a kidney infection. We watch him like hawks and bathe him every time he poops. I worry that any sitter we employ would not be as diligent. That is my main and my professed concern as I know it sounds reasonable. I have other concerns, that I understand to be a little from left field, but that still gnaw at me. What if a sitter appears fantastic but is really a kidnapper? Or a sadist? Or has horrible grammar that influences the currently vulnerable linguistic wiring of my son? I trust the older he gets, the less panicked I will be, but I am prone to being a worry wart and may have to stalk any potential babysitter online to see if they are suitable for Sir L.
A lesser concern is the economics of the situation. Employing a babysitter while I bill is a no brainer. But what of employing a babysitter when I am not billing but doing what is necessary for my practice? This brings me back to my earlier point in a previous blog as to how important childcare is for women's career choices. Many women do not go back to work because by doing so, their whole salaries may go towards childcare and in such case, why have a stranger look after your heart and soul? The fact that there is no subsidized or government provided childcare is absurd.
L is starting to fidget and my time is nearly up. Next, we will go onto tasks that can be done by the both of us. I've become quite adept at doing things one handed, holding L with the other arm and that's saying something because before he was born, even doing things with two could be a hassle - I am terribly accident prone. Necessity is not only the mother of invention, but adaption too.
After that, it'll be back to mama on the go-go, the full time circus act that has only one but devoted customer and who pays in gems of priceless smiles and gurgles. There's the slippery dip, where I hoist him up and slide him down my legs as I lie on my back and lift my legs up, the "aero ride" where I hold him flat as I stand and spin and many a puppet show and song and dance routine. I have my standard gigs and then I switch it up, but its's always go-go-go. It can be tiring but you can't beat that smile as a reward. It's worth the world to me.
In this way, as L goes from ride to ride in his playground throughout the day and mum goes about her deeds in bursts, a precious hour and change is achieved. I cut a deal with my hubby to be on duty for 90 mins in the morning or evening most days to get more work in. However, if I'm realistically going to continue my practice, now that the grandmothers are gone, we're going to have to find a breathing biped diversion. I'm very nervous about this, particularly as L has vesicoureteral reflux ie if he gets a UTI, he gets a kidney infection. We watch him like hawks and bathe him every time he poops. I worry that any sitter we employ would not be as diligent. That is my main and my professed concern as I know it sounds reasonable. I have other concerns, that I understand to be a little from left field, but that still gnaw at me. What if a sitter appears fantastic but is really a kidnapper? Or a sadist? Or has horrible grammar that influences the currently vulnerable linguistic wiring of my son? I trust the older he gets, the less panicked I will be, but I am prone to being a worry wart and may have to stalk any potential babysitter online to see if they are suitable for Sir L.
A lesser concern is the economics of the situation. Employing a babysitter while I bill is a no brainer. But what of employing a babysitter when I am not billing but doing what is necessary for my practice? This brings me back to my earlier point in a previous blog as to how important childcare is for women's career choices. Many women do not go back to work because by doing so, their whole salaries may go towards childcare and in such case, why have a stranger look after your heart and soul? The fact that there is no subsidized or government provided childcare is absurd.
L is starting to fidget and my time is nearly up. Next, we will go onto tasks that can be done by the both of us. I've become quite adept at doing things one handed, holding L with the other arm and that's saying something because before he was born, even doing things with two could be a hassle - I am terribly accident prone. Necessity is not only the mother of invention, but adaption too.
After that, it'll be back to mama on the go-go, the full time circus act that has only one but devoted customer and who pays in gems of priceless smiles and gurgles. There's the slippery dip, where I hoist him up and slide him down my legs as I lie on my back and lift my legs up, the "aero ride" where I hold him flat as I stand and spin and many a puppet show and song and dance routine. I have my standard gigs and then I switch it up, but its's always go-go-go. It can be tiring but you can't beat that smile as a reward. It's worth the world to me.
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