Day 31--Me and Baby CleMee

Since Allie has been so busy and gotten a bit behind on her daily blog entries I thought I'd do a guest entry for yesterday, the 31st. Every Tuesday Allie has craft night with the girls, at Andrice's house. This is my night to play Mr. Mom as she leaves the baby behind with me while she does things like knit baby hats while eating snacks and watching Dynasty DVDs with the ladies. It's up to three hours of freedom for her, her one break from Clementine in the entire week. Although it makes me a little anxious, I'm happy Allie takes this moment to breathe every week. I know it's good for her—plus it helps me build capital towards my own time away from the baby and family. For instance, I am going to the movies this Thursday with my friend Aron. Allie has never said I couldn't go out without her and Clementine, but I definitely feel guilty if I do it too much. And it has gotten much easier to watch Clementine alone now that she is so into eating solids.

Yesterday, craft night actually got cancelled but Allie and I decided to do our Tuesday routine like normal. I got home from work around 6:20 PM. I played with Clementine while Allie wrapped up our dinner. Clementine splattered me right in the face with a puddle of drool.

Allie made bell peppers stuffed with rice noodles and ground chicken—plus salad—for us, pureed yams with rice cereal for Clementine. She recently signed up for a dinner plan so each night this week has been a new, tasty, fresh dish. I did most of the feeding with Clementine so Allie could finish her meal first and "head out" for the night. This time away was extra important because Cleme was super clingy all Monday and Tuesday.

Allie's biggest fantasy has been that she would have the time to clean up our office, which is presently overflowing with stuff (as in it's hard to walk in). It's the part of the house where we keep the door shut at all times. So last night, Allie spent her two plus hours of freedom cleaning. We choreographed our movements so that Clementine didn't know Allie was home. Sometimes when I am hanging out with Cleme, she doesn't know she misses Allie until Allie walks by—at which point she'll start crying.

Cleme finished eating in a giddy state, chowing down her final spoonfuls with a grin, bobbing up and down. She waited patiently in her chair while I put on and blasted a James Brown CD and cleaned up quickly in the kitchen. We were convinced she had pooped her pants during dinner because there were a couple moments where she stopped eating to furrow her brow, give a concentrating look, squirm, and shiver. I undressed Cleme for her bath though and there was no mess at all. I guess she was just digesting.

I drew Clementine's bath and she played in the tub for 15 minutes or so. She loves her baths and we only take her out once she starts getting all raisiny. She likes to suck on her wash rag, collect her rubber duckies, and sometimes splash at the water.

I finally pulled her out of the water and wrapped in her baby towel cowl. We paused to look in the mirror at Mirror Baby and marvel at how clean and pretty she looked. Clementine coos and smiles at Mirror Baby, reaches out and touches her own reflection.

I put Cleme on her changing pad and gave her a few minutes to writhe around naked—as she loves to do, to grab at her feet, and try and suck on her toes (a new skill). Then I bundled her up in the most warm, cozy, and strategic pajamas I could find. Since she doesn't use blankets, it's important we keep her warm, but we also look for outfits that don't take forever to undo while we're changing Cleme (during which she screams at the top of her lungs) in the middle of the night. I put on her "One of a Kind" onesie, socks, some button up pjs and then a nightgown.

We worked on our daily dose of Guapo tasks in the garage—inputting the receipts for the day's sales, and pulling the latest batch of books for Allie to pack up. It was a slow day, so that all went really fast. Clementine likes to grab at the space heater buttons while I hold her and type at the computer.

Next it was back into the living room for some floor time. We have a semi-permanent blanket on the hardwood floor where Cleme likes to play and roll around. I put an episode of Louis CK on Netflix to watch while I finished up my dinner. At the same time, I played with Cleme, waving toys in her face, rolling her off her stomach when she got cranky, helping her sit up against me. She's actually getting real good at sitting up and last night made it two minutes sitting up on her own before falling over into my hands.

Then it was time to read our books like we do every night. We got into bed and saw Ouija curled up in a ball. I held Cleme up to the cat while she grinned and eagerly reached out to give her best "gentle" pets. It's cute how into the cat she has gotten these last few weeks. I was trying to give Allie maximum time and Cleme was still in a good mood so we read ten books. There was Noisy Homes, Touch and Feel Animals, Open the Barn Door, What's in My Garden, Where Did Mommy Go?, Feelings, Green Hat Blue Hat, Little Cow, Little Kitten, and Busy Barnyard. The "Little" series of finger puppet books are Clementine's favorites in the whole world. Every time I read them to her she coos excitedly and grabs out to pet them. I make the puppets kiss her goodnight and she tries to chew on them.

Finally, at 9:15, I swaddled up Cleme and invited Mom to "come home." She nursed our little honey, who promptly passed out for the night by 10:00 PM. We watched two episodes of Arrested Development Season Three while eating dessert and doing chores. Allie packed up amazon sales and I ironed my work shirts. At 11:45, it was time for bed.