This is the one where you have to start from the bottom. Perfect example of bottom-up 😉.
4:46 am
I am on the road waiting for a ride to the gym. There is a bike guy I passed fast asleep on his bike but opted not to wake him up. A nap is very important at anytime so I let him enjoy his. The air at this hour is cold and fresh. Reminds me of why I like waking up early. It’s so quiet this early and just standing there waiting got me drifting into my thoughts.
A roaster crows in a distance followed by a jogger’s footsteps. A jogger runs past me going on one direction and another thirty seconds later going on the opposite direction. “What a fit generation”. Out of the five people I’ve met this morning, three of us were up early to keep fit. I like those odds when the aliens come.
It’s been two minutes and it’s funny how I seem to have the grace to wait early in the morning that any other time of the day. I love this. Where are we always rushing too?
3:15 am
I’m half asleep with a the baby feeding from the left boob. I have to remember which boob so that after she’s done I could pump the other. Yeah, just one of the many things I have to remember, including which side she slept on.
Night feeds are always short so I’m anticipating this will take fifteen minutes but I dare not put a time cap in any baby related things. I wake up thirty minutes later to the baby asleep on my hands. Yeah, I had dozed off. Putting baby C to sleep, I remember to put her on her left side (or was it supposed to be right?).
I am tempted to get back to bed but I remember it’s Wednesday. If I have to make it for the yoga class at six, I need to get to the gym by five so that I can have an hour for the workout of the day before I finish it off with yoga. Quickly, I leave for the living room to pump then dress up for the gym.
11:50 pm
If the child cries hadn’t woken me up then my full bladder would have. I could rush to the loo first but we all know how torturous children cries are so I opt to hold and feed the baby first.
In motherhood, I’ve come to learn that you have to tend to baby’s needs first. I like this feeding time because we both know what we want. She dream feeds and I immediately put her back to bed. Quickly, I rush to the loo not before I let out Yang the puppy to pee too.
It’s half past midnight when I get back to bed. I know I have two hours before I’m up again.
07:32 pm
The number of lullabies I’ve gone through just for baby C to still stare at me is wild. I’m the one who seems to be sleepy from all the singing. I’m now humming ‘we are young’ by Fun and it seems to be working. It must be the taps I’m making on her bum as I hum.
Finally, I put her in her crib a few minutes past eight and I’m excited for an hour of some alone time. I hope to start writing a tembo tale but I end up scrolling through Twitter (X ni wako) and IG until I get to bed before ten.
I assemble my manual breast pump and have a cup of hot cocoa then it’s bed time for mom
Have a routine!
It’s great to have a routine but it’s also important not to be rigid. Go with your baby’s flow and life will be easy.
Remember to enjoy every season momma!
