Abby's Alley

When the hours burn up in front of my eyes like newspapers on fire, when I go from nursing, to scrubbing poop off the infant swing, to picking up little pieces of shredded paper, to filling up a sippy cup, to reorganizing my storage systems, to scheduling when I'm going to blend up the humus for tonight's dinner, I look back fondly on the days when I could choose whom I wished to serve and when I would serve them. Those days when I could listen to the refrigerator humming and the planes outside powering down, when jumping in the car and running to the grocery store to pick up a dozen eggs was a quick and simple task, when all my time was MINE and all my body parts were MINE and all my thoughts were MINE MINE MINE! So I tell myself, it’s just a phase. Soon the children will be able to do these things on their own. One day they’ll be able to take care of themselves. One day they’ll move out, and Phil and I will be able to travel, have decadent meals to the sound of our own v

When I became pregnant with our first child, my husband and I were living in a small two-storied apartment, which we called the studio. The downstairs was the kitchen, living room, and office. The upstairs was the bedroom and bathroom. The entire place was about 336 square feet: the size of a two car garage.  So when we began registering for baby gear, I didn't want anything but the basics. Here's what I discovered was necessary.  For the first 3 months you need only concern yourself with the baby’s basic needs: eating, diapers, clothes, sleeping, transportation, and medical needs. 1. Eating: I kept the following supplies next to the chair where I nursed/pumped: burp cloths (you can just use towels, though), a breast pump, lanolin (nipple cream), a stop watch, reading material, and breast pads, which you wear under your clothes for the first few weeks so that if you leak, you don’t leak onto your bras. Some people need them longer. If you’re returning to work, you’ll need a