Entry 2:

Hi, Hanna.

First things first. The impending live schedule crisis at this end is that The Little Boy (as Will and I often call him--except when he has just spit up, in which case he is Little Pukeface Boy) has just been "put down" for a nap, and unfortunately will probably wake up hungry before I finish this. Note for future topic--Why do we use the same expression for sleeping children and euthanized pets?

OK, so that first paragraph is the perfect example of how I live my life these days. Say and do absolutely everything on your mind immediately, because you will forget it if you wait until later, or you will be interrupted by one of your child's physical needs.

We do kind of have a schedule. Nothing ornate. He goes to sleep for the night at about 8:00, wakes up to eat once (most of the time) at about 3:30, and goes back to sleep until some time between 7:30 and 8:30. Once he's eaten, he will hang out on his play mat while I get breakfast for myself, and sometimes for quite a bit longer. I'm trying to institute a morning nap, but it's very unpredictable. And there is almost invariably a morning dump, but that may be more information than you want or need.

(Crying kid upstairs. Back later.)

So, I'm sure this is a form of child abuse, but I'm typing with a kid over one shoulder. I'm keeping him in close with my chin, like a telephone receiver. Bad idea. He just nailed the back of the chair with spitup. Good. He is, at least for the moment, happy in his infant seat.

You may be impressed that Eli and I have a schedule, but I am floored that you're getting to the newspapers. I read the Sunday New York Times (featured wedding first, then the front section) and that's it. Sometimes I get the evening news, but most of the time it's Jennings, and I hate him. Will is usually home by the time Brokaw comes on. That's when we do The Handoff while I get dinner together. Now that David is back at work, you will come to look forward to The Handoff--by evening it really feels like getting out on parole.

To the extent I do see news, I have much the same kid-centric reaction that you do. For me, the stereotype is sentimentality. I used to cast a pretty jaundiced eye at the news, but now any story in which bad things happen to children gets me misty-eyed. This being the season of holiday lights and electrical fires, there was plenty of material. And there was a story in the news about a month ago about some Russian orphan whose aunt was busted for trying to sell his organs. Don't even get me started on that one.

I'm guessing Eli weighs about 11 pounds, but he goes in for his four-month checkup in another week or so, and I'll have current information then.

As for day care and the return to work, that should be the subject of my next message, since I'm heading downtown shortly to make a deposit at a day-care center near my office.

Martha

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