"Babies don't keep"

There is a poem that I, as a baby, had on a framed crewel-work. The poem ends, "So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep, I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

I admit that I am pretty OCD regarding housework. No, my house is not a spotless, everything-in-its-place museum like Bree's from Desperate Housewives (not even close!!), but ever since I had a home of my own I've always constantly been preoccupied by what needs to get done--whether it's vacuuming, cleaning out a closet, going through bank statements, etc.

I have had to very consciously "let this go" as I have brought a baby into my world. On the one hand, I may be able to get more done than some moms, because Elizabeth is a great napper; I use this time to catch up on chores. Sometimes, though, I will be sitting on the couch nursing her, and I see the stack of papers on the table...the basket of laundry that has been waiting to be folded for two days...the dog hair on the rug...

I remind myself of the last line of that poem. "Babies don't keep." Elizabeth and I just took our first trip to Naperville to spend a few days at Grandma and Grandpa Schneider's house. When we returned, Craig commented on how much he thought she had changed in just 3 days. He noted that she seemed more alert, seemed to "notice" him when he held her and talked to her, and had better head and neck control. Last night, as he held her, he mentioned that she seemed heavier.

The changes babies go through are so amazingly subtle, and happen so quickly. Elizabeth still fits into all of her "newborn" sized outfits (except for the couple footed-sleepers that her long legs are just a bit TOO long for!), but she is growing and changing by the second...and I remember this as I look around my house and tell myself (because it doesn't come naturally at all!): "Let the housework go!!!" Even sitting down to write this blog...she is napping right now, and though two baskets of laundry are calling my name, not to mention addressing all of her birth announcements, I knew I needed to focus on this, documenting my daughter's journey. It is HARD to make myself do this, but looking at that beautiful little face that fills out more and more each day forces me!