Vacation is Hard Work

The most recent month of my fellowship was hard. It entailed the subject matter I am least interested in, a hard to deal with patient population, and as the consult service I was basically at the beck and call of the whole hospital. I didn't see nearly enough of my son or my husband. I was tired and cranky.

Thankfully, that's behind me and I'm now on vacation.
A long weekend in Baltimore. Catching up on the laundry. Reading my articles for work. Playing cards with Dave. Cooking and freezing food for future on call meals.

Staying home all day with Nathan.
What does that entail?
Up around 7am. Morning squirming and wrestling. Lots of smiling. Morning lotion application and struggling to wedge a lotioned-up baby into clothes while he takes evasive action and tries to roll off the changing table. Breakfast with food flung all over. Cleaning up the boy. Playing on the floor (balls rolling down a ramp, lights flashing, monkeys swinging). Sudden outbreak of clinging and whining that signals the need for a morning nap. Nursing. Rocking. Listening to bed time singing over the monitor. A couple hours of sleep while I try to sqeeze in all the other above listed activities. Smiling boy waking up from a nap. Lunch with food flinging. More playing and wrestling. Singing lots of silly songs. Afternoon nap - with lead in same as the first. Cooing boy waking up from second nap. Dinner for all (Nathan eats, blows bubbles in food, throws bits of finger food on the floor, starts to cry and buck before Mommy and Daddy have finished eating and then coos happily when freed from the high chair to play with Mommy's chair/plate/hair/necklace while Mommy tries to finish a lukewarm meal). Maybe a bath. More playtime with Nathan trying to adhere himself as close to Mommy as possible and protesting with every inch of separation. Nighttime application of lotion and steroid cream and shoehorning a squirming mewling boy into pajamas. Brushing four sharp little teeth. Singing. Nursing. Rocking. Asleep for the night.
Until 2am and the next time he wants to eat.

I have enjoyed every second of it, but being on vacation is tiring.