Everyday routines

I've been thinking about how having a new baby brings many additions to our daily routine. Not that any day is even near the same... But there are some things now that James and I do everyday--that have become normal--that were never a part of our life before Beckett. For instance, I wash soothies (what we call his pacifiers) multiple times a day after they fall to the ground, or get rinsed in spit up, or just start to look blech.

Some are these mundane things. We wash diapers daily (yes, we use cloth: amazing BumGenius diapers, one on Beckett at right.) We pack and unpack a diaper bag with wipes, diapers, burp cloths, extra clothes. I pump milk and then wash all the accompanying parts--okay, maybe not daily, but often, and for a while there it was at least daily. 
Other things are more poignant. Every day I feed my sweet boy, and I look at his face as he falls asleep nursing, or peeks up at me with a smile during a break. Every night I wake up multiple times  to feed him in the dark, and I check for his breathing when things seem too silent in his bed. Each day I make chomping noises as I kiss his tummy because he laughs out loud each time. I make up songs, often complete with dances that no one will ever see (voluntarily, that is--you have to catch me!) because little B loves a tune and I'm a sucker for his smile. Every day feel at least a little bit tired and understand our parents' failings  with more empathy. I thank God for my little boy's life, and pray fervently that it will be long,  healthy, and full of joy. Each day I laugh at Beckett's sudden, toucan-like exclamations, or sometimes his more mellow "Waaaaaaaaaa"s that trail off into nothing, because he is more and more verbal these days.
And every day I give a little more thought to stuff I didn't ever pay much attention to before Beckett. Learning about how one chemical, BPA, could affect him if he were overexposed got me thinking and learning about other chemicals. And changing products and habits in our home. Because I'm fully grown and doing fine and it seems like nothing is affecting me. It seems. But he's still developing, and very vulnerable, and so I want to be more conservative about possible dangers with him. And who know? Things might be affecting my body more than I know.
I'm also spending more time at home. It's just easier, with a nursing baby in diapers who needs 2-3 naps a day (and is rather sensitive to light, sound, and other anti-nap agents that abound in the outside world.) Yesterday I stayed out from 11 am until 2:30 pm, and Beckett's naps during that time consisted of falling asleep twice in the car and then waking up when we stopped: 15-20 minutes sleep total. With just that much thwarting of his naps, he was a little fried in the afternoon and wouldn't sleep.
All of these factors have converged, along with the suggestion of my dear friend Sarah, and converted me to blogging. I have lots of thoughts about many things, and only a small little person with coos to tell them to. I am learning lots of useful things that I want to share about products and chemicals and health. And already, in my first blog, I have found out that this is a medium that bears many interruptions. 4 times I have attempted to write this. And now, here it is. My first blog post.