Rose-coloured glasses

To start, I know us Americans don't spell "colored" with a "u," but I happen to like the British spelling:)

I've been thinking back on my maternity leave. I remember it fondly. Very fondly. I've fogotten the horrible, painful sleep deprivation, but remembered everything else. I get nostalgic, thinking how tiny she was. How simple our days were. Sometimes I wish I could go back.

I definitely don't want to go back to the first two weeks. That time is rather hazy in my mind, but I do remember it wasn't real good. I was exhausted, in pain, trying to figure out how to breastfeed, trying to figure out how to use the breastpump when my milk wouldn't come in, and pumping around the clock, all while a parade of well meaning, but annoying relatives trooped through my house trying to hold the baby when all she wanted to do was eat.

BUT, when all that drama was settled, things got a lot better. All Meg did was nurse and sleep. I walked around wearing yoga pants and a nursing bra. While nursing, I either watched TV or read. I started with magazines, since I had no attention span, then moved to books. It was summer, so I ate endless bowls of watermelon, canteloupe, strawberries, and grapes. I kept cheese slices in the fridge for middle of the night protein boosts. The baby weight melted off.

Mainly, I just want to go back to the unstructured days. All I had to do was breastfeed and change diapers. And I could do that while watching TV. Law & Order all day long! This is also when I got hooked on House, M.D. In the six months after she was born, I got through my two-year backlog of Newsweeks. I re-read my Marie Claires (there was no backlog). I checked out stack after stack of books from the library. And, best of all, I got a tiny baby all to myself. Life would have been perfect if I could have just gotten a little sleep.