The Five Stages of Sweet

For the last couple of months, our weekday mornings have started off like this:

The alarm goes off at 6:00am. We snooze until the second alarm at 6:15am. Due to the small size of our apartment, the second alarm also wakes up Reilly. Reilly is usually pretty patient about getting picked up, though if she is in a hurry, she will bang her pacifier against the slats of the crib like a little infant prisoner.

Shawn then goes to get our daughter from the crib and brings her back to bed for nursing. At this point, the five-stage morning routine beings:

Stage 1: The Milk Coma
Duration: 90 seconds
Once her stomach is full, Reilly is mellow and lethargic, and the moments after this first feeding are the only time of the day that she is willing to stay still. Shawn takes this opportunity to soak up Reilly in a full mother/daughter cuddle.

Stage 2: The Overcast Lounge
Duration: 2 minutes
After the first stage, Reilly will sit back with Shawn and just lounge while she is recovering from her cuddle and trying to shake off the remainder of her milk coma. The only thing missing is a pair of baby slippers. Eventually, she will snap out of it, and with her bearings intact, move into the next stage.

Stage 3: The Obstacle Course
Duration: 5 minutes
In this stage, Reilly slowly comes to life. She begins by exploring the bed around her, poking her parents with her finger (the middle one, of course) and murmuring quietly. As she grows more confident, she will begin to use us as an impromptu obstacle course, crawling all over.

*Today, while in this stage, Reilly pulled herself up on Shawn’s hip. Then, without even telling us it was coming, she let go and with the balance of a ballerina, stood without assistance for a good three seconds before falling back on her bum. Then, she did it again. And again. Effortlessly.

**Did I mention that Reilly stood without our help for three seconds?

***It was awesome.

Stage 4: The Daredevil
Duration: 10 seconds
This stage comes to a rapid beginning and end the first time that Reilly attempts to crawl off the bed.

Stage 5: The Babysitter
Duration: 40 minutes
We get out of bed, turn on Sesame Street, and put Reilly in her exersaucer to burn off some energy. I’d like to say that there is some good purpose behind this stage, but frankly, we just need a way to keep her contained while we get ready for work.