Other moms had warned me “it goes by so quickly!” And though I believed them, I planned on using every single day to the fullest. I’d be productive on my maternity leave, enjoy visits from friends, luxuriate, dote on my family… you know, the works.

In the beginning, I stayed in bed a lot during the day. Maya was getting up every two hours at night and though Yahve was always available and willing, I did most the night feedings because he had to go to work in the AM and I didn’t, so I make it a point to let him sleep. I watched all the shows – Wendy, Rachel, The View, The Real, Dr. Oz, Page 6, that day time talk show on E, Ellen…. I cozied with Maya, watched and dozed. But soon Maya would start to sleep for longer periods of time and I was more rested so I started using the time to clean, organize and purge. It was cold out and I had no desire to brave the elements. At one point, I think Yahve was worried about me because I hadn’t left the house in two weeks (thanks Amazon).