Adjustments

I was so nervous about how the kids would adjust to having a new baby in the house and so far it has been fine. Ella has been a little more attention seeking than normal, but she's pretty attention seeking anyway, so it hasn't been that much of a difference.

The family member having the most difficulty is our cat Chief. Before Eli came Chief used to sleep at the foot of our bed at night. When we brought Eli home we had him in a bassinet in our room for the first week or so. I did not trust Chief to stay out of the bassinet, so he was shut out of our room and slept on the other side of our door.

I used to take a few minutes each day to throw a ball or toy for Chief to chase. Now, if I have a few minutes that aren't spent nursing, changing, burping, or holding the baby, helping the kids with something, doing laundry, dishes, or wiping up some mess, I sure as heck am not going to use that precious time to play with a cat. I might actually go to the bathroom by myself, or maybe brush my hair.

Chief has certainly noticed the lack of attention and has been going out of his way to try to find some. If I am putting laundry into the washing machine, he jumps in it. If I am emptying the dishwasher, he goes in there. If I am folding laundry, he is in the basket. He gallops around the house like a racehorse and then stops right in front of me when I am walking so that I almost trip (luckily I haven't yet, but it's just a matter of time).

After giving all of my attention to Eli, Ella, Noah, and Seth, I have exactly zero left for poor Chiefy. And zero patience. I do feel badly for him, and hope he can hold out for a little while until life settles down a little and we get into a better routine.

I promise I will throw your mouse around soon, buddy!