I wear her when I absolutely need to be up and about. I would use this strategy more often, but when she's in the wrap, she gets uncomfortable once I sit. Not having the stamina to spend most of the day on my feet, I'm less inclined to take the time to put her in unless I know I will be walking around quite a bit. And though I've gotten the dishes done once or twice with her strapped to my front, it makes an already unpleasant task much more difficult, so I tend to put it off until she's down for the night, or shift responsibility to Tom (who can't get to it either until the other kids are taken care of), rather than try to manage it in such circumstances.
As for other chores? They've been put off indefinitely. Except for laundry. Laundry must go on, especially with the volume of spit-up we see around here, and unfortunately usually requires me to leave Mia crying for longer than I'd like to as I frantically try to throw dirty clothes into the washer, wet ones into the dryer, or clean, dry ones into overflowing baskets and receptacles scattered throughout the laundry room and connecting hallway.
My house is a shambles. My mind is a shambles. My older two children are not getting their fair share of my care or attention. I'm desperately searching for a solution.
To the degree that she tolerates anything non-human during the day, she seems to do best in the bouncy seat that is currently taking up residence in the dining room. We use that one a lot in that location, however, grabbing opportunities to eat with both hands free when we possibly can. It therefore seemed worthwhile to get a second one to keep in the basement, rather than constantly carrying one seat up and down the narrow steps between the two rooms.
Tom initially looked for the exact same chair, but- not finding it- settled on a similar one. It arrived today, and he elected to assemble it between the end of dinner and the beginning of bedtime, as the kids were winding down in the living room.
Upon seeing Tom sit down on the floor in the midst of the various pieces, Abby and Michael wandered over to investigate. Abby seemed eager to help...
... while Michael was more eager to do the opposite, acting upon a sudden urge to cuddle with Daddy.
Thankfully, assembly was quick and easy, and soon Mia was able to test it out. She seemed to like it okay, but before she could really get a feel for it, her siblings gathered around, indulging in the unexpected opportunity to observe her up close and unhindered by my arms.
Michael swooped right in for a kiss (he's getting really good at giving those)...
... and offered his hand for inspection.
Sadly, it was at about this point that Mia began to grow restless and irritable. Abby took up Big Sister duty and tried to comfort her, to no avail.
I guess we'll have to see how Mia does in it tomorrow, and whether giving her brother and sister such free access to her ends up being a good or bad thing, in the end.
