Cabin fever ...

   Have I mentioned that I feel very cooped up in the house lately. With the weather being cold and a newborn in the house I haven't ventured out very often. And that makes for a very grumpy, nature deprived person. I really think that it's a nature of having a winter baby. Days are short, nights are long, it's very cold outside, and baby takes so much of my time and energy that it just happens that I never really wind up outside except for getting to the car to run errands.


   Little Monkey was born in July, on the hottest day of the year, so we ventured outside for some fresh air very soon after his birth. The house was so very hot and it was much cooler outside. Plus days were very long and it was easy to go for an evening walk after dinner. Funky Monkey was born in February and it was the end of winter and days were getting longer and sunnier. The year he was born, spring and then summer arrived early and outside was so inviting. It was really hard to stay indoors. But the same was not the case for Girly Monkey. She was born in October, and the winter arrived with full force that year. I remember sitting on the couch, looking outside while I fed and changed her for the twentieth time that day, and thinking that I will never get off this couch. I felt chained to the living room seat and I hated it. I had the case of full blown Cabin Fever! I was lucky that spring arrived early that year and we went outside; that is the best cure for Cabin Fever.

   This time around I am feeling stuck indoors again! Fresh air is very important to new moms and babies. It rejuvenates our energy, calms us, and soothes us. It's the little thing that you don't notice until you miss it! And with exhaustion setting in after 2 months of changing diapers, feeding Baby Monkey, and sleeping very little, I could really use some fresh air. It's not that I am too lazy or I procrastinate too much to get outside, it's that my days and nights are spent feeding and changing and rocking, and singing to, and making faces at a little baby who needs me every second of every hour, every single day. And this is on top of all my other chores of caring for my other 3 Monkeys, taking care of the house, driving everyone to every activity, shopping, cooking, and homeschooling. This is why I feel the effects of being stuck indoors most of my waking hours. This is why I need the change of scenery and fresh air more than ever. I need to recharge my batteries! So tomorrow, weather permitting, I will make an extra effort to pack everyone and take them outside .... unless I am stuck indoors feeding and changing and rocking my baby!