Hitting My Stride...

I think I'm starting to actually come into my own as a stay-at-home wife and mother. It's taken over a year to figure out my "style," but I'm starting to get "my" life in order and really understand what my family needs.
When your baby is first born, they really don't have unique needs. Does that sound harsh? It's not meant to me. It's just that every baby needs the same thing for the first 6 months. Food, diapers, baths and cuddling. Easy peasy. You think to yourself, "A monkey could do this job. There is no WAY I can continue this." Same thing every single day. Terribly boring, and not at all challenging.
And then they start to DO things. All of a sudden, Lucy wants everything done a certain way, said a certain way, handled a certain way. She wants her diaper changed, but she only wants it changed the "right" way. She wants pancakes, but with a smidge of jelly, cut up just so. She wants to be tickled, but only two inches down from her armpit, and you have to use your teeth a little so she feels like you're nibbling her. She wants you to cuddle her for her naps, but only until she arches her back slightly. It's ridiculous.
And all of a sudden, I'm very, very, very busy. Gone is the sleeping and eating. Now she cruises through the kitchen for a bite of whatever fell off her tray during the previous meal. Now I have to double check that every door is closed. Now I crawl around on the living room floor making sure that all the "swallowable" items are picked up.
But, as she's demanding more, she's also demanding less. She plays by herself. She enjoys standing. Just standing. She's testing her hands and feet. She's picking at the linoleum. She's watching kiddie shows. She's chewing on the legs of her crib. She's licking the side of her toybox. So, so busy.
Our days are very full now. We get up at 6, cuddle, play and make a bottle. We send Daddy to work and Lucy eats breakfast. At 8:30 or 9, she naps for almost an hour. Then we get ready for the gym. At 10:45, we leave for the gym. Lucy plays in the kiddie room and I work out. We both have lots of fun until about 12 or 12:30. We run errands until about 1:30, have a long lunch and Lucy takes her afternoon nap at 2. She wakes up around 3 or 3:30, and then she's either up for the afternoon or she falls asleep on me for another 1.5 hours. Daddy gets home around 5 and we all eat dinner and play. One of us puts Lucy to bed at 7 and the other races around and either cleans or gets something done. Then we relax until about 10 and crash.
Naptimes are very productive for me. Since I have more energy in the afternoon after the gym, I clean the house or try to get a blog posted. Today I'm doing both. Some days we spend more time at the gym to swim. Some days we meet Daddy for lunch or go walking at the mall. No matter what we do, our days are much fuller now. We're almost completely out of time these days! I feel much more satisfied as Lucy's growing, knowing that Mama knows all of the "tricks" to keeping Lucy smiling. I have more purpose as a SAHM, because I know that no one else can handle her like I can. She needs me to help her "just right," and that's a very good purpose to have.