Birdie by the Lake
Birdie has started sleeping a lot more consistently than she did back in March. For about the last two weeks she has typically fallen asleep between 8pm and 9pm and only wakes up hungry once in the middle of the night. She then typically wakes up hungry with a wet diaper somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning. M is still taking the night shift, so I'm the one getting up early.
One upside to this new schedule is that instead of falling back asleep on me, Birdie is normally wide awake, fed and changed within 30 minutes of my waking up. Combined with the summer weather and the greatly reduced pandemic risks, this has allowed me to pop her in the stroller and walk down to Lakewood park most mornings before work. Depending on the precise route taken, that's about 2.5 miles. It's a walk I did a lot on weekends back when Tulip was young and spry, but haven't done much since.
That early in the morning the sun is still low to the ground so it's not too hot and Birdie's skin is not in bright direct sunlight. Foot traffic is minimal and easily avoidable, so we can go right down to the late, take a picture of Cleveland from the overlook for M, and then wander back home. This still gives me plenty of time to eat breakfast and get cleaned up before work. Sometimes Birdie naps a bit on the way, but mostly she is awake and alert the whole time. She likes looking at trees overhead.
The major challenge of this walk is that there is a significant intersection on the way to the park where the stoplights don't shift off blink mode until 7am. A few times when I've arrived at that point prior to 7 the commuter traffic has been heavy enough that I chose not to cross over toward the lake. When that's the worst part of the walk, things are going pretty well.
I hope Birdie's sleep pattern continues to allow these walks through at least the return of winter, because I'm really enjoying it so far. Sadly, it has also demonstrated how out of shape I am, although the rust is quickly falling off with some repetition.
One upside to this new schedule is that instead of falling back asleep on me, Birdie is normally wide awake, fed and changed within 30 minutes of my waking up. Combined with the summer weather and the greatly reduced pandemic risks, this has allowed me to pop her in the stroller and walk down to Lakewood park most mornings before work. Depending on the precise route taken, that's about 2.5 miles. It's a walk I did a lot on weekends back when Tulip was young and spry, but haven't done much since.
That early in the morning the sun is still low to the ground so it's not too hot and Birdie's skin is not in bright direct sunlight. Foot traffic is minimal and easily avoidable, so we can go right down to the late, take a picture of Cleveland from the overlook for M, and then wander back home. This still gives me plenty of time to eat breakfast and get cleaned up before work. Sometimes Birdie naps a bit on the way, but mostly she is awake and alert the whole time. She likes looking at trees overhead.
The major challenge of this walk is that there is a significant intersection on the way to the park where the stoplights don't shift off blink mode until 7am. A few times when I've arrived at that point prior to 7 the commuter traffic has been heavy enough that I chose not to cross over toward the lake. When that's the worst part of the walk, things are going pretty well.
I hope Birdie's sleep pattern continues to allow these walks through at least the return of winter, because I'm really enjoying it so far. Sadly, it has also demonstrated how out of shape I am, although the rust is quickly falling off with some repetition.