orichalcum

ladybird97 and I were talking last night and she said that, quoting pantsie. Today, I got reminded of how true and important it is. I end the day happier than I've been in weeks, despite two doctor's appts, both of which I was late to and one of which I had to wait for an hour at, 3 hours of transit, a baby who bruised his arms trying not to be belted into his stroller, and a husband off on a business trip.

Why? Well, the big and most important reason was that, for the first time in three weeks, we had a babysitter (our new babysitter) come today and take care of Mac for four hours in the morning while I went to the doctor's. It turns out to make an enormous difference to my state of mind to not always have to be with the baby. I don't think this is true for everyone, and I know having a part-time sitter, especially when I'm working from home, is an incredible luxury. But for me, it's an oxygen mask. That time away from Mac in the morning meant that I could come home and happily take him for a long walk to the park to play in the fountain (and get the dog her Chicago dog license en route, and look for baby shoes). It meant that, except for the fight to tear him away from the fountain and back into the stroller, all my interactions with him today have been ones I actively wanted and really enjoyed. As it turns out, he loves and can successfully drink Jamba Juice now, for instance. On the way back, it started raining while the sun was shining, and Mac saw his first rainbow, shining from the Tribune Tower across the Chicago River.

I want to be a good mom. For me, it's pretty darn clear that I can be a better mom and a much better and saner Ori if I have 16 hours a week where M. is not at all my responsibility, and I know he's being carefully and enthusiastically taken care of. I need to remember that, and use this time to get back to my own work.

Apparently, pheromones exuded by breastfeeding moms cause other, non-breastfeeding women to have a 24 percent increase in sexual desire if they have a sexual partner and a 17% increase in sexual fantasies if single.

I feel like I should offer to hang out at singles bars for money. :)

The interesting question is why; the authors of the study suggest that it indicates to other women that reproductive conditions are optimal, but I wonder if it might be related to societies based on polygamy.