Stuff you can do in the middle of the night

Nora is a pretty good sleeper for someone who's less than two months old. However, she still does need to get up a couple of times in the middle of the night to eat, which means, for me, that she eats her bottle (I don't breastfeed in the middle of the night, I am too exhausted and I'm a bit too full if you know what I mean), then I put her back to bed, come back downstairs, and pump for twenty minutes. Usually around 3 a.m., though it can be 2 a.m., 4 a.m., 5 a.m. and even 6 a.m., which I still consider to be the middle of the night. It's usually at 3 or 4 hour intervals, which is tolerable.

I have learned to love this quiet time by myself. I make the best of it. Herewith is a list of fun things you can do in the middle of the night while you're breastfeeding and/or pumping, and if you have a computer handy:

• Shop. So far, since Nora was born, I have bought the following items online: this here laptop computer, wedding gifts for two separate cousins, a set of cordless phones (with integrated answering machine! I am so excited), a book, and I keep trying to buy crap on the new Gap Canada website but am having troubles with my password. Probably for the best.
  
• Go on facebook and catch up with friends. All of a sudden I am a prolific commenter. All of my comments happen between 2 and 5 a.m.
  
• Write this here blog. For those of you looking for something to do, write any blog! It's fun and keeps your brain sharp at 4 a.m. But maybe don't hit 'publish' until morning.
  
• Pay your bills. If you don't already do this, sign up for online banking. It's fun to track your money in the middle of the night.
  
• Read a book. Sure why not?
  
• Catch up on celebrity gossip. Apparently Michael Douglas isn't doing so well and that makes me sad for some reason. Stay strong Jack Colton!
  
• Eat. I keep snacks beside my feeding/pumping station and catch up on my eating in the middle of the night, because I often forget during the day. These are healthy snacks, mind you. I'm not scarfing Doritos at 4 a.m. like a big stoner.
  
• Tidy up. Quietly. If you have a nifty hands-free pump like I do, you can fold laundry and put stuff away on tiptoe.
  
• Write lists. You know me, I love lists. In fact, I just wrote 'write lists' on a list. How crazy is that? Anyway, I have written a list of Christmas gifts I'd like to get (we do this in our family), Christmas gifts I'd like to give, things Nora still needs wardrobe-wise, things to do, etc. etc. I have a little book for lists right beside me.
  
• Knit (while pumping with a hands-free pump only).
  
• Get addicted to computer games. For awhile I enjoyed a free trial of 'Bejewelled,' and when I crawled back into bed after all was done I had visions of tiny jewels falling in my brain. Thank god my free trial ended. Now I'm all into computer Mahjong.
  
• Compose lengthy emails that you will either send in the morning, or not.
  
• Catch up on your hand-written correspondence. If you have recently had a baby, you will likely have thank-you cards to write, so this is a good time to get that done.
  

Anyway the options are almost limitless in this age of computers and other portable electronics. One can get into a lot of trouble at 4 a.m. when left alone in the peace and quiet.