One of the benefits of L’s new schedule is that she’s sleeping more each night—usually anywhere between 8 to 12 consecutive hours.

One of the drawbacks: she is taking fewer naps.

Today, for instance, the kid woke up at 9 a.m. and went to bed around 9 p.m. She took one 45-minute nap—that’s it. Yesterday, after sleeping for only 8 hours the night before, she napped twice: once for 20 minutes and once for about 90.

Of course on her cumulative sleep index, everything evens out in the wash; at the end of every 24-hour cycle, she’s still sleeping just about the same as she always has. Still, for us grown-ups in the house, the lack of napping has made daytime accomplishments just a tad more challenging.

Case in point: E-mail. With L’s previous schedule, I could count on at least two (or sometimes even three) 30-minute chunks during the course of the workday to squeeze in work-related emails. Now, I’m lucky if I have a chance to even sit at my computer at all.

Household chores have suffered as well. Instead of squeezing in laundry or dish-washing or even baby food-making during the day, now I’m forced to do all of this stuff after 10 p.m.

Don’t mistake these lamentations for complaints; the truth is that I love having my baby girl awake for more of each day. I just wish there were easier ways to entertain her and still manage to get other stuff done (washing pots with the baby in the Bjorn is not exactly easy).