I'm with baby 24 hours a day, but sometimes I feel I neglect him

Do you feel you spend enough time with your children?

I sort of wrote about this before when I asked how often you hold your babies. A facebook friend asked the same question yesterday: even if you spend all day with your children, is it enough? She said she stays at home with her child, but is often preoccupied with schoolwork and studying. She said she feels guilty when her daughter plays alone while my friend betters herself in the books. 

Then today, I read this post  and one of my favorite Momaha.com bloggers wrote about living in the moment. Most days, she attempts punctuality and efficiency, but for the last week, she took life as it came. The blogger said she learned to enjoy the everyday moments, because she’ll never have them again. Her daughter will never be 6 years old again and may not always want to give her extra hugs and kisses. 

Those two posts combined are like a sign, or rather, a punch in the groin. 

I spend everyday with my baby, usually 24 hours a day. I mostly don’t mind nursing him, although at 4 a.m., I sometimes wish he’d eat a little faster. But I won’t always have the luxury of maternity leave and napping (almost) whenever I please. I won’t always have the free time to watch his little face or the **occasional** “Say Yes to the Dress” while he eats. Soon, I’ll have to make phone calls or stir spaghetti in a race to do the laundry and get some sleep before the next work day instead. 

Today, I opened his baby carrier and tried to hold him hands-free as I hung clothes in his closet. After a few minutes, I put him in his crib. Even at 7 lbs, my back ached. 

I love my son so much, I want to spend every minute with him, looking at the face which after four weeks, already looks like a new person compared to pictures of Day 1.

And while I don’t love scrubbing my kitchen as much, I do like living in a clutter- and dirt free home.

And blogging, I love it. It gives me a chance to research parenting and write about it. Plus, I can chronicle my life with my newborn and share stories with family and friends far away. But with every minute in front of my Mac, I feel guilty I’m not spending those minutes with my boy.  

So what do you do and do you have any advice?

How much time do you spend interacting with your children and can you accomplish your other daily tasks as well?