The Saturday 7

1. This week we worked on the letter "D." I didn't really like the lesson in the curriculum I usually follow, so we just did our own thing. On Monday, we made paper donuts, decorated them, and turned them into lowercase "d's."

Later on in the week we talked about David and Goliath and did a coloring page. And of course we had to get some actual donuts to snack on, too!


2. I woke up Monday feeling kind of nauseous and weird. I'd had a clogged milk duct for a few days, so when I spiked a fever and started getting the chills and body aches, I looked up the symptoms of mastitis online. From kellymom.com:

Typical mastitis symptoms include a fever of 101.3°F (38.5°C) or greater, chills, flu-like aching, malaise and systemic illness.

I have heard such horror stories of mastitis, that even though I wasn't in agonizing pain yet, I decided to call the doctor and see what he thought. Of course, it was after hours, and I got the mean doctor. He said over and over, "It's not really our policy to call in antibiotics, and I'm not convinced based on your description that you really have mastitis, but I guess this one time I can call something in for you." Justin went to Meijer that night to pick it up and I took my first dose around 9. By Tuesday morning my fever was gone and I was feeling much better. (Except for some wicked hot flashes - not sure if that was my body fighting the infection or reacting to the antibiotic.)

3. I've been taking all those vitamins for over a week now, but I'm not really noticing much of a difference in my depression. I know it can take a while, so I'm not giving up yet. Part of my depression is that I just feel like a worthless mom, wife, housekeeper, Christian. Justin gets home from work and says, "What'd you do today?" and I can't think of anything. I feel like I do nothing all day, and yet I'm too busy to really do anything. How does that work? So I decided to document every minute of my day and see where all my time is going. It ended up being 5 pages in Word, so I'm not going to put it all here, but I made a "page" if anyone is interested. It's mostly for my own records. I won't be offended if no one reads it. :-) It will be fun to look back on in a few years. Maybe I'll start doing this once a year or something.

4. In the same vein, I've been really focusing on "living in the moment." I know it's a cliche but things are cliche for a reason. I've written before about how much I love the baby phase. Even despite my uncomfortable exhausting pregnancies, I can't imagine ever saying I'm done having babies. (Although I will admit that I like to space my kids out a few years - something I've been so vocal about recently I'm afraid Murphy's Law is going to take effect. Haha.) Anyway, sometimes I find myself getting frustrated with rocking and walking Lena all the time. There are a lot of times that I'm rocking her thinking, "Hurry up and fall asleep so I can get back to . . . doing whatever I was doing." So I've been conscious of that, and have been telling myself to enjoy this moment right now and not worry about what's next. I've been spending lots of time snuggling with her, smelling her sweet head, enjoying her little sighs and the way her hands open and close on my chest, reveling in her soft skin and chubby cheeks, and loving how she feels so relaxed when she falls asleep on me.

The same goes for Lucy. The day will come when she's an ornery teenager who wants nothing to do with me. I'm telling myself to enjoy every minute of driving in her pretend car with her, going on pretend shopping trips with her, laying in bed with her every morning giggling. This stay-at-home-mom thing is what I've wanted all my life. Sometimes I seriously can't believe I'm really these girls' mom and not just their babysitter.

5. It's a good thing I've come to terms with "living in the moment," because Lena has definitely started to have a preference for me. She can be screaming in someone else's arms, but 8 times out of 10 if I take her, she snuggles into me and calms right down. Part of me loves it and part of me feels a little trapped. Haha.

6. Ok, this is a really parenting-centric update, but I've been thinking a lot lately about parenting styles. I have friends on both ends of the spectrum. One friend is very schedule-oriented with her kids. She wakes her baby up in the morning so she has her first feeding of the day at the same time every day. I also have a friend who doesn't believe in a schedule at all, holds her baby all day, and nurses on demand - even if that means it's every hour. Sometimes I feel bad that I don't have a strong parenting method like that. I'm much more of a "happy-medium" type. Another friend shared this article this week and I really resonated with it. (Thanks, Sara!) I'm glad my "opposite ends of the spectrum" friends have found something that works for them, but that doesn't mean it works for me (and neither of them would ever try to push that on me). We're just going to stick with "happy medium" for now and adjust as necessary along the way. :-)

7. Ok well this is long and for all my talk of parenting, Lucy keeps begging me to play with her and I keep saying "Not right now, honey." So here's a short anecdote to end with: I put a pair of new Converse shoes on Lucy for the first time this week. She was all excited and took off running through the house shouting, "These are running shoes!" 30 seconds later, she wiped out and smacked her head on a chair. She came running to me crying, "Maybe these not running shoes!" Haha. Poor uncoordinated child.


Comments

  1. Your last point made me laugh out loud. :) I could so see Abby doing that. She is the biggest klutz ever.

    I know what you mean about schedules and such -- I've known many people on both ends of the spectrum. I consider myself one who holds to a schedule loosely at first, then as they get older make it more of a priority. Abby was always a great sleeper, so Ellie was much more of a challenge especially the first 4-6 months. The biggest thing I focused on for her has been sleep, mostly learning about how long her wake times should be. The book Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Baby helped with that, as well as this message board: http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a199215/teaching_your_baby_and_toddler_to_sleep

    Hang in there. Two kids is tough, especially when the second is so needy. Looking back, the time when Ellie was 2-4 months old was a complete blur. I literally can not remember much of what happened, let alone the day to day stuff. I know I rarely swept the floors more than once a week or two and vacuuming... we won't go there. ;) As they get older and more predictable, things even out. I think once we hit the 6-month mark I finally felt like things were looking up. So hang in there and take it one day at a time!

    P.S. As for your depression feelings, make sure YOU get enough sleep. Like 8-9 hours a night if you can.

    Oh! A fun thought, maybe you've thought of this already -- I like how you're taking pictures of the alphabet projects you're doing with Lucy. At the end, make a Shutterfly (or some other company) photo book of them!

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  2. I keep wanting to write you comments & when I try to post them from my Ipad, it never works! So I've commandeered Mike's computer so I can finally reply! Sorry if it is all just word vomit in no order...

    I love the baby phase too. I'm actually a little scared for what comes next. Seeing all the fun activities you do with Lucy really does help me feel a little less afraid, though (for real! making paper donut d's?! i'm in)!

    I think a lot about parenting styles too. I read a whole book on attachment parenting and was just thinking the whole time, "Isn't that just called 'parenting'?" so I think we know where my philosophy lies...except we don't do a lot of things "good" attachment parents do, like baby wearing 24/7 (my back would break and I like being able to reach in front of me, thank you very much). It's so funny to me though about how so many parents have so many different rules and ways to effectively parent...but in the end, a happy, healthy family is all we can aspire too, no matter how we make it there, hm?

    I get the same way when Mike asks me what we did today. I have been trying to talk up even the littlest things, like Orion enjoyed feeling something new, or he tried eating another library book. This is where that "living in the moment" thing does come in handy, because I have convinced myself that the little moments are more important than the big "getting things done." Even if I wish that what we did was take nice long naps and finish house cleaning...

    Mastitis sounds awful. I am glad you got the antibiotics!

    On the depression front, the weather is getting nice, so I am trying to make sure to get out in the sunshine & walk. I know it is probably the most cliched advice ever, but fresh air works for me. I have been overly emotional since being off my meds (trying not to read anything about the tragedy in Boston, because that set me off crying yesterday) but I suppose it isn't all bad. I'm just glad that quitting didn't seem to affect Orion's mood. I was afraid it might. Have you heard of or taken Bach's Rescue Remedy? I have been thinking about trying it.

    I hope you have a great Tuesday!

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  3. P.S. I adore your blog background!!!! This is the first time I have seen it :)

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