I remember the good old days when I somehow managed to write a post almost every day. Now, I am lucky if I can type up one a week! :)
We made it through the very busy time of year for us. Autumn fun, Halloween, Lara's birthday...now that it's all over, it feel like life just sort of stopped.
I had been having an overwhelmingly, painstakingly stressful time with Claire. For about a month, she just would NOT nap without being held. It was so hard for Productive Me, because it meant a lot of things going undone, and an awful feeling that I was abandoning Lara in order to take care of Claire. I couldn't fix supper, I couldn't show Lara how to write her letters, I couldn't get the laundry done, return emails, or comfortably play with Lara on the floor. It was definitely one of those "we are not having any more children" phases. When Dustin woke up, he would take the baby from me, and I would seriously feel like a ton of bricks had been lifted from my body. (Claire is big, yes, but I didn't realize how tired my arms were!) People offered great advice, words of encouragement, and lifted up some prayers. But the truth is, when a baby gets like this, you really only have two options. A) Put her down and let her cry it out. B) Just hold her until she has outgrown the need to be held all the time. I did a bit of each. Finally, things really turned around. Claire has been napping so well in her bed the last week-generally a solid 2 hours at naps- that this morning, Lara and I actually went outside and jumped in the leaves together,
with the baby monitor nearby. Then we went next door (very briefly) to hold the neighbor's new little kitty. It was refreshing for me to have some freedom. On top of this new found freedom, Claire has been consistently sleeping a good 8 hours straight lately. She'll wake up for about an hour (but doesn't need any attention after nursing), then sleep again for a couple more hours. I don't expect that to stick, honestly. But let me tell you: only sleeping 2-3 hours at a time in the midst of a lot of busyness, is really tough. My body finally broke down after Lara's party and I became sick with a bad cold. I'm on the mend now, though.
Whew. I think things are finally starting to turn around.
Lara's princess tea party was really good. I really tried hard to keep the guest list small and not overdo anything. My house is quite small and I wanted this party to just be about Lara and the girls. I achieved that about 75%, I would say. The girls dressed up, and had their "tea." Lara got some wonderful gifts from friends and family-and passed out some gifts of her own.
Tonight, the Paci Fairy will pay us a visit. Wish us luck. I know the age-old trick to getting rid of the pacifier is to have your child pay for a toy at the store with the paci, or give the paci to another child. Those are great ideas, but Lara has an attachment to her paci that is unequaled, so I need to get more creative. SO, the Paci Fairy is a beautiful fairy who has red hair and wears a big pink and white stripped dress (we picked her out in a fairy book). She visits "big girls" at night to take their pacifiers to little tiny babies who are sad because they don't have a paci. But she will leave a little toy for the big girl when she takes the paci. Lara wrote a letter to the Paci Fairy giving her consent to take the paci. We are also going to leave a snack for her. Lara is very excited. I just hope this will work. Dustin simply looked at me and said, "So I guess your sleep isn't THAT important to you right now." It's not a big concern of mine, so if it doesn't work, that's okay.
In other news, just a reminder, because everyone keeps asking, that my ear surgery is November 16. The cholesteatoma (cyst-like thing) in my ear, just behind my ear drum, is quite large and this surgery will be exactly like the last one...second verse, same as the first. A radical mastoidectomy will be performed if it's worked its way back into the bone behind my ear or has spread to another area that is not fully operable-like on a facial nerve. Basically, the ear cavity will be enlarged, and I will go into an ENT visit a few times a year for a cleaning out. NOT a big deal at all, it just means my hearing will not be restored. A hearing aid MAY be possible. If this is not necessary, then they will remove the cyst, and I will go back in for surgery #3 in 5 months for my hearing bones to be reconstructed. But the cyst can come back no matter what, so honestly, I prefer the radical mastoidectomy (which means no cyst growth or surgeries ever again). I don't want this hanging over my head anymore. Or in my head.
I am a business woman now!! I've already done some photo shoots, and am just about to get my first picture order.
The holidays are upon us. I always look forward to them with a mixture of dread. I love to see family, but hate traveling, love shopping, but hate spending money, love decorating, but hate the tear-down process. I am hoping this season to minimalize things as much as possible in order to fully appreciate this time of year. But I was discussing things with my mom last night, and she just said, "Whew, Jenn! It's no wonder you just want to stay home for Christmas this year!"-so I fear I am not succeeding. My parents are so great. We were to spend Christmas with them this year, but when I discussed my feelings about things, my mom immediately got out her calendar to find another day we could all spend together for the holiday. It's nice to go through the holidays without a side order of guilt. :) I hope I will be like that with my children.
Until next week...
We made it through the very busy time of year for us. Autumn fun, Halloween, Lara's birthday...now that it's all over, it feel like life just sort of stopped.
I had been having an overwhelmingly, painstakingly stressful time with Claire. For about a month, she just would NOT nap without being held. It was so hard for Productive Me, because it meant a lot of things going undone, and an awful feeling that I was abandoning Lara in order to take care of Claire. I couldn't fix supper, I couldn't show Lara how to write her letters, I couldn't get the laundry done, return emails, or comfortably play with Lara on the floor. It was definitely one of those "we are not having any more children" phases. When Dustin woke up, he would take the baby from me, and I would seriously feel like a ton of bricks had been lifted from my body. (Claire is big, yes, but I didn't realize how tired my arms were!) People offered great advice, words of encouragement, and lifted up some prayers. But the truth is, when a baby gets like this, you really only have two options. A) Put her down and let her cry it out. B) Just hold her until she has outgrown the need to be held all the time. I did a bit of each. Finally, things really turned around. Claire has been napping so well in her bed the last week-generally a solid 2 hours at naps- that this morning, Lara and I actually went outside and jumped in the leaves together,
with the baby monitor nearby. Then we went next door (very briefly) to hold the neighbor's new little kitty. It was refreshing for me to have some freedom. On top of this new found freedom, Claire has been consistently sleeping a good 8 hours straight lately. She'll wake up for about an hour (but doesn't need any attention after nursing), then sleep again for a couple more hours. I don't expect that to stick, honestly. But let me tell you: only sleeping 2-3 hours at a time in the midst of a lot of busyness, is really tough. My body finally broke down after Lara's party and I became sick with a bad cold. I'm on the mend now, though.Whew. I think things are finally starting to turn around.
Lara's princess tea party was really good. I really tried hard to keep the guest list small and not overdo anything. My house is quite small and I wanted this party to just be about Lara and the girls. I achieved that about 75%, I would say. The girls dressed up, and had their "tea." Lara got some wonderful gifts from friends and family-and passed out some gifts of her own.
Tonight, the Paci Fairy will pay us a visit. Wish us luck. I know the age-old trick to getting rid of the pacifier is to have your child pay for a toy at the store with the paci, or give the paci to another child. Those are great ideas, but Lara has an attachment to her paci that is unequaled, so I need to get more creative. SO, the Paci Fairy is a beautiful fairy who has red hair and wears a big pink and white stripped dress (we picked her out in a fairy book). She visits "big girls" at night to take their pacifiers to little tiny babies who are sad because they don't have a paci. But she will leave a little toy for the big girl when she takes the paci. Lara wrote a letter to the Paci Fairy giving her consent to take the paci. We are also going to leave a snack for her. Lara is very excited. I just hope this will work. Dustin simply looked at me and said, "So I guess your sleep isn't THAT important to you right now." It's not a big concern of mine, so if it doesn't work, that's okay.
In other news, just a reminder, because everyone keeps asking, that my ear surgery is November 16. The cholesteatoma (cyst-like thing) in my ear, just behind my ear drum, is quite large and this surgery will be exactly like the last one...second verse, same as the first. A radical mastoidectomy will be performed if it's worked its way back into the bone behind my ear or has spread to another area that is not fully operable-like on a facial nerve. Basically, the ear cavity will be enlarged, and I will go into an ENT visit a few times a year for a cleaning out. NOT a big deal at all, it just means my hearing will not be restored. A hearing aid MAY be possible. If this is not necessary, then they will remove the cyst, and I will go back in for surgery #3 in 5 months for my hearing bones to be reconstructed. But the cyst can come back no matter what, so honestly, I prefer the radical mastoidectomy (which means no cyst growth or surgeries ever again). I don't want this hanging over my head anymore. Or in my head.
I am a business woman now!! I've already done some photo shoots, and am just about to get my first picture order.
The holidays are upon us. I always look forward to them with a mixture of dread. I love to see family, but hate traveling, love shopping, but hate spending money, love decorating, but hate the tear-down process. I am hoping this season to minimalize things as much as possible in order to fully appreciate this time of year. But I was discussing things with my mom last night, and she just said, "Whew, Jenn! It's no wonder you just want to stay home for Christmas this year!"-so I fear I am not succeeding. My parents are so great. We were to spend Christmas with them this year, but when I discussed my feelings about things, my mom immediately got out her calendar to find another day we could all spend together for the holiday. It's nice to go through the holidays without a side order of guilt. :) I hope I will be like that with my children.
Until next week...
1 comment:
Glad you are feeling better. We're minimizing this year too. I love decorating but also don't enjoy tearing down. Seems like I just put it up! With the trip on the 26th, we're trying to keep it simple.
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