Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Daybooks

I'm going to follow in the footsteps of Almamater (who has followed along from The Simple Woman) and get on this Daybook bandwagon. I find posting on a regular basis to be (surprise, surprise) challenging right now. And having something to help guide my writing might be useful at this time in my life! I hate to lose the thoughts and days of the past few months, but they seem to be whirling by. Perhaps this will help a little bit.

So here we go:

Daybook--October 27, 2010

Outside my window...is a crisp fall evening with some gorgeous clouds, a lovely red-clad tree, and two crazy dogs howling at the passing siren [insert short break here as I go up to let the dogs in and put a stop to the incessant noise].

I am thinking...that I really should be looking for an insurance policy for myself rather than writing a blog. And yet having some time to write is a luxury I'm loath to forgo.

I am thankful for...it being only 7pm and Blueberry being fast asleep already!

From the learning rooms...[or in our case--the learning brain]...Blueberry has been adding new noises to her vocabulary. She made me laugh today when I was talking on the phone with her Nana and talking about Skyping them (yay for web-cams!). As I told my mum that we'd be calling tomorrow morning, I heard a little voice from beside say very distinctly, "uh uh!" How rude!

From the kitchen...gleams a clean counter. Shocking, I know.

I am wearing...my pj's. Which I will, sadly, admit to having worn all day. I've been trying to avoid being that wife who slouches around the house all day in junk clothes. But today, getting dressed any further than this was not going to happen. So we've accepted it and resolved to do better tomorrow.

I am creating...new systems and routines for myself as I find myself still struggling to settle into this new way of life. I love being home, but it has definitely been a resettling sort of experience for me (never mind the stretching experience of just being a mum!).

I am going...to teach at the studio tomorrow. And I'm very much looking forward to it. Being away from Blueberry is rather weird on Thursdays, and as she still hasn't taken too kindly to a bottle, is not the easiest thing for her or her father. However, I've really been enjoying being back in the studio, teaching, dancing, and yes, having a chance to miss Blueberry! On a side note--I've had take on a new teaching challenge as well (because I didn't already have enough new things to get used to in my life): 4 and 5 year old tap class. The most advanced tap class I've ever done in my life was when I helped to teach 3 year old tap. It's quite an adventure. I can now shuffle-step, flap-toe-heel, and tap my heels and toes with the best of them.

I am reading.. The Vaccine Book (again); The First Year-IBS; The Little Prince (reading this to Blueberry along with other, slightly less complex books); Sense and Sensibility.

I am hoping...to hear some news soon on what kind of work, how often, and for how much I'll be able to do some work from home for my old job.

I am hearing...silence other than the clicking of keys and ticking of the clock.

Around the house...things are finally beginning to get put away. I've had random piles of things to sort through and put away for, oh, months now. I'm doing my best to sort through them and get things back in order before the adventure of having little fingers into everything throws a new wrench into the mess!

One of my favorite things...cuddling with my baby and my husband at the same time.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
1. Find insurance plan for me
2. Fill out insurance paperwork for Blueberry
3. Go to studio and teach
4. Go to chiropractor (squeeze in one last appointment before my current insurance vanishes! Did the same thing with my dentist earlier this week.)
5. Meet up with two dear friends from work. Hopefully to take a walk, possibly to just sit and have lunch (depends on how the weather cooperates).
6. Dinner at 6 on Saturday (a monthly church dinner event where couples from the church get together for a pot-luck sort of meal and get to know one another. We've been able to partake in a few so far, and they are a lot of fun. This will be the first one with Blueberry here, so we'll see how it goes).
7. Nap. Lots. Preferably with Blueberry.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
Laundry Day

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Scheduling a Routine

So Blueberry (aka Squirmy) decided that 6:15 was a great time to wake up and be sociable this morning. How does one explain to a two month old that she needs to be quiet and go back to sleep? Yeah, that's what I thought. You don't.

So it's now 6:45 and she is wiggling and wiggling beside me, albeit beginning to look a bit sleepy again--good, maybe she's changed her mind on this whole 6am is a suitable time to wake up in the morning idea.

All the "experts" say that it's good for babies to be in routines. And while I can logically agree with that sentiment, I would beg the question of how, exactly, does one get a baby into a routine.

I've been trying to keep a close eye on her own natural patterns. And yes, she kind of has some; however, she does keep switching up her own clock and schedule (like today!). And second, just because I want her to go to bed (or nap) at a certain time (and even if she looks and is acting sleepy), we can do all the routine in the world but it doesn't mean she wants to go to sleep at that time. And as she is a very sociable little girl who wants to be involved in whatever is going on, if I insist that she lay down for bed prior to her deciding that she's really willing to quit fighting sleeping, all we do is wind up with a shrieking, sobbing child and a frustrated (and sometimes sobbing) mommy!

And can someone please explain to me how one is supposed to fit vital things in life like grocery shopping and dentist appointments into a baby's routine? Because, so far, I'm not quite sure how to make that work.

Generally, I've been going shopping in the morning. Well, as she no longer will be obliging and sleep anywhere and everywhere, it means she's not getting her morning naps. Which means she comes home over tired and even less likely to take a good afternoon nap! Which, then, leads to an afternoon of, well, crankiness.

I'm going to attempt to do the shopping this afternoon instead of in the morning today and see if that helps....Figuring out how to mesh everything is definitely a lot more challenging than I ever thought.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Growing Tall

Last week I had a new exciting and simultaneously sad experience.

As I mentioned last post, Blueberry hit a growth spurt two weeks ago. Well, I assumed it was a growth spurt given the fact that she was apparently starving and couldn't get enough to eat. Well, a few days following mentioning that, we had an appointment during which she was measured and weighed. Surprisingly (to me) her weight had gone up but her height really hadn't substantially increased. She had maybe gained a few centimeters.

Then a few days after that she had a really odd night during which she just did not want to settle down. Two days later, I went to put her in a onesie that had fit the previous week and found that she looked absolutely ridiculous in it! We happened to have another appointment that week, and it turned out that she grew over an inch in between the first appointment and the second. No wonder she was fussing. I'd have been fussing to if my body had suddenly decided to grow an inch overnight!

The funniest part was that at the first appointment I was told she's in the 32nd percentile for height and the 23rd for weight. At the second appointment, she had graduated to being in the 75th percentile for height and the 22nd for weight. So, will someone please tell me if this means my child is going to take after me and be short or is she going to outgrow me by the 5th grade?

So why do I find this both exciting and sad? Well, it's exciting to see her growing up. All the changes occurring I find to be enjoyable to watch and experience with her. However, it's sad as I had to put away all her newborn clothes and go ahead and sort through/wash her 3 to 6 month clothes because she's actually fitting in a few of those. My newborn is no longer so new and tiny.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Life as I Know It

Blueberry turned 2 months on Monday. That seems really old. I think it’s mostly because I'm having to transition from saying how many weeks old she is to saying how many months. MONTHS!

She celebrated her two month birthday by having a growth spurt and eating like she was a starving wee beastie for over a day. Every 1 to 1.5 hours--the desperate wail of, "I'm dying; feed me now!" Monday she and I never made it out of our PJs, too busy eating and napping (growth spurts are exhausting work—for me and for her). Sadly, she had just had three lovely days with one four hour stretch of sleeping at night. All gone now. I’m praying she'll go back to that schedule again as I was quite enjoying a little extra bit of sleep. Granted, I missed the extra snoozing the first night as Chris and I were talking instead of sleeping, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

Chris and I celebrated her two month birthday (ok, maybe we weren't celebrating her birthday in particular, but the timing was in the general vicinity) by going out on a date. Just the two of us. Alone. Away from her. Shocking, I know. Her babysitters reported she did very well (thank you Kristy), so that was comforting.

Any ways...As of today, life as I have known it for the last 10 years is officially over. I know, I know. Blueberry's appearance changed everything already, but we've taken it one step further. I am no longer a working/career woman (not that I ever really thought of myself as a career woman, but I guess that’s the classification I fell into). I am going to be a stay at home mum. Or at least a part-time, work from home one. Mostly. I am picking up a shift at my old dance studio (very excited about that!) and the rest of the ins and outs of our future financial situation is still being worked out, but one way or the other, I’m not returning to the regular work force. It’s a weird feeling that’s going to take some getting used to. And knowing, more clearly, how we’re going to make this happen will be comforting.

But in the meantime, I relish the decision and the realization that daycare will not be in my baby’s future.

Now to figure out how to go about this new life….

Six More Months of Shuffle and Change

The last post I wrote was July 2018. We were settling into routine, finding a groove, and trying to fit our family of five into a two-bedroo...