Today I did something I never imagined doing, let alone enjoying! I painted Lili’s toes, in pink! She wore a wispy light halter dress with tiny auburn flower buds, matching barrette falling out of her lovely brown hair and a chunky aqua necklace draping down to her knees. We were going through her desk to find things to put in her little sister’s room (due in the beginning of February) when we happened upon a packet of kid safe “piggy polish” some friends gave us when Lili was born. Lili had to explore each color and handed the pink to me, so I thought I would give it a shot. While she stood with four other polishes in her hands, I proceeded to apply little dabs to her tiny toenails. She looked down inquisitively and stood still long enough for me to blow-dry them. I experienced such a flood of […]
Here I am, basking in the glow of my second, 2nd trimester. The glow has a greenish hue to it, as my nausea has not subsided as everyone promised. And, just as with my last 2nd trimester, there was no magical burst of energy…nope, still the same groggy mornings and afternoons…The only time I have a lick of energy is right as Alec is going to bed. I stay up reading or surfing the web, every night until about 2am at which point I force myself into a 20 minute dance of sheep counting and progressive muscle relaxation. My amazing husband has started waking up earlier than me to give Lili breakfast and go for a walk while I catch up on my rocky Zzzzs. I muster out of bed around eight if I am lucky and feel as if I did not sleep. Sometimes I wonder if I did […]
I’m going to be frank here, and this is not to say that infants are not amazing creatures all the time but…the “best time” in the life of an infant has to be 6-12 months…the most boring time is 2-5 months. When a baby is first born they are helpless and quite easy to take care of…other than the lack of sleep you will experience thus rendering you useless more often than not! For the most part though it goes: eat, diaper change, sleep, repeat. There is very little awake time for anything else. ‘lk90o-o ‘///////////////////0o7y‘.//.89 [Lili (at the fun age) wanted to take a stab at typing] The 2 – 5 month period is rather boring. They are still sleeping quite a lot, but have a bit more awake time…during which they can play on their back in n activity gym or scream during tummy time. You need to […]
Oh, second pregnancy, why have you enfeebled me? Sure, I have a 9 month old to take care of, but I can tell a dramatic difference between this first trimester and the one I experienced only 18 months ago. This is daily struggle. If there was a name for the place between tired+exhausted and paralyzed+dead…I would be its primary user. Here is my new lackluster daily routine: If I am lucky, Alec will get up around 6 and play with Lili until 7 or so. Whether 6 or 7, I am still exhausted, and slept like crap, and the dime sized bladder syndrome hasn’t even started yet! I am half asleep watching Lili play until 830/9, at which point I plop her down in her crib for what I hope is the world’s longest nap. I promptly cuddle up and take a nap, only to wake up to the dogs […]
When I meet someone for the first time, among the barrage of questions I always encounter: “What do you do?” My husband tells me they are just asking this out of habit and general courtesy, but I don’t understand that concept…when I ask a question I want to know the full and honest answer, not some stock reply to appease social norms. I do have enough couth to not say what I am truly thinking in my cynical head, so I usually just say, “I am working part-time as a consultant.” That ends the inquiry, most of the time, because it sounds rather boring. However, my reply has changed over the past several months, as I recently decided to stay home full time with Lili (one of the best decisions of my life, by the way). I have yet to be asked that question since my newfound “job” […]
(Part of) The email I wrote to my Boss/Mentor/Role Model: I have had a lot of time to think about my priorities and life in general and have come to a decision regarding my level of involvement with the company at this time in my life. It is with a truly heavy heart that I type this… You may not know the positive impact you have had on me, but it has been substantial, and I hope to continue our relationship for many years to come. However, in terms of me moving forward with you, it will be put on hold at the very least. I want to take the time to explain, because I care about you and what you think of me. I want to do everything, all at once, exceptionally. However, once I am in the thick of it, certain areas of […]
My brother recently moved to Miami and extended an open invitation to me, Alec and Lili. We decided to drive down in the car he purchased prior to leaving for his sunny new domicile. We were all packed up, car seat; diapers; adorable warm weather baby clothes; items my brother left behind; etc. About 10 minutes prior to departure, my parents came by to pick up our dogs for the week. My father casually mentioned how we were welcome to leave Lili with them, if we could handle being away from her for so long. After a short pause and a quick chat, Alec and I started to remove the car seat and half the contents of my checked bag! I gave a quick briefing to my parents then we gave many hugs and kisses and bid them adieu! “Wow” we thought “what freedom!” I hadn’t gone more than one […]
I never knew the magical powers of breastfeeding, until I lost them… I had some trouble in the beginning of my breastfeeding experience with my daughter, but it all worked out and I ended up having an over supply. I thought it was annoying, having to pump a few times per day just so I wouldn’t feel engorged. I donated my milk twice to mothers nearby, while their own supply was becoming established. I pumped in the morning before my daughter would feed, and once right before bed. It was a hassle, but I thought if I could, I should because so many Moms cannot. Well fast forward to 5 months post partum when I got a nasty stomach bug that was running rampant around our city…I couldn’t hold anything down, not even water, for 4 days. As a result of my, ahem, stomach problems, I became dehydrated and […]
I am alone. I don’t actually remember the last time I was alone… It has been well over a year, that I know for sure, as that was when Lili was conceived. Ever since then, I have always been with someone else whether it be Lili, family, friends, husband, dogs, etc. Tonight it is just me. Lili is asleep for the night. Alec is out with friends. Even my dogs are away at my parent’s house. I woke up this morning feeling very overwhelmed, as I have felt lately. I have an endless compulsion to do everything for everyone flawlessly. This is an admirable quality, but an exhausting one. On a typical day I wake up, (possibly work out) feed and interact with Lili, work, listen to some lectures or read journal articles, clean, repeat. In the evening I try to make dinner for my husband, and then once Lili […]
I have been very torn about writing too prematurely thinking I may jinx Lili’s schedule, but she has been solid for a couple weeks now. I want to preface this by stating I did not really do any formal sleep training, as it was simply not needed. I did not do cry it out (she is too young anyway) or any other special techniques. Not to say Lili came out as an amazing sleeper, but I just gently instilled very good habits very early on and it is paying off. Please note, she will sleep about 2-3 hours for her main nap but does wake in between sleep cycles (about 45 mins into the nap) and fuss a low dull whine for about 2-3 minutes and then zonk back out without intervention. This is a normal waking pattern for infants…adults wake between cycles as well but often do not ever […]