Reading: The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clementine Wamariya. This is a memoir written by a woman who fled Rwanda at age 6 during the 1994 genocide. She fled with her 15-year old sister. They move from refugee camp to refugee camp in various countries in Africa. It's hard to wrap my mind around everything she experienced before coming to the U.S. as a refugee. It's a sad, hard read, but an important one as I think our country is sorely lacking in compassion and empathy for refugees.
Loving: Paul's smiles. I love how his whole face lights up!
Feeling: really tired. Paul is sleeping better but I'm still struggling to get more than 7 hours of sleep. I wish I was one of those people who only needed 6 hours of sleep but that's just not me! I'm sure part of my exhaustion is from adjusting to being back at work full time.
Anticipating: my work trip to Chicago next week. Honestly, I'm not really looking forward to it as it's going to be hard to be away from Paul for 2 days. But I really need to be at these meetings in Chicago as this is the first meeting of my newly merged team at work and I'll get some time to get to know my boss and new colleagues. It's just a hassle to travel when you are pumping. My (current-soon-to-be-former) boss gave me the ok to use "Milk Stork" to transport my milk back to Minneapolis. It's a service that overnights your milk back home. Otherwise I would have had to travel with upwards of 90+ ounces of breast milk. I feel like that would have make the security process AWFUL.
Watching: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on prime. I tried watching this show on my own last winter but I felt kind of 'meh' after the first episode. But after hearing several people rave about it, Phil and I are giving it a try and so far I'm enjoying it more.
Grateful: that Paul is sleeping better thanks to sleep training. I know sleep training is controversial and not for everyone, but it was the right decision for us. He now wakes up about once a night. Before sleep training, he was waking up 4+ times and sometimes as often as every 1-1.5 hours! Now he only wakes up when he is hungry. I'm tired enough as it is so I can't imagine how much more tired I would be if he was getting up as often as he was in June!
Working: on being in bed with the lights out at 9 pm. I have to get up to pump around 5:20 am and Paul is usually up once during the night so I really need to get to bed at 9 if I'm going to have any chance of getting 7 hours of sleep. Phil and I split the night time wake ups - I get up with Paul if he's awake before 2am and Phil gets up if he's awake after 2am, so I usually get up once with Paul around 12-1 am and then Phil gets up with him around 5:30-6 am.
Listening: to back episodes of The Mom Hour. I love the 2 hosts of this show. They are very down-to-earth and practical about things.
Wishing: that the time in the evening didn't go so darn fast! Paul is not napping well at daycare so we put him down for a nap when we get home at 5, wake him up at 6, and put him down for the night around 7. So we get about an hour with him on week days. :( Then I pump at 8 and go to bed at 9 so I feel like the nights are sooo short! I'm reminding myself this is a temporary season of life, though. Eventually Paul's bedtime will be later. And eventually, I won't be pumping.
And here are some bonus pics of Paul!
 |
| Having fun with daddy! |
 |
| This is Paul's favorite toy! |
What are you loving, anticipating, and grateful for?
11 comments:
That would be so hard to have such little sleep and work full time, and then have very short evenings, and limited time with Paul. I feel for you, and you are totally right - it's just a season, albeit a difficult one. Hopefully you can make the most out of your weekends, and just have loads of quality time together.
Loving - my morning walk. I am going to be most sad about missing this when I go back to work, as there is no way I am getting up early enough on work days to fit it in. I might try to leave work a bit earlier than I did last year, and do a walk when I get home, but soon enough it will get cold here, and that will fall off too. I am a major wimp in the freezing weather.
Anticipating - a staycation with Christopher! Any time he has had a week off from work we've gone away, so next week will be our first staycation sine we've been together (6 years), and we are really excited. We plan on doing lots of little touristy things in our own city.
Grateful For - a lot of time with family lately.
So glad you are getting your milk sent home. I brought mine back from MN and security was quite comical. They checked every single bag individually with some test thing. They actually told me if I put them in smaller bags they wouldn't have to check them so next time that is what I would do. I had such a great time at your wedding I didn't mind though, doing it for work would've been far more annoying haha
This is definitely a season- I think with Max I remember it being really hard til he was about a year. Just the sleep stuff, pumping, feeling like I was missing things etc. It wasn't all bad during that time a lot, I just feel like it got noticeably easier after that.
Loving that tomorrow we get to go see our baby grands; anticipating art camp, beginning Saturday and grateful for just being.
Looks good with you apart from the sleep. It'll even out but yes, tough now. Good thing about the milk express or whatever you called it!
what a bummer about the Chicago trip! I hope the time flies by, and how great that you get to overnight your milk! I love hearing how couples divide the time. One coworker and his wife do every other night, but I think the 2 am split can help your body adjust a little better, maybe?
I am so glad you got the OK to use Milk Stork, that will be such a load off your mind next week when you will already be dealing with being away for the first time! I'm sure this first week back feels even harder and longer than normal. Hopefully once Paul is sleeping better at daycare and you are pumping less the days will feel less long and less exhausting. Sending lots of hugs. You are super mom <3 <3
The rush at the end of the day killed me. And it was better when she was younger because I got out of work earlier but then with job changes and what not I was back to getting an hour an a half with my kid. Which included dinner,sometimes homework and almost usually a bath. Hence why a life shuffle had to happen. I've always been an all in or out and it took 7 years of convincing the husband that I can't do both well and I felt shitty about both. Thank goodness it is an option. Or I'd be miserable again.
I feel for you having to be in Chicago next week, and for Phil who will have to take total charge of Paul! I know he's up to it, but he is so used to you doing the majority of care. I am sure he will be so happy for your return! Paul, too!
I was fortunate that I got to stay at home with my babies when they were born, although we would probably have qualified for welfare back then, but we made it! Then when we bought the business, I always brought you kids to work with me! We survived that, too! Things will get much better once Paul is sleeping through the nights and is on a regular schedule where he is awake more. You are doing a great job so just have hope that things will be better in the future!
It's amazing how many services are out there now for working moms - it still sounds like a challenge, but things like Milk Stork at least recognize the logistical difficulties. Glad you are able to incorporate them into your work and life.
Oh man, I'm sorry about the work trip coming up! So soon after starting back, too. I hope all goes well, and that Milk Stork thing sounds really cool. It's amazing the different things we have available to us today that makes stuff like this so convenient and helpful.
I'm glad Paul has been sleeping better, but I know it has to be hard to only get 7 hours of sleep, and chopped up sleep like that since you're getting up with him every night. It's definitely a season, but it can be hard to remember that when you're in the throes of it.
Hugs!
His smiles are the best!!! During the week I'm in bed by 9 sometimes before, sometimes later depending on what is going on. I'm up at 5 and on the road by 6. Evenings are definitely short! I enjoy the summer because it's light and it doesn't "feel" quite so short even though it is! That's awesome milk stork was approved! I can't even imagine how awful that would be going through security, do you have global entry? A "bonus" is that it gives you the TSA pre-check. I have my interview for it coming up next week. Charlotte airport customs is awful and since we do plan to travel internationally and Michael already has it I went ahead and applied for it.
He's such a cutie.
I had no idea about services like Milk Stork (why would I? Haha), but I think it's fantastic that these services exist. I hope you'll survive the 2 days away from Paul.
And it sucks that your evenings with him are so short. I hope you can make up time on the weekends!
Post a Comment