Christmas has come and gone! And December is almost over. Is anyone sad to see this year come to an end? I certainly am not! I know turning the calendar to 2021 won't make all the problems of 2020 disappear, but at least we have hope that 2021 will be better thanks to the vaccine! Here's what is currently going on in my world!
Reading: 2 books - 60 Million Frenchman Can't be Wrong and Vision in White by Nora Roberts. The first book is a non-fiction book about France - it's written by 2 Canadian journalists who move to France to learn more about how the country works. This is my 'daytime' book. Then at night when I am up for hours feeding/soothing Will, I read Vision in White which is the first book in a series coined the "Bridal Quartet." I was never a 'read multiple books at the same time' kind of person but have found I need something very light and easy for those middle-of-the-night reading sessions!
Loving: watching Will grow and change. He has already grown out of his newborn clothing due to his length. Paul was in NB size for 2 months so Will is quite the different baby! He's getting to be more alert during the day and his cheeks are getting chubbier! I'm looking forward to longer stretches of sleep, but he's sleeping better than those first 10 days so I'm reminding myself it could be worse.
Feeling: tired! But that is to be expected with a newborn. Napping is tough for me as Will does not want to be put down during the day - and really he'd prefer to be held 24/7 but I can get him to sleep in the snoo at night. It helps to have the perspective of having gone through this before, although Paul slept more and didn't mind being put down in a swing or boppy during the day...
Thinking: about my fitness plans for 2021. Once I get cleared to exercise at 6 weeks, I'm planning to buy a Beach Body on Demand membership. It's only $99 for a year and you get access to so many different programs. Phil is missing working out, too. He would typically workout at the gym in his office building but that is not happening thanks to Covid. So he might try some of the programs, too. I just hope I can get Will to be cool with being set down for 30 minutes so I can workout during the day. We'll see how that goes - hopefully as he gets older he'll be happy to lay under the baby Einstein gym. Fingers crossed.
Anticipating: getting my vaccine! I am not optimistic about getting it all that soon, but hopefully my mid-year we will be vaccinated? I'm hopeful that our parents will be vaccinated in the first quarter, though!
Struggling: to keep track of what day it is. As a result of this constant state of confusion, I missed the first 'second mama' class last Monday. I knew it started on 12/21 but didn't realize 12/21 came and went - I didn't realize I missed the first class until Sunday night as I was thinking about how the 28th is my dad's birthday and had an 'oh crap!' moment where I realized I missed my first mama class. Gah. I am so mad at myself, but that's life with 2 kids during the holiday season. The class is a zoom class, too, and I have a harder time keeping track of zooms/calls since you aren't going anywhere to attend. Hopefully I did not miss too much by missing the first class.
Grateful: for all the meals we've received from family and friends. My mom stocked our freezer with lots of soups and we've had other friends and family send Grubhub gift certificates and meals. I did zero meal prep before Will was born since I was in so much pain from RA so we are super grateful for all the food we've received. I figured we would not get much for our 2nd child so have been very pleasantly surprised1
Working: on getting rid of maternity and baby stuff as Will grows out of it. I sold some maternity clothes on Facebook and will sell the rest when the pregnancy consignment shop in our area re-opens (they are closed right now due to covid numbers). As Will grows out of things, I'm sending the gender netrual stuff to my little sister who is expecting a baby girl (!!!) in mid-February. The boy stuff is going to the daughter of a former co-worker who is expecting a boy this spring. We received so many hand-me-downs for Paul and Will so I am very happy to pay it forward!
Listening: to very few podcasts these days as I'm not going for walks (too cold for a newborn). I try to listen while doing meal prep but I'm doing less of that these days, too!
Watching: so much tv! But that's newborn life for you! I watched "Emily in Paris" in a matter of days once Phil went back to work. Right before Will was born, we started to watch "Homeland" and are almost done with season 5!!! And now I am watching "Sweet Magnolias" on Netflix during the day when Phil is at work. I'm still reading a ton, but am also giving myself permission to watch more tv than I normally would as I know this phase is very temporary.
Wishing: for longer stretches of sleep at night! Will is up every 2-2.5 hours, and sometimes he's up an hour after I put him down... But I know it should only get better!
What are you reading, anticipating and grateful for?
11 comments:
That is cool that everyone is bringing you food. I did that for my friend Kara after she had her 2nd baby but I always wondered if it was just a waste. I am glad to hear that it is a welcome gift! I know that you probably have a lot less time than I do to do things like prep and am I sure it is nice to not have to think about planning! Hopefully Taco will begin to sleep more and you will feel a little bit more like your normal self!
I am reading Sixty Frenchmen, but am supplementing it with fiction, so I am also reading Gimme Everything You Got and am listening to All The Ways We Said Goodbye. Funny enough, that means I am once again reading two books set in France (The Ways We Said is a WWII book and mostly in Paris) at the same time!
I am anticipating being able to see my friends and family. We are in Stay at Home lockdown mode again and are not supposed to meet up with anyone outside our household. Of course, for me, that means nobody! I am getting a little tired of the cat. However, I am grateful to have a job still, and that all my loved ones are healthy!
What a wonderful post, Lisa! It's good to see these darling photos of Will, too -- he's gorgeous! I'm glad all is going well and it's nice that you have these days of holiday to settle in with him. I'm reading a cozy mystery someone gave me for Christmas and I can't remember the title but it's set in Scotland. A fast, easy read, which is about all I was up for before I start "The Mirror and the Light-- all 900 pages, or whatever! I am anticipating that vaccine as soon as possible and then just maybe a safer visit with toddlers! I hope they are still toddlers by then!
I'm reading My Jewish Year and the Montessori Toddler right now! Both are very good :) I remember when Avi was up in the night, I got a libro.fm subscription and listened to audiobooks. And I agree, the newborn stage was full of lots of TV, but I think that just goes with the season. I think we're all with you on anticipating the vaccine.
I'm reading The Searcher by Tana French. I forgot how much heft there is to her books. Well done, but I had been going through a 'lighter phase.' My friend and I had our second baby near each other and both said that food after a baby is definitely the best gift ever. I try to bring my friends stuff they can shove right into their freezer or eat right then. So my go to is banana chocolate chip muffins and then either smoked bbq pork with bbq sauce and a bag of rolls or chili. My dad was able to get the vaccine yesterday I am so so so so glad. My mom probably won't until spring and we won't probably until summer/fall unless the quantity in our area goes up, which I'm hopeful it will. I am looking forward to camping a lot this year. We have already booked three trips!
Sounds like all is going well! So glad to hear it.
I am reading A Christmas Carol and also rushing to finish A Boy Called Christmas with the boys so I can count them both to my 2020 reading list. Hahaha! I am loving A Christmas Carol and can't believe I'd never read it before, considering how many times I have seen various play and/or movie versions! I thought it might be harder to read with odd, old language, but it's great!
I think the Beachbody subscription will be perfect. There are so many options and many are quite short, too. I still have a hard time believing that I'm doing home workouts yet, when I was really a die-hard gym goer for many years. I keep saying I need to get back into the gym, but am having a hard time parting with the convenience of the home workouts right now....
I just finished reading Sex and Vanity by the author of Crazy Rich Asians, and it was good, a fast read. Next I want to read Atomic Habits- pretty fitting for the New Year but I want to see if I can get some new habits to stick around longer than the first week of 2021 :)
Like you, I am anticipating the vaccine! Seeing my friends in healthcare get vaccinated has been surprisingly emotional- what a year it's been. My husband and I won't be eligible until much later in 2021, but I am really hopeful that my 70 year old parents (and 90 year old grandma!) will get it soon.
On that note, I am really grateful for my family's health and well-being this year. We are super fortunate to not have lost our jobs during Covid, and have stayed healthy so far. Really hoping our luck continues.
I am very thankful for the handmedowns! Especially since they will hopefully get used for more than 1 baby ;)
I hope these next weeks bring better sleep for you! That's so nice you're getting all those meals. My freezer is slowly getting stocked up. I've done a lentil curry & big batch of soup. I'd like to make lactation cookies & breakfast burritos... and then I"ll feel pretty good.
I'm reading "patron saint of liars" and absolutely love it - thanks for the suggestion! Since I'm not sleeping well these days...I'm reading much faster than I used to ;)
I hope the vaccine becomes available for your family soon! I could be getting it this week if I wasn't pregnant...so plan to get it as soon as baby is born!
Sounds like you've been busy making plans for the new year. While things won't change instantly when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, we can all have hope that 2021 will turn out to be a better year than 2020 was.
Ack - Will is such a cute baby! Maybe you'll have a chunky one this time around. I love chunky babies. :)
I'm not really sure what 2021 will look like but I am just so grateful we're ending the year with a vaccine. It's so emotional seeing frontline health care workers get their vaccines, and I imagine it has to be such a sigh of relief for them after a hard year.
I'm not currently reading anything, as I finished my 153rd book (Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum, LOVED it!) this evening. And I figure that's good for 2020, hehe. I'm anticipating setting my goals for 2021. And I'm grateful for my kitties! They keep me sane. :)
Will is looking so mature for his age to me! Cutie! I hope he starts giving you longer sleep stretches soon. And I hope you get vaccinated soon. Weirdly, pharmacists aren't even on the list for any part of phase one in our state - but I do want to be fair to others and I am very low risk and rarely work directly with immunocompromised patients, so I can stand to wait a bit. Pharmacist in direct patient care in the hospital have had their first dose, but my desk job doesn't qualify me. I could actually drive to Mississippi and get it, because I am licensed there, and they are already vaccinating all pharmacists, but I am not going to take one of the dose meant for residents of MS...suddenly there is this ethics quandary!
Will is so cute!
I am hopeful for the vaccine too. I really hope my mom gets it soon. There is a care home in my city that has had over 40 deaths :-( It's heartbreaking. All of the residents tested positive. So far my mom's home has only had 1 case that I know of, and I think it was a worker. I will feel such a weight lifted from me once she is vaccinated, and even more once I get vaccinated too. I am grateful for the nice weather, which has been the biggest blessing during this pandemic. It's supposed to get up to +6 C today! But, there will be major winds and potentially a bunch of rain, so it will be an indoors day.
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