Before I had even entertained the idea of being a mom, I recognized the power of the stroller! I would see someone pushing a stroller through the mall, going as slow or fast as they wanted and people kindly parted like the Red Sea! No one would ever give a dirty look to someone speeding past them with the stroller. No one would ever shout, "Move it!" to some one slowly pushing along their tot, as they block an entire store aisle. Very early in my pregnancy, it dawned on me that I would soon hold the "power of the stroller" very soon! The idea thrilled me!
Now that I have the "power of the stroller", I've noticed that most people respect the power and some do not! Most people kindly move aside to let the stroller pass by, some seem to resent the stroller and the idea of one going by faster than they are walking. I have honestly had people walking in front of me at the mall and as I go to pass them with the stroller, they will speed up and practically run me into a kiosk! Sometimes I want to shout, "Respect the power of the stroller!" Then, there is the time that I'm slowly moving along, trying to soothe my baby or wipe off her face. I've had people squeeze past and practically throw their elbow into my side and send me and my baby into the wall!
I know that most people respect the power of the stroller, but to those of you who do not: Respect the stroller because one day you may just be pushing one, or run over by one!
Until next time!! Respect the power of the stroller!
Rachel
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Guilt of the Stay at Home Mom
A lot of people have heard about how working moms feel guilty. They feel guilty for leaving their child(ren) in daycare or with a sitter. They feel guilty because the can't be "room mothers". They feel guilty for many reasons, but no one ever talks about or hears about the guilt of the stay at home mom.
As you know, I am a stay at home for now mom. Off and on, I have felt guilty for one reason or another. Now, I have pretty much found my place and am happy and guilt-free in it! Prior to obtaining this guilt-free feeling, I did have some issues with the idea of staying home full time.
I struggled with the idea of not going to work in the morning and instead sleeping in until my daughter wakes up. I felt like I wasn't being productive simply because I didn't wake up at my pre-baby wake up time of 5:30 or 6:00 am, get dressed, do my make-up and hair, shove some toast and fruit in my bag and jump in the car. Even though, I was getting up with Baby sometimes every hour at night, I felt guilty that I didn't get up at this specific time and do these specific things. At times, I felt guilty that my husband had to wake up and go through his morning routine alone; simply because I was too exhausted to move. (Note: My husband has never said or did anything to make me feel guilty about not getting up with him.) All of this guilt came from deep inside of myself.
I have also felt guilty because my husband is now the sole provider for our family. (Do we make enough money to survive, pay our bills, and take care of all of our needs? Yes. Do we splurge now as much as we did when we were both working? No.) I felt guilty, because now we stop and think for a second before going out to eat or buying this random thing we want.
Lastly, I felt guilty when I simply don't have the time or energy to clean up the house or cook dinner. That's just how it goes sometimes when Baby is cranky and will not be put down. (I have been told about the wonders of the baby carrier. Yes, I have one. Sometimes Baby just won't have being placed in it.)
After speaking to other stay at home moms, I've realized we all feel this guilt. Some not for the same reason, but we feel it too. Here's to the stay at home moms letting go of their guilt! They are doing great things for their husbands and children and should not feel guilty for it!
Until next time,
Rachel
As you know, I am a stay at home for now mom. Off and on, I have felt guilty for one reason or another. Now, I have pretty much found my place and am happy and guilt-free in it! Prior to obtaining this guilt-free feeling, I did have some issues with the idea of staying home full time.
I struggled with the idea of not going to work in the morning and instead sleeping in until my daughter wakes up. I felt like I wasn't being productive simply because I didn't wake up at my pre-baby wake up time of 5:30 or 6:00 am, get dressed, do my make-up and hair, shove some toast and fruit in my bag and jump in the car. Even though, I was getting up with Baby sometimes every hour at night, I felt guilty that I didn't get up at this specific time and do these specific things. At times, I felt guilty that my husband had to wake up and go through his morning routine alone; simply because I was too exhausted to move. (Note: My husband has never said or did anything to make me feel guilty about not getting up with him.) All of this guilt came from deep inside of myself.
I have also felt guilty because my husband is now the sole provider for our family. (Do we make enough money to survive, pay our bills, and take care of all of our needs? Yes. Do we splurge now as much as we did when we were both working? No.) I felt guilty, because now we stop and think for a second before going out to eat or buying this random thing we want.
Lastly, I felt guilty when I simply don't have the time or energy to clean up the house or cook dinner. That's just how it goes sometimes when Baby is cranky and will not be put down. (I have been told about the wonders of the baby carrier. Yes, I have one. Sometimes Baby just won't have being placed in it.)
After speaking to other stay at home moms, I've realized we all feel this guilt. Some not for the same reason, but we feel it too. Here's to the stay at home moms letting go of their guilt! They are doing great things for their husbands and children and should not feel guilty for it!
Until next time,
Rachel
Thursday, February 3, 2011
A Day in the Life Of! Official ending!
Baby was put down at 11:30pm last night, but didn't stay down long! She ended up staying up until 2:45am! Part of this time, Baby was with Hubby, then, I got to take over. I was so exhausted that Baby spent the better part of her time in her bouncy seat or nursing.
This is a pretty good example of a typical day of my life. Usually there is more active play, but this was a fairly accurate depiction! I'll make another post tonight, probably about how stay at home mom's feel guilty.
Rachel
This is a pretty good example of a typical day of my life. Usually there is more active play, but this was a fairly accurate depiction! I'll make another post tonight, probably about how stay at home mom's feel guilty.
Rachel
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
A Day in the Life of!
I have decided that today, I will chronicle the adventures of Rachel and Baby. I will edit this post several times to update throughout the day all of our activities!
Wake up at 9:15am.
Baby is happy in her crib, playing with the rail, so Rachel gets to run to the bathroom and quickly get dressed.
It's time for Baby to eat at 9:30am.
She eats until 10am, then it's Rachel's turn.
I found a "diet" in American Baby, called the Cinch diet, I'm trying out (starting today). You have 1 vegetable or fruit, 1 whole grain (2 if you're nursing. Score!), 1 Protein, 1 Plant based fat, and some kind of seasoning at every meal, including your snack. (You get 4 meals a day. Not too bad!) My go to breakfast is oatmeal, usually with a ton of brown sugar, not today though! I make my oatmeal and add only cinnamon and almonds (this takes care of 1 grain, 1 plant fat, and seasoning). I add a slice of toast with minimal Olivio spray and skim milk and orange juice to drink (that gave me my additional grain, 1 protein, and 1 fruit).
Baby watched from her high chair as I prepared my breakfast. I always let her smell and touch as many things as possible!
At 10:30am Baby started to get fussy; we started to wind down and get ready for her nap. We cuddle and talked on the couch, and as always, I ended up nursing her to sleep. She had her nap from 10:45am-12:45pm.
While baby was sleeping, I started the laundry, cleaned the kitchen and started working on my blog. At a little after noon, the hubby came home for lunch. I took a break from my work and we chatted about how are day has gone. Baby woke up just in time to give Daddy a kiss before he returned to work.
After Baby woke from her nap and said bye to Daddy, I finished part of my blog post while she played in her bouncy seat.
Then we played in the nursery for a bit and had some diaper free time, which was cut short by Baby tinkling on her quilt! After getting cleaned up and dressed, Annika was ready to eat again. It was about 1:30pm when she started and she was finished by 2:15pm.
By this time I was hungry for lunch, so I put Baby in her "Pack and Play" with a few toys while I threw together my lunch (hamburger gravy over rice with orange juice on the side). Lunch wasn't quite on track with Cinch but it was the best I had at the moment. I did have good portion control though!
While I ate, I held Babyo my lap and we "talked". Until she started to meltdown at about 2:45pm, her usual nap time.
I held her off from sleep until 3pm. (I'm trying to get her second nap to come later in the day, much to her dismay!) At that point, I nursed her to sleep again. She slept on my chest for a bit, then I was getting ready to put her down in her "Pack and Play" and she woke up! She had only slept for maybe fifteen minutes at max! So, I nursed her to sleep again! Then, put her down right after she fell asleep.
Baby slept until 5:30pm. When she woke up, she played with Daddy for a bit, then we all got ready to go out to dinner (Long John Silver's, I know it didn't fit the Cinch diet, but it was Hubby's idea!) and Target.
Whenever we left our house, it started to snow quite a bit, so we decided not to go, and drove to KFC instead. Upon arriving at KFC, the snow slowed so we decided to go with our original plan!
We ate first, and Baby was wonderful! She smiled and cooed the whole time.
After LJ's, we scampered to Target. We mostly bought stuff for Baby. (Most of which wasn't on our list!) I picked out two cute scarves that are shear to use for creative play with Baby. (I learned some fun activities from our Gymboree class last week and they require a scarf.) We also picked up some baby food (Gerber Step 1 for the Assisted Sitter) and a toy.
After checking out, we looked out the store windows. (Oh my!) It was a blizzard; a white out! It was insane! The trek to the car had us all covered in snow! We left the store at about 8pm. We didn't get home until almost 9pm! Normally the drive only takes 30 minutes! We made it home safe and sound though, and Baby slept the whole way home!
When we got home, I decide to pump a few ounces of breastmilk to mix with Baby's rice cereal, while Hubby and Baby played. When I finished pumping, I nursed Baby while Hubby mixed up the cereal. At about 10pm, we spoon fed Baby for the second time! The first time, we mixed her rice cereal with formula; she was disgusted by it! This time, she seemed to enjoy the rice cereal a lot more. So, from now on, I will pump two ounces of breastmilk daily for her cereal.
At about 10:30pm Baby was finished with her cereal and Hubby got her bath ready. Then, we bathed her together. She HATES baths! She nearly always screams and never smiles. I still have hope that she will get used to them soon and maybe even start to enjoy them! After her bath, we quickly lotioned Baby with her Johnson's Bedtime Lotion (LOVE IT, Hubby and I use it for ourselves too!) and dressed her.
Baby and Hubby played for a few minutes, then Baby started to get sleepy. Daddy quickly put her down at 11:30pm, which is early for Baby (She usually goes down at 1 or 2am.).
Wake up at 9:15am.
Baby is happy in her crib, playing with the rail, so Rachel gets to run to the bathroom and quickly get dressed.
It's time for Baby to eat at 9:30am.
She eats until 10am, then it's Rachel's turn.
I found a "diet" in American Baby, called the Cinch diet, I'm trying out (starting today). You have 1 vegetable or fruit, 1 whole grain (2 if you're nursing. Score!), 1 Protein, 1 Plant based fat, and some kind of seasoning at every meal, including your snack. (You get 4 meals a day. Not too bad!) My go to breakfast is oatmeal, usually with a ton of brown sugar, not today though! I make my oatmeal and add only cinnamon and almonds (this takes care of 1 grain, 1 plant fat, and seasoning). I add a slice of toast with minimal Olivio spray and skim milk and orange juice to drink (that gave me my additional grain, 1 protein, and 1 fruit).
Baby watched from her high chair as I prepared my breakfast. I always let her smell and touch as many things as possible!
At 10:30am Baby started to get fussy; we started to wind down and get ready for her nap. We cuddle and talked on the couch, and as always, I ended up nursing her to sleep. She had her nap from 10:45am-12:45pm.
While baby was sleeping, I started the laundry, cleaned the kitchen and started working on my blog. At a little after noon, the hubby came home for lunch. I took a break from my work and we chatted about how are day has gone. Baby woke up just in time to give Daddy a kiss before he returned to work.
After Baby woke from her nap and said bye to Daddy, I finished part of my blog post while she played in her bouncy seat.
Then we played in the nursery for a bit and had some diaper free time, which was cut short by Baby tinkling on her quilt! After getting cleaned up and dressed, Annika was ready to eat again. It was about 1:30pm when she started and she was finished by 2:15pm.
By this time I was hungry for lunch, so I put Baby in her "Pack and Play" with a few toys while I threw together my lunch (hamburger gravy over rice with orange juice on the side). Lunch wasn't quite on track with Cinch but it was the best I had at the moment. I did have good portion control though!
While I ate, I held Babyo my lap and we "talked". Until she started to meltdown at about 2:45pm, her usual nap time.
I held her off from sleep until 3pm. (I'm trying to get her second nap to come later in the day, much to her dismay!) At that point, I nursed her to sleep again. She slept on my chest for a bit, then I was getting ready to put her down in her "Pack and Play" and she woke up! She had only slept for maybe fifteen minutes at max! So, I nursed her to sleep again! Then, put her down right after she fell asleep.
Baby slept until 5:30pm. When she woke up, she played with Daddy for a bit, then we all got ready to go out to dinner (Long John Silver's, I know it didn't fit the Cinch diet, but it was Hubby's idea!) and Target.
Whenever we left our house, it started to snow quite a bit, so we decided not to go, and drove to KFC instead. Upon arriving at KFC, the snow slowed so we decided to go with our original plan!
We ate first, and Baby was wonderful! She smiled and cooed the whole time.
After LJ's, we scampered to Target. We mostly bought stuff for Baby. (Most of which wasn't on our list!) I picked out two cute scarves that are shear to use for creative play with Baby. (I learned some fun activities from our Gymboree class last week and they require a scarf.) We also picked up some baby food (Gerber Step 1 for the Assisted Sitter) and a toy.
After checking out, we looked out the store windows. (Oh my!) It was a blizzard; a white out! It was insane! The trek to the car had us all covered in snow! We left the store at about 8pm. We didn't get home until almost 9pm! Normally the drive only takes 30 minutes! We made it home safe and sound though, and Baby slept the whole way home!
When we got home, I decide to pump a few ounces of breastmilk to mix with Baby's rice cereal, while Hubby and Baby played. When I finished pumping, I nursed Baby while Hubby mixed up the cereal. At about 10pm, we spoon fed Baby for the second time! The first time, we mixed her rice cereal with formula; she was disgusted by it! This time, she seemed to enjoy the rice cereal a lot more. So, from now on, I will pump two ounces of breastmilk daily for her cereal.
At about 10:30pm Baby was finished with her cereal and Hubby got her bath ready. Then, we bathed her together. She HATES baths! She nearly always screams and never smiles. I still have hope that she will get used to them soon and maybe even start to enjoy them! After her bath, we quickly lotioned Baby with her Johnson's Bedtime Lotion (LOVE IT, Hubby and I use it for ourselves too!) and dressed her.
Baby and Hubby played for a few minutes, then Baby started to get sleepy. Daddy quickly put her down at 11:30pm, which is early for Baby (She usually goes down at 1 or 2am.).
Schedule?
Since one of the hardest things about being mom is getting your baby to be on some sort of schedule, especially when it comes to naps and bedtime, I decided to do some research on the matter. As luck may have it, I did my research at Goodwill where I found a book called "The Baby Whisperer" for the everyday low price of fifty cents. I heard about this book from several sources and it came highly reccommended. (We'll see!)
I read the first few chapters. I found out that I am unorganized (knew that) and that I had a "spirited baby". (We all know what "spirited" means...) Now, how shall we deal with this? "The Baby Whisperer" outlines an E.A.S.Y plan. (I like easy!) But, first says that I need to be organized and consistent. (Oh boy!)
The next four chapters outline this E.A.S.Y. plan. The E is for eating. It tells me how to feed my baby and how often. (Okay? I've been feeding her for four months now, got it!) The A is for activity. It tells me that newborns are pretty boring and don't do much, the book gives few ideas for activities to do with baby. (First of all, I have a "spirited baby". She has been "active since day one. Second, she's now four months old. She needs active play. Third, is nursing an activity?) Then, comes S! S is for sleep! This is the part I need! The two things that stick out to me most in S: (1) Do not nurse your baby to sleep (What? This is the way I've done it for four months!) (2) Put your baby down to sleep "drowsy but awake". (But, then she'll scream at me! She's "spirited" remember!) Why can't S ever be easy? Needless to say, S hasn't happened all that well yet, so I haven't gotten to Y, which is for you.
Currently, I am "tracking" her sleeping and eating, trying to form a schedule based on her needs. This was suggested somewhere in the front of the book. We loosely follow the E.A.S.Y. plan and it seems to work very well during the day, then just dissolves in the evening. I really believe that a baby's schedule will eventually work itself out. Just like us, babies have circadian rythyms (sleep at nighttime, wake in daytime). They start to get into circadian rythyms around three months. Since we live in a cold, dark place in the winter, I truely believe that this spring and summer when we have more daylight, all of the kinks will get worked out.
I welcome all of your comments, suggestions and questions!
-Rachel
I read the first few chapters. I found out that I am unorganized (knew that) and that I had a "spirited baby". (We all know what "spirited" means...) Now, how shall we deal with this? "The Baby Whisperer" outlines an E.A.S.Y plan. (I like easy!) But, first says that I need to be organized and consistent. (Oh boy!)
The next four chapters outline this E.A.S.Y. plan. The E is for eating. It tells me how to feed my baby and how often. (Okay? I've been feeding her for four months now, got it!) The A is for activity. It tells me that newborns are pretty boring and don't do much, the book gives few ideas for activities to do with baby. (First of all, I have a "spirited baby". She has been "active since day one. Second, she's now four months old. She needs active play. Third, is nursing an activity?) Then, comes S! S is for sleep! This is the part I need! The two things that stick out to me most in S: (1) Do not nurse your baby to sleep (What? This is the way I've done it for four months!) (2) Put your baby down to sleep "drowsy but awake". (But, then she'll scream at me! She's "spirited" remember!) Why can't S ever be easy? Needless to say, S hasn't happened all that well yet, so I haven't gotten to Y, which is for you.
Currently, I am "tracking" her sleeping and eating, trying to form a schedule based on her needs. This was suggested somewhere in the front of the book. We loosely follow the E.A.S.Y. plan and it seems to work very well during the day, then just dissolves in the evening. I really believe that a baby's schedule will eventually work itself out. Just like us, babies have circadian rythyms (sleep at nighttime, wake in daytime). They start to get into circadian rythyms around three months. Since we live in a cold, dark place in the winter, I truely believe that this spring and summer when we have more daylight, all of the kinks will get worked out.
I welcome all of your comments, suggestions and questions!
-Rachel
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)