Cameron update
Still freaking cute.
Still eating every 2.5 – 3 hours overnight (which is wayyyy better than 2!).
Currently, he’s IN THE ZONE. Thank you to those of you who encouraged this purchase. I sort of hate owning a behemoth contraption that has a shelf life of approximately 4 months, but I love that it makes him calm and happy. At least for the moment.
Life update
Things are running a bit more smoothly over here. My parents are visiting from Philadelphia, providing not one but two sets of loving hands (a hot commodity around here right now). Every day I’m feeling a little bit less like ‘postpartum me’ and more like me me. But it’s definitely a process.
Sleep helps. A lot.
Interesting things / links:
Despite feeling like I have ‘no time’, I’ve been reading more (on- and offline) than I ever could while working. Most of this is done while breastfeeding, but hey — it still counts!
Currently making my way through:
overwhelmed: work, love, and play when nobody has the time by brigid schulte. so far i’m not finding much new content, as this topic has been rehashed to death. i’m also not finding any unique answers as to how to stop feeling . . .well, overwhelmed at times*. i did enjoy the chapter about the equal-parenting utopia that denmark seems to be.
wild: from lost to found on the pacific coast trail by cheryl strayed. recommended quite a while ago, and i really like it so far.
Bookmarked posts from the last 2 weeks:
feeling defeated? here’s how to rebound from the simple dollar. kind of needed this one the other day.
sick day from mothers in medicine
how to wake up every morning on top of the world from tiny buddha. although a few more consecutive hours of sleep would probably do that for me right now . . .
next stage financial advice, by nicole and maggie.
pizza spaghetti squash from iowa girl eats.
do the most important thing first from the happiness project
the universe of a single task from zen habits
carrot cake baked oatmeal from oh she glows
on hands-free living from writing chapter three
how does being a penelope affect the way you parent? from penelope loves lists
* the answers I already knew boil down to:
1) Get help (from family or hired).
2) Stop trying to live up to impossible standards.
3) Do not feel guilty about either of the above.
However, I still find it hard and sometimes get overwhelmed anyway.
9 Comments
We have that swing too!!! It literally saved our family those first few months but you are right, it is enormous with such a short shelf life. It is now crammed in a closet in our tiny NYC apt but I refuse to give it up in case there is another… it was just way way way too helpful. So happy that you gave in and bought it… hopefully it makes things a little bit easier for all of you. Cameron looks quite content in there!
Yes!! I have the 10+ year old version of that swing and it has soothed probably 8 babies so far. Will napped in his until he was 5 months old. So glad it’s working for Cameron!
I looooooooooooooved Wild. I got it from the library but I might actually purchase it so I can reread it every so often. I found it very moving, especially since I could relate to the loss of her mother.
Btw, have you read All Joy and No Fun yet? I’m in the middle of it right now.
Thanks for the link! I’m glad that Overwhelmed offers reasonable advice… some of those books/articles don’t. (They’re all, quit your dayjob and start a home business, or other things that are not actually likely to lead to less stress.)
Had that exact same swing and used it every day for, get this, EIGHT months. It was the one piece of baby equipment I cried when I had to put away. I loved Jackson’s time in that thing.
Again, continue to be super impressed you’re blogging regularly. Sending you tons of good energy!
My son loved that swing! We had the same one! He took naps in it and on occasion was the only place we could get him to sleep at night for awhile. We used it as long as we could! So glad it’s working for you!
neither of mine were a huge fine of the swing
I need to read Wild.
And definitely don’t feel guilty about…anything.
Wouldn’t have survived without the swing, and really glad it seems to be helping.
I had to laugh about your comment on Denmark being an equal-parenting utopia! I work in Denmark and find it less equal when it comes to parenting than many other Scandinavian countries. Fathers take less paternity leave, do less in the household etc. That said, I love Denmark!
Glad to hear that you are feeling more and more like yourself again. Sleep is key, as you say. Cameron looks happy in his little swing. So cute!
Don’t underestimate the longevity of the swing! Even after my first daughter stopped sleeping and napping in it, we would still let her sleep in it when she was sick (at least until she was too big for it). The incline of the seat helped her sleep better when she was congested since she wasn’t laying flat on her back – so you might get more use out of it than you think!