I’ll try to do an updated D-I-T-L post now that Cameron is out of the newborn period, but right now I just wanted to update on life . . . these days.
Overall, things are pretty good! This year’s trifecta of new job / new location / new baby is starting to feel like — well, the not-so-new normal. And I’m starting to just settle in and enjoy some of the rhythms of life right now. I know I tend to get (very) nitpicky about certain things, and often launch big projects to improve various aspects of life (example: attempting to ease up on technology use). But right now I’m just sort of living and not thinking quite as hard about it.
And so far, everything seems to be okay.
Things I am enjoying, little and big:
When A&C play together. Oh, the way he looks at her, and the way she giggles at him! It’s just the sweetest most amazing thing ever.
Podcasts in the car. I actually really don’t mind my commute that much because I genuinely enjoy the time I get to spend listening to interesting things without any distractions other than the occasional jam on I-95.
My morning ritual. Generally, both kids sleep until 6:30 (Annabel even goes past 7 most days!), and I’ve been pumping/blog reading and then fitting in a workout before that time. The pump time gives me an excuse to drink some coffee and wake up a little, and the whole thing is just pretty peaceful and pleasant.
Getting to know some of my patients better. I’ve now been at my job nearly a year, so I’m seeing some kids for the 3rd visit. I really like building these relationships, and that’s one of the reasons I chose the field I did.
Generally keeping up at work. Dropping a pump session has helped greatly with this. I HATE feeling behind and very much enjoy the feeling of having as many loose ends tied up as possible at the end of every day.
Things I’d like more of;
Time with Josh. Our wonderful babysitter R just moved and so we are left without date night coverage for a while. I’m definitely looking forward to finding someone else. Plus, I’d love to be able to stay up a little later — currently I pass out close to 9 or 9:30 because of C’s night wake ups.
Social circle. This is slowly (very slowly) building. Sort of. I still struggle with making friends in our area but I am determined to meet more people.
Just more time in general! I think about all the books I’d like to read, projects I’d like to do (PHOTOBOOKS!!!), and home things that in theory should get done. But there truly is very little kid-free, work-free time in my life right now that isn’t already committed to things I consider essential (exercise, family time). And the small chunks I do have tend to get filled up with things like . . .writing this post 🙂
Other little updates:
For those of you following along in my pumping saga, things are definitely better now that I have accepted — no,
embraced!— the idea of cutting back and starting to supplement, initially from the freezer (but eventually with formula once my now 290ish oz are exhausted). I dropped from 5 pumps/day to 3 pumps/day: once early AM, and twice at work. This is much more manageable. i’m getting less (12-13 oz/day instead of 15-17 oz) but feeling infinitely more sane. Coming to terms with the idea of supplementing probably helped the most!
Right now I plan on continuing this regimen until about 6 months, and then potentially going to just breastfeeding AM/PM and using formula during the day. We’ll see.
I am taking a more moderate approach to body/health issues, too. I am just focusing on eating intuitively, making generally healthy selections, and paying attention to internal signals (aka: honoring ridiculous breastfeeding hunger when it does hit at times). I AM making an effort to work out 5ish days/week, because I just feel so much better when I do — aiming for ~3 runs (3-4 miles each) and ~2 barre online workouts/week, with some Jillian Michaels thrown in for good measure when I’m feeling really motivated. This combo/amount just feels like right at this moment.
Upcoming challenges:
I have two weeks of call in a row in July. 14 consecutive days. Wish me luck . . .
We’re traveling to PHL for 4th of July weekend with A&C – first flight with two. I’m actually not at all worried about A but C will be a wild card . . .
(Hoping to see some of my favorite blog-world friends while I am there! I am excited!)
Parenting transitions: C needs to leave our room at some point and we probably need to start thinking about toilet training with A (but I feel like I can’t quite deal with the latter yet!)
i call this one “selfie with half of C”
why yes, he is wearing shoes. clearly he needs them.
eating the banana bread she made with me!
mother of 3 // MD // south floridian // ESFJ // upholder.
into: planners, great food, running, reading, writing, mornings, podcasting, and coffee.
3 Comments
So we didn’t get around to the 2013 photo book until now (June). I think my husband realized I was never going to make it, so he made it (mostly — I filled in some captions). I highly recommend this as an approach to projects.
i use that approach with lots of projects (basically: ALL home projects, because he cares much more than i do) but this one is definitely mine. i know i can do it efficiently and won’t even mind it once i start. maybe i’ll have a babysitting session where the only objective is to get the photos done. that actually sounds kind of nice . . .
Umm, my photo project is 4 YEARS overdue. One of these days, seriously. Or not, I really don’t care anymore. All of this is good—no, GREAT—stuff. Its amazing how much easier it all goes when we loosen up on ourselves, right? You and I seem similar in this need to create big self-improvement projects, I think there is a time and place for them, but there is a peace in simply LIVING, even if you sometimes sneak a look at the phone when you’re playing with kids, or have an extra snack (or two).
Remember Gretchen Rubin’s 15 minute/day rule that she used for photos? I’m thinking of implementing that, starting at B’s birth and slowly moving through the past 4 years. I, too, keep looking for a large chunk of time, but if I get a large chunk of time I do NOT want to be stuck on the laptop sorting photos.
Looking forward to the long weekend!