plans, schmans . . .

January 9, 2018

Kidding.  Sort of.

I was all jazzed up about doing more posting here in the new year (and thank you all for weighing in on topics!), but am definitely off to a slow start.  Our nanny is sick and I’m strengthening my SAHM-ing muscles this week!  If nothing else, it is helping me to remember how incredibly lucky (and/or spoiled, depending on your take) I am to have her help during these 12 weeks — I don’t neeeeed it like I do when working, but it is so so nice.  Although to be fair (to myself!) thus far I have not very many days at all with kids off + her present (she had her vacay over Christmas/New Years’, and the kids were off from school for 2 full weeks. . .).  But theoretically there should be a number of them up ahead.  Yay.

At least school is back in session!  This morning’s drop-off with all 3 in the rain* was . . . fun.  I organized today’s tasks into:


— Things I need G to be asleep for 

and

— Everything else

Luckily, not much falls into the first category.  Basically just writing this post (hi!) and transcribing the BoBW intro — need to re-record it so that I can officially say “Mom of 3” rather than “soon-to-be-3”.

Hopefully baby G will let me prep dinner while she watches me and/or becomes transfixed by the reflections in the stainless steel fridge (seriously, she is WAY into the reflective fridge surface for whatever reason).  And I can corral the other 2 into their rooms or possibly a show — they are currently blazing through Spirit: Riding Free on Netflix.

Other random goings-on (clearly this is NOT going to be a topical-type post!)

✅ I am sticking to my 2018 goals so far!  (BoBW listeners, there is a new episode up today on our 2018 goals).  Thus far I have been listening to an album every day, reading a lot, and doing my DIA workouts.  I have struggled a bit with one-on-one time with the kids because of the lack of childcare. (I need someone to actually be here to take the other 2 to make that happen!).

✅  I am doing a 6 week challenge from the DIA method to ease back into workouts and hopefully close my diastasis (REALLY MEANS = flatten my post-baby abs).  I even took before pix.  I am only going to share them if there’s an appreciable change at the end of 6 weeks.  (Maybe.)  Thus far it’s a lot of breathing exercises, some gentle strength work (think barre3 but on the easy side) and light cardio.  I am not doing their diet b/c honestly I have to eat a ton while breastfeeding and don’t have significant weight loss goals.

✅  Pumping once/day is going well.  Getting about 2-2.5 oz after her morning feeding and a tiny freezer stock has formed. This time I finally got wise and am freezing the bags flat in an organizer (I got this one and it seems to work so far).  I am too miserly to actually GIVE her a bottle but it’s nice to have this fitting into the routine.

✅  The past 2 nights she slept 9:30 – 2:30, then until around 5:30, then until around 8.  This is much, much better than either A or C did at this age (especially C) and I am just praying she doesn’t regress too much!!  She is really really REALLY a good baby thus far and no matter what happens in the future, I will consider myself lucky to have had it this easy in the early weeks.

✅  Currently reading: The Four Tendencies.  (I have found that my natural reading rhythm right now seems to be 2 novels to 1 non-fiction, then repeat!).  My GOD do I fit her Upholder profile.  (And Josh is such a Questioner).  Fascinating!

* the rain that didn’t start until 2 minutes AFTER we left and sadly, I did not have the foresight to pack an umbrella!

12 Comments

  • Reply SusannahEarlyBd March 10, 2019 at 7:06 pm

    I love hodgepodge posts like this!

    A 5 hour stretch at night! So awesome!!! Hope it continues!

  • Reply Amanda March 10, 2019 at 7:06 pm

    I have the exact same attitude towards breastmilk – I want it ALL IN THE FREEZER but i hate to use it. Very Scrooge McDuckish of me. I wish I was that disciplined with my money.

  • Reply Ana March 10, 2019 at 7:02 pm

    Haha, I always felt "miserly" with the liquid gold, too! Glad the sleep & pumping are going OK, and agree with trying a bottle around 4-6 weeks so she doesn’t freak out later.

  • Reply Brittnie March 10, 2019 at 7:02 pm

    Glad G is sleeping so well! That’s great.

  • Reply Rebecca March 10, 2019 at 7:02 pm

    I think I am a first-time poster – and I love the blog and now podcast so I feel like this is a very silly, specific first post. But I am interested in better milk storage this time around (due with my second at the end of February) and especially intrigued by the spring-loaded storage idea (last time I think we just used whatever bags we had, usually Medela, and froze them flat one at a time until we have enough to fill a large freezer bag – it was pretty haphazard). I can’t tell how narrow this one is; do you know if it would fit any bags – i.e. Lansinoh or Medela – or only this company’s brand ("First Years"?), which I haven’t heard of? Hoping to build a better stash before returning to work this time, especially since I think I will be going back a few weeks earlier this time. Thanks!

    • Reply theSHUbox March 10, 2019 at 7:06 pm

      I’m using it with the Lansinoh bags and they fit perfectly!!

      I did that too the last two times – and yes it was bulky and a mess. This pleases me so much more. Ha!

  • Reply Louise Kerdoncuff March 10, 2019 at 7:02 pm

    Hi Sarah,

    As an upholder yourself, I would be curious to know if you were into baby schedules (feeding and naps time) and routines (bedtime for ex)?

    Thanks!

    • Reply theSHUbox March 10, 2019 at 7:06 pm

      Hi!

      Not into feeding schedules at all – doesn’t work for me. (I don’t think I have a big storage capacity in my boobs, so to keep supply up frequent feeding is important – and for me it’s easier to just feed than try to wait!). At this age, no nap schedules either. But for the older kids definitely yes 🙂

    • Reply theSHUbox March 10, 2019 at 9:00 pm

      oh and finally – i just put G to bed currently when I want to go to bed and it’s been working decently – that way i’m actually sleeping during her longest stretch! currently it’s usually from 9:30 – 1:30 or so.

  • Reply Chelsea March 10, 2019 at 7:02 pm

    One of the greatest "gifts" of my 9-week-old being small and having blood sugar issues is that we supplemented formula from his very first feedings and went home with gallons of the stuff. For me, that provided the mental shift I needed to say, "I’m not going to pump for this one (unless it’s for my own comfort). He’s already had formula. It was totally fine. I’m going to nurse him when he’s with me and be totally cool with him having formula otherwise." Not suggesting that’s right for you or for anyone else, but it was a new experience with me (this is baby #3) and for me, it has been very freeing.

    On a totally different subject, as an obliger, I take issue with the way Gretchen Rubin explains how obligers function. I think the big difference between upholders and obligers is that obligers have trouble keeping commitments to themselves specifically when perceive those commitments as inconveniencing others. Using Gretchen’s own example, she absolutely won’t eat banana bread because she does low carb, and her commitment to herself is more important to her than possibly hurting the feelings of the person who made the banana bread. For an obliger trying to do low carb, it would be incredibly hard to overcome the fear of hurting the feelings of the person who made the banana bread. The "cost" of breaking a promise to yourself is less than the cost (or perceived cost) of breaking the social compact we have in our society where it’s considered polite to eat things people make us and act happy about it no matter what.

    That’s also why partners aren’t great accountability partners for obligers. If I tell my husband (for example), I’m not going to eat pizza because I want to lose weight, it’s going to be super hard for me to turn him down when he asks to get pizza because a)I like pizza and b)I hate inconveniencing him. Whereas for an upholder, I feel like the worry of inconveniencing others is not as strong (more rational? I’m not tying to say upholders are jerks). So they’d be struggling with a) but not a) and b).

    For an obliger, it’s perhaps easiest to do something "for" someone else. Using the same example, I could say no to pizza all day long, even if I really wanted it, if my husband said he didn’t want to eat it because he wanted to lose weight.

    • Reply Danielle March 10, 2019 at 9:00 pm

      We’ll never meet and yet you just described me very well! I’ve read this before and I agree.

    • Reply theSHUbox March 10, 2019 at 7:02 pm

      Re: formula – I think it’s a little different b/c you work at home, right? If I decided not to pump then I would quickly lose most of my supply and wouldn’t be able to feed her on weekends, etc. If I were mostly home I could do that, but in my case I feel like it’s a slippery slope to having no breast milk to offer which would honestly break my heart. I have this primal desire to nurse even though I know logically it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to wean early — I actually find the bond really beautiful and don’t want to end that relationship, esp since this is my last chance! Hence the wanting to pump and sort of stay ‘ahead’ of what she needs.

      I have no problem with some formula – it’s not like ‘omg I want my baby on pure breastmilk’. It’s like – I want to maintain a very solid supply so i can breastfeed my baby and keep this going. (I tend to have an annoying lack of confidence in my supply so perhaps this comes from that . . not sure why but it has persisted throughout 3 pregnancies despite evidence to the contrary.)

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