Category Archives: Quickies

Random thoughts that have drifted in and out.

Feb20

Nursing Strike!

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Nursing Strike!
Nurse the baby: your protection against troubl...

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Miles never went through a nursing strike, so this has come completely by surprise from Juniper. The only issue I’ve had with Juni was that in the beginning, he nursed constantly giving me little time for anything else. So now at nearly 9 months old he has begun refusing to nurse. It’s frustrating and upsetting to have my sweet baby push me away. I’ve been reassured that he is NOT weaning himself and that it is a completely normal phase in development for a breastfed baby. It’s just so odd for him to reject his source of hydration and comfort out of seemingly nowhere. Not just to push away from me, but to look at my breast with confusion as if it were a 3 headed alien. I’m trying to remain calm and steady and continue to offer my milk to him. I’ve been expressing and giving him that so that he doesn’t become dehydrated.

A friend of mine that had great success nursing her son, has given me advice and this link to more information about nursing strikes.

Today has been a bit better. He partially nursed twice so far, once on waking and once before his nap. I feel like it will be a couple of days before we are back on track, but I’m happy to have a good support system in place to help me through the rough spots.

Feb15

Desperately Seeking Solace

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Desperately Seeking Solace
Buddha at thotlakonda

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A couple of years ago, I was at wit’s end. I was depressed and anxious because I was having difficulty getting pregnant. Miles and I were not getting along very well, fighting like an old married couple. Basically, I just needed a break. A long break. I took a week to myself with no responsibilities, no time restraints or house work. I took the bus to spend the week at my mother in-law’s house in Virginia. She was working the whole week, so I had the place to myself. It was glorious. I sat and listened as the heavy rain beat against the green leaves outside the open windows. Wrote for hours. Napped. Ate. Walked outside when the rain stopped. It was thoroughly rejuvenating. When I returned to my regular life, Miles and I were friends again (for a week or so). I had been so relaxed that I got out of my body’s way. I was pregnant with Juniper.

Well, it’s been a while and I need that break again. Although my time in Virginia was relaxing, I’m looking for someplace new. Someplace that holds new sounds, smells and tastes. I won’t be able to go until the summer since Miles is in preschool now, so that gives me plenty of time to decide. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know. It should be a place that has lots of quiet, but also safe for a woman to travel alone. It also has to be SUPER cheap. Tall order, I know.

I love my family more than  I can ever put into words, but… mama needs a break.

Jan2

A New Year’s quicky.

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A New Year’s quicky.
Girl Who Had Everything

I'm feeling a bit like Liz today.

Well, its a new year with all new possibilities. I’m feeling lighter, emotionally and physically. New Year’s weekend was pretty wonderful for me and I’m trying to carry that through for as long as I can. I finally got some real ME time by surrounding myself with girlfriends, while leaving the boys with Kofi over night and in to the next day. I missed my family, but the time away was refreshing to say the least. All that was necessary for my little getaway was a breast pump and an incredibly wonderful husband to hold down the fort. I thank my lucky stars that Kofi is so supportive and understanding of my needs. He had some bonding time with his sons and I was able to be girly and slightly irresponsible. I loved it!

I now feel like I can reasonably deal with Miles’ insubordinate behavior without become a wailing banshee. It does no good for either of us when all my patience is gone. Maybe we both needed the time apart. All I know is that yesterday, we had a fantastic day of playing, eating, talking and just being a family. It was marvelous.

Also I’m happy to say that I reached my weight loss goal for 2011. The baby weight is gone plus a little extra. This year I hope to just firm up and get down to the weight I was when I met Kofi. I can do it!

So, I’m looking forward to this new year. I’m very curious to see what it will bring to us or what we’ll bring to ourselves.

Dec6

Too many tomorrows or not enough?

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Too many tomorrows or not enough?

I’ll do it tomorrow when I have more time.

Huh, I didn’t do it today either.

I’ll start it tomorrow.

Wow, today really got away from me. When am I going to do all of these things that I keep telling myself I need to do?

I know, next week will be better. I’ll have so much more time and hopefully I’ll be motivated to do it.

These are the thoughts that keep me safe in my little bubble where I wish so much for myself, but don’t actually attain any of my goals. Right now in fact, I’m writing this blog entry so that I have an excuse not to fold the laundry and start dinner. If I don’t get those simple tasks done, then I certainly won’t have time to lift weights, crochet, clean, do yoga or any number of things I tell myself I wish I had time to do. My mind is already jumping to next month when the holidays are over and I won’t have so many obligations to deal with.

I want to be in the kind of shape I was in when I lived in San Diego, but that requires exercise (The photo to the right is from that time in my life. When ever I look at it, I wish I had that energy again). I get past this by assuring myself that no one expects a mother of a toddler and a 6 month old to have the extra time and energy to exercise. It’s so easy to justify. I know I’m not alone in this. That’s why when we see someone that has all the time restraints that we do and more, but is still able to miraculously run marathons or run their own business, they seem inhuman. We wonder what their big secret is. I know their secret, it just doesn’t feel realistic to me. They have drive. Stamina that is unwavering even on the hard days. They push themselves farther than I’m usually willing to push myself.

One might argue that I pushed myself to have two natural births. I was able to push myself through learning to nurse Miles and then nursing a voracious Juniper when he came along. But see, there is a difference. I did those things for the welfare of my children, not so much for myself. When it comes to pushing myself to do things just for me, I tend to falter.

The aspect of this ongoing struggle that always gets me down, is that there are only so many tomorrows to wait for.

Nov15

…because I wanted to write something about what’s happening now.

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…because I wanted to write something about what’s happening now.
Juniper.

Juniper

Things are finally starting to fall in to place with Juniper and Miles. Having two kids is just… well, it’s harder than I would have imagined. Trying to keep up with the needs of an infant and a 3 year old has been a real test of my patience. Miles still isn’t fully potty trained, but at least he’s doing all his #2 in the potty. Juniper is passed the colic, but is now dealing with teething. I’ll take pee pee diapers over poopie diapers and teething over colic any day.

As far as brothers go, they are pretty awesome. I can see the love that they have for each other get stronger every day. Miles loves to help me take care of Juniper. Whether it’s throwing out a dirty diaper, fetching me some wipes or rocking him in his seat to calm his crying, he is a fantastic big brother. I try to imagine what they will be like as teenagers. Will they be close friends or have separate interests? Will they fight or defend each other? Will they still be good boys or will I want to sell them to the gypsies? Only time will tell.

The holidays are coming up fast. Thanksgiving will be here in a little over a week and then Christmas. Miles is talking about writing a letter to Santa and we need to start thinking about our Christmas photo/video we do every year. Now that our family is complete, it’ll be nice to document it with one of our usual silly projects. Stay tuned!

Lastly, I love my little family. That being said, I need to find more time for myself so that I can continue to feel the love.

Sep15

Let sleeping babies…ya know…sleep.

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Let sleeping babies…ya know…sleep.
German chamomile

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Juni is still not completely past the colic and it is definitely wearing on me. He’s much better now, but he has his bad days. I’m shocked that at this point Miles doesn’t hate both of us. I’m constantly shushing him so that Juniper will sleep a little longer. I just need the quiet is all. I know it’s good to let babies get use to sleeping through noisy situations so they know the difference between night time and day time sleeping, but… honestly my brain needs him to sleep. So far gripe water is the only thing that will calm him when he’s deep into the crying. If I didn’t have that at the ready, I’d probably have gone postal by now. I’ve just gone a teeny bit crazy, so that’s not too bad I guess.

To any mama going through this with her little bundle of heaven, I highly recommend Wellements Gripe Water For Colic. It’s made with organic ginger and fennel extracts as well as organic chamomile flower. It has no alcohol or sucrose in it. It’s been mommy’s little helper for the past month or so. I don’t know what I did before it or what I’d do without it. You can order it at the link above. Luckily it is also sold at Kid to Kid Consignment stores, which has a store local to me.

I’d love to hear from anyone that has survived colic with their baby. If you have any hints or magic trick you’d like to share with the rest of us, please comment here. Thanks!

Related articles
Sep10

Losing it a little

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Losing it a little

I’m there. I didn’t see it coming at all. The twice a year depression that finds me and somehow catches me totally unaware. The feeling that all of my friends aren’t really my friends. My relationship is slipping. Now that there are children in my life, I feel that I’m screwing them up with my behavior. It will be over in a few days. I just need to hold on til then.

Aug17

No time, no time at all

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No time, no time at all
Alternative version of image:Wooden hourglass ...

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Facebook post from roughly 4 hours ago:
A friend told me that she misses reading my blog. I miss writing it. I also miss having the time to write it. Can/should I push myself to do one more thing? I’m leaning towards yes.

 

As I write this, I am rocking Juniper in his infant carrier seat with my right foot. I’m hoping in vain that I will have just a few minutes to put down a thought or two from the day. My days are ridiculous now with diaper/pull up changes, breast feeding, practicing my quartet music, crocheting and getting 3 meals on the table for Miles and me (Kofi’s only here for 1 meal a day). Time to write has all but disappeared. Tonight I’ve given myself the challenge to make it happen, even if what I write is total crap. It will be my total crap, and that’s good enough for me.

Huh, what was I going to write about again? Carina would probably remember. She said, ” That’s an interesting thought, you should write about that in your blog.”. Shoot, what was it?! The problem is I feel rushed since he could at any moment wake up and decide that he’s starving and must eat NOW. Think, Theresa, what was the conversation about? Oh! I got it.

I was saying that I thought the only reason that I’m able to get through these rough times (with even some of my sanity intact) is that each morning is like an emotional reboot for me. Somehow, every morning I’m able to wake up with a nearly clean slate. I put yesterday behind me and hope for the best for the day ahead. There are no guarantees that today will be better, but there’s a chance that it will be and that gives me hope. So, when the day has been particularly rough and I’m climbing into bed, I know that when the sun comes up again, it’ll be a little better. She asked if that was a philosophy that I fostered as a coping mechanism. “No”, I said, “that’s just the way I work.”. It’s sort of a selective amnesia I suppose. It allows me to keep on keepin’ on and I am grateful that that’s how my brain functions. It’s similar to the way women “forget” what labor is really like, so we can continue to have more babies after the first one. I forget how much I wanted to ring my toddler’s neck for talking back with a smirk on his face so that I can give him a genuine bear hug and kiss at the beginning of the next day. Of course I wish that I could be all zen-like and not let the talking back affect me in the first place, but how realistic is that? Not very, considering my low patience level and short temper.

Anywho, it’s late. I’m tired and a bit hungry. This was good! I’m proud of me. Thanks Carina for getting me back to the keyboard and into my head.

Mar10

What’s for dinner?

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What’s for dinner?

I was at a loss. Truly. Kofi has band practice, so it’s just going to be Miles and me for our nightly sit down. I wanted to use up the rest of the quinoa that I had cooked last night. It took Miles about an hour to eat the plain quinoa and spinach meatballs last time, so I wondered how I could dress it up to shorten the eating time tonight.

Tadah! The lonely can of soup that’s been getting dusty in my cupboard for the past 2 months. I never buy canned soup because of the high sodium content and also cause I don’t like the tin can flavor that comes with it. My sister in law gave it to me because no one would eat it at her house and I didn’t have to heart to tell her no one would eat it in my house either. It’s not like it’s terrible soup (Muir Glen Organic Minestrone), it’s just that I like to make my own and not have to worry about possible BPA in the can.

But desperate times call for desperate measures. I opened the can, took the Magic Bullet out of the cupboard and turned the soup into a thick soupy broth. Adding the leftover quinoa to the broth and cooking on medium until bubbly completed the meal. Oh yeah, I added some water and spices to the pureed soup to cut the saltiness and add some non-can flavor. Will it be edible? We shall see.