Tuesday, January 19, 2010

It's Getting Better...!


It's getting better! Lucy is feeling the love again for Mama and this new schedule is working out even better than I could have hoped. Most importantly I feel like I get so much more time with Lucy in the afternoon through the evening, it is truly awesome! In addition to to my Lucy-Mama time with this new schedule I also get so much more done at work in the early morning hours when there are no walk-ins, phone calls or breaks to chat with my co-workers. I feel so much less stressed trying to get everything done because I have three solid hours to non-stop, bang away at my "to-do" list so that even if my remaining hours at work are full of interruptions I still get so much more done that before.

I thought it was going to be really hard getting used to waking up at 4:45 am...suprisingly, it isn't hard at all. In fact, I feel so much more awake when my alarm goes off at 4:30 am (I'm a big time snooze hitter) than I do when my alarm goes off at 7:00 am. It's crazy. Sure, I get a little sleepy in the evenings but as long as I go to bed by 10:00 pm its nothing a little coffee or tea throughout the day can't remedy. Also, can I tell you how nice it is to walk out of the office at at 3:00 pm? Into actual daylight? In the winter? Amazing. Also amazing...no traffic! I zoom (and by zoom I mean I may go a wee bit over the speed limit) through the empty streets in the morning and in the afternoon the only bit of traffic I run into are the school buses, and that's only if I'm running late. Once the weather gets nicer and it is lighter later I'm going to dust off the jogging stroller I bought at a garage sale last year and start taking runs with Lucy in the afternoon. This body needs it and I'm really looking forward to it, fresh air, sunshine, time with Lucy and still making the $$! This schedule makes me so happy!

Lucy is so much more responsive to me now, it really did break my heart when she was snubbing me. I know I can't take it personally, after all she's just a baby, but I'm not going to lie when and say that it didn't hurt when she refused to say "Mama" for a week.



Me: "Come on Lucy say Mama."
Lucy: silence and side eye.
Me: "Ma-Ma, say Ma-Ma. Mama loves you."
Lucy: silence and crinkled nose.
Me: "Maaaaa-Maaaa. Mamamamama"
Lucy: "Dada"
Me: :: sigh::

Now it is all MamaMamaMama. Mama this, mama that. On Saturday morning she woke up next to me, rolled over and patted my face and said "Momma?". I love it! However, for some reason she is still having a extremely challenging time going to sleep at night. We haven't had a hard time getting her down for bedtime since she was 3 or 4 months old. Since then we have read her books, given a quick snuggle and the laid her down in her crib and without a peep she'd be off. Now...she screams like a banshee. It's slowly getting better but man, I thought we were in the clear. She still sleeps with us half the night, and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it would be really nice if she felt comfortable enough in her crib again to start out in there at least! PS. Co-sleeping is awesome. I still think its one of the best things we've done. Period.



Thank you for all your encouraging words last week. It was rough, add on my raging PMS and you've got a trainwreck named Bev. My doctor wasn't lying when she told me that the IUD makes that time of the month worse...it is terrible. I wouldn't mind just plain taking it out... hmmm...what does that mean? I'll let you take what you will from that. Am I crazy? Discuss.



"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. "
-Marcel Proust


28 comments:

Bridget said...

Hi Bev!
I am a long time reader, sometimes poster. I can't tell you how many conversations I had with my little guy like you had with little Lucy. No matter how many times I would say Mama, he would look right at me and say Dada! Now all he days is Mama and I love it!

Oh and I also have an IUD and am going to get it out in a couple months, my doc said it is pretty painfully(what was I thinking?!) so I will let you know.

FSD said...

I'm so happy to read things are better and you're loving the new schedule. That's awesome!

And yay for the prospect of taking out the IUD. I see where you're going with that. ;-) Nope, you're not crazy at all! Good luck if you choose to start trying for baby #2!

Kate said...

Is it time for baby #2? :-)

Sarah H. said...

I'm so glad things are working out better for you! That makes me so happy :)

Just curious...and it may be too personal...but if you had such a hard time conceiving the first go round, why did you decide to go on hormonal birth control (as opposed to the barrier method)? And an IUD at that? I'm just wondering. No judgment what so ever!

Working Mommy said...

Glad that Lucy isn't mad at you anymore :) She just needed to get used to your schedule! As for taking the IUD out...does that mean wanting to have another wee one??

~WM

Beverley said...

Sarah... not to personal at all. I opted for the copper IUD which is simply copper wire and does not contain any hormones whatsoever, apparently copper makes it an inhospitable environment in there, lol!. :)I'll never go back to hormonal BC again.

As for another wee one, well that's another post all together... I've got to ruminate on it for a little while...

maresi said...

I'm so glad you all are finding your rhythm... changes in the routine are always hard!

I LOVE that bedding you have in her crib - where did you get it?

Lauren said...

I'm happy to hear that things are working out for the better. Maybe I should start getting up earlier, because it always seems like I'm insanely tired and unproductive throughout the day.

As for taking out the IUD, if it feels right for you go for it!

TAMMY said...

So glad your new schedule is working out well. I know how tough it can be being a working mom.

Jenni said...

Lucy is so adorable. :)

And OH MY GOSH ... maybe you mentioned this before she was born, but where did you get her crib bedding? I'm in love with it!

Shanny said...

Glad the adjustments are working out for you both! Just hope her sleep schedule gets better too =)

Stacey said...

Bev,

I've been a reader but this is my first time commenting. I'm going through something similar now with my 12mo (I still can bear to say YEAR OLD!)little boy. Apparently he is tired of me and only wants daddy. He won't even let me snuggle him at bedtime! My DH puts his arms out and the child practically throws himself into them. I do it and he cries and twists away. ::sigh:: Glad you have things worked out on your end!

RE the IUD. It took me 6+ years to conceive my son. I refused to back to a hormonal BC (I was on them to regulate periods on and off since I was 14). 6 months after my son was born I found out I was pregnant with my current baby (I'm 31 weeks tomorrow!) and I wouldn't change the outcome. I have considered an IUD after this babe is born (My body needs some recoup time!). Thank you for posting some of your experiences with it. I'm a raging PMS person so I'm wondering if the IUD would be the right choice for me now. It's given me something to think about and discuss with my OB. Thank you for your honesty!

claire said...

Hi there!
I was just curious as to where you got that crib sheet and bumper? I've had a terrible time finding anything even remotely cool
Thanks
Claire

Beverley said...

For everyone curious about her bedding, it is Brooke from Pottery Barn: http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/brooke-nursery-bedding-set/?catalogId=67&bnrid=3580801&cm_ven=GoogleBase&cm_cat=Shopping&cm_pla=Home%20page&cm_ite=Datafeed.

I love it!!!!

Emily B said...

I was just about to ask about the crib bedding too! Ha, guess I wasn't the only one!

Anonymous said...

Hi Bev (and fellow readers),
I've been following your blog for quite awhile. I love to hear about your adventures as a Mom. I'm currently 14 weeks pregnant with my first, and I really appreciate your perspective on motherhood, marriage, work - and juggling it all. (Just as a side note, I was interested to hear that Rob's thinking of law school - my husband is currently in his last semester of law school. It's a big investment, financially and otherwise, but it's such a good fit for my husband that it makes it all worth it.)

I wanted to get in on this IUD conversation since it's something that I feel quite passionately about... After about five years on the pill I finally clued in to the fact that it was affecting my moods and my sex drive. It feels naive to say it, but until that point I hadn't really thought of it as a medication, which of course it is! And I was rather peeved that these were side effects that had never been discussed by my doctors (granted, they're not as serious as deadly blood clots, but they definitely impacted my daily life and my relationship with my partner). So I went off them and started exploring other options. That's when I decided to get an IUD - the copper one like you have - because I wanted something free of hormones. It was rather painful getting it inserted, I think mainly because I hadn't given birth prior to that, and uncomfortable for a few days after. But I had it in for about three years and was so thankful to have such a worry-free, hormone-free method of birth control. And to reassure your reader worried about the removal being painful - it wasn't in the slightest. As far as its impact on PMS and periods, it can make your bleeding somewhat heavier and I guess therefore make cramping somewhat worse, so if you're someone with naturally heavy periods it may not be for you (sorry if this is graphic!). For me that wasn't a problem. And because it's hormone-free, it shouldn't affect you mood-wise during your period. I was so relieved to feel more like myself, after feeling like I was on an emotional roller-coaster on the pill.

There is another form of IUD, known as Mirena, which includes a really low dose of progesterone (much lower than any pill, because it works locally rather than moving through your system generally). I've heard really good things about it, and the good news with that one is that it will make periods lighter, possibly even eliminate them completely. It's something I would think about down the road, although I definitely understand that if you've struggled with conceiving in the past it's something you'd want to stay clear of for now.

That's my two cents! Just wanted to share since I feel like a lot of women have experienced some of these issues but haven't always been able to talk about it.

Glad to hear your schedule's working out so much better now, Bev. Keep blogging!

Melissa

amyluna said...

That's great that things are working out for you guys!

And that is an exact convo that I have with Claire on a daily basis...ha! I know they love us but come on!

I also love the bedding!

AP said...

So glad to hear that you are finding your rhythm with new schedule! It does take time to adjust, but there are so many positives- of course your extra time with Lucy, but psychologically there is something about getting home before dark in the winter :o) Enjoy!

elizabeth said...

glad lucy is back to loving on you again. sorry to hear you've have had problems with your IUD. we had a really good experience with using Fertility Awareness (TCOYF book) to avoid for 7 months before deciding to start trying. it also made it easier to start trying since we didn't have to go off the pill or have an iud removed.

Anonymous said...

Have you thought about removing the crib bumpers? Sounds like Lucy might be in a developmental phase (I know you don't agree w/sleep-training), but she is so alert now that the bumpers may be crowding her/blocking her view and even stressing her out when she is lying down.

The new schedule sounds great - so happy it's working for you!

Heather said...

She is absolutely adorable. I love the bedding too!

Anonymous said...

Actually, I agree with the comment above on bumpers. Our pediatrician has told us with all of our 3 children to just not use them period. They don't serve any function what so ever and can smoother a baby if they roll into it etc...I have never used them. Basically they are decoration only.

Jeni said...

I'm so glad little Lucy is loving your new schedule! It sounds like it's going to work out for you guys.

I've given you the Sunshine Award so come over and claim it!

http://www.craftygirlblog.com

Jeni

Jennifer said...

I HATED my IUD too, well, except for the BC benefit. I also had the copper one. I got it out a few months ago, and it was GREAT. it did not hurt coming out. i had to use those super-plus tampons, and went through them crazy fast, but now things are normal again. i feel like my cramps have actually been worse w/o the IUD though, but there's not strange crampiness at random times, if that makes sense. strange. we're not having another baby though, we've done a permanent fix for that, so I can get away w/ no IUD...if we didn't have that other option going for us, i'd still have my IUD and would deal, cause i couldn't see a better option in that case.

i'm working the same shift as you this month, and it has been nice. i get home in the middle of nap time, snag some me-time/chore time and then we get the evening. the only drawback for me is that i like 9 hours of sleep :(

we also went through a hard-to-bed phase at little after a year. she'd been so good before that! we ended up just letting her cry for a few nights, and she did figure it out, and started going down very nicely again. she still "forgets" sometimes, and we have to be mean for a few nights, but it has been worth it for us.

and i love that pic of her at the beginning of the post!

Laura@The Oily Cupboard said...

we've been co-sleeping w/our little one for the past 2 months...she's the first to get to do this out of 4 kids..i used to think i needed my space...but now i can't imagine it any other way! besides she sleeps better...for almost a year we battled sleep...in our bed...BOOM it's like a whole diff baby! you've got a new follower!

Geezees Custom Canvas Art said...

love the bedding...great pics too!

Tara Marie Photography said...

just found your blog! love it!! your little one is adorable!!!

E. said...

I get the most out of work when I am there 30 - 45 minutes before my coworkers, too! I can just plug away w/o any distractions and it is wonderful!

Riley didn't say "mama" until she was over 2! I'm totally jealous that Lucy is already saying it!

and... I got pg again when Ri was 13.5 months... just sayin...

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