Change #1 - I'm tiptoing back into blogging, with the oh-so-ambitious goal of posting once a week. Goal is really too strong of a word even. Vague hope is probably better, especially since I barely made it in this my second week. But over the course of the last year plus (good heavens, has it been so long that I've been so in and out?!), I've missed this. I think Lenae summed up my sentiments well (only more beautifully than I could ever have) when she said:
"I know I’ve been largely absent here, and for the longest time I felt I owed an explanation or an apology. As time passes, though, I note the presence of seasons in my life all the more… And honestly, it’s felt freeing and wonderful to just live without sharing it all. I won’t disappear altogether because I treasure this record of our family’s days; I’ll just sometimes slip away for a bit, to love quietly, wrapping myself in my children’s laughter, tucking it away only in my heart."
So expect more prattling about my awesome daughters, with my beloved long informative posts only appearing when I get several days of overlapping naps.
Which means you are privy to adorable pictures like this! Tummy time for everyone!
Change #2 - I have a baby who actually sleeps at night!! I didn't think such a thing actually existed. It was a long sleepless 14 months with Miriam. And yet now I have this amazing child who sleeps on her back, as opposed to on my chest or snuggled right next to me! And not only that, but for a 5-6 hour stretch at night!
I realize I totally just jinxed it, but it is SO NICE.
Change #3 - Mix-and-match parenting techniques. I don't think I fully realized the first go round that I don't have to actually do every single technique that a particular book or method espouses. (I imagine by the third baby you don't even read the books, right?) Yes, we still fall mostly under the attachment parenting umbrella, but I've actually had fun cobbling approaches together. So now I'm doing 6-7 of Dr. Sears' 7 Baby B's, and 3 of the Baby Whisperer's 4 S's, and 3-4 of the Happiest Baby on the Block's 5 S's, and the Baby Whisperer's EASY routine, and finally realizing how invaluable a real swaddling blanket is as opposed to those dinky receiving blankets. Also? I've gotten such a kick realizing how much all those books overlap. How did I not notice that last time? Oh yes, probably because I was too sleep-deprived. See #2. Life is bliss.
Change #4 - Starting EC sooner. With Miriam, we started EC at 2.5 months... and with Cecilia we started at 2 weeks. I totally didn't plan to - but she would squirm and seem so uncomfortable sometimes when she needed to pee! After the first week or two, we've only had one large poop in her diaper. There are still plenty of little poop squirts in there, but I was amazed at how quickly she realized it was nicer to poop out of her diaper than in it! And we haven't even actually started paying attention to her signals or anything - I just take her to the bathroom every time I change her diaper. So cool!
Change #5 - Cooking approach. I realized how much my outlook on food has changed when I was thumbing through an old cookbook the other day. All the recipes I had dog-eared to try were semi-homemade style - think Sandra Lee and "add a box of cake mix to this and that." And I un-dog-eared every one. I used to think those people who wanted every single ingredient from scratch were a bit pretentious, and now I find I have joined ranks. Not that I'm completely there by any means - but I'd like to be.
Change #6 -Running again. I suddenly had the urge to work out this week, so for the first time in a very long time (10 months? a year?) I went running. I actually wasn't sure that I was going to return to running. I've been reading so much of this natural living type of stuff for so long now that I really was starting to be a bit critical of the idea of working out for the sake of exercise - we should just be doing that naturally throughout our day, the way our ancient ancestors did. But really, I sit a lot. I haven't even touched the garden this summer. (And we've got the weeds to prove it.) After letting my three week old baby get suburnt (!!!) (WORST MOTHER EVER) (HER FACE! IN THE MOBY! SUNBURNT!!) on one long walk to the park, I haven't been too excited about walking with the girls. So anyway, yes, I escaped for a run earlier this week and it felt wonderful. So I'm back in the saddle, and the plan is to run (really jog) at least 2-3 times a week...
Change #7 - ... which means it's time for a change in my hygiene routine. Because when I actually get sweaty working out, I need to bathe more than twice a week. Especially when one time barely counts because it's bathing with my daughter (I know I'm not the only mom who occasionally takes a bath with her two year old - please confirm this) and that means not actually being able to wash my hair or shave.
And I will leave you on that oh-so-pleasant note. Visit Jen for more quick takes!
