Sleep Isn't a Big Deal

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When I had my first baby, sleep was a huge deal. My life revolved around sleep.

Try to get sleep, try to get baby to sleep, try to keep baby asleep, try to fall asleep, try to sleep for long stretches, try to sneak in a nap. I was so tired that all I ever wanted to do was sleep. And I was so concerned that I wasn't getting enough sleep that I couldn't get it off my mind.

The interesting thing is that the more I worried about trying to get sleep and my lack of it, the less sleep I ended up getting--and the more anxious and depressed I got. It was one exhausting, horrible cycle.

With my second baby, I did things differently. I told myself it wasn't a big deal if I didn't get much sleep. It wasn't a big deal if it took me a while to fall asleep. It wasn't a big deal if I was up 10 times at night. It wasn't a big deal if my baby didn't go right to sleep after waking at night. It wasn't a big deal if I never got a nap during the day. And it wasn't a big deal if I was tired all day.

Daylight Savings - Time to Jump Ahead!

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I really, really don't like daylight savings. I think it is silly that we still have it, and I've seriously considered moving someone else, like Arizona, where they don't have this darn skipping back and forth each year. It was a little annoying when I was younger, but now that I've got kids, it's SUPER pesky!

Anyway, I haven't picked up and moved to Arizona yet, so I've got to deal with the "spring forward" (and, gulp, the "fall back" in 8ish months!) and most likely, you have to deal with it too so let's go ahead and have a chat about it. Maybe we'll both dislike it less afterwards :)

Is your baby a perfect sleeper?

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I am a bit of a perfectionist.

It's one of those things that, as Monk would say, is a blessing and a curse. I am dependable, organized, and don't just do an ok job, I do my best job. I like that I can be counted on with whatever needs to be done, whether it's in my own life, my family's life or for someone else.

But then there's the 'curse' part of this scenario. That happens when I move from doing my best job to a perfect job. That turns whatever I do into a never ending project--because it will never be perfect--or into a constant disappointment--because I just can't do perfect.

Daylight Savings - Time to Jump Back!

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It's that time of year again. You know, the time you loved pre-kids because you got to sleep in. And the time you couldn't stand post-kids because getting kids to sleep in later is, well, not a very kid-friendly activity.

OK. Take a deep breath. I didn't mean to scare you. It'll be ok. You won't be waking up pre-dawn forever, and if you're proactive and

When Sleep goes from Bad to Good... in 12 days

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Right after my youngest, Nora, turned 2 my husband and I went on a trip to England. I wasn't pregnant, I wasn't nursing and we weren't moving around jobs (or houses). It was time for a vacation to somewhere I've always wanted to go (my husband was cool with it too). After reading and watching all things British for several years, I was going to experience it!

My in-laws were coming out to visit and we asked if maybe, just maybe they could stay a bit longer and watch our kids while we went to England. We have amazing in-laws that agreed to stay with the kids to make our trip possible. Because saving up and getting work off for a trip is hard, but finding a babysitter is near impossible!

Caring for Stella

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I've thought about sharing my {short version} story of Stella for some time. Maybe it will help those going through a similar thing (a disabled child is a lot harder to take care of than I ever thought it would be...). Maybe it will help others have more understanding of what others go through. Maybe I just needed to write some of my experiences down.

A little over 4 years ago I had a 20 week ultrasound for my third child. I'm always excited but a little nervous for these ultrasounds.  You never know what you'll find. Good or bad. When I saw the tech remeasure and look at an area multiple times over I started to get nervous. I've seen a lot of ultrasounds done working as an RN, but I’m still pretty clueless about them. They don't make much more sense to me than the average person. I took a few deep breaths and told myself not to worry.

And then the tech said my midwife needed to meet with me.

I was pretty nervous waiting in the room for the midwife to come. No one wants to be told something is wrong with their child. It's on most parents' worst top three list. I was by myself. I wish I'd organized better to try to get my husband there.

To Dreamfeed or Not to Dreamfeed

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I've talked a lot about the dreamfeed over the years. It's a hot topic-- because who doesn't want to get an extra couple hours of sleep with a new baby early on? That's at the top of many people's to-do list with a newborn. It's certainly at the top of my list!

With all this chit chat about the dreamfeed, many people are surprised to find out that I didn't dreamfeed all my children. Honestly, I was surprised to find myself not dream feeding all my children. I sat around talking about how amazing it was all the time and then I decided I was going to ditch it with my second child. And my third and my fourth.