Remember this post I wrote back in September? The one in which I said I was finally getting the hang of keeping house? Well, that was obviously before the baby was born! I definitely feel like I’m back at square one. I am really struggling with taking care of the baby and keeping the house from looking like a complete disaster. Any suggestions?
I had a great guest post earlier this week from Katie of NFP and Me about being married AND in med school. Honestly, Katie really blows me away, not only is she balancing med school with family life, she also has time to maintain her own blog and write a guest post for me? AMAZING! If you haven’t already, go read her guest post now!
Anybody have any advice on buying cowboy boots? I’m a bridesmaid for my soon-to-be sister-in-law and she’s planning a “rustic chic” wedding. We get to pick out our own dresses within the color scheme (post to come on this – I need some advice on that as well!) and wear nude heels in the church, but she wants us to wear tan/brown cowboy boots for the reception. I’m going to try to find some at thrift stores first, since they can be pricey, but I may ultimately have to find them new. Any advice on how to find them for a good price, what kind to pick, getting a proper fit, etc.? I’ve never owned any before and it seems like the selection is endless!
Speaking of the wedding, I would really like to get in shape before then. I know that there will be some family pictures, and obviously wedding party, pictures taken at the wedding and I’d like to look my best. My husband is the best man, so we’ll both be dressed really nice (and of course, we’ll put Lucia in a beautiful dress too), and I’m hoping that I can have someone take some nice pictures of the three of us as well. I tend not to care too much about how I look, so I’m grateful that the wedding gives me some motivation to shed the baby weight and get into shape.
Speaking of weight, Lucia is 12lbs. 9 oz. already ( at 7 weeks)! The midwife weighed her when we went in for my checkup earlier this week. She is growing so quickly and is such a cute, chunky baby with rolls galore (and a double chin!).
Speaking of Lucia, she is starting to smile a lot, especially when I smile at her! Of course, she never seems to do it when we are trying to take a picture, but my husband was able to snap this one the other day:
Recently while talking with some other moms, I started feeling like a negligent mother. No, not because I ignore or truly neglect my child (because I don’t), but because we have no schedule whatsoever. She sleeps when she wants, she eats when she wants, and I haven’t even tried to notice whether these happen at regular intervals or at consistent times from day to day. Is this odd? Should I be paying more attention to scheduling? At what age was your baby on a schedule?
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For Cowboy Boot's I'd direct you to my friend Brittany (@lilbittygarza on twitter, brittygarza.wordpress.com) who lives Arizona much better than I (which is to say, better than not at all.
ReplyDeleteFor schedules, I am not yet a mother, but I know that my mom neither believed in nor followed a schedule. Rather she brought (and brings) her children along with her everywhere, and when they were hungry she fed them, and when they were tired, they slept. I think that as a mom you find what works for you. If a schedule keeps you sane, then make one. If both you and your child are doing fine without one, then you probably don't need one.
And she is SO CUTE! Look at her little double chin, so adorable!
Schedules are for trains and buses, and they can't even stick to them. Look how healthy and happy she is--just trust your gut!
ReplyDelete2- Thank you so much! Honestly though if you look back at what I've been posting lately almost all of it is guest posts. ;)
ReplyDelete3-On the cowboy boots I would check thrift stores or Craigslist.
7- What we were taught in school was to advise mom's to feed them when they're hungry until they stop and then that's enough to eat. Similarly, let them sleep until they wake up and that's enough sleep. I don't think schedules are too important but it might be nice to have a general idea.
As always, she is adorable and getting so big!
1 - Keeping house has always been difficult for me. After two children, I still have a very long way to go in figuring out how to keep house with children thrown into the mix. I'm not saying that it's impossible to keep house with children, just that I think most mothers struggle with it. I've found that it's much easier for me to make sure that the non-negotiable things get done every day (dishes, laundry, etc.), and I attempt to get other things done over the week/month. Making up some sort of schedule seems to help me stay on track, but sometimes things come up and house work is one of the first things to suffer in my home.
ReplyDelete3 - I used to show horses, and had good luck with Justin brand. Since your boots aren't for "working purposes," my only real advice is to try them on first, many cowboy boots aren't very comfortable on their own, so you may wish to put some sort of insert in it for extra padding/support. Hopefully you can find what you need at a thrift store, but if not, searching Craigslist for horse show clothes, rodeo, etc. may turn up something. Additionally, livestock supply stores (Tractor Supply Company comes to mind) often sell boots, usually for less than western-wear stores.
5-6 - Lucia is getting so big and so cute!
7 - My boys mostly just ate and slept with brief waking periods until they were about three months old. Sometime after that we got into a routine.
Have you checked out Flylady for keeping the house organized and clean? Don't get overwhelmed, just sign up for her free emails, (one a day). It has made a tremendous diffence around my house, I am hoping it will continue after the second baby gets here. As for a schedule, I didn't bother with one until what I was doing wasn't working anymore. When it got to the point that it was driving me nuts, that's when things became a little more structured. Not as in, we get up at this time, eat at this time, etc. But more of a rhythm of our day - we would do the same things in the same order every day, and it just developed from there. But if what you are doing is working for you, then go for it! Never try to make yourself fit into someone else's mold. And enjoy those baby rolls!
ReplyDeleteI don't have children yet, but my mom never had us on a schedule. We slept when we were tired and ate when we were hungry (when we were babies, of course).
ReplyDeleteA schedule for a 7 week old!! Wow - I hope you Here was my schedule with both of my babies (and my soon to be born baby). They wake up, they nurse. That was it! My older children grew into a very necessary daily schedule/routine to keep them eating and sleeping so they aren't cranky. By 4 months old, my babies hit their own stride. But the thing that I learned with both of my children is that JUST when we hit our stride on a schedule, they would go through a growth spurt or teeth or we would hit a holiday and the routine would rapidly change. My 3 1/2 year old has been on the same schedule for about a year now and it hasn't varied too much. But you are doing something right - she is one chubby and HAPPY baby!!!! I would follow her cues and before you know it, she'll set a schedule for you :)
ReplyDeleteBabies don't need no steekin schedule.
ReplyDeleteI love coming here and seeing how big Lucia is getting. It's amazing how time is flying so quickly. Please don't stress about schedules. I never had one when the kids were babies and even now life happens and schedules get thrown out the window. Enjoy your baby and enjoy the fact that you are her mama and you make the rules!
ReplyDelete1 - I was in the same boat. I felt like I had hit a just before Joseph was born. Then it all went down the tubes for a while. I think it just takes time to figure out how you want to organize your day, and until Lucia is a little more predictable with her eating/sleeping it can be very hard to make/keep a schedule for cleaning, etc. It took me until Joseph was about 2 or 3 months old to even keep to my laundry schedule (sheets/towels on Tuesday, Will's and my clothes on Thursday, Joseph's stuff as needed). I have slowly added other things to my cleaning repertoire, but it has taken a long time and I still find myself having to readjust the schedule frequently because Joseph's schedule changes to often.
ReplyDelete5, 6 - Lucia is precious! I love the rolls! Yay for chubby, happy babies :)
7 - Kind of going along with #1 I wouldn't worry about having a schedule for Lucia. At this stage in her life she'll eat and sleep when she needs to and there's no need to put her on any kind of schedule. I think the main reason moms put their babies on schedules is for their own convenience. Eventually she'll sort of work herself into her own routine and she'll become more predictable.
I was reading Dr. Ferber's book and he talks about the need for a sleep schedule to ensure your child is getting enough sleep, but he says the earliest you can expect a regular sleeping schedule for a baby starts around 4-5 months.
The only thing we have scheduled for Joseph is his bedtime at 8:30 (which we taught him when we sleep trained him about a month ago). Other than that he kind of does his own thing, although he's gotten used to napping 2-3 times a day and eating solids in the evening, so if he doesn't get those things he gets cranky.
Whew - that was much longer than I had anticipated! I hope you've had a great weekend! Happy Sunday!
5) Can't believe that!! G is a little baby, although she started out nearly 9 lb! It took her until probably 3 months to weigh 12-9...probably because she doesn't sleep a lot & burns all of her calories off!
ReplyDelete6) super cute :-)
7) So.... I actually have a lot to say about schedules & babies. When I was pregnant, and G was a newborn--I never, ever, considered a 'schedule.' I wanted to nurse on demand and thought she would sleep when she was tired. Well, I still pretty much nurse on demand (she's made her own "schedule," so it generally happens around the same time each day now), but the sleep thing (as you may have read on my blog) was not meant to be for us. Starting around 10 weeks old, she did NOT sleep when she was tired. Sometimes, she would stay up almost all day (which is actually unhealthy for a 10 week old). I had to figure out a bed time and go from there. I read about sleep training, and started a gentle method around 3 months old, and it's the only thing that saved our sanity. It worked until about 6 months old, then things became a crap shoot. I think that's because she is a really strong willed child and does what she wants, when she wants....
I often wonder if it's because I let her "rule the roost" when she was younger. I've recently started commenting to my husband that our next baby WILL have a schedule from about 4 weeks on because this chaos with G is driving me batty. One day her nap is at 10, another day at 11:30, somedays no nap, somedays she naps at 2....and it's not because I've done anything different!! It's ludicrous. But, that's G...not Lucia----so do what works for you ;-)
Ditto those who say no need for a schedule. If you decide to try one, keep in mind that Lucia's needs and habits will change from week to week - and sometimes day to day! Peter has set his own schedule since he was born, and his nap times and bed time have fluctuated a lot as he has passed through different stages. If you're happy and Lucia's happy, you're doing well! :-)
ReplyDeleteLucia looks like such a happy, adorable baby! :) I think I started paying more attention to the timing of Miss B's naps around 4 months? I'd been reading a lot about sleep because she was taking a long time to put to bed at night and discovered that over tiredness can be a big part of the problem. I had always assumed she would just sleep when she needed to, but realized she needed help to step away from the toys and the stimulation.What has been the most helpful was learning the average max wakeful period for various ages:Less than 2 months = 1 hr; 3 months = 1.5 hrs; 4/5 months = 2 hrs; 6 months = 2.5 hrs, 8/9 months = 3 hrs; 10+ months = 3-4 hrsArmed with that info I was able to watch (and learn) her subtle sleepy signs and get her down for more naps (it's all about that window of opportunity!). Once she was sleeping more it really helped make bedtime smoother. It's so true that sleep begets sleep! Overall, we follow a routine over a schedule and I try and watch her more than the clock. If you want more great info on sleep I highly recommend checking this out: http://community.babycenter.com/post/a5417415/how_to_successfully_teach_a_baby_to_sleep_-_3rd_ed
ReplyDeleteJust saw this post today:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2012/02/a-way-through-the-wilderness-your-home-manegment-binder.html. I don't know if it's something that would appeal to you, but I thought it might help with housework and such.