All good things must come to an end

I was thinking about that quote yesterday ... and why, really, must all good things come to an end? So you can appreciate the next good thing? I'm pretty happy with what I've got going on right now, alas, can't hold on any longer. Today is my last solo day home with Georgia for, oh, the rest of my life. I love this quiet baby time. She is such a sweet, good baby and SO easy now. (Well, now that she is sleeping). I know that this, too, will end and she will become more energetic and opinionated and fun - and I look forward to that for sure - but this sweet sleepy baby stage is just awesome. (Not the newborn stage, just to make the distinction).

Georgia's school bag is packed and all of the "camp list" of items has been shipped off to a box under her crib at school. They can't swaddle babies any longer, so I'm also sending her teachers good wishes because it's going to be rough. Little G hasn't napped or slept un-swaddled in probably 2 months. If you look at the bright side, it appears we are farming out the "break the swaddle" training, which is nice. If you look on the dark side, though, I am pretty certain I will be picking up an exhausted baby from daycare all next week who won't eat and will be sleeping like a crazy person at home. In fact, send some good wishes our way, too, if you don't mind.

I'm remembering how un-fun it is to pump at work all day, but I've got all my supplies prepped and ready. I'm currently trying to formulate the best way for me to wake / shower / feed / do hair / do make-up / get dressed / pump / grab coffee / grab breakfast / kiss my loved ones goodbye every morning. I'm tempted to use a stop watch to see just how long each task takes, but I will try to resist. I did order the Rumina Hands-Free Pump&Nurse tank and so far really like it. It's an investment, for sure, but they do have a sale right now and free shipping through the end of the month. I ordered the full-coverage version so I could wear it solo under a cardigan or something and I think it covers enough to be work appropriate. I used their measuring guidelines and the size on the corresponding chart was just right. It is kind of cumbersome to get your pump parts to fit in the tank, or at least takes a little practice, but I did it one morning while brushing my teeth and putting on make-up and it worked perfectly. Huge time saver for me. Will be ordering two more ...

Sweet G also has a cold this week, shared by her loving sister, so I'm hopeful she won't get hit AGAIN when she starts school next week. Yeah, right. She is incredibly snorty and stuffy, but no fever and otherwise happy. I forgot that I had purchased the Nosefrida Snotsucker in a fit of nesting several months ago. Pulled it out today and it is AWESOME. So much more effective than the bulb syringe.

And, finally, came across this article last night while perusing my phone and pumping ... That Baby Wants to Break You Up. I can't say that I ever felt things were this extreme in our household, but the newborn stage is no joke and this summed up some of my feelings. Sleep deprivation is terrible and I can now look back and see that I've been pretty freaking tired for the last 4-5 months, with a several week period of serious lack of sleep thrown in the middle just for kicks. It is hard and makes me a difficult person to be around. Our mornings and evenings are finally pretty pleasant again and I seem to be hitting my stride during my days home with both girls. I'm much more patient and Ellen seems more calm. I will say that the silver lining of having a non-napping older child is that I can dictate when her "quiet time" begins - i.e. it starts the minute I put Georgia down for her nap. Now that Georgia's schedule is pretty predictable I have finally figured this out and it gets me (most of) an hour to myself each afternoon. Essential.

Links for you

I have a lot of time to read, but turns out, not so much time to think or write. Though, I am reading less in the middle of the night during feedings - hooray!

So, here are some articles that I thought were worth sharing ...

Hair Day via The Hairpin - the honestly made me laugh out loud and I am not much of a LOL-type person

7 New Mom Essentials I Never Knew I Needed - I second her thoughts on lanolin and nursing tanks and I need to get me some concealer. I have not yet mastered reading actual books as she does ...

On Advice To Kids via The Awl - nice piece written by a gal who (it seems) doesn't have children, but portrays kids and parents very honestly. I especially liked this advice: "That sometimes not only you, but every other single person you might look to, has absolutely no idea what to do. No one."

Coping with Sleep Deprivation via The Happiest Mom -  For sure, the sleep deprivation this time around was the very most challenging thing we faced with Georgia. And, she is a good sleeper! I just totally forgot what it was like to be in a daze all the time and it made me more grouchy and less patient at the worst possible time. And I agree with her sentiments on "sleep when the baby sleeps" - easier said than done.

How I stopped worrying and learned to love The American Girl Doll  via Mom101 - very timely for us as Ellen is obsessed. I still think she is a little young for one of these dolls, but will likely get one some day. Nice perspective here.

You don't need my permission, but you have it anyway via Rookie Moms - like the sentiment here, especially because Georgia was taking ALL of her naps in her swing. It started out that she would nap in her boppy or vibrating chair or swing. She was sometimes swaddled, sometimes not. Sometimes swinging, sometimes not. Then eventually it became swaddle-swing-sleep and it worked well for us because it was easy. She slept fine in her bed at night so I wasn't too worried, but it still seemed like something I shouldn't be doing. But, you know what? You do what you have to do. She is now taking most of her daily naps in her bed and there was no transition issue - phew.

Screeching halt

I feel like about 17 days ago my life came to a screeching halt. For the best reason, of course, but a serious 180 degree turnabout in my schedule.

I am a person who likes to keep busy. Not in the work-out kind of way (but, damn, that would be useful), but rather I feel like I need to keep my hands and my mind busy. I always have some type of "project" that I'm working on.

Pregnancy and nesting exacerbated this in a serious way ... I wasn't sleeping well, so I was up early. I had lots of time to work on stuff. My almost 4-year-old was pretty independent and generally willing to run errands, so we had busy "home days". I completed virtually everything on my to-do list and felt pretty accomplished.

Fast forward to having an extra child, who isn't super easy to run-around with, and no sort of daily schedule and it all feels kind of strange. I'm not waking up at any specific time and when I do, I'm zombie-ish. Sometimes my first cup of coffee is at 9 or 10am and I feel like my day starts around lunchtime, which kind of feels awful. I don't remember this with Ellen, and perhaps it was because I was adjusting so much to just having a baby around. Now I feel much more confidant with the baby, leaving me feeling like I should be accomplishing more.

It's ridiculous, I know. Keeping my girls fed and happy and healthy is my most important task, always at the top of my to-do list. I just felt it was worth sharing that this was an unexpected adjustment with child #2 ...

So, you may find that I post more here about "new mom" things, or at least "second time mom things" and you may wonder why I'm spending my time on this. One, I hope it's helpful to someone else (you know I love to research things and I always find other people's opinions helpful). But two, and just as important right now, it gives me a "project" - something quick and simple and it's preserving my sanity.

So, for that, thanks.