Things I'm Learning

An unfinished list.

1. Wash, wash, wash clothes.  Don't stop lest the mountain get out of control.

2. Wash.  Then put away.  Immediately.  Or it will never get put away.

3.  Re-stock diapers, wipes and burpcloths before you go to bed.

4. Don't buy or store too many clothes.  (See #1)  Or anything, for that matter.  (Except maybe food)  Adhere to this principle before there are 6 people living in your house. 

5. Clean the kitchen after every meal.

6. Do a quick pick-up of toys, books, etc. before every sleep time.

7. Enforce this rule: Play with one thing, then put it away.

8. Prep and plan meals ahead of time whenever possible.

9. Sleep when you can.

10. Eat when you can, as much as you can.  Because you never know when you can again.

11. Keep the baby swing.  Even if you've had 3 children who didn't use it.

12. Run the dishwasher every night even if it's not completely full.  Because getting behind stinks and then you won't be able to accomplish #5.

13. Get yourself ready first.

14. Purge!!  Purge everything in your house as often as you can.

Xochi learning how to put away dishes

Justin and I were married for 5 years before we had kids.  We'd go garage sale-ing.  I'd buy things "in case" and for "someday" if they were a good deal and I thought I could refinish, paint, etc.  I'd let laundry pile up for a couple of weeks and it wasn't uncommon for me to go several days (a week!) without cleaning the kitchen or doing dishes.  I'd keep clothes and shoes for years and sometimes I'd get around to wearing them again.  It wasn't that bad when it was just the two of us.  Even when we just had Steele and probably even after we had Adia, I'd think about whatever food I was craving that day and then quickly run to the store for the dinner ingredients.  But for some reason, probably hormones (I blame everything on hormones), the moment I got home from the hospital and there were now SIX people in my family, all I wanted to do was purge everything out of my house.  Keep the bare minimum and throw everything else out.  Organize closets.  Rearrange the house to function more practically.  Stock meals up in the freezer.  Clean!  But of course, I couldn't.  I was, after all, recovering from pushing for 3 hours (yes, I know I have not written my birth story yet) and a c-section.  All I could do was sit around and try to not feel swallowed up by the chaos. 

Adia learning how to shush Tobin to sleep

But now?  Now, things are getting better.  I'm healing.  Tobin's schedule is more predictable.  I'm not feeling quite so hormonal.  So in the last week I have cleaned/sorted/organized: my clothes, Justin's armoire, Steele's clothes, Adia's clothes, Xochi's clothes, two hallway closets, one bathroom closet, one kitchen drawer, the kids' bedroom closet and bins and bins of baby clothes.  I also hung a clothing rod in a hall closet for Justin's dress shirts, made room for Tobin's crib in our bed room, sorted through our storage for garage sale items and actually HAD a garage sale.  (ok, Justin mostly did that) And finally, switched out Tobin's newborn clothes for his 3 month clothes.  *sniff*  (How does that happen so fast??)  Ahhhhhh..... much better.

It was a lot of work.  My days are filled with a lot of work.  But, I cannot tell you how many times over the course of my life that I have prayed for diligence and repented of my laziness.  These days there is no time for laziness.  If I sit for a moment too long things quickly get out of control.  God has answered my prayers.  And it's good.  I'm learning.  

Steele learning.. uhhh...how to take a bazillion pictures

of his legos and random family portraits. 

 

 

An e-mail to Amy

Here are a few things that are frustrating me today.

Don't lay your baby on his tummy to sleep or they might get SIDS and die.  They get a flat head if you lay them on their back too much so be sure and carry them around as much as possible. Don't carry them around all the time or they won't be able to go to sleep apart from you.  Don't put them in a baby carrier if the carrier is hurting your incision.  Be sure and give them as much tummy time as possible.  Do not leave them unattended during tummy time.  Do not leave your toddler, preschooler, school aged child unattended at any time.  Don't take your eyes off of them. But don't take your eyes off your 8 week old in case he suffocates himself in the not-too-loose sheets on his crib mattress that doesn't have any toys or blankets on it.  Co-sleeping makes your infant feel secure and prevents SIDS and a flat head.  Letting your baby learn how to self-soothe and put themselves to sleep in their own bed makes them feel secure.  Don't give your baby a full feeding in the middle of the night... just a snack and then put them back to sleep.  Be sure and empty your breast fully so you don't get mastitis.  Don't turn on the lights during the middle of the night feeding so you don't wake your baby up.  Be sure you can SEE that your baby is latched on properly so that you don't have cracked or sore nipples.  (even in the middle of the night) Vaccines can cause autism.  There is a pertussis epidemic in Washington so be sure and vaccinate.  Your body and hormones go through a myriad of changes after giving birth - this is completely normal.  Sad, irritable feelings after giving birth are abnormal and are considered post-partum depression and need to be addressed.

And let's not forget:

Use positive, encouraging words with your toddler/preschooler so that they don't have feelings of jealousy toward your newborn.  DO NOT let your toddler/preschooler put anything over baby's head, give them anything they could choke on or squish their cheeks together as hard as possible.  (this last one is purely hypothetical, of course)  Give your children fun, entertaining activities to keep them occupied while you are nursing.  Don't let your child watch t.v. - it will rot their brain.
   
Ohhhh... and this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Not altogether surprising, Tobin has some reflux so I'm going to go off dairy and see if that helps.  This is probably why he is crying a little more than normal and having a hard time being on his back to sleep.  I don't eat that much so it shouldn't be that hard - except for in the coffee that I shouldn't be drinking anyways.  But really, if I didn't have the coffee my children might be totally unattended...

P.S.  (and I totally forgot to tell Amy this...)  Thanks to my naturopath's clarification, I now know that the correct pronunciation for my new baby carrier is "My Tie."  Because heck, it certainly wouldn't be "May Tie" like I just read in the user manual. 

Good thing I have strawberry rhubarb crisp to cheer me  up (without the ice cream tonight):

Easter

While being a firefighter's wife has a lot of perks, (like Justin being off for 3 weeks after Tobin was born) it also has it's share of challenges. Example A: the garbage disposal never breaks and the kids never start vomiting until Justin leaves for his 24 hour shift.

One of these challenges is that I also have to spend a number of holidays and Lord's days without him. I don't generally mind since we are blessed to have him home so many other days of the year but it is teaching me to be more creative in my planning and preparation. Like, just what do I do with my 6, 5 and 2 year old if my 6 week old needs to eat or starts crying in the middle of the service? Leave them alone in the pew? File them all out of the sanctuary with me? Fortunately, my parents and brother and sister attend church with us and on mornings when Justin is gone the kids are happily managed by their aunt and uncle or grammy and groompa if I need to step out.

So today was Easter and it was one of those days. It was busy and a little chaotic at times but we had a wonderful, worshipful day. Even if I did come up with the fabulous (crazy) idea to stay up until 2 a.m. and sew Adia a navy and white dress so all the kids would match. I mean, Tobin was going to wake up and need to eat anyway so why not stay up and sew? Seemed like a totally rational thought process at the time...

After celebrating Resurrection day with a service and brunch with our church family, we went to my aunt's house for all of our traditional Polish food and an egg hunt. As I went back and looked at these pictures, I was so thankful I thought to hand my sister, Abbey the camera. I was inside nursing Tobin and missed the whole egg hunt. Looks like everyone had a great time!

So sad Tobin didn't get in any of the pics.
He was either sleeping or eating.
He matched too though!

Steele and Uncle Gabe

Steele and Mimi

Xochi and Great Aunt Terri

Little Adia Foo Foo
Adia's dress:
Summer Vacation Dress
Pattern from Dana at Made