Monday, January 24, 2011

Family Update Part 1 - the adults

Note - it's been so long since I've blogged that I stole an idea from my friend Jessie and decided to do a general family update. But I started it over a week ago and still am only halfway done. So I'm posting the update on me and Jeremy now and will write about the girls next. There is so much I want to say about them that it's overwhelming me a bit!

Jeremy – Jeremy got a promotion at work last November – one that he really wanted and totally deserved. He is now the Finance Manager for the factory at the Golden Valley Honeywell. Honestly not really sure what his official title is, but that pretty much explains it. The only downside is that the factory employees start work pretty early so JT feels like he should get there early too – by 7am. It’s been working out while I’m on leave as I can take care of the girls in the morning, but when I go back to work it’s going to be tough. He’s still getting home around 6:00pm and if he can’t get there by 7am then he may have to work later… but we’ll work it out.

I will say that when he is home, he’s totally focused on the family. Thankfully he’s not the type to check his work email all night or on weekends or have to take phone calls. Also, no offense to those who enjoy these things …but I also thank god that he’s not into video games or even things like ice fishing. When he’s home, he’s either working on the house or with the family. Although I’ll admit that I wish he’d get on Facebook :}, I’ll accept the fact that he just isn’t really into it.
He has been working on the bathroom as much as possible, but some tile saw drama and the frigid temps have set him back. Now that he has a nice, new working saw it’s hard for him to cut tile (using water!) in the freezing cold garage. Which has been OK because he’s been working on other little projects and helping get things put away/organized from the holidays. Just this weekend he built some much needed shelving for the downstairs play area.

Jeremy is a great dad. Sometimes I think that goes without saying, but I realize I should say it more often. The girls absolutely adore him and the feeling is mutual. No one can make Bella laugh like him, and I find myself laughing at how goofy he gets. Ok, anyone that knows JT knows he’s always been goofy –but to hear the silly songs or games he comes up with takes it to the next level. Yesterday he somehow ended up playing dinosaur hide and see – he was a tyrannosaurus and Bella was a teradactyl….neither of them broke character during the entire game. On the flip side, he tends to be the stricter one when it comes to discipline. I think he just has more patience and refuses to ‘give in’ which is really helpful when I feel like I’m at my wits end.

JT is great with Addy too, but she’s still at a stage where she needs me alot. The two of them will sit and hang out while Bella and I play, but when Addy gets upset I tend to be the only one who can comfort her. This frustrates JT as he felt like he could always calm Bella down when she was a baby, but I’m certain this is a stage that will pass once I’m not home with Addy all day. I explain that she’s just used to me plus I have the ability to default to the no-fail method of nursing her to calm her down and get her to sleep. But he tries to make up for it in other ways – diaper changes, getting up in the night to reswaddle her, etc…

Me – I’m doing great. Honestly. I’ll admit that when Bella was a baby, I didn’t do so great. I was stressed out and overwhelmed all the time. I hated nursing. I was lonely at home. I’d have panic attacks that I was doing things wrong. Around 4 months things got better, but I’ll admit that when I would think back to the time I was home on leave of absence from work I wouldn’t miss it.

It’s totally different this time. A complete 180. Maybe it’s because I’ve done this once before and feel more comfortable, maybe it’s because I talked to my OB about it early on to try to figure out how to prevent the anxiety and panic attacks, maybe it’s because compared to a 2.5 yr old a baby seems so easy to take care of…but I am loving my time at home. Of course it was a tough adjustment at first, but overall I’m just much more relaxed and enjoying the experience more.

My typical day consists of getting up with Addy between 4am-5am and nursing her, then dozing in the chair on and off until I either wake Bella up or she wakes up on her own (depending on what she is doing that day). Then we have breakfast and get Bella ready for the day. I’ll drive her to my Mom’s or my In-laws house and then come back home with Addy. Typically Addy will nurse and fall asleep on me while I play around on my laptop or watch some TV. This is my relaxing time I allow myself with her during the day. After this, I try to be more productive – run errands, clean, organize. Addy hasn’t been going down in her crib for naps, so she’ll either take a long nap in her carseat (if we’ve been out) or bouncer (rare) or take little cat naps on me after she nurses. I was worried at first about her not having a couple long naps, but I guess this is normal – some babies take these cat naps and then have a long nap every few days to make up for it (which is what she does). I then either pack up Addy to go pick up Bella or JT will pick her up on his way home from work. It depends on when he leaves. I don't really mind going back as it gives the family a chance to see Addy, but when it's so cold out it kind of sucks.

I go back to work in 1.5 weeks… I have mixed feelings about it. At first I wanted to quit and be a stay at home mom, then I was convinced part-time would be the only way to go, now that I have to go back full time (no part time option in my current job) I’m OK with it but still not looking forward to it. It’s been so nice being at home and being able to get some productive stuff done throughout the day, but I know it’s only because Bella isn’t around and Addy isn’t mobile. It’d be a totally different situation if I was at home. Since we are lucky enough to have family help with daycare (more on this later with Bella) and I do technically enjoy working (I guess…:P), our situation will work out and I don’t feel TOO guilty going back.

I’ve started a new diet and exercise regimen. I’m using MyFitnessPal.com to track my food intake and I love it so far. Once I hit 6 weeks postparyum I stopped allowing myself to use the excuse that I was still healing to eat whatever I wanted and be lazy. Now I’m working to eat around 1700 calories a day (I get an ‘extra’ 500 for breastfeeding) and be as active as I can. Right now I’m only making it to the gym once a week…but I’m trying to give myself some slack since I DO have a 2month old at home who is pretty dependent on me. I got on my Wii Fit Plus once while Addy was sleeping and hope to work that in more. But in general just trying to be up and moving as much as I can. So far I’m down 10 lbs in 4 weeks so I hope that continues! My goal is to be down 55lbs by my 30th bday on Oct 24. And I’m seriously committed to this…not like other times with Weight Watchers when I half assed it. I WILL get to a healthy weight this year.

Oh and my new obsession is my iPod Touch. Love it. Not sure Jeremy does as it's about as addicting as a Blackberry or iPhone. It's perfect for me, though, as I was always jealous of those with an iPhone but never wanted to pay the extra fee per month for the data plan. I hardly use my cell phone so it seemed ridiculous to pay so much a month for it. But my iTouch as all the functionality of an iPhone just w/o the phone service...as long as there is WiFi available. That is the only catch. No using it in the car (which is probably a good thing) or out and about in non-WiFi areas. But honestly I don't need to be THAT connected. Plus I've been surprised at where free WiFi is available - MG Community Center, Bucas, Childrens Theatre... and what I really use it the most for is tracking my food on MFP.com which I can do without internet. So now I have the benefit of downloading and wasting my time with all the cool apps and obsessively checking my email and facebook without paying a monthly fee!

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