I got mistaken for a grandmother this week, not once but twice! How can this be? I'm 35, turning 36 next month. Have I really aged that much since having kids?
I promptly went out and got my hair cut and started throwing in some brief jogging sets to our daily walks. Time to spruce up a bit.
Both of the people who made the error were seniors, and I suppose in their day people had kids younger (or just started having kids younger). My maternal grandmother had her 6th baby at 42 just for the record.
Anyway, I know I'm not a spring chicken, but honestly, I don't think I'm quite grandmother material yet. And what grandmother would be breastfeeding a newborn strapped to her chest in a sling? That part must have been so discreet they didn't notice.
Lilypie tickers
Saturday, 13 July 2013
Wednesday, 10 July 2013
The Odds
A friend of mine has been wanting me to come to a La Leche League meeting for a while so I went today for the first time. I had my
dynamic duo with me and when I introduced myself and said that my son was
conceived when my daughter was just 7 months and exclusively breastfeeding, there
was an awkward silence in the room for a moment while everyone paused to
think about their current birth control methods. It made me also think about the incredible odds we overcame to have our little boy.
Apparently I defy all the rules they teach of a mom who was nursing on demand around the clock for both nourishment and comfort. I was among the 7% that had the return of my period before 6 months postpartum, and was among the 2-6% that conceive during this time.
If they only knew the entire story! We were given a 5% chance of conceiving with IVF and less than 1% on our own. DH also works away a fair bit and was only home one night last August.
So if you look at all these factors cumulatively, I think our chances were slimmer than winning the lottery. We won the lottery of life in such an incredible way.
Apparently I defy all the rules they teach of a mom who was nursing on demand around the clock for both nourishment and comfort. I was among the 7% that had the return of my period before 6 months postpartum, and was among the 2-6% that conceive during this time.
If they only knew the entire story! We were given a 5% chance of conceiving with IVF and less than 1% on our own. DH also works away a fair bit and was only home one night last August.
So if you look at all these factors cumulatively, I think our chances were slimmer than winning the lottery. We won the lottery of life in such an incredible way.
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Sleeping arrangements
Well, my 18 month old is a step ahead of me all the time. Yesterday she managed to rock and flip the baby's playpen over onto herself. Thankfully I was nursing the baby at the time, so he wasn't in it. I had it as a "safe drop spot" for the baby in the living room, but obviously it is no longer safe. The playpen was immediately folded up and his new full size crib has now been erected in the living room. It will stay there, rather than in the kid's bedroom until we're ready to have them together.
Downstairs we have another sleeping arrangement predicament. The mini playpen bassinet top maxes out at 15 lbs. little guy is pushing the limit already at 2 months of age. I like having him right next to my bed at bedside height right now because its so handy for nursing. There is not enough room for a full size crib there, so my options are to lower the playpen mattress, of get a different bassinet with a heavier weight limit. A friend if mine has I offered to loan me her Arm's Reach Cosleeper for a couple of months so that may be the best short term solution. Once he starts rolling, we'll have to go back to the drawing board again. Something tells me I might be moving onto a mattress in the living room next to the crib for a while.
Luckily on the actual sleeping front, we're actually doing quite well. Kai has settled into a pattern of a 5-6 hour stretch in the early part of the night (7pm-midnight) followed by a 3 hour and a 2 hour stretch with breaks for nursing in between. Anika sleeps like a log from 6:30pm to 6am. Many days I can get their early afternoon naps to overlap by 30-60 min. When they do, it's bliss.
Downstairs we have another sleeping arrangement predicament. The mini playpen bassinet top maxes out at 15 lbs. little guy is pushing the limit already at 2 months of age. I like having him right next to my bed at bedside height right now because its so handy for nursing. There is not enough room for a full size crib there, so my options are to lower the playpen mattress, of get a different bassinet with a heavier weight limit. A friend if mine has I offered to loan me her Arm's Reach Cosleeper for a couple of months so that may be the best short term solution. Once he starts rolling, we'll have to go back to the drawing board again. Something tells me I might be moving onto a mattress in the living room next to the crib for a while.
Luckily on the actual sleeping front, we're actually doing quite well. Kai has settled into a pattern of a 5-6 hour stretch in the early part of the night (7pm-midnight) followed by a 3 hour and a 2 hour stretch with breaks for nursing in between. Anika sleeps like a log from 6:30pm to 6am. Many days I can get their early afternoon naps to overlap by 30-60 min. When they do, it's bliss.
Saturday, 6 July 2013
Fortune Cookie Wisdom
I'm on day 10 of a 12 day stretch on my own. It's been going as well as can be expected. Fortunately my parents have been around to help out for about an hour or so most days most often when I am feeding, bathing and putting my daughter to bed. The days are long sometimes, but also seem to fly by in some ways. Who knew you could eat up half an hour just getting kids packed up into the car?
Anyway, I opened a rather stale fortune cookie from last week's Chinese takeout and this is what it said (see photo below)
Yes, oh wise cookie, you are most correct. Next summer I will be chasing not one but two toddlers! My maternity leave will be over and I'll be making some tough decisions around returning to work. I know life is going to unfold as it will. For now I'm enjoying my summer "off" with the littles.
Anyway, I opened a rather stale fortune cookie from last week's Chinese takeout and this is what it said (see photo below)
Yes, oh wise cookie, you are most correct. Next summer I will be chasing not one but two toddlers! My maternity leave will be over and I'll be making some tough decisions around returning to work. I know life is going to unfold as it will. For now I'm enjoying my summer "off" with the littles.
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