WordPress

I went to WordPress.
I opened a new blog.
I tried all day today to access it.
It won't let me.
I'm cranky.

Wacky Parenting

I have a label called Wacky Parenting.

I am seriously considering renaming, or starting from scratch, a new blog.

I feel like I have graduated from writting nutty notes.

Maybe I will.

But not now.

Now, I'm busy containing leaky breasts with either a baby or a pump attached to me.

The essence of Fall in Ontario

How not to overdue it after a c-section

Once you return home, you simply cannot take up your life in its usual format. You must let others help you out so that the incision, and the underlying tissue, has an opportunity to heal properly.

It's the simple things, not the obvious things, that one forgets about though. Most of us know well enough that vacuuming, carrying full laundry baskets up and down steps, or lifting toddlers are a no-no.

But when it comes to reaching for a cup on a higher shelf in the cupboard, that is something one does automatically without analyzing ahead of time whether it would be counterproductive to the incision healing.

Or bending down to put a pot away on a lower shelf. The simple act of bending down, pot in one hand, and balancing your somewhat unsteady body with the other, is quite an acrobatic feat given what you've just been through.

So suggest to someone else that you're more than happy to put the cuttery away, since that requires little bending and stretching, and leave those other items for someone else to deal with.

Keeping toddlers from climbing on you or kicking you is a matter of anticipation. Rules must be enforced, with clear consequences outlined in toddler lingo.

For example, if you allow your toddler to visit you in bed, he must understand that jumping, kicking, roughousing, or any other similar activity is 'verboten'. Give one warning, state what the consequent is, and then follow through.

Benjamin, if you want to stay on mommy's bed, you can't kick your feet like that. You lie still. If you do it again, you can go back to Benjamin's bed.

Then, if he does do it again, and being a toddler, chances are he will, you get up and go with him back to his own bed.

This method has worked for us during pregnancy, and will continue working for us post-partum. Because it has to.

Not that it's necessarily smooth sailing. Sometimes there's crying or carrying on. Sometimes not. Either way, you have to persevere.

This doesn't have to be about punishment. It's simply a rule that has to be observed, whether he understand the full implications or not.

Get rest. Even if people tell you to rest when the baby is resting, and you feel annoyed by the sheer stupidity of that comment, you have to find a moment when you can do exactly that.

For me, that leaves out mornings. It does not matter how little I slept throughout the night. I am a morning person, and mornings are not for resting. My body isn't used to it. So instead, I have to find creative ways to rest in the afternoon.

There are several options available here, but many depend on things like who is here to watch the toddler, is the toddler still napping, how does quiet time work if he doesn't nap, and can the baby be placed someplace safe in the toddler's quiet time area while mommy rests on the toddler bed.

THAT, I think, will be the biggest challenge starting next week.

Day off

This is what I'm eating for breakfast right now.
Brought back all the way from Switzerland by my mom.
I'm eating it in bed.
With the laptop on my lap.
And a coffee on the shelf beside me.

Grosmami took Benjamin home last night, for two days. He gets to, as so aptly put by my friend in Germany, be a "real little boy" there.

It has been hard here for him. I try to keep him busy and occupied but it's been difficult with the big belly, the fatigue, the stress, the renos, the dirt, and the need and want to get ready for the new baby.

He will have fun with grandma and nonno. They play with him, they take him to the park, the woods, the store, the neighbours.

They get to bond with him. He is their only grandchild who lives in the same general vicinity; the other two live on the west coast of this grand continent.

And I had a great night. A long night, with minimal pee breaks.

So today I can muster up enough energy to get some more cleaning done, laundry, and packing up crap to take to the storage.

And plan some fun activities for Ben for the remainder of the week.

This will be our last week alone together.
A new baby will be here next week.
In some ways, I'm kind of sad that this phase is ending...

Summary

In light of all my recent complaining, I have summarized the good stuff for a change:

• I am 9.5 months pregnant, and looking forward to ending this thing once and for all
• I peed less and slept more last night than I have in the past month
• My basement is gutted and unfinished but my contractors are showing up to work
• My steps at the front door look unfinished but seem to be progressing as well
• My plumber is coming tonight to install the dishwasher and fix the kitchen sink
• My husband is getting paid from his new job
• Our extended health care coverage is kicking in today, which means I could technically speaking have access to things like drugs, vision care, hearing care, hospital care etc as of right now
• The new washer and dryer are in house, just need to be hooked up
• The crib, which was missing a screw, will be put together today since I went out and bought a screw today
• My cold is still here but better (or so I tell myself)
• I got my eyebrows waxed today
• Benjamin tried (TRIED) to poop in the potty today but didn't. Trying is all we ask.

Sniff

Of course this had to happen now too...

Crashing through the ceiling

It is very possible that the next heavy person may put their foot through the ceiling if they walk on a weak spot in our livingroom.

Because of course the renovations in the basement are not going as smoothly as they should.

Seems there's a joist that has a knot in the wood that has developed into a crack.

I guess the good news is that the basement ceiling is still gutted, not drywalled, so that it can be fixed.

I think the term hubby used was to "sister it".

I use the term good news loosely. Since THAT is a matter of perspective. Some people may consider a non-drywalled, gutted, open, unfinished basement a good thing in this situation. Even though one of us is having a baby in less than two weeks.

Oh, and I get to go to another ultrasound next week. To see what the baby's size and weight may be. Since a couple of weeks ago she was only in the 30th percentile...a little on the small size.

I LOVE going to ultrasounds.
They are ALWAYS on time.
There are NEVER any delays.
I'm ALWAYS scheduled to avoid rushhour.

NOT

Oh, how I could rant and rave...but I won't. I'm way too tired.

BLAH.