Before Brix made his debut, I thought about how I was going to cope with a (possibly) screaming newborn all day long for at least the next three months (my SAHM time).
So I made a little mantra that I could repeat to remind myself that it's all about Brixton and his needs and not about mine. Here it is:
I have nothing else to do.
But, as it turns out, this mantra isn't working. At all. Why? Because I have a million things to do!! Yes, of course it's important to hold my baby, feed him, change him, bathe him, restock his diapers, give him some tummy time, burp him, change his diaper again, stare at him, etc. I think in my last weeks of pregnancy haze, I didn't think so much about the repercussions of living in a messy house, a dirty house, a house with an unstocked fridge and also one with laundry hampers overflowing.
It's a really bad feeling.
And when you are a new mommy and all these things build up and you have a really bad feeling and the baby too, it becomes too, too much.
So now I'm shopping for a new mantra. A realistic mantra that will allow me to spend ample time with my baby while also attending to the needs of my home and hubby.
Here are some of the contenders:
You can sleep when you're dead.
It's for now, but not forever.
One thing at a time, one day at a time.
Why clean? We don't have any friends here anyway.
Mantras are for wimps.
Suggestions?
**Additionally, it being Memorial Day and all, I would like to thank all those who have served our nation and especially those who have given the Ultimate Sacrifice. I don't know why, but I have a special spot in my heart for WWII vets especially. I don't know what makes a young man so brave to run toward the sound of gunfire or for a young woman to actually be able to leave her baby to be deployed to a war zone, but I don't have it. When I watch war movies, I spend half the time crying, a quarter of the time with my eyes closed and the rest plotting how I'd play dead on the battlefield in the first five seconds. God Bless you all.**
This happened to me yesterday--well sorta. It took Eleanor almost 2 hours to go to sleep at night (it used to be so easy, nurse her, wrap her, put her in the bassinet and bam she was asleep but not anymore). And as I was on my 6th attempt at trying to console her by rolling the bassinet back and forth I started to say to myself over and over, "This is your priority now." I need to write about it because it's funny how hard it has been to realize that, and forget the focus on trying to achieve balance with everything else that used to be my priority.
ReplyDeleteThat being said... the messy house thing I hate it! I try to stay up a little longer after she's asleep at night to tidy up or fold some laundry. I hate walking into a messy living room in the morning. Good luck Kelley! I'm sure we will all get the hang of it sooner or later.
Messiness is so unmotivating! I'm trying to get on a easy, realistic cleaning schedule where I just do one thing a day..I'm hoping that will help!
ReplyDeleteDude, I've been there! I'm still here, actually. Most days I consider it a win if I tidy up and make dinner. I don't think my bookshelves have been dusted in four months. Eek! But I'm strangely OK with the fact that my house looks OK at first glance but not upon deep inspection.
ReplyDeleteWhat's insane is that baby girl is happy when we go out in the world. She could hang out in her stroller or on my lap at a coffee shop all day. But if I put her in any one of her million contraptions at home so I can sweep the floor, fugheddaboudit. Waaaa waaaa waaaa!
i like to go with one thing at a time, one day at a time.
ReplyDeleteMy mantra (and it keeps working and working, reguardless of the ages of the kids):
ReplyDelete"This too shall pass"
Seriously. It will.
When Kaela was a newborn she'd scream for six hours straight every night unless she were being held, sideways and facedown with your hands on her tummy. Gripe water didn't work. Burping didn't work. Nothing.
What do you know...it passed.
It did. I thought it never would. But it did.
I thought Peyton would never potty train.
I thought Kaela would never sleep in her own bed.
I thought Peyton would never wean.
I thought both would teeth forever.
This too shall pass.
Every pukey virus. Every pink eye, screaming fit, biting faze....
It will pass!