Becoming a Better Mom

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right? Well, leaving this morning didn't kill me like I thought it would. I did cry all the way out the door and down the freeway and all the way up to my desk, but by the time I reached my chair I thought I had it under control. Then my mom called and asked how I was doing. Well, I was fine until she asked. Then I had to get it together again. A little bird told me that after she got off the phone with me SHE called my dad almost in tears. It was a multi-generational melt down. Sheesh! Our poor husbands.

I thought I did really good to only call Handsome Husband twice during the day. (That's after writing out a schedule which was posted on the fridge.) He wasn't offended. He laughed when he found it so I will include here just in case someday, at some point, in the very distant future, I leave Little Miss with someone other than her daddy.

Little Miss’ Schedule

5-6 AM Wakes and eats, Up and dressed
6:30 AM Kicks and smiles for about an hour or so and then goes back to sleep
7AM Change Didee, Plays till between 9-10 May eat again
10-11AM Sleeps for about an hour
12 PM Change didee if awake, May eat again

Afternoon nap varies but usually goes down between 1 and 2 PM and she will sleep for a few hours. She usually has a muddy diaper in the afternoon when she wakes up.

I will be home by 5 PM. I have two cell phones and can always be reached. Call me for anything. I will always answer my phone unless I’m gloved and doing a sterile procedure. Always leave me a message and I will call you back. If you don’t leave a message, I will think something horrible has happened and will be worried.

If she falls asleep that’s fine. Never wake a sleeping baby. Keep her bottom dry and her belly full and she’s a Happy Camper. Sometimes she has a hard time falling asleep and she just wants to be rocked. You can put her in the sling or just hold her with her Louie (pacifier) and she will relax.

She likes to lay on her back and kick. Also please try and have her on her belly for a few minutes at a time for about 15min/day.

• She is eating 6 oz. routinely.
• Formula is only good for 3 hours at room temperature and then it has to be thrown out.

I love you,

Me

So that is how we spend our days. I even made it home early and was in the door by 3:30pm. Yay! I learned some things today. But I write this only as my perspective from my situation. This is not a rant on Working vs. SAHM mothering. There are whole books and studies on that stuff that I'm too tired to get in to. In my previous post I mentioned that if I work a little it will make buying a house and our next child easier, but I need to clarify. It is not that cut and dry. If it was just the money, trust me, we'd be poor. I really feel that I got something out of today more than just a paycheck.

1) I learned that I am truly grateful for a Husband that works so hard that I CAN stay home.

2) I am even more grateful for a Husband who will do double duty and sees it a privilege to care for his daughter while working from home.

3) I am grateful that I am not a single parent.

4) I am grateful that I do not have to leave my child in daycare.

3) I am grateful for the time I can spend at home.

4) I am grateful for the mental stimulation that occasionally working provides. (Not that you don't think when you're a mom, but when you only have one child who is at the moment non-verbal, talking to adults in a non-church setting is very mind opening. Nothing against church.)

5) I am grateful God answers my prayers. I said a silent prayer as I went to my first patient's home that I could have a positive attitude. Not ten seconds later I saw a lady WALKING HER CAT ON A LEASH! I laughed so hard. Here's this lady wandering through people's yards wherever her cat wished to roam. I saw her half an hour later still wandering the neighborhood. I laughed harder! I even shared it with the rest of my patients the rest of the day. Funny stuff! God has a sense of humor and I really saw it as an answered prayer. I mean seriously, have you ever seen a cat walker?

6) And last but not least.... I am grateful to be one step closer to being recognized by the State of California as my daughter's official mother. We got great news today that birth father rights have been terminated!

Double Yay! So much to be grateful for.