Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Time to find a hobby

Sorry for the delay in posting. My time has been stretched even thinner due to me deciding to, wait for it, play a team sport! I know! Those of you who know me know that I do not have a history of playing on teams. I tend to be a solo exerciser, either running or swimming or occasionally (alright, rarely) heading to the gym to workout. However recently a friend invited me to her soccer team's open practice just for the workout and I ended up really enjoying myself.

My husband and I have talked at length about the importance of putting the Babe in team sports when she is old enough. He grew up playing baseball and hockey and I like the idea of the sense of community and responsibility you learn when playing on a team. But it seemed a bit hypocritical of me to want her to excel in team sports when I myself play none. Well, not anymore!

I had my first game over the weekend and while I didn't magically turn into Christine Sinclair when I hit the pitch, I did manage to not score on my own team or knock one of my teammates down. It was scary heading out onto the field with all these women who have been playing for years and seem so comfortable in the game. It was also scary to try something new and not know if I was going to fail miserably. (Those who know me well have heard about my dalliance into softball and the injuries that followed.) But I did it, and I played almost the whole game until a prior injury sidelined me for the last 10 minutes. So I considered it a personal win and I'm looking forward to my next game. In the meantime, I am watching Youtube videos and borrowed DVDs to learn more skills and positioning so that hopefully next time I don't get hit in the ass with the ball. Again.

~ H

Friday, September 7, 2012

Daycare - the internal struggle

Oh daycare. My daily struggle with my values, my preconceived notions and my Scottish frugality. We are getting to the point where the maternity leave end date is in sight. Which brings forth the question: where are we going to send the Babe to daycare? We have already secured a spot at a nearby centre, but I'm always second-guessing the decision. We chose this daycare because it is close to home, a Montessori-based learning model which will come into play when she's older, has three different rooms so she can stay there until she's 5-years-old, and most importantly I got a great feeling about the staff there when I toured the facility. They rock the babies, hug the babies and give the babies the attention I think they need. So why the second guessing?

It's a little expensive, it's close to home but far from work, and then there's the heartache that comes with the thought of leaving the Babe at all. Everyone told me it's difficult to go from spending 24/7 with your child to heading back to work and leaving them for 8+ hours a day with virtual strangers. But I just didn't know it would be this hard. And I haven't even sent her yet! I myself attended several home-based daycares as a child and for the most part thrived in all of them. There were one or two where it just wasn't a fit, but I'm sure that terribly normal. So I'm not so nervous about the idea of her in a daycare. My husband did not attend daycare, so he doesn't have as much of a frame of reference. There are so many internal debates happening in my head right now it is hard to get another thought in. Back to touring another daycare today, something close to home and just as expensive as the first. Why another you might ask? I like to keep my options open and compare prices. It's the Scottish in me ;)

~ H


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Sleep makes you do crazy things

Like bake twice in one day on a summery day. Because you have that much energy so you just say "why not?". A few weeks back we won an online contest for a full sleep consultation from the locally located Winks and Whispers. I was overjoyed! As you can read in previous posts, sleep is, sorry, was, a moving target at our house. Some nights the Babe woke up once for 10 minutes, sometimes four times for 8 minutes each, sometimes twice for an hour each time. I thought I was dying from exhaustion.

After an electronic questionnaire, an hour-long phone consultation, and receiving our personalized sleep plan in the mail, we were ready to go. The goal? To eliminate ALL nighttime feeds AND remove the Babe's soother altogether. I was unsure if it would work, but by this point four cups of coffee was making me jittery and I felt at times like I was losing my mind. But. It. Worked.

It worked so easily I could hardly believe it. The Babe has slept through the last three nights, only waking last night for a 2-minute cry and then back to sleep. I feel like I felt before I was pregnant! I even like my husband again (just joking) ((kind of)). I am so proud of her and of us because it really has been a joint effort between my husband and I.

Now, time to get started on all those Pinterest goals I set during the middle of the night ;)

~ H