The New Normal
It is Monday. On a "normal" Monday, I would wake up at 5:30 to get ready for school. I would skip breakfast or grab a granola bar at the gas station. By 8:13, I would be collecting warm-ups from my publications class and preparing to head down to the computer lab to work on the 8th grade slideshow.
But this is the NEW normal. So, now a "normal" Monday consists of getting up at 6:55 with Sam (although since I was up at 12:00 and 3:00 to nurse, it hardly seems like sleeping in). At 7:00, we were changing her diaper. I was getting her dressed at 7:10 and feeding her at 7:15. Now, she's asleep in her swing, and I am having a bowl of cereal with soy milk and getting ready to take my shower. We have a doctor's appointment at 10:30, which I am DREADING. She has to get her 4 month vaccinations. First of all, I HATE HATE HATE watching her get stuck. When she was two months old, she was really too small to conceptualize any of it, but she is very aware now . . . and I know she is going to see that needle coming toward her and see that mommy is not stopping it . . . and the only thought in her head is going to be: PEOPLE ARE HURTING ME! Second, she became completely inconsolable a few hours after her first round of shots. She wailed for over an hour, and NOTHING soothed her. I hate to see her upset and in so much pain. I understand in an academic way that these vaccines are necessary. I would take a few minutes of pain and a few hours of crying over her catching a deadly disease any day -- but that doesn't make the day any less awful. Blah!
Also on the schedule for my "new normal" day? Laundry. Dishes. A trip to the bank. Walk with Sam and the dogs. Lots and lots and lots of feeding. I was reading an article yesterday about how breastfeeding mothers have more financial difficulty than mothers who bottle feed. And all I could think was: we need a STUDY to tell us this? You cannot reasonably pump at work. It's a ridiculous concept. To me, it is ludicrous to hand your child off to someone else and then spend half your day at work in a closet producing milk that you are then going to throw in a freezer. The only way breastfeeding actually functions is for Mother to be with Child all the time. I think we need to wrap our heads around this concept, and make it as easy as possible for moms to stay home during the first 6 months . . . and if this isn't possible, we need to cut moms a break for resorting to the bottle.
Rant complete. I need to get in the shower and get ready while I can. This is going to be a rough day. . . =(
But this is the NEW normal. So, now a "normal" Monday consists of getting up at 6:55 with Sam (although since I was up at 12:00 and 3:00 to nurse, it hardly seems like sleeping in). At 7:00, we were changing her diaper. I was getting her dressed at 7:10 and feeding her at 7:15. Now, she's asleep in her swing, and I am having a bowl of cereal with soy milk and getting ready to take my shower. We have a doctor's appointment at 10:30, which I am DREADING. She has to get her 4 month vaccinations. First of all, I HATE HATE HATE watching her get stuck. When she was two months old, she was really too small to conceptualize any of it, but she is very aware now . . . and I know she is going to see that needle coming toward her and see that mommy is not stopping it . . . and the only thought in her head is going to be: PEOPLE ARE HURTING ME! Second, she became completely inconsolable a few hours after her first round of shots. She wailed for over an hour, and NOTHING soothed her. I hate to see her upset and in so much pain. I understand in an academic way that these vaccines are necessary. I would take a few minutes of pain and a few hours of crying over her catching a deadly disease any day -- but that doesn't make the day any less awful. Blah!
Also on the schedule for my "new normal" day? Laundry. Dishes. A trip to the bank. Walk with Sam and the dogs. Lots and lots and lots of feeding. I was reading an article yesterday about how breastfeeding mothers have more financial difficulty than mothers who bottle feed. And all I could think was: we need a STUDY to tell us this? You cannot reasonably pump at work. It's a ridiculous concept. To me, it is ludicrous to hand your child off to someone else and then spend half your day at work in a closet producing milk that you are then going to throw in a freezer. The only way breastfeeding actually functions is for Mother to be with Child all the time. I think we need to wrap our heads around this concept, and make it as easy as possible for moms to stay home during the first 6 months . . . and if this isn't possible, we need to cut moms a break for resorting to the bottle.
Rant complete. I need to get in the shower and get ready while I can. This is going to be a rough day. . . =(