The Allergey alarm is off, it is a cold…for now
After speaking with the pediatric nurse and doing some more research, it seems that Tyler may be suffering from a cold. This is much more preferable to allergies. At any rate, I was up with him for 1.5 hours last night. The nurse gave me some more advice on ways to help him - hopefully we can shut down the snot factory or at least slow production way down…..

Crazy People?
Geez - glad I didn’t watch the news this weekend. Sounds like an old-fashion “shoot ‘em up” all over this country. I am starting to read about emtional intelligence in children. I tell you - I think people should truly have to get some kind of parenting degree before they attempt it. And once that degree was obtained, some switch could be flipped and you would be allowed to procreate. Me included - I have so much to learn. I do see a general failing as parents in this country and think it does hagve to do with all the problems in our youth. Of course, we will continue to turn to doctors to give medication to our children to fix them when in some cases, it is some good quailty parenting that would make the most impact…
So sad isn’t it?

Oh - and so bad parenting leads to crazy people - that is how I tie the shoot ‘em up to emotional intelligence…just so you get my segway.. :-p

A great line from an great book I just finished…
The book is How My Breasts Saved the World: The Misadventures of a Nursing Mother. I laughed and totally related to what she went through. It is one of the most honest books about nursing and being a new mother in general. I haven’t had any time to read, but this one I got through in 4 days. It was me to a “T”. My friend Susan let me borrow her copy and I can’t wait to thank her for it!

Allergies for Everyone
So Tyler has allergies..which I think is uncommon in a 4 month old. The pollen count is up - both Chris and I are having subtle reactions - but Tyler wakes up to nurse at 3 AM completely snotty and can’t get back to sleep. If he does, he doesn’t stay asleep very long. I aspirate him, but even when I have sucked every bit of snot out of his little nose, his sinuses produce more and have that nose filled up in no time. I can handle that during the day, but at night our routine is nurse and he falls right back to sleep. It is so sad when he wants to sleep and I have to poke him and bother him sucking stuff out of his nose… I am dreading this evening as I have dealt with this the last two nights and haven’t slept well as a result. It is survivable on a weekend, but not during the week. Ug…will probably call the pedi to see how common this us….

Not Liking Busy Weekends
I have decided that I am going to try to pack less in on weekends. We had family in town, had friends over Sat night and visited Chris’ folks today. While individually, I enjoyed seeing and visiting with everyone - here I am Sunday night thinking that I didn’t spend any real time with Tyler. It is amazing how you can care for a child, but not connect with them as something else holds your attention. We played a little, but not enough for me. He doesn’t sleep well on the go and I don’t like dragging him all over the place. Especially, when he is tired and wants to sleep. I feel like his is saying “Mommy, please stop and let me sleep”. It just kills me. Just like having to aspirate him and change his diaper. He is crying and upset that I don’t get what he wants. I do, but we have to do this other stuff…

Don’t know…becoming a mommy has changed me in so many ways. He is my world and when I don’t get enough Tyler time - I feel kind of empty.

Seems that the nation’s growing need for organic food is causing a scale issue. Organic means of production don’t scale well and that is leading some folkd to want to redefine what is means to be “organic”. This article is pretty interesting, let me know what you think….

OK People!! This is going to be the FIRST GORGEOUS weekend we have had in months!! I order you all to go outside and enjoy EVERY minute. For those of us who have been feely gloomy thanks to the weather - this weekend will fix that! I have a feeling that Austin will be feeling the sun and the love… There is the kite festival at Zilker this weekend - a perfect reason to get out! I wish Laura-Cat were here…she was the first to take Chris and I and sadly we have missed it every year since then.

Anyway - I know it is only Thursday, but I am working on yucky stuff and it is the reward of a wonderful weekend that keeps me plugging away!

Yes, I am 30 years old today and yes, it is a joyous occasion! Not much fanfare really, but when there is a baby, who has time for fanfare? I am jazzed about turning 30. I did do the whole - “Is this where I wanted to be in my life?” thing for a few days. I decided that I wasn’t necessarily thrilled with my career. However, where I am allows me to work 30 hours a week and spend a lot of quality time with my baby. I wouldn’t trade that for some high-powered job. Not right now anyway. So, with that I decided that I am right where I should be at 30 years-old and that I am so thankful for all the blessings I have been given.

It is all good! Well, I need to get to work - I ran a little behind today. God, will I EVER be able to get up at 5:30am? So far I have gotten up at 6:30am the last two mornings. I figure that is progress… My biggest concern is that I get my workouts in. I get so tired in the evenings, so it is hard to motivate myself to get to the gym. But since I didn’t get there this AM, I will have to go tonight.

Anyway - have a wonderful day everyone!

Tyler is Growing so Fast
I know someday I will regret not documenting more closely Tyler’s changes and all the cute stuff he does. For now, this journal is the one place I try to mention cool stuff. This past week, he finally found his hands. Chris says he has a short learning curve in that once he figures something out, he gets it pretty fast. He was grabbing at some rings on his car seat. It is just amazing to watch them put these things together and become more aware of their world!

He also outgrew his infant car seat!! He is too long for it, so we have to get him a “big boy” car seat! Not cheap at $250 a pop. He looks like he is sitting in a plush recliner! We think he likes it as he can see more than in his old one….

His smiles and coos are so irresistable to me. Sometimes in the evening when he is nursing, he will take a break to smile and coo at me. I just live for those moments.

No Time
I must apologize to my friends for missing birthdays, not returning phone calls,etc. With working, taking care of Tyler, getting dinner made, etc - there is so little time anymore. I am still working on getting a routine together that allows me some time to communicate, but we are still getting all the kinks worked out. I am always thinking about you guys though…..

My New Mommy Friends Rock!
I must say that I love my “New Mommy” Friends. They are staying at home, but aren’t forgetting me. They are thinking about doing a late afternoon walk once a week so I can hang out with them! That is so cool! It is so relaxing to hang out with them and discuss all the craziness having a baby has brought into our lives. We support each other through it all and they are just great!

Well - as my day is all about efficient use of time (cuz I got none to waste), I must go pump and then get back to work. Take care….

So we are getting to the part of life where things can be a bit more scheduled. I am probably trying the craziest thing…in bed by 9am and up at 5am. We will see if that will ever become a reality. I tell you, the more I think about it, the more respect I have for single Moms and the more support I think they need from their community. We sadly live in a society that does not value family or the bond between a mother and her child. If you look at workplaces, they rarely make concessions to allow a mother to provide financially for her family AND to have the flexibility to be there for them emotinally as well. It really saddens me. I am starting to understand how this is causing a breakdown in society. And I don’t think it is all socio-economic. A household making $200K a year may still have kids whose emotional needs aren’t being met….if the parents are working all the time…. This rant is not to advocate that all Moms stay at home - I couldn’t do that. It is to advocate for workplaces to be more flexible for parents - like my 30 hour/week arrangement. Some of the kids in Tyler’s daycare are there from 7am to 5:30pm. The caregivers there do the best job they can, but those kids need to see more of their parents. I think that all people in general want to do a good job. I may work less hours, but guarantee that I am much more productive…..