Balance

I'm struggling to find it. My poor little Tuesday had sort of a rough day and it was all my fault. It started off with a bath gone wrong and she inhaled a bunch of water, even though I literally had my hands on her – man babies are slippery. Then later she sneezed up this:

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A piece of plastic from a spool of ribbon. Oh my god the horror when she did this. She was just cruising around playing in the basement like always. I'm constantly talking to her, going over to her and checking on her, but some how she snapped a piece off of a roll (I let her play with the empties – no more!). The thing is I just finished cleaning up the basement:

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Looking one way, and the other:

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Well, okay from these pictures it does look a little busy, but really I didn't think there was anything she could reach that would hurt her. The hard part is I have no trouble filling orders and packing things up, in fact Tuesday loves to crawl after the little cart I push around. But when it comes to doing serious work on the computer that's were we have a problem. I have to focus to get something done, and I can't get more than maybe 20 minutes at a time, and that's if Tuesday feels like being in the exersaucer, playpen, or Merry Muscles. She still doesn't nap, well maybe averages an hour every week or so. Otherwise her resting times are hour long nursing sessions (at least one a day). I don't mind those, it's actually a nice break for me and I can knit or something. But I can't move and I can't be on the computer. I feel like I have all these ideas in my head and am so slow in implementing them. And while I don't mind doing this late at night:

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I really don't do my best computer work at night, it makes me so tired! Why is that, when I can stay up and sew for two hours with out realizing it? I think one reason I'm feeling a little overwhelmed is that Tuesday is so inquisitive. I don't, or rather won't ignore her to work. But she is still too young to set up with a project. I'm just not sure what to do. I know I need to put locks on the cabinets for a start (kitchen and bath at least). Thoughts? Ideas?

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8 Comments

  1. Oh that is scary. That is one thing I am so afraid of when Miri becomes more mobile.
    I have no good suggestions, but look forward to hearing what other people have to say!
    Loved the laughing video, too! 🙂

  2. I really had to give this some careful thought before responding because you are such an awesome mom and I didn’t want you to think I was telling you how to do things. But spending the day with the little one helped me remember the days… Tuesday obviously loves to put things in her mouth so EVERYTHING she plays with must be appropriate to play with, nothing that can break apart in her mouth since now she can chew. and if she’s moving about no long handled objects (a rubber spatula) that may ram down the back of her throat when she falls. You will need to make sure the fabric and ribbon she plays with has not loose threads (choking hazard). Not trying to be dramatic but she will obviously put anything and everything in her mouth given the chance and that girl has good eye site she WILL find everything. She understands the meaning of “NO” so letting her know when she picks that little piece of something off the floor that she shouldn’t do that will teach her… She’s a smart one! Kids are curious and will get bored easily so they need many different things to stimulate them, not that they need lots of store bought toys, just things that are safe! You’re doing a fabulous job… and it’s a tough one…!

  3. My son Henry is a few months younger than Tuesday, so I love following your blog to see what’s going on in those next stages. 🙂 We had a very similar bathtub incident and it totally freaked me out. Henry inhaled a mouthful of water when he was only a few months old and proceeded to cough, sputter, gag, and throw up a bit of water. The worst part of all is that he had joined me in the tub, so I was holding him. I’m happy to say that it hasn’t happened again and I’m guessing it won’t happen again for you. I now use a Sure Comfort deluxe newborn-to-toddler tub that has a mesh cradle that hold him in place. I’m careful not to fill up the little tub too full. I also try to give him his bath shortly after a feeding to rule out the fact that he could be drinking the water because he’s hungry. Isn’t it amazing how resilient children are? Even though I’m sure it was scary when Tuesday coughed up the piece of plastic, her little body knew exactly what to do to fix it! I was glad to hear that your mom came over to help! I’m in a job search and have started taking people up on helping with Henry by taking him for a walk around the block during phone interviews, etc., if only for a half hour at a time. Motion seems to put him sleep within twenty minutes. With the colder weather approaching I hope we can continue those walks. All the best!

  4. I am not a stay home mom but I do know that being a mom is a continous struggle with trying to keep things in “balance” and for me I just roll with the flow, because what works some days will not work other days. My philo. is to do what you can with what you have and don’t stress. I am not sure what time Tuesday wakes up but for me it helps to wake up a few times a week before my kids wake up to do things I need or want to do being if it is house chores, crating or working out for a specefic time and it doesn’t always have to be for an hour, normally it is less. Sometimes I am more productive with less time. 😉 As mommmys sometimes we are our own worse critics, just breath it will be okay because you are an awesome mom! :)xo

  5. If there is a balance I have not found it yet. My work (photo editing) involves hours in front of tne computer and my baby also does not nap. I have resorted to only working when my husband is home and can take the baby. Unfortunately that means very little family time for the three of us together.

  6. Amber, why are you so hard on yourself? I compare myself to you every time I read your blog…and let me tell you I come up short pretty much every time! There will always be someone who does a better job, or who you think does a better job. Just remember, for how many times you think that you should be doing better, someone else is wishing they could be as good a mom as you are. Come on really??!! You make your own baby food, you make amazing hand knit clothes, you don’t ignore Tuesday when you work (umm Chloe has been ignored more than once), You made a homemade costume, you went to a pumpkin patch, you entertain her on super long flights….by yourself, you are raising a baby who smiles more than any other baby alive, she loves other people, seriously…you are AMAZING. I have had so many days where I feel like I just can’t do it all, you know why? Because we can’t. We just do the best we can. That has to be good enough. Ask yourself this: Do you think anyone else could do a better job raising your baby? NO WAY!!

  7. You are not the only parent who has had the the wrong thing in the mouth or in our case nose. You can do everything and they will still find something that you were not aware of. In our case it was foam from the underside of a car seat up the nose that ended in a trip to doctor to have it removed. And it was a very expensive well known brand for being the “safest” seat. Had a friend at work that’s daughter sneezed up a chunk of mulch. You just have to do your best to protect them however you can, but you can’t prevent everything.
    So don’t be so hard on yourself. Not everyday can be a gold star day.

  8. Don’t freak out, Amber! I agree with Carmen’s post. You are amazing, and you do so much for your daughter. Tuesday reminds me so much of my oldest. He never slept, always nursed. I was so exhausted all the time. But now we know he is really smart and curious, full of questions, super sensitive emotionally, and all kinds of wonderful things. There is no balance when they are little. The little ones take pretty much all our time, there’s no way around it unless we get help. It does get a bit easier as they get older and can entertain themselves more. You have lots of time to get your business going, but your baby will only be a baby for a short time. Hang in there.
    By the way, as much I as tried to childproof, my kids always got into things I didn’t expect. My daughter picks up cat hair off the floor and beds and rolls it into balls and holds it in the space just under her nose while she sucks her thumb. She often sucks on wads of it, and also puts some in her nose occasionally. My son, when he was little, somehow found a shard of glass buried in the dirt in the garden I was weeding and I found him chewing on it. You just never know what they will get into. Do your best and keep your eye on her, and pray! She’ll be fine, and so will you!

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