Me Time

There is church time, feeding baby time, cleaning baby time, cleaning house time, management duties time, daddy and mommy time, dressing baby time, changing baby time, playing with baby time, cooking time, grocery shopping time, and the list goes on and on and on. Homemaking is a busy twenty-four hour a day job and I am finally getting better at including something very important in my busy schedule: me time.

This week I have set a special goal for myself to take at least thirty minutes out of the day to do WHATEVER I want while MaKenzie is napping. Usually nap time tends to be a time when I am rushing around the house like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get as many things done without waking up the baby (which is difficult to do for someone like me who gets really clumsy and forgetful when I'm stressed and tends to run into walls and drop things which wakes up the baby).

I have to testify to the fact that me time is a definate must for my sanity. I have noticed that I am so much more full of energy when I have taken that time for me to take a long bath, read a book, waste my time on the internet or whatever else I darn well please. I'm happier when Garrett gets home, I'm more excited to get MaKenzie out of her crib and take care of her after she is finished napping, and I'm less stressed. Many moms have probably already figured out this trick and I can now say that it works wonders!

Litte Teeth BIG Fits

I hate to begin my first "Mommy Moment" with words of frustration, but such is the moment and there is usually a lot to be learned from the frustrations of life . . .

Up til now teething hasn't been what I would call pleasant, but it hasn't been awful either. Well, we crossed over the line into the awful territory this past week.

My sister Virginia came into town this last week for a visit while MaKenzie was pushing through two top teeth. The midnight wake-up calls and the need to gnaw on things wasn't any different than the last teething moments; but the fits, the constant crying, and the attitude were definitely new elements. One morning she cried for almost two hours straight over the silliest things. If I picked her up when she didn't want to be picked up, put her down when she didn't want to be put down, fed her when she wanted to feed herself I was informed of MaKenzie's displeasure with a full red in the face, arch of the back temper tantrum that often ended in her hitting her head on something which increased the volume of the crying (which I didn't think she could be any louder at that point as it was!) She wouldn't let my poor sister near her all week and she wouldn't let me out of her sight. My least favorite moments had to be when my sister and I were in a restaurant and she would be perfectly happy one moment and then throwing food across the restaurant the next.

The good news is that we made it and that MaKenzie is back to her regular non-tantrum self, and in the process I have even learned a few lessons:

1. When your baby has been crying for so long and you have done EVERYTHING in your power to offer comfort and relief, it is OKAY to set them in the crib and separate yourself from your child for a little while. It offered me a lot of relief to just not have a screaming baby in my arms, say a little prayer, shed a few tears if needed, and then get myself back into action. At the time I felt awful just letting my baby who in obvious pain role in her crib while screaming - but those moments that I had to just wash my face and get ready for the day gave me the energy to get through the rest of the tantrums with more patience and love.

2. Don't stay cooped up in the house. Every mom is different I think on this one - but I am so grateful that my sister was out here for the week because we got out and did things that served as the best distraction for Kenzie's irritability. I felt bad that my sister had to deal with the tears and midnight tantrums - but she saved my sanity by being here and just giving me company and something to do! Don't just stay home! Do something to get out and ease your frustration and the babies!

And finally, here are my teething tips that worked for MaKenzie. While every child is different I would like to have this on record in case I forget for future children:

1. MaKenzie would never have anything to do with a teething ring or toy, but she loved sucking on a damp wash cloth that I had placed in the freezer for a few moments. Sometimes I would even pour apple juice on the wash cloth when she wouldn't take it at first. While this usually only worked for about twenty minutes - lets be honest, twenty minutes is twenty minutes.

2. Like I said before, offer distraction with a walk around the block or a new book or toy. While their attitude may not indicate a desire to be outdoors, the outdoors can serve as a distraction for a while. (Maybe stay close to home on your outings though so that if the tantrums begin you can get home quickly.)

3. Make sue you time the Children's Tylenol about 30 minutes before bedtime. This way once they are settling into bed the medicine has taken effect. Trust me - I learned the hard way the first few nights.

The Inspiration

The inspiration for this blog came shortly after General Conference a few weeks back after Elder M. Russell Ballard gave his fantastic talk entitled "Daughters of God". His remarks were focused on young mothers. While all of his remarks were absolutely fantastic, one part of his talk served as the inspiration for this little blog. He organized his talk into four questions that he responded to with his "four generations" of wisdom and observations. The first question that he responded to was "What can you do, as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more?". One of his bits of advice in response to this questions was as follows: "Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction." He then goes on to encourage us not to over schedule ourselves and to be sure to savor those moments in our children's lives.

Since listening to President Ballard's talk I have found myself looking at motherhood and it's daily tasks through completely different lenses. I realize how many learning moments and life moments there are to just pause and enjoy and ponder on. They are those little moments when Garrett gets home and when I take the time to get excited with MaKenzie about Daddy walking through the door, rather than getting too focused on the dinner I'm pulling together or the telephone that is ringing. They are those little moments when I need to pause and get down on my hands and knees and just play with MaKenzie and watch her learn and grow rather than being so concerned about the next thing on my to do list. Since I have put on these "new lenses" I have found motherhood less challenging and more enjoyable. I'm not as wound up at the end of the day, and I'm not as worried about what else needs to be done. (And guess what - it all gets done anyway WITHOUT the worries - surprise, surprise there huh?) I have slowed life down a little bit to enjoy each interaction with my family as much as I can.

While this blog most likely won't be filled with all the happy moments, I feel that I can learn from recording these small events in my day and maybe even have something to pass onto my daughters who will one day find themselves dealing with the daily challenges of motherhood . . .