Sanity? What’s that?

Everyone told me that having another kid would change things a lot, but even the advanced knowledge couldn’t really prepare me for the reality of our new dynamic. Newborns are a time suck to begin with, but with an older child and a partner to pay attention to as well, sometimes I feel like butter scraped over too much bread (yes, I just made a LOTR reference, deal with it). With the possibility of Post-Partum Depression being quite high, I started looking into coping methods, and other various things that could potentially help me stay afloat; well, as close as possible with two kids and questionable sanity to begin with. In my research, several things were found, and I find myself putting a good many of them to use daily. Because some of them have worked so well for me, I thought I’d share. Partially because I’m proud of how well I’m doing mentally, and also because if I can help even one person feel a little better, it’ll be worth it.

For me, the cleanliness of our home can be a huge stress factor. And who likes stress? Nobody, that’s who. Cleaning in little bursts has now become one of my favourite ways to decompress! It’s truly amazing how much a made bed and a tidy kitchen can do for mental health! Keeping Hunter’s toys limited to his room is a big help as well, since it means I’m not picking them up constantly. If he wants to have his bedroom be a Lego minefield, that’s his prerogative. I’m also very fortunate that Adrian is alright with doing a very important chore that I utterly loathe; vacuuming. Don’t ask me why, but I would rather scrub both bathrooms with a toothbrush than vacuum the living room.

Another thing that seems to work to keep me nice and calm is washing my face in the morning and evening. I’m sure that sounds ridiculous, but following my skin care regime (Dermalogica fan girl here) gives me a little bit of time for myself that only involves me. Less than 5 minutes, twice a day has made me a much happier person, plus my acne is under much better control. Now, if only I could master the ability to shower more than once every 3-4 days, that would be something!

Lastly, reading. Books have always been my escape, from the time I learned how do read. There’s something truly magnificent about immersing yourself into a world that only exists on paper. I’m even in a book club on Facebook, with several lovely ladies who all have varying tastes and opinions. They bring me out of my literary shell and get me reading things that in all likelihood, would have been left on the shelf if left to my own devices. The fact that all of our discussions and decision making is done online really helps, because now with both boys, I’m pretty much a certifiable hermit.

Those are a few of the things I do to keep my head on straight, but let’s be very clear here, they don’t always work, and there are times when nothing helps but a good, cathartic cry session. You can be doing fine, however, there are going to be days when fine isn’t quite enough. Stay positive, text your friends, call your parents, and hug those precious babies.

It’s been a while!

Hello fair readers! It was brought to my attention last night that I’m a shitty blogger; mainly because I have failed to post anything since last year 😦 In my defense, things have been pretty busy, and this post is mostly going to be the Readers Digest version, chock full of excuses!

Let’s start with the pain I was talking about in the last post. Suffice to say it kept getting worse. In fact, it was bad enough that I spent most of January on the couch with a book, trying vainly to find a position that offered anything even resembling comfort. Luckily, my doctor was fabulous and when I went for my 38 week check on the baby, she offered me an induction!

Which brings us to excuse number two for my absence, and might I say, he’s the cutest excuse there ever was ❤ My new son, Dorian was born on January 30th! He had jaundice when he was first born, and despite being discharged initially, we had to be readmitted when he was 3 days old for Phototherapy. He ended up spending 30 hours under the light, before he was allowed out for anything other than feeding and diaper changes. Once all that was done and over with, things settled in nicely 🙂 he’s a great baby who cries very little, he breastfeeds like a champ (there was about a week where it was painful because of one cracked nipple, but that healed up quickly), sleeps very well, and has grown fast enough that he fit into his cloth diapers by the time he was a month old! All in all, I’m a very lucky Mom!

Excuse number three actually almost didn’t happen, but now that it has, I’m very grateful for my Resident Manager’s harassment of us! Early in January, she mentioned that a three-bedroom apartment in the building was coming available, and asked if we wanted it. At the time, I still had no income, and we weren’t sure when everything would be sorted out, so we said no. After Dorian was born, she texted me, and asked again if we wanted a three-bedroom. By then, the income situation had been sorted out, but we had concerns about moving with a newborn, and throwing off Hunter’s routine any more than we already had, so we declined the offer a second time (and a third as well, because she texted me again a few days later asking if we were sure). Finally, she caught Adrian and I both at the same time while we were coming in the building after running some errands, and suggested that we at least have a look. Well, that sealed the deal. As soon as we saw it, we fell in love. Because of how last minute we made our decision, they allowed us to make our actual move date as the 4th of the month, but that still only gave us a week to move. Good thing we were only moving down the hall! This fortunate circumstance, and the fact that the new apartment was empty, allowed us to move things over in small loads and unpack as we went. A little less than 2 weeks in, and we are actually more moved into this apartment than we were in the previous one!

That’s pretty much it for excuses, and not an overly short post either! I will be back with more soon, especially since I’ve discovered a handy little app that allows me to post from my phone!

Have a wonderful day lovelies, don’t ever forget how much I appreciate you reading my ramblings!