Organized Exhaustion: A Day In The Life Of A Full Time Working Mommy

Hey guys!

I've been posting monthly updates of Alden. I feel like I need to give you guys additional content in between those posts. There will be times when I am too busy and cannot, but today, I've got some time. :)

I'd like to post today about my daily schedule/routine/life. Things definitely change when you become a parent and there is really no way to get around that. There is also no way to prepare for it either.

I kept saying that the lack of sleep I was getting during pregnancy was preparing me for being up at night with a baby. BOY WAS I WRONG!!! Still to this day after having a baby for 3 months I feel absolutely run down and exhausted!

I'm just going to post a timeline below of how my day pans out (most days).

3:00 AM: Alden wakes up for his middle of the night snack.

4:30 AM: This is usually around the time when Alden decides he needs some mama snuggle time and gets fussy. He's not hungry, he just needs mama! (oh and FYI he is now sleeping in his rock n play next to the bed instead of co-sleeping!) What baby wants... baby gets!

5:30 AM: Alarm one goes off and is immediately turned off. :)

5:50 AM: Alarm two goes off and is also immediately turned off!

6:10 AM: This is generally when I roll over, see what time it is and fly out of bed like a mad woman! My intentions are really to get up at 5:50.. but hey, I'm human.. I enjoy sleeping.

6:11 AM: This is when I change Alden's diaper and clothes, and TRY to make his curly hair not look like such a mess!

6:15 AM: I bring Alden back into my room, sit down in bed and feed him his "breakfast"

6:45 AM: Alden is generally done eating by this point, so I throw a jacket on him and buckle him into his car seat while Chris gathers up everything a baby needs to survive the day! I then tell Alden goodbye and kiss him about a thousand times and then daddy and baby are out the door!

6:50 AM: I hop in and try to take a quick shower, but the water always feels so nice!

7:00 AM: This is when I start doing my hair. So I know I have short hair and this doesn't seem like it should take long, but I have thick annoying hair that never wants to do what I want it to do and therefore it takes longer than one might think.

7:30 AM: Make-up time!

7:40 AM: Breakfast and packing up my things for the day.

7:55 AM: This is when I let the dogs out and then spend the time in silence getting dressed. If you didn't know... I have some LOUD dogs.

8:05 AM: This is my biggest battle of the day (no lie). Sunny and Sizzles are always waiting at the door for me to let them in. Saydee however is a big brat. This dog will stand in the middle of the yard and stare at you. You can call her 700,000 times to come get her treat and she just stands there like a statue. Eventually I end up walking away and waiting on her to make her way onto the porch so I can drag her inside! If I could leave her out I would but she HATES my next door neighbors dogs and so they are constantly fighting if they are out.

8:15 AM: I am out the door and on my way to work.

8:55 AM: I park in the parking garage and start my trek to the office.

9:05 AM: Finally my work day begins!

11:00 AM: Starbucks/ Stupid Good run! I NEED MY COFFEE!

11:30 AM: Pump time! This is also when I sit around watching Youtube videos for 20 minutes.

2:00 PM: Lunch and pump time! I've been watching Friends during this time too so that's fun!

4:45 PM: Wrapping up my work day and heading to the car!

5:10 PM: I arrive at the pick up spot and get my sweet baby boy! Then we spend an hour driving in traffic and I PRAYYYY that Alden either a) Falls asleep or b) is totally chill and fine with the long ride.

6:00 PM: Yay we are home! now its time to cook, clean, feed Alden, feed the dogs, do that load of laundry I kept putting off...

7:00 PM: Time to eat and watch our shows if we have any that night.

8:00 PM: Bath time for Alden(if it's bath night)

9:00 PM: Time to feed Alden and put him to bed!

9:30 PM: Wash my face, brush my teeth, pick out Alden's outfit for the next day.

10:00 PM: Time for mommy to go to sleep!

So that is my schedule give or take. I genuinely thought my body would adjust at some point but it doesn't. Plus it doesn't help that once my body finally gets somewhat adjusted to Alden's sleep pattern he switches things up on me.

As exhausted as I am from waking up in the middle of the night to feed Alden, I refuse to give up breastfeeding :) It's free and I don't even have to get out of bed or prepare anything for him to eat.

One day, years from now I'm going to look back and miss these moments, so I try to just push through the exhaustion and keep on going!

A mommy's work is NEVER done and honestly... I'm OK with that!

Thanks for reading guys!

My next post will be about my relationship with my handsome husband!

Month Two...

Hello to my awesome readers!

So today Alden is 12 weeks old and officially 3 months on Monday! The time is flying like you wouldn't believe. So much has changed since my last post and I've fallen even MORE in love with Alden since then as well!

For starters, he now smiles for things OTHER than gas. When he sees people he knows he will smile at them. It is such an incredible feeling to have your baby see you after being at work all day and smile at you.

I've been able to watch him go from making little cooing sounds, to learning that his voice has different tones. He's recently started shouting now so he will randomly just let out a big AHHHHHHHHHHH! Its so adorable!

We finally got to lose the mittens a few weeks ago too! I tried it right around a month and half and within 24 hours he made a huge scratch on his cheek so the hands got covered back up. I tried it again one day and he has done great! Let me just say though that baby nails grow at some sort of supersonic warp speed! I can cut them super short and file them down, then the next day they feel like little talons again!

I'm back at work now and it has been tough. I seriously feel like I drop him off with my mother in law and when I get him back he has grown! It's insane how fast they grow. Before I know it we will be celebrating his first birthday!

The only other thing that has really changed is that I've had to start supplementing with formula. I never ever EVER wanted to give him formula but when I went back to work and started pumping my body just wasn't producing enough. During feedings we do just fine. His pediatrician said that pumping just doesn't have the same result as when a baby is feeding. I was really hard on myself about this because boobs are meant to be a buffet for babies. I didn't realize that pumping doesn't do justice like Alden does! The important thing is that he is still getting breast fed EVERY DAY and on the weekends ALL DAY! I am proud of myself for not giving up thus far even though my plans have had to be adjusted.

One thing that has helped me get through this problem is being a part of some breast feeding pages. I see women everyday posting about having the SAME issue as me, or worse and it lets me know that all we can do as breastfeeding mamas is try our best! If you are a mama who can go a year (or more) breastfeeding without forumla then GO YOU! If you have start supplementing formula when you are away from your baby like me, that's OK too. Lastly if for some reason you just don't produce enough milk or even choose not to breast feed that is OK! It is YOUR choice and you should never let anyone other than yourself and your baby's needs weigh in on your decision!

 I will say that being able to breastfeed is something we as women should be INCREDIBLY proud of! It is not easy and it is painful at first. If you see a mama breastfeeding you should give her a dang high five because it's tough! Just remember that there are women out there who's supply dries up for whatever reason and they might be struggling or feeling like a failure like I was. We as women and mommys need to step up and encourage one another rather than try to one up the lady next to us!

Well anyways.. I guess I am done with this post. Now its picture time!!!

 Me and my sweet Family! :)

 Just hanging with mama!

 My first Valentine's Day!

Bundled up for this winter weather!

Thanks for reading you guys! :)

Month One...

Hey guys,

Now that I've covered my pregnancy week by week, and my delivery story, I'll probably be posting monthly. Of course if something exciting happens I'll make a special post for that.

I also find articles from time to time that I like on parenting or controversial topics so I'll be sharing those as well.

So, let's get started shall we?

We ended up coming home from the hospital 3 days after Alden's birth. Chris drove so slow that first drive with him in the car. I'm sure people probably thought we were crazy, but we didn't care! When we finally arrived at the house I remember feeling both relieved to finally have my own privacy and my own things again... but also terrified because now we were on our own.

It seemed like once we got home I had a million questions pop into my head that I could no longer buzz my nurse in to answer for me. I remember trying so hard to sleep when we got home since I hadn't slept much in the hospital and I just couldn't do it! Those first few nights were horrible! Alden was fine, but I wasn't. I'd find myself sitting there hovering over his bassinet making sure he was still breathing. Every single noise that he made worried me.

We got home on a Friday and Chris had to go back to work that next day. My best friend came over for a little while that morning to help me out with him. When she left I broke down in tears. I was totally alone in my house with a newborn. What do I do if I need to pee? Or fix myself something to eat? What if my dogs start acting crazy? What if something happens to Alden and I can't fix it? Obviously I got through it but it was not easy.

At first things were OK. I was alone pretty much everyday except Sundays so I adapted quickly. However about a week after he was born, he started cluster feeding. For those who don't know what this means... It's when the baby eats much more often, and most of the time longer than usual. So instead of eating every 2 hours, he would want to eat every hour. He would take 15-20 minute naps between feedings and so that's all the free time I got. I'd look up and it would be 4:30 in the afternoon and I hadn't eaten or drank anything since breakfast.

Another major thing that happened in month one was getting thrush. Thrush is a yeast infection in your breasts that is excruciatingly painful. At first I thought Alden was latching wrong, but after he would finish eating I would be in miserable pain. Each time he would feed I would sob through the pain. Luckily we got that taken care of, but when you are exclusively breastfeeding and your baby is relying on you for food.. you work through it... even if that means bawling during every feeding!

Now to talk about something I ended up doing that a lot people find controversial... I did too, that I am now doing myself. That my friends would be co-sleeping. I do NOT need your opinions on the subject but I am going to tell you what led me to begin co-sleeping.
I have a bassinet that sits next to my side of the bed. After each feeding during the day or night I would burp Alden and then set him down. About a week after getting home from the hospital I would set him in his bassinet and he would immediately begin crying. I soon realized he was starting the cluster feeding phase.. as shared earlier in this post. I was getting NO sleep at night because of this. I was miserable and so was Alden. When we went to his next doctor appointment I told her about this and she suggested I give him formula. The reason why is so he would sleep better which would allow me to sleep, and allow me to keep my supply up. I FREAKED out because I did NOT want to give him formula at all! I was trying to figure out what I was going to do to solve this problem. One night after a feeding session I leaned back and had Alden on my chest trying to burp him. I ended up falling asleep during this time. My body had just gotten to its breaking point and I couldn't fight sleep anymore. I woke up to him moving on my chest and it was 3 hours later. Turns out he slept better too. So after that, each night I would just let him sleep on my chest. I would cover his legs up with the sheets and kept my boppy around my as a sort of shield. He slept instantly better and I started feeling so much better just from getting 2-3 hours of solid sleep at a time. Then after a few weeks he started squirming a lot more so I laid him next to me one night and although I slept horrible he slept amazing. So I started letting him sleep beside me and I LOVE IT! We both sleep so much better now and I get to wake up to him kicking or punching me with his little flailing arms. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Just so you guys know.. I told myself long before pregnancy that I would NEVER allow a child to sleep in my bed with me. I however had to adapt. I learned very quick that parenting is all about adapting to what YOUR child needs. Every baby is different and so advice that works for one child, may not work for them all. Never say never because you may find yourself in a tough situation looking for relief or a solution with nowhere to turn BUT the things you said you'd never do!

I've been able to watch my sweet boy grow so much in the first month. He looks so much different than he did at birth. I think I fall in love with him more and more every day.

My relationship with Chris has also changed and grown. I think I'll do a separate post for that though.

So as a final recap: Parenting is hard! HAHAHAHA! The journey that is motherhood is a tough one, but at the end of the day it is so worth it! It gets easier every single day.. you just have to keep pushing through!

Now... it's picture time!

 This was the day we brought him home. :)

 

One week old on Christmas day!

 Snuggle time with mama.

 My sleepy little monster man.

 Hanging at the park!

Well that's it for this post! Hope you guys enjoy.

Thanks for reading!!

Week 39: Then There Were Three: A Delivery Story

Hey guys!

So I'm picking back up where I left off. This post will be all about my delivery which happened to be a week early.

As I posted in earlier blogs, I was beyond miserable at this point. I had been working from home since I had been having uncomfortable contractions for over a week. That Monday after working from home a full week, I decided that since I was clearly going to have to be induced, I might as well go back to the office. Sitting at home all day alone was only fueling my misery anyway. So I went in to work on December 15. My boss knew I was miserable and so he said to work as long as I could. I stuck it out until around 4pm that day I think. I actually had quite a bit of things to keep me occupied so I made myself busy and got through it.

That night I was so exhausted, but I knew that come the next morning I would be sitting in my doctor's office discussing when my induction date would be!

I woke up in the middle of the night to pee and I remember saying " OK Alden, since you don't want to come out, now mommy is going to have to get induced and go through extra pain!" That morning I got up and as I was getting ready to take a shower I started leaking fluid. I told Chris that I thought my water was breaking, but then after a few seconds it stopped. FALSE ALARM I guess!

I took a shower and sat down to fix my hair. Chris said he wanted to grab a bite to eat before my appointment so he got up to get ready. I finished my hair and went to the bathroom to put my straightener away. The second my feet hit the tile BAM... my water breaks. My pants were soaked, the floor was soaked! I said " OK this has to be my water because I'M NOT PEEING RIGHT NOW!" Chris flew out of the shower faster than I've ever seen him move and the race was on! This was around 7:30 in the morning.

I was actually super calm even though Chris was in panic mode. We made it to the hospital around 7:45 am. They checked me and sure enough my water had broke. I was only at 1.5 cm at this point so they had to give me Pitocin. Right when my contractions started getting bad the anesthesiologist showed up to give me my epidural. I got it around 10:30am. I'm so glad it worked out that way because I was able to relax the entire day.

Friends and family came and went through out the day. I brought The Office with me so we ended up having a marathon.

Finally the time arrived that night and it was time to start pushing. I'm not sure when I started pushing because I was in the zone at that point.
Fun side note: The hospital was doing construction and had planned some outages that night. Go figure the very first time I started pushing, the power goes out. Everything went black for a second while the nurses got the generated lights turned on. The staff was GREAT though because nobody flinched or let that distract them, they just kept on counting me through my pushes.

The Dr came in and started taking over. She noted that his head was having trouble getting past my pubic bone, so she told Chris the options of either cutting me, or using the vacuum.  Chris told her to go ahead and make the cut. It's funny because I heard that conversation going on, but I felt like I wasn't really there. Even if the Dr. had asked what I wanted to do, I wouldn't have answered her!

Finally his big old head made its way out and then next thing I know... we've got a baby boy!

Alden was born December 16,2014 at 9:08 pm. He weighed 8lbs 3.6 oz (again.. this was a WEEK early) and 20 inches long!

Shortly after he was placed in my arms, and then taken away for measurements, clean-up, etc... they let me know that I apparently had some sort of infection and was running a high fever. Alden was also.. I believe his temp was 103, so they explained he would have to go to the nursery, get an IV and get some tests and antibiotics.
That was the most terrifying moment for me. I was so worried something was going to happen to him. I wasn't worried about myself, I wanted to get out of the bed and be with him.

Eventually around 10:30-11:00 pm they brought him back to me. Having him in my arms without all the hustle and bustle of clean-up was beautiful. I was instantly in love!

We ended up getting to leave the hospital on the 19th. He had to stay until his 48 hour test results came back. Turns out nothing was wrong with him! Thank goodness! I think the only time I slept when we were in there was the very short periods when they would take him to the nursery to give him the antibiotics, or I'd occasionally doze off while holding him.

So that's my delivery story! :)
I'll end with some extra pictures!

Thanks for reading you guys!

Week 38: My Most Miserable Week Yet!

Picking back from week 37... I decided to work from home this week just in case I needed to rush to the hospital. Plus I was contracting every 2-5 minutes so sitting at a desk all day in work clothes would have sucked!

Monday I was miserable. My back pain was so terrible that I was on all fours in the floor rocking back and forth looking for any relief I could get! That night I went back to the hospital and still I was only at 1 cm. They gave me pain meds and sent me home.

Tuesday was my appointment so I went in. When the nurse asked how I was I started crying and telling her how miserable I was. I did the same thing when the Dr. asked as well. Chris asked if they would induce me and my Dr. said not until 39 weeks. She was hoping that I would go into labor before then, but she agreed that if not we would schedule an induction for the following week.

Every day I prayed I would go into labor. I was dealing with contractions and back pain and everything hurt. My Dr. gave me some sleeping meds to see if maybe getting some good rest would help me not feel so overwhelmed. It didn't, but hey it was worth a shot right?

I kept waiting and waiting and WAITING for my water to break, but no such luck for me yet.

Week 37: I thought it was time!

Hey guys,

So I've been un-pregnant for 7.5 weeks now... but I'm back at work and its a slow day, so I'm going to catch up on my blogging!

So by this point I think it was pretty clear that I was miserable. I was dealing with horrible back pain and was just ready for Alden to be born.

That week we had a fire drill at work (which they made seem like it was not a drill, but indeed a real emergency) so I had to walk... or waddle myself down the stairs. I work on the 15th floor mind you. When we got to the bottom we had to check in with security to make sure all companies participated. As soon as one of the ladies saw me she asked " Did you just walk down all those stairs?" When I replied yes she said that I could have waited since it was just a drill. HMMM funny you mention that NOW! There were 2 guys standing guard in the hall making sure everyone left and they saw me and said nothing.

That night I ended up losing my mucus plug. After that happened I immediately started having some mild cramping. I called my Dr and they suggested I wait until I'm super uncomfortable, or until the cramping starts a pattern. I went into work and of course by about noon I was miserable! I called the Dr again and they said to go to the hospital and get checked out.

Chris rushed home, we loaded up the car and we headed to the hospital. Once we got there they check and I was still only at 1 cm. My contractions were all over the place so they sent me home! womp womp!
I stayed home from work Friday to rest, as the nurse said walking down 15 flights of stairs at 37 weeks pregnant freaked my body out, but they didn't want me to go into labor quite yet.

Around 12:30 in the morning I woke up STARVING and so I went to get some food. All the sudden I started cramping really bad and leaking what I thought could have been my water. We went to the hospital and my contractions were every 2 minutes and hurting but I was still only at 1cm so I was sent home AGAIN!

needless to say at this point I just wanted to progress in my pregnancy or else have the labor pains go away totally.

Week 36: Thanksgiving!

Hey guys!

So I'm almost a week behind here. I was off work starting Wednesday and went back to work on Monday so I took it easy (for the most part).

Wednesday I was not feeling so great so I spent most of my day laying in bed. There was a fantastic moment when Saydee and Sunny decided to play chase and ended up pushing the couch into the Christmas tree, which then almost fell over. I had a breakdown after that and locked myself in the bathroom for a while and called Chris and he told me to chill out and stop stressing! So I left the living room in shambles and went about my day.

Thursday was fun because I was able to spend time with my family all day. Even though I didn't get to stuff my face (there just isn't enough room) I still enjoyed eating the things I really wanted.

I spent most of Friday lounging about with the exception of going to Target with my mom and I also went to the Dollar Tree to buy stuff to make a table centerpiece. I'll be making tomorrow's post all about Christmas decor so you guys will get to see that! :)

Saturday I decided to get out of the house and spend the day with my mom and my aunt shopping. We had a good time. We started out bright and early at the mall, then went to hobby lobby and then ended our day eating lunch. My hips were not happy with me on Sunday, but hey at least I got some exercise in!

Anyways, that is pretty much all I have for this week. It is time for the survey so here we go:

How far along?: 36 weeks

Total weight gain: It's looking like I've gained 20 pounds at this point. Not too bad.

Maternity clothes?: Same ol' same ol'. If I could wear nothing but sweats and baggy shirts everyday, including to work, I totally would.

Stretch marks?: Nothing new! same tiger stripes on my hip!

Sleep?: Nope! I'm starting to lose my mind here! I try Tylenol pm and it doesn't kick in until 4-5 am so I really don't get much sleep in.

Best moment this week?: Getting 5 days off from work. We've got a lot of projects going on right now and so I'm starting to stress. It was nice not having to worry about work.

Miss anything?: Feeling like myself. I'm on such an emotional roller coaster at this point that some days I feel sad, other days I'm OK. I've been getting agitated really easily which is frustrating because I don't like being mean or short to people I love for no reason.

Movement?: Pretty much constant at this point! He's very active at night so I'm usually my most uncomfortable when I'm at home trying to relax after being at work all day.

Food cravings?: Nothing. I'm never in the mood to eat anymore. I just want to have this baby!

Anything making you queasy or sick?: I'm starting to get nauseous after eating now. It makes eating even less enjoyable!

Gender?:Still a boy as far as we know!

Labor signs?: nada!

Symptoms?: Same ol' Same ol'!

Belly button in or out?: WAY out!

  

Wedding rings on or off?: The time finally came and I had to take them off! I put them on a necklace so I've still been wearing them every day, just not on my fingers.

Happy or moody most of the time?: MOODY MOODY MOODY!

Looking forward to?:Birth! Everyday is just one day closer! I'm in the 20's now people!

Thanks for reading you guys!