Helpful Doggie

This morning, we were in a rush to get ourselves together and get out the door for Tobi's pre-operative consultation with his surgeon. I was rushing to get Ethan fed, and had his bottle in the warmer. He was being quite impatient and fussing/crying. I took him to the couch to unwrap his Miracle Blanket, heard some ongoing noise, and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. 

I looked down, and saw Ethan's travel Sleep Sheep laying at my feet. I remembered placing it on a blanket near his swing, which was a good 6-7 feet away from us. I picked it up and felt that it was a bit moist. Tobi had picked it up and carried it to where we were, inadvertently turning it on! I know this was probably an accident, but I'm going to pretend that he did this to help soothe Ethan, like the good big brother he is! 

In some funny news, while Kevin was feeding him, he noticed a moist spot on his back. That's right...Ethan pooped up his back...AGAIN. It was dis.gus.ting. Thank goodness he was still in his sleeper and we hadn't changed him into his outfit for the day!

Finally, today Ethan is six weeks old. Everyone says the first six weeks are the hardest, so I definitely feel that we've hit a big milestone!

Accepting Help

This week was very trying for me. It was WAY more difficult than I thought it would be to take care of Ethan all by myself, without Kevin. I felt like I had no relief, no adult interaction, no sleep...you get the idea.

We had an awful night on Monday, with Ethan crying and crying, and me crying and saying, "I can't do this," over and over. I started reading Babywise during my feedings and read about some things I was doing "wrong". I was so confused on what to do, that I was second guessing everything, and driving myself and Ethan crazy! I called Kevin at 2:15am upset, and then called my mom at 6:45am...upset.

After another awful night of sleep on Tuesday night, I raised my white flag of surrender. I was driving myself crazy, feeling like I was not cut out for motherhood, I wasn't eating or sleeping...I was just in bad shape. I realized I could not do this by myself so soon. I called my mom's friend, Debra (or my "fairy godmother", as I will henceforth refer to her), who said she'd come over and stay the day and night with me so I could get some rest. She did Ethan's laundry, made me lunch, cleaned up around the house, changed him, fed him, got up with him in the middle of the night, etc. I got 7 hours of sleep...IN A ROW!!

Today, Ethan and I were both well-rested, and we had a wonderful day together. It's also nice to know that Kevin will be home any minute! 

The moral of this blog post is: Accept help when it is offered. I thought I should be able to do this by myself, but the truth is, being a mom of an almost 3-week old is hard. I'm not doing a bad job just because I need to rely on friends and family to get me through these first few weeks (or months). 

Oh Pumpkin, Where Art Thou??

As the weather begins to cool and become more "fall-like", I begin to change some things around the house. For example, I flipped the thermostat from the "Cool" setting to the "Heat" setting. I am highly contemplating swapping my summer tanks and tees for my winter sweaters and turtlenecks. Another thing that I switch out are my recipes. I put away my light summer recipes and get out my yummy crock pot and casserole recipes.

One of my favorite fall ingredients is canned pumpkin. It can be incorporated into all sorts of different recipes. Pumpkin gives more flavor and "oomph" to food without pumping up the calories. Two of the most delicious pumpkin-filled things I've made are pumpkin chip cookies (except I substitute dried cranberries for walnuts) and this DELICIOUS Hungry Girl oatmeal recipe. 

I plan to make the oatmeal this weekend, but I've looked in a couple grocery stores and can't find canned pumpkin!! It still may be too early for it to officially be pumpkin season, but it got so cold so fast, that it feels like it should be! My next attempt to hit the "pumpkin jackpot" will be Whole Foods (they usually have EVERYTHING), but if I don't find it there, I'm not sure where to look! I'm open for suggestions, though!

Gym Dilemma

I promised myself that this post would be brief, because it is an attempt to stall my going to the gym to run. It's not that I don't like to run, it's just that running after you've been educating young kids is almost like working out AFTER you've just run a marathon. So, here is the dilemma:

Gym right after work, or gym after a break?

Usually I go home right after work to let Tobi out, take a break, eat dinner, and then go to the gym. To be honest, the going to the gym part sometimes doesn't happen, because I have more time to talk myself out of it. I tell myself I really just need a break to decompress from the stress of school, but should that not be the reason I go to the gym??? If I go to the gym after work (after letting Tobi out, of course), I convince myself that I am a horrible pet owner because my poor dog is at home by himself again, while I am "selfishly" working out. Another cop out? I think so! What are your strategies to get you to the gym in the evenings??? Help!!!