Carrying On

Between Isla's ear infection, my bronchitis, the heater going out in the house, some sort of weird rib injury from my coughing, and the weather acting like it is winter around here, well,  I haven't done much of anything to note!  I basically took a week or more off, and gladly so.  I had ZERO, and I mean that with 00000 on the end, desire to train, run, move, etc.  Fortunately I am on the upswing and feeling better every day.  But I do not want to be sick again this winter.  When mama is sick, the show must go on with her.  

I have had a slight desire to disconnect from the internet and reading everyone talk about training/exercise all of the time.  My facebook feed is overwhelmingly filled with everyone's training log and newest workout craze.  While I am super proud of all of my friends and glad that I surround myself with people that value health, I realized I needed to step away for a minute.  And honestly, I haven't looked back!  Amazing what you don't miss when it is gone.  I am not gone from facebook for good.  I am just not looking at it on a daily basis.  I think I will just pick 1 x week to get on there and catch up with friends without having to read daily dribble about training.    

Parenthood is still rolling along here.  Isla is hilarious, smart, and strong willed.  As a parent, my battles still revolve mostly around our sleeping and feeding patterns, as Isla is a frequent night waker and night nurser.  Dave and I are still trying to work on being the best night time parents we can be to Isla.  We had a huge laugh last night because Isla wanted to feed at 1am, and she had just eaten at 12am.  Surely she wasn't hungry! ???  I said no, and I rocked her, gave her the pacifier, loved on her, gave her to Dave, etc.  She was having NONE of it.  She cried, threw the pacifier, tossed and turned, and put on huge displays of dramatics for 20 minutes.  And they were really funny!  She is pretty hilarious, and I think I already see acting in her future.  And that was the extent of my attempt to try to "win" the battle.  Then I gave into her gave her what she needed, which was the boob, and she ate and went back to bed for 4 hours.  Who am I to say after rocking, offering the pacifier, and snuggling that she is not hungry if she says she is? 

Many (but not all, and not the ones I think are compassionate and smart) book "experts" suggest that she should now be sleeping through the night and should not be nursing several times a night.  My pediatrician, whom I don't love right now, made a big deal at our last check-up that she is not sleeping all night long in a crib by herself without waking up.  He said by next visit, "we will get serious about addressing this,"  as if I have some sort of juvenile delinquent that I need to correct now.  Seriously?  And then I felt ashamed telling him she slept in the bed with me frequently, as if it mattered one iota what he thought about that?    

So these are the sorts of issues we face as parents where we have to listen to our own guts and trust ourselves in the face of all of the advice we receive. And part of parenting, I believe, is knowing when to wage battles, and forcing my kid to not eat at night just doesn't even make sense to me right now.  She is 6-months-old, not 6 years-old.  It is about looking at the long term picture.  And it is also about not comparing your kid to others and just walking your own path.  Now isn't that what life's lesson is for ALL OF US, parents or not? 

 One of my favorite games is playing "turtle" with Isla.  She loves it!  My turtle usually falls asleep on me when I take her to the grocery store like in this picture.  Ha ha! 

Ahhh.  Off to do some work, spend a few minutes on my bike, and pray for the end of winter.  Happy week, Ya'll!  xo