3 minutes to myself

Quick! Let me post something. I have moments to spare until I need to feed, change, help, or do something else for someone else!

Things are going pretty well. I had a week with Sophia at daycare full time and this week we cut her back to just preschool Monday-Wednesday for three hours. Her disposition has changed dramatically as she has had way more time with me. She loves that we have breakfast here, I take her and pick her up from daycare, and she comes home mid-day. She's still a toddler and nearly 3 years old so we still have our battles but she has gotten considerably better over the past few weeks. My mom heads home next week. That's when the real test will begin of how well I'm handling everything!

Emma is continuing to grow and develop and show us who she is. Two weeks young today. She doesn't cry much as she does screech and squawk. She sounds like an owl. Phillip has taken to calling her Hoagie roll because of her long lean body. I'm amazed that for at least four months when she was in the womb we called her Emma. But now that she is here in the flesh I constantly try to call her Sophie and her name usually comes out Sophemma. Poor thing. I'll get right some day!

She sleeps a lot! She has already given me a few nights where she has gone four to five hours at a stretch between feedings letting me have solid sleep spells. But once she wakes and is fed it often takes 30, 45, to 60 minutes to get her back to sleep. That makes for a tired mama. During the day I can feed her and put her down relatively quickly but at night it's a different story. Hopefully once she transitions to her crib instead of the bassinet she'll do better.

Emma is breastfeeding well. I'd give her a 7 out of 10 if we were judging. She has torn up my right nipple and I slather lanolin on it every chance I get. I'm going for my 2 week post-postpartum check up today so I'll ask the midwife about that. Ouch!

The only thing really giving me anxiety is any semblance of a schedule. I feel like our eating and sleeping schedule is so sporadic. I was going to try the Contented Little Baby method but haven't gotten the gusto to put it to the test yet. The schedule she suggests seems to regimented and a bit depriving Emma of eating when she needs to eat. I would love to hear from other moms as to how they slipped into a schedule with their new babies. Also, how they have worked the balance between frequent feeding and entertaining/enjoying their other children.

Duty calls....

The Balancing Act

For any family, regardless if there is a stay at home parent, two working parents, a single parent, or two work at home parents when you have a family it becomes a balancing act. You can't live as carefree as you did in your newlywed, no kid, days. Meals have to be planned, pick up and drop offs covered, schedules confirmed.

I think I have done an okay job balancing all of the responsibilities of being a mom, a wife, and a woman but I know I could improve. Due to my long and early commute Phillip takes Sophia to and from daycare. This will get a little tricky this year because day care is closer to home where as the previous two years it was very close to Phillip's work. Add in a change of schedule for me, by an hour in the morning and afternoon but coupled with a later commute on both ends has the potential to add 30 minutes to an hour to my commute each way.

I want to find time to learn how to knit again. I want Phillip to have time to do the things he enjoys and I want more time for date nights. All of this is like a complex orchestral piece. So my question is:

How do YOU balance all your roles without wearing yourself out?