WFMW: Lent. So today is Ash Wednesday. Thus the start of Lent.
Picking something for Lent was hard this year. I don't always do it, especially now that I go to the Church of Christ - they aren't big on liturgical stuff, so it gets lost sometimes. And I don't always go the traditional route, something I give up something by way of an attitude or feeling or somethign else abstract, or use the time to cultivate a good habit or whatever. But I digress.
So this year was hard.
Back, before... before I found out I was pregnant, when i was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do about having another child, to try for VBAC or go with the c-section or whatever... back then, I decided that if/when we did this again, I would cut out most of my refined starches - white sugar, white potatoes, white flour, the whole bit - in an attempt to have a normal sized baby (and thus avoid another c-section - most docs won't VBAC with 9+ pounders, so I was trying to tip the scales a bit).
Fast forward to yesterday... I am still weighing the options of VBAC, but given the short time frame since my last, my amount of anxiety over having another labor/birth experience as traumatic as the last, an a huge number of other factors... it's looking more like a c-section. Which has actually given me a fair bit of peace, which is somehting I didn't expect. So yeah. I'm all good with it. But my "avoid refined starches to avoid an OMG big baby" plans... went right out the window, because 1) I figured out early on it probably won't matter so much and 2) ummm.... life. So refined starches are easy, whole foods are hard and take time and can't be bought through a drive-through window.
Add all this to the fact that I'll be on a cruise the beginning of next month... yes, this year is hard.
So I decided that refined starches is too much to give up, given my life craziness, sanity level, and travel plans. But... White Potatoes. I can totally give that up for 40 days, right? No hash browns, no french fries, no baked potatoes, no potato soup.... And maybe, it will have the effect of reducing my overall refined start intake (how could it not?), thus possibly helping me to not grow a giant baby, lol.
Either way, I can probably eat healthier without them (especially the fries).
This is the cow with the crumpled horn... So sleep has become a battle at our house. Brianna, going to sleep, at night, in her bed, at a reasonable time, is just something that hasn't been happening. Every night, we go through the same thing - culminating in a whiny, overtired infant who only goes to sleep after an hour (or more) of being held, rocked, and swung, and a mommy who gets nothing done and gets to bed late.
We've been trying to get a consistent bedtime routine. We tried reading stories, lavender lotion/bath stuff, and a ton of other things to help her wind down and sleep. But nothing seemed to help much - I had almost decided that it was a phase we would have to weather.
But then - I saw on one of my mommy boards, an idea to try. So. I tried it. Monday night, I took one of Brianna's soft fuzzy animal things (it's hard to describe, it's like a little blankie, but the center of it is gathered up and made into a little cow. Sounds odd, but it's cute, and really soft), and while i was running through our bedtime routine, I stuffed it in my shirt. Yes, I know this sounds crazy. You should have seen me walking around the hosue with a lovey stuffed in my shirt for an hour. Luckily, Chad was working late that night. He might have had me committed. When it was time to put her to sleep, I put her in the swing (I chickend out of trying the bed right away), and gave her the now-mama-scented lovey. She snuggled it, and talked to it, and was asleep within five minutes. Success!
Last night, we tried the same thing, except - the lovey was already mama-scented, so no need to walk around with a cow in my shirt. And. We actually put her straight in the crib. Gave her the lovey, and she did the same thing - snuggle, chatter, and off to sleep. Success again!
This morning, she was a little whiny getting up to go to daycare, and cried in her car seat... I gave her the lovey, and she was happy.
So that's what works for me. Hopefully, it will keep working! And hopefully, we'll never lose that cow, 'cause I'm sure that would be a meltdown, lol.
For more Works for me Wednesday tips, go to We are THAT Family. (I didn't follow this weeks theme, but I think that's still ok... I didn't have any great recipes to share, since most of my cooking lately has involved driving through a fast food joint, lol).
This is my brain..... in part, at least.
