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Fourth day of Christmas
Dec. 28th, 2020 09:49 pmComing to the end of our fourth day of holiday and I feel really good. It took me a few days to unwind. Even a couple of days in I was noticing more anxiety and reactivity than usual. I think there's still a backdrop of "only moderately okay" - what I've heard people call "covid good", as in, as good as can be expected given the pandemic. Able to take pleasure and be grateful moment to moment, but every few weeks you have to fall apart and put yourself back together. That.
I'm feeling more grounded and relaxed now than I did at the start of the break. It's been a lovely, foodie, rhythmic, family few days. We've cooked and eaten several delicious meals - king prawn panang with homemade panang paste, Thai style sea bass, winter salad with fig, satsuma pieces, walnuts and olives, the mushroom pate, and a big roast dinner - in fact cooking, eating and cleaning up has taken up a substantial amount of each day, and I have no regrets.
Leo and I are spending as much of the time as possible together, enjoying sharing E with each other and the luxury of having two adults sharing whatever tasks need doing. E's been loving playing with their new toys from grandparents - especially their additional box of Duplo and their wooden bear puzzle, and the fire engine puzzle they got from Gina a few weeks ago. They're also obsessed with drawing so we do some of that every day, with paint pens (although we have to stop them eating them) and Crayola washable markers (which are all a bit worse for wear and we've just bought a new set).
We've done wet play in the tray table outdoors in the garden during the cold sunny day yesterday (warm water from the tap, because the rainwater was icy), walks in the nearby woods (E has a new puddlesuit gifted by biascut, and is very excited by puddle jumping - "da da da da DLASH!"), taken it in turns to DJ for living room hangouts, danced together, roleplayed with soft toys, done collaborative brightly coloured artworks, and other lovely things. We spent yesterday getting very giggly, and rolled around on the living room floor together with E climbing on us, and invented games like parachute with a blanket and twenty ball pool balls, which was hilarious (they went everywhere).
E is breastfeeding much less during the day these days. Since the start of December we've had three days a week of childcare on work weeks - Char on Fridays, who's been with us since E was a few weeks old, and our new nanny Shirley, who lives locally and brings her ten month old to work, so E has a playmate. I believe this will be good for them as they've had so few opportunities to spend time with other kids this year, but E is so far unconvinced.
I've been out doing work stuff for three long days this month, and E was fine every time. Our electric pump stopped working so we've been giving them formula in a cup when they ask for milk and I'm not there, plus solid food and herbal tea and water as usual of course.
I've noticed that even when I am there, they breastfeed a lot less during the day. Sometimes they're teething and can't manage it without biting. Sometimes they're super wriggly and chatty and stimulated and can't settle. So even if they're asking for boob, I often end up giving them cup milk instead, after a breastfeed is unsuccessful.
As a result, they're sleeping on me a lot less. We've started doing daily pushchair walks to induce naps (which is how Shirley and Char both get them to sleep). After lunch, warm clothes, blankets tucked in. Either I go alone and listen to podcasts while Leo does physio, or Leo and I go together.
So far it's worked everyday. They sleep for variable lengths of time once we get home. We park them in the garden with the hood up and tuck another blanket around them. For some reason they sleep better outdoors than indoors - bringing them in usually wakes them up. The day before yesterday they slept for two hours in total, three quarters of it in the garden. That was wonderful! But the last couple of days it's been much colder, and they've been waking up after twenty minutes or so no matter how many blankets we pile on.
So naps are in transition at the moment, and we need a new system that works in winter. I'll try bringing them indoors again, but we might need to try a hammock indoors, or start trying to build a sleep routine in their bedroom that doesn't rely on feeding to sleep (which is how they still get to sleep at night time).
Today was the first day we tried to get some domestic tasks done, rather than focusing exclusively on play, food and relaxing. We started putting up a curtain in the dining room to make the downstairs space cosier, cos it was freezing, but we realised the curtains needed adjusting, so we ended up measuring all the windows and curtains and figuring out which ones would go where and how much adjustment they each needed, plus making a shopping list for the rails and curtains we need to buy. It was a long job and at the end of it we still had no curtains, but it was an increment of progress at least.
This afternoon we both did our physio, which is the first time either of us have managed it since the start of the holiday. We also spent an hour trying to unfuck our bedroom. It's not what I'd call tidy yet, but it's heading in the right direction. Leo still has a few Boxes of Argh to unpack and I'm fighting a continual rearguard action against the floordrobe.
I also gave one of the orchids some attention. It had a few roots growing into the air, so I emptied the pot and repotted it so all the roots were under the bark layer. The orchids are so happy on the downstairs wet room windowsill. It's perfect for them - indirect light, humidity, warmth, regular mistings from the shower.
I still need to figure out what the pothus and the calathea need. Pothus is in the dining room now and is looking healthier - the conservatory was too cold. But some of the leaves have gone yellow, which suggests overwatering. The calathea is in the entrance hall, for warmth and shade, but it's still looking a bit brown and limp.
I'm off work until January the 4th or 5th; it feels good. Aiming to spend the rest of the time with a good balance of relaxing fun activities and satisfying house sorting. I've got a few fun things in the diary too - a kids' zoom rave, a walk in the park with a friend and her 18 month old - and some more ideas for family activities. It's lovely to have a nice long staycation and really focus on E, rather than trying to fit parenting in around other stuff.
I'm feeling more grounded and relaxed now than I did at the start of the break. It's been a lovely, foodie, rhythmic, family few days. We've cooked and eaten several delicious meals - king prawn panang with homemade panang paste, Thai style sea bass, winter salad with fig, satsuma pieces, walnuts and olives, the mushroom pate, and a big roast dinner - in fact cooking, eating and cleaning up has taken up a substantial amount of each day, and I have no regrets.
Leo and I are spending as much of the time as possible together, enjoying sharing E with each other and the luxury of having two adults sharing whatever tasks need doing. E's been loving playing with their new toys from grandparents - especially their additional box of Duplo and their wooden bear puzzle, and the fire engine puzzle they got from Gina a few weeks ago. They're also obsessed with drawing so we do some of that every day, with paint pens (although we have to stop them eating them) and Crayola washable markers (which are all a bit worse for wear and we've just bought a new set).
We've done wet play in the tray table outdoors in the garden during the cold sunny day yesterday (warm water from the tap, because the rainwater was icy), walks in the nearby woods (E has a new puddlesuit gifted by biascut, and is very excited by puddle jumping - "da da da da DLASH!"), taken it in turns to DJ for living room hangouts, danced together, roleplayed with soft toys, done collaborative brightly coloured artworks, and other lovely things. We spent yesterday getting very giggly, and rolled around on the living room floor together with E climbing on us, and invented games like parachute with a blanket and twenty ball pool balls, which was hilarious (they went everywhere).
E is breastfeeding much less during the day these days. Since the start of December we've had three days a week of childcare on work weeks - Char on Fridays, who's been with us since E was a few weeks old, and our new nanny Shirley, who lives locally and brings her ten month old to work, so E has a playmate. I believe this will be good for them as they've had so few opportunities to spend time with other kids this year, but E is so far unconvinced.
I've been out doing work stuff for three long days this month, and E was fine every time. Our electric pump stopped working so we've been giving them formula in a cup when they ask for milk and I'm not there, plus solid food and herbal tea and water as usual of course.
I've noticed that even when I am there, they breastfeed a lot less during the day. Sometimes they're teething and can't manage it without biting. Sometimes they're super wriggly and chatty and stimulated and can't settle. So even if they're asking for boob, I often end up giving them cup milk instead, after a breastfeed is unsuccessful.
As a result, they're sleeping on me a lot less. We've started doing daily pushchair walks to induce naps (which is how Shirley and Char both get them to sleep). After lunch, warm clothes, blankets tucked in. Either I go alone and listen to podcasts while Leo does physio, or Leo and I go together.
So far it's worked everyday. They sleep for variable lengths of time once we get home. We park them in the garden with the hood up and tuck another blanket around them. For some reason they sleep better outdoors than indoors - bringing them in usually wakes them up. The day before yesterday they slept for two hours in total, three quarters of it in the garden. That was wonderful! But the last couple of days it's been much colder, and they've been waking up after twenty minutes or so no matter how many blankets we pile on.
So naps are in transition at the moment, and we need a new system that works in winter. I'll try bringing them indoors again, but we might need to try a hammock indoors, or start trying to build a sleep routine in their bedroom that doesn't rely on feeding to sleep (which is how they still get to sleep at night time).
Today was the first day we tried to get some domestic tasks done, rather than focusing exclusively on play, food and relaxing. We started putting up a curtain in the dining room to make the downstairs space cosier, cos it was freezing, but we realised the curtains needed adjusting, so we ended up measuring all the windows and curtains and figuring out which ones would go where and how much adjustment they each needed, plus making a shopping list for the rails and curtains we need to buy. It was a long job and at the end of it we still had no curtains, but it was an increment of progress at least.
This afternoon we both did our physio, which is the first time either of us have managed it since the start of the holiday. We also spent an hour trying to unfuck our bedroom. It's not what I'd call tidy yet, but it's heading in the right direction. Leo still has a few Boxes of Argh to unpack and I'm fighting a continual rearguard action against the floordrobe.
I also gave one of the orchids some attention. It had a few roots growing into the air, so I emptied the pot and repotted it so all the roots were under the bark layer. The orchids are so happy on the downstairs wet room windowsill. It's perfect for them - indirect light, humidity, warmth, regular mistings from the shower.
I still need to figure out what the pothus and the calathea need. Pothus is in the dining room now and is looking healthier - the conservatory was too cold. But some of the leaves have gone yellow, which suggests overwatering. The calathea is in the entrance hall, for warmth and shade, but it's still looking a bit brown and limp.
I'm off work until January the 4th or 5th; it feels good. Aiming to spend the rest of the time with a good balance of relaxing fun activities and satisfying house sorting. I've got a few fun things in the diary too - a kids' zoom rave, a walk in the park with a friend and her 18 month old - and some more ideas for family activities. It's lovely to have a nice long staycation and really focus on E, rather than trying to fit parenting in around other stuff.