The Boob Tube

Ironically, this post has nothing to do with boobs. Which is, again, ironic, since I feel like my entire life revolves around breastfeeding and pumping and milk production right now.

Instead, this post is all about television.

I've come to the conclusion that I watch way too stinkin' much of it. I don't like admitting it, but I probably watch a good 8 hours of TV a day. *hangs head in shame* I usually give up trying to sleep in with Rowan around 9:00 in the morning, head into the living room, and turn on the box. (Can a flat screen be called a box? "Turn on the square" just sounds dumb.) And I leave it on. All day.

To be fair, I try to watch educational stuff sometimes. I'm a sucker for Jeopardy! and I like NatGeo and the History Channel. But there are also Friends reruns, The Big Bang Theory, etc. I'm pretty sure I'm rotting my brain, and possibly Rowan's.

My excuse for being a lazy blob

I really want to break myself of this habit, but it's just SO easy to keep myself entertained with TV. It's hard to read when I'm nursing a flailing baby, and crocheting encounters the same obstacle. I just don't want to raise Rowan in a TV-centered household, where he sits in front of the tube all day and never plays outside or uses his imagination. I see that happening with too many kids I know and I think that's part of the reason that American kids are fattening up at an alarming rate.

Combating this won't be easy. DH likes to come home and kick back in front of the TV until bedtime to relax. Granted, at this stage, interacting with Rowan pretty much consists of holding/burping/rocking, but what happens when he becomes play-with-able? So, my new rules for fighting our excessive TV habit are:

-No more eating dinner in front of the TV. We will sit at the table, with the TV off, until the meal is done. Anything that's on at the moment can get paused or DVRed.

-No more all-day TV for me. (This one will be HARD.) I can play music, read when Rowan naps, and get a little more housework done than I have been. My housekeeping skills have been sadly lacking since the arrival of bebe.

-The TV needs to get turned off at least half an hour before bedtime. We need to start winding down on our own instead of staring at the screen until we're in a stupor.

Wish me (and us) luck! I get the feeling I'm going to need it.

Slow down

I wish time would. I am mind blown at how quickly it seems the days are flying by. I feel like I'm missing all of my favorite season! Fall is here, and I'm pretty much stuck in the house. I'm too squishy post-baby to wear all my favorite sweaters and jeans and whatnot, and my Spiced Pumpkin candle is almost gone. Sigh.

Little Boy is transitioning into 0-3 month size clothing and is officially in size 1 diapers. Whaaa?!? I'm not entirely sure where my baby boy is going, but I'm having fun with the big boy that is replacing him. He's started smiling at me within the last week, and started cooing yesterday. It's amazing and heart-melting and sad all at the same time. I wish I could keep him this tiny forever. I don't even mind the lack of sleep.

Breastfeeding is going great these days. We really struggled at first but he's finally got the hang of it. It has become super gratifying and rewarding. His birth weight was 6lbs 10oz, and at a day past one month he was 9lbs 5oz. Mom's milk is good stuff! I'm starting to reconsider the idea of cloth diapering...with the way this kid goes through diapers, I'd be up to my neck in poopy piles of laundry. I've also learned that a front-loader washing machine is apparently really bad for cloth diapers, so that might be a hindrance, too.

I'm sure this post is incredibly disjointed and random. My mind is scattered all over the place and Rowan is starting to wake up. We're going to a wedding tonight and I have my fingers crossed that everything goes well.

The end.

Things I'm Learning

-It's really hard to find time to blog when you have a newborn. Diligent mommy bloggers, I salute you. I don't know how you do it!

-Nursing is really challenging, and sometimes a little maddening. If I wasn't so dedicated to doing this for my son, I would give up and just give him formula. (Or let daddy give him formula.) There's something wonderful but simultaneously overwhelming about being his only source of nourishment...especially at 3:00 in the morning.

-A perpetually late person + a newborn = a perpetually super late person.

-Time during pregnancy goes at a crawl. Time with a newborn rushes by so fast that I think I'm getting a little whiplash.

-Instagram is an awesome tool for recording the first few days (and weeks and months) of your kid's life. (Feel free to follow me; my username is blindvictory, of course!) Also, a smartphone is a lifesaver during the wee morning hours when you're nursing (again) and you need something to keep you awake.

-I was apparently destined to be an attachment parent. I LOVE bed sharing. Still working on getting him to tolerate the pocket sling. I'm realizing that I get a little jealous when family visits and I have to let other people hold him for a few hours...makes me a little glad when he decides to cluster feed. ;)

-Being a mom is still totally awesome. I can't believe that my husband and I created such a perfect little boy. I thank God every day for the blessing of my sweet little family.

Also, a quick note. I'm thinking about changing my blog name from "Waiting for Arrows" to something else. I haven't decided what yet. If I come up with anything good, I'll let everyone know! If you've got any suggestions or ideas, pitch 'em to me because I'm terribly uncreative. I also totally want a new blog design, but I am cheap and don't want to pay for a good one, and whenever I try to do the free ones, the coding gets messed up and half the blog reverts to the old style and half has the new layout. Lame.