Sick day

It’s often said that busy moms don’t have time to be sick. I have said it myself. I’ve got to keep my sick days for when my kids are sick, I can’t use them when I’m actually sick.

In just the last month I’ve dragged myself into work with everything from laryngitis to a stomach virus, all of which I am sure my co-workers have loved being exposed to.

Since the beginning of the year I haven’t been completely healthy. I blame this on the lack of sleep making my body unable to heal itself because it’s too busy keeping me awake.

New moms tend not to sleep well for weeks, even months after the baby is born. Couple that with trying to heal from the trauma of child birth and playing the role of supermom, and many moms find that complete exhaustion sets in pretty quickly.

I am no different.

I haven’t sat still in months. I was carrying my daughter around the hospital within 24 hours of giving birth to my son. When we came home from the hospital, there was no time for me to sit in bed and recover; I had to hit the ground running, regardless of the doctor’s advice. My daughter was 14 months old and she needed her mommy and daddy and it didn’t matter to her that we just brought home a new baby.

So, here I sit, after nearly four months of running in high gear I have been forced to take a day off. After neglecting my own health for so long, my body has turned against me and a little cold has completely knocked me out. My husband brought the kids to daycare and left me at home with orders to get some sleep.

It’s going to be tough. Even as I sit here writing this, I’m thinking that I could still go into work. But that will not help me and I’ll probably just get sick again next week.

With my focus completely on my kids, it’s so easy to forget to take care of myself, and when I do, I feel guilty about it. The thing is that it’s so important that we, as parents, stay healthy so that we can be great parents and reliable employees.

So, today I will curl up with a cup of tea, take a very long nap and, hopefully, revitalize so I can make it the rest of the year without using another sick day for myself.

Taking a bite out of time management

My son has started eating solids. Solids is such a misleading term for baby food since the "solids" he's eating are thinner than that protein drink you just had for breakfast. No matter what the term, he's now eating more than just a bottle.

We started him on rice cereal. It's a cruel introduction to food. It doesn't taste like anything, and frankly it doesn't make him eagerly want to take to the spoon. But he's a trooper and did his best to choke it down. As a reward for all his hard work, last night we introduced him to the next step in solids: his first taste of food with actual flavor. He had carrots, and he didn't hate them.

Whether he likes the food or not, the whole eating off a spoon thing is a glorified mess. Most of the food ends up across his face and the rest is getting picked up by the fist he continuously jams into his mouth. But that goofy little smile on his food covered face is priceless.

With an already hectic schedule, it would be easy to just give him a bottle in the morning, send him to daycare and let them take care of the solids. But let's be honest, I eat breakfast and dinner every day, so should he. So feeding him breakfast and dinner has been added to our laundry list of things that must be done before we go to work in the morning and the second we walk in the door at night.

The hardest part about starting solids isn't getting him to swallow them, it's the time it takes to do so. About two weeks ago, my husband said, "You know, I think we're getting the hang of this parenting thing." I agreed. Both kids were following our schedule to the best of their ability and we were getting things done. We are always busy, but it was starting to flow. Then we introduced solids and the whole thing came crashing down.

In time, we'll get back on track … just in time for the next developmental phase. But that is the plight of the working mother. It sometimes takes a little longer to get into the swing of things. But with every day that passes we get better and better at what we have to do and very soon we are experts at efficiency.

Sorry to see you leave

I just learned that today was one of Sophia's teacher's last day. No one told me, I happened to be in one of the classrooms when the teachers were signing a balloon for the departing teacher that said "Miss You."

As I was leaving, I saw the teacher by the door and wished her well. She said that was leaving because she was moving. She seemed sad.

I am also sad. It's hard because I trust these women to take care of my most precious possessions and in return they make me feel like they love my children more than all the others. I like the feeling that I'm leaving my children in the hands of people who honestly and truly care about the welfare of my children and that their job is not just a paycheck to them.

I believe that the people who care for my children while I'm at work have a direct effect on their personality. Picking a daycare was not a choice I made lightly. Because my children are so young, these women are not only changing their diapers and feeding them, but they are also helping to mold their personality. They give my kids the personal interaction that I am not able to give them while I'm at work.

If I didn't like these women personally I would have taken my children out of this daycare. But opening myself up to these feelings for my daycare provider also makes me vulnerable to sadness and disappointment when one of them leaves.

I hope it's a long time before another teacher leaves.