Handbags & Pacifiers

Under the weather

2013-10-25T02:26:00.002-07:00

I've been feeling really tired and ill this week. Not sure if it's stress or the weather or even both. I couldn't even manage to drag myself out of bed to go to work, so I ended up having a sick day on the sofa watching a load of american sitcoms. I mad myself some chicken soup in the evening and today I feel a bit better. Looking forward to the weekend and hopefully I'll be able to relax. All of this is definitely going to affect my weight loss because I've been comfort eating all week. After gaining 1lb last week I really don't want to gain any more.

My little boy is getting smarter by the second. He says more and more words and phrases and surprises me more everyday. He is also very naughty and knows how to push my buttons but I can't stay mad at him for long. I'm going away to Basel - Switzerland on Monday for work until Friday and I'm going to miss him terribly.

On the other hand it will be nice to take a break from home life and have everything done for me...

Working Hard

2013-10-11T01:48:00.003-07:00

So two years later and the sleep deprivation still hasn't completely gone away. I have a big boy who just turned 2 last month and has been waking up in the night for the last few weeks. It's starting to get to me as I have to get up early for work and can't catch up on sleep.

The potty training was going very well but we seemed to have regressed a bit. Some days are better then others but the accidents seem to be increasing. I know we'll get there eventually. He has done so well and I couldn't be prouder.

The sleep deprivation means I haven't got any energy and I've only gone to the gym once this week. Three days later and I'm still aching! I haven't been great on the diet either and I'm not looking forward to the weigh in at Slimming World tomorrow. I need to find some new motivation otherwise my goal to loose a stone by Christmas is going out the window.

Speaking of Christmas, the countdown has started. Not because I'm looking forward to it, on the contrary, I'm dreading it. It's a lot of work which puts a lot of strain on me and on the bank balance! I guess I need to start making a list and buying gifts before I blink and Christmas is here.

Should have been fine by now!

2012-05-14T07:52:00.001-07:00

So I completed my first week back at work since being on maternity leave. It was just as difficult as I expected but not nearly as difficult as today was. Not sure if it was because we just spent the whole weekend together or because it was the first time he was awake when I left for work, but I left the house in floods of tears and have been having a really tough and emotional day.

I miss him so bad and have been counting down till home time more than ever. I had many expectations about returning to work but I couldn’t imagine ever feeling this way after having done a week at work already. Can this get any worse? L

Working mum

2012-05-11T02:17:00.002-07:00

Sorry it’s been so long (again!) As always it just never ends with me and lately having a 1 minute to myself seems impossible.

So let me catch you up... I’ve finally moved house after a whole load of drama around the issue. We’ve settled in nicely and the transition for baby went quite well. He now has his own room and had no issue adapting to that. He is such a good baby!

I’ve now returned to work which is hardest thing I have ever had to do. The pressure of trying to start my own business while having a full time job, taking care of a 7 month old baby and sleep deprivation coupled with the guilt of actually having to leave him 8 hours a day has left me in zombie mode. I’m tired! I’m always tired.

You always hear about how mums are always tired. It’s not a joke! I never could have imagined that this would be so hard. The biggest problem is that I miss him. I miss him so much.

My husband works extraordinary hours too which means nor me or the baby get to see much of him and I miss him too.

It’s sad that the only way we can provide what’s best for our children is by spending long hours at work and away from them... My biggest fear is that he ends up resenting me for working so hard.

Why does it have to be so hard?

Help!

2012-03-29T09:04:00.005-07:00

I know it's been said a million times before, but mothers really do not get enough credit. I have to admit, I was one of those who thought mothers just exaggerated about how difficult it all really is so that they could get sympathy or something, but now having to go through it all myself, I know I could not be more wrong! It's not the taking care of the baby that takes it out of you. It's taking care of the baby, the house, the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry, the shopping, the bills, etc. Add this to house hunting, worrying about returning to work and sleep deprivation and I'm about to go over the edge! Hubby is working 2 jobs now because money is tight so of course I end up doing it all on my own. I ONLY HAVE ONE! ONE BABY! How on earth do these mothers with a bunch of kids all one after the other do it? They are truly amazing!

So as you can probably tell I've been totally stressed. Baby hasn't been sleeping well at all and I have no idea why. We finally found a house we liked which was advertised as available from the end of this month so we were meant to move in on the 14th of April, but now the estate agent says it's not available till the 23rd. Why does moving house always have to be so stressful? I just want to pull my hair out!

Lately it just feels like if it's not one thing it's another and there is always something weighing heavy on my mind. Am I ever going to have a day when I have nothing to worry about? Everything is so difficult and it's getting harder and harder to cope.

Has anyone ever felt this way? How did you cope?

Stressed Out

2012-03-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

So my little munchkin is 6 months old today... Half a year already! Where has the time gone? Seeing as he is growing up so fast and taking up a huge amount of space with all his toys, etc. we decided to look for a bigger house with a garden and plenty of space for him to explore.

House hunting is really brutal! There isn't a lot out there for our requirements and our budget and every time I find a house that I like someone has got there first... It's so difficult and stressful. This stress coupled with my sheer exhaustion from Afonso keeping me up at night is probably going to tip me over the edge! It doesn't help that my husband is stressed out about it too and is taking it out on me... As if I don't have enough going on already.

In the middle of all this hoopla, work has contacted me asking me to attend a meeting about a company restructure on Thursday and this will be a Keeping in Touch day. My husband will be off work that day but has to go to Brighton so he will take the baby. That makes me really nervous because, to be honest, I don't really trust leaving him with anyone, let alone take him out!

Healthy Check

2012-03-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

So I took the little man for a healthy check today because I was concerned he may have lost weight last week when he was ill with vomiting and diarrhea. I was right. He lost a little bit of weight but nothing major. He now weighs 9.620 kg (21 lbs), only 120 grams more than 4 weeks ago, and has dropped into the 97th percentile.

Since he lost this weight his body is trying to recover it so he is extra hungry these days. He's even waking in the night for an extra feed (just when I thought the night feeds were over!). The health visitor said this will only be while he is catching upon his calories and once he is back on track that things should go back to normal.

We also talked about what food he is eating as he will be 6 months old next week and will be able to have solids for his main meals even though he will still need around 18oz of milk a day. Since I have already started weaning anyway she just told me to try cut out some of the milk feeds and give him more food because he drinks more milk than he really needs. I guess that's not really an issue because just like his mommy, he enjoys his food.

Speaking of which, my best friend and I have started a new walking regime in an attempt to loose weight for the summer. Today was the first day and my body is aching! Guess that's what you get for never exercising and being unfit... Hopefully that'll change!

I've also started looking for a new place to live... I hate moving and everything that comes with it, but with the baby growing we really need a bigger place and a garden for him to play in. Looks like I have some really busy days in the weeks to come... Sigh!

Eventful Month

2012-03-12T08:43:00.003-07:00

So... I haven't posted in over a month. It's been quite a hectic month for me so blogging was the farthest thing from my mind. But now I'm back and hopefully here to stay!

So as you know when I started blogging I was on holiday in Portugal at my parents house. Well we're back in good old England now and life has resumed to it's normal self. Took us quite a while to get back settled in since we were away for 2 months. I really didn't want to come back to be honest.

First on the agenda was a visit to the health visitor for the baby's healthy check and of course catch up on his immunisations. The healthy check went very well, I am very happy to say I have a very healthy big boy. He weighed a whopping 9.5 kg (20lbs 15oz) putting him in the 98th percentile.

We also started swimming lessons with Water Babies and I have to say it was the best decision I've ever made. He has the biggest smile on his face when he is in the water and it just melts my heart to see him so happy. He doesn't even cry when going under water, in fact, he doesn't seem fazed at all.

He can sit up pretty well now and has started to shuffle backwards when on his tummy. I think he will be crawling very soon. He is super smiley and happy as always so he keeps me in a good mood too.

I went to a meeting at work on my first week back and they rejected my request to work from home 3 days a week. So I don't know what I'm going to do and I know for sure that working full time I will not be able to afford full time childcare. Looks like I have some pretty tough decisions to make in regards to returning to work.

Life was going smoothly until my husband caught a bug at work and the little man caught it from him! We had a whole week of vomiting and diarrhea and he is only just getting better. It's been a really difficult week, with the crying in the night, the changing nappies and clothes every 5 minutes and being showered by every substance coming from every orifice from this child. The doctor prescribed Dioralyte which he quite liked drinking so there wasn't a problem giving it to him. I'm glad it's finally over.

We're going for another healthy check this week and hopefully he won't have lost any weight from being ill.

Have you ever had any issues with your baby getting sick and how did you deal with this? Any comments and suggestions welcome :)

What about me?

2012-02-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

So I looked in the mirror and I really didn't like what I saw. Something inside me clicked (probably triggered by my mums voice in the background), and I realised that in 2011, getting married and having the baby, made me forget about me. I got so distracted being a wife and a mother that I forgot to look after myself. How did I let this happen? It's so unlike me! Who am I now? I really let myself go...This makes me so sad and I'm so disappointed in me. Especially because I promised my friends that I wouldn't let these things change me.

SO! Instead of complaining and feeling sorry for myself, I’m going to do something about it! I got a hair cut today, got some new clothes and shoes and from now on I'm going to put some more effort into the way I look. I can't believe how lazy I got. The old single me had so much pride in her appearance. I wouldn't leave the house without looking pristine.

I know a lot has changed and I've had to leave a lot of my single life behind me, but that doesn't mean putting everyone else in front of me and completely forgetting who I am. From now on I promise to myself that I will make more time for me and try to rediscover the best parts of that happy single girl. I'm just glad I woke up before it's too late.

Happy Days!

2012-01-28T06:14:00.000-08:00

I should have written that blog entry about sleep sooner. Since I've written it, the little man has been sleeping through the night. I can't believe it. I on the other hand, am still waking up. I guess I got used to it. I hope this carries on now and becomes the norm.

I think we've finally established a good routine. I've been trying to implement one since he was about 6 weeks old. It hasn't been easy because he is so different everyday. But it's true when they say that persistence is key. I just kept trying to do the same things at the same time everyday when possible.

He eats roughly every 3 hours during the day and I give him a vegetable puree for his dinner around 6 (I just started weaning). He normally wakes up around that time from his afternoon nap so he's always in a good mood which makes the feeding easier.

Straight after dinner it’s bath time, which he absolutely loves. I let him splash around for a bit and then we have wind down time. This normally involves a massage followed by either a story or cuddles. I have him sit with us at the table while we have our dinner and we chat to him. He then has a bottle and is tucked in bed. By then it's around 8.30-9pm.

So if you're trying to establish a routine and it doesn't seem to be working, don't loose faith and carry on. It took me 12 weeks and I used to get so frustrated when it didn't go the way I wanted but now I'm so glad it's running smoothly.

Yawn... Sleepless nights

2012-01-26T09:06:00.000-08:00

So lots of mothers with babies the same age as my little one have told me how happy they are that their bundles of joy are sleeping through the night like angels... When I hear this I nod and smile and say how lucky they are but what I really want to do is cry! I haven't had a good nights sleep since I got pregnant. So it's been over a year! A whole year of sleep deprivation! I used to sleep around 9 hours every day before I got pregnant, so it's been a huge shock for me.

The truth is, I think I've tried every suggestion under the sun to get him to sleep through the night, but he gets so hungry. He is quite a chubby baby and enjoys his milk, so when I tried to give him his soother or a bit of water to send him back to sleep, all I got were even louder screams. He got so hungry I could actually hear his belly roaring at me. Up until a couple of nights ago he had been having 3 6oz bottles a night.

Two nights ago I got so excited. He went through the whole night without a bottle. He only cried once at around 11.30pm (not sure why), but went quickly back to sleep and only woke up at 7.50am! I was so happy... Spent the whole day singing and praying that this would happen everyday.

Well the next night comes and I was up with him basically all night! He only had one feed at around 1.30am but he would not stop screaming. I'm guessing this is due to teething. So much for all my exitement :(

Last night he went to sleep around 9pm and woke up 3 or 4 times before 12.30. He was so unsettled. Eventually I got him back in bed and he only woke up for a feed at 5.40 this morning. That's pretty good I guess. He went back to sleep and woke up again around 8.

I guess he is probably close to sleeping all night. Well I hope so anyway because I'm not sure how much longer before I crack. It shouldn't be such a big issue but I really struggle to get back to sleep once I've had to get up.

Any comments and suggestions are welcome :)

Hello and Welcome :)

2012-01-25T09:39:00.000-08:00

Hello lovely blog readers...

It's only right that my first post should be a little insight into who I am. Well... My name is Andreia, I'm 22, married and I have a gorgeous little 4 month old boy. Like a lot of woman, I love shopping. I love shoes, handbags, clothes, accessories, everything! And also like a lot of woman I struggle with my weight, especially now that I've had a baby. I just joined weight watchers so lets see how that goes :/

This blog will be all about how I cope with being a working mom and wife and still try to have a bit of a social life (not just on Facebook). I know it won't be easy but I'm going to give it a good go.

In the mean time I'm still on maternity leave and I'm going make the most of every minute with the baby before I have to go back. I work for a pharmaceutical company in the IT department... I won't bore you with the details! I'm planning to return to work in May. I've always been quite career driven and really loved my job. But now that I have a baby I can't imagine going back there :( I wish I could just be a stay at home mom and be with my little one all the time. Damn why didn't I find a rich husband? Just joking!

I'm currently on an extended holiday in Madeira, Portugal (where I'm from), but I'll be back in the UK very soon. I miss my husband but I'm sure he misses me more haha. Having to wash his own clothes and cook his own meals probably isn't very fun when you're used to having it all done for you. He's going to kill me when he reads this!

I guess that's all I'll say for now and you'll get to know me as I continue to post. For now here is a picture of my little family.