Daddy's Hair Salon

It's normal for little ones to get some dry skin and flaking, especially on the scalp during winter.

The other day Sylvia went to her father's salon for princess pampering! Apricot oil treatment, shampoo, towel dry and combing. The resulting hairstyle was retro 80's poof, though we used no mousse. I think Sylvia likes her new look.

Another Subject

This is bliss, sitting with this content, perhaps sleeping, little cherub, listening to her breathe and watching her be peaceful.

Less Yucky

Ready for a new subject, anyone??

Day nine, feeling a bit better, still pretty tired. Stayed in my pj's all day. Finally took a shower at 10:30pm. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel like leaving the house.

Meanwhile Sylvia eats, sleeps, functions, fusses a little, plays and coos. Dan cooks, cleans, runs errands, changes diapers, soothes Miss Fussy, feeds the dog...

More Yuck

Here it is Day Eight Of The Yuck. Sylvia's tired of having a sick mama. Do not catch this virus.

I am fortunate to have Linda Diane Feldt, holistic health practitioner and all-around goddess, as not only a healer but a friend too. I had a session with her yesterday and she convinced my liver to relax, my GI tract to feel comfortable, and my energy level to level out while dealing with processing the remaining toxins from the virus. Today I feel much better. Not 100%, but better by bounds.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Helping Hands

I'm still sick with the crud, though feeling well enough to go to Grandma & Grandpa's for dinner last night (but I crashed halfway through, forcing us to leave promptly) and to do the dishes this morning. Grandma's busy right now cooking us some food for the next couple of days.

Today it is warmer (41 - practically balmy) and it's been raining, melting the snow cover. It'll turn cold again tomorrow and stay that way all week, and I feel like I'm missing a great opportunity to go walking outdoors today, but I don't have the energy.

It all makes me think about Dan's upcoming return to work in three weeks. I know I'll feel better by then (I had better!) but I'm a little nervous about solo parenting for long stretches of the day. Grandparents and uncle have offered to help, and we plan to have a conversation soon about what that will look like - afternoon babysitting for naptime? Evening babysitting for cooking dinner time? Morning babysitting for mama needs to go swimming time? Thank goodness we have the help we have - it's making things much easier, and making them possible at all when we're sick.

Letting Go

Sometimes Sylvia fusses when she's really tired, like she's not sure what to do and has a little struggle letting go and going to sleep.

Being sick this week has encouraged me to let go of a lot of the worry and obsessing over what we're "doing to our child" as we parent.

Having Dan and Grandma step in as primary caregivers allowed me not only to rest, but to step back and slow down, to see childrearing as a much longer-term project than the particular activity of the moment. Although it was hard to be trapped downstairs, sick on the couch, listening to Sylvia fuss upstairs (in the hands of a qualified adult), it did give me some perspective.

It's okay to lay her down in her crib (alone! egads!) if she's crying and I have to use the bathroom. It's okay to let her sit in a wet diaper (heaven forfend!) for a couple of minutes while I finish cooking breakfast. It's okay that I haven't figured out what this particular cry means right now and we sit together for a while to see if it blows over. Sylvia's happy, healthy and thriving. We're doing the right things. We're doing fine.

Yuck

So I managed to get the creeping crud, and I'm now on day three of stomach woes and fatigue. What a drag. It's hard to do more than feed Sylvia, and so much more needs doing. Thank goodness Dan is here, well and willing!