Has my life changed since I have made time to read?

First I feel as if I need to say that under normal circumstances I absolutely love reading.  It actually relaxes me. It offers an escape from my every day life but this reading and blogging experience has been a difficult experience for me. It seemed as if I had to force myself to take the time to read anything. I honestly just didn’t have the time or energy to do it but I did it anyways for this class. Of course I read books that I thought would help me at the stage of life that I am currently in. With a new baby to take care of and a busy two year old my life has been changed upside down in the last couple of months. I still really love reading but I just didn’t enjoy it when I felt forced to do it on a weekly basis. Now that I am getting used to the changes in my life I now realize that I have to take time for myself or I won’t be a happy and healthy mother. I am now going to make a conscious effort to take time to read for pleasure even if it isn’t once a week. Whenever I get the chance to pick up a book I will.

Researching Vaccines

This week I have been reading about vaccines in Dr. Sears' The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child. I am getting ready to take my little Aubrey to get her first immunizations tomorrow and have decided to do some research about what they are going to be putting in her body. I wasn't concerned about the shots that Lauryn got but this time around I have been hearing a lot of bad things about the immunizations that they are giving on the news and in magazines. A lot of my friends and even my own sister has decided to not give their babies their shots at all. With Lauryn getting all of her shots I thought that it would be messed up if I didn't make Aubrey get hers so I decided to do my research and learn as much as I could about what they are giving her. She is getting all of her shots but I am going to be a little more involved in the process of what they are mixing together each time. I learned from Dr. Sears' book that they mix a lot of drugs together for the shots. Some can cause reactions in certain infants. As a parent it is so important to take the initiative to understand what is being put in your baby's body don't just leave it up to your doctor. Their is a lot of information in this book and I highly recommend it to parents.

Thursday Evening Reading

So I have to admit something that I'm a little embarrassed about. Everyone has heard about the teen phenomena of the Twilight series. Well I loved those books. Those books got me through a months worth of bed rest in my first pregnancy. Now I have been so preoccupied with my life that I haven't had much time to read for pleasure. I was at Wal-Mart and noticed "The Mortal Instrument Series". I bought the first book which is "City of Bones" and started to read it. It hasn't been what I thought it was going to be. Clary is a very confused and selfish teenager. She has a concerned mother who loves her very much, but she doesn't seem to notice that. When the concept that there could be demons in the world as she knows it, she isn't convinced. Only time will tell if she starts to believe that her preconceived world could be a little darker than she imagined. The book is drawing me into it and I can't wait to read what happens next.

Last Minute Blog

I have finally finished my Motherless Daughters book after one of the longest weeks of my life. This last half an hour on Sunday night has given me a chance to share with you some weary words of wisdom. I have learned this week that life is cruel sometimes. In my book I learned that a true statistic is that 1 in every 3 families is affected somehow by cancer. One year ago this week I lost my mother to cancer. Then this week an unexpected cancer hit my family once again. Unfortunately it was my husband's grandma. They found a huge tumor in her bladder and tried to take it out. Sadly the cancer overcame her body as well. Life is so unpredictable. I thought this book would help me get on with my life without so much grief and sorrow. It has just given me hope that I will get better as time heals my heart. Now I have to see my husband feel the same pain that I am trying to overcome. My wish is that others don't have to feel the pain and sorrow that we are going through now.

Finding the time on a Thursday Night

Well it's 2 am on a Friday morning and I'm up with my little baby girl. She's curled up on my stomach and if I go anywhere she might wake up again. I guess she is going to keep me on the couch for awhile. I tried to fall sleep for awhile, but of course I can't. So I decided to do some reading. As though this day wasn't hard enough, because one year ago today was the last time I saw my mother alive. I read some more of my "Motherless Daughters" book. There are so many people out there that are effected somehow by cancer. It might be anyone, but it still hurts so bad to see someone you love go through that. Reading about losing a mother to cancer no matter what cancer is difficult. I lost mine to breast cancer and there are so many out there with the same story to tell. I am just really grateful for those who are looking for the cure for breast cancer. I just hope that everyone will realize how important it is for mammograms and get one. My mother had breast cancer three times before it spread and took her away from us.

Missing my Monday Afternoon

Today I realized that I miss having my afternoons while I was still pregnant and my toddler would take naps which gave me the chance to enjoy some reading. Well today during nap time, both little ones were out at the same time so I took some time for myself and read a little for myself. Back to my "Motherless Daughters" book. I have been dealing with the sadness of not having anyone to go to for advice about the small things in life like little parenting questions now that my mother is gone. I can't just pick up the phone anymore when I have a question or just need some advice. I swear that sometimes I still have the instinct to just dial her number to hear her voice again but I know she isn't here. This is apparently just one of the stages of grief that I am going through on my mourning journey according to my book. It only gets better with time, but I will never stop wanting to share my everyday moments with her. Every milestone that Aubrey and Lauryn hit will make me remember how proud my mother would have been. I will always miss my mother.

Easy Breezy Thursday Afternoon

So I decided to do some more research in my book "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding". As a mother I guess that I pretty had the hang of having a newborn, but I was wrong once again. This little one is very different from my first born. She is definitely more demanding of mommy's attention. I learned about a new way of holding a fussy or colicky baby. It was called the colic hold or magic baby hold. Although Aubrey may not have colic thank goodness, she is still is fussy after she eats because I have been having problems with nursing. This hold has been the answer to my prayers and she loves it. It helps her burp as well as spit up if she needs to which makes her tummy feel better. Thank goodness for such good books on babies. I guess that I expected this book to only have information on breastfeeding, but it has so much more.

A Little Light Saturday Reading

Well this week has been really difficult to find anytime for my myself. My newborn has decided to go on a feeding strike and make it really difficult for me to absolutely anything. So I did a little research and took a trip down to the public library. I heard through the grapevine of my friends that the la leche league has a new book out called "Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" with a lot of really good advice when it comes to nursing. I nursed my first daughter without a hitch so I had to blame myself for my newborn not wanting to eat. After a little light reading I found out exactly what was going on. It's not my fault thank goodness. I wasn't doing anything wrong after all. It is so difficult to accept help with something so personal as nursing your baby, but I read a lot of interesting information on my fussy baby and learned what to do. She is doing so much better now and hopefully now I will get some much needed time for myself.

Naptime

Everyone is always telling me that I should nap when little ones are. I try so sometimes, but you're never tired when they are. I put my girls down for a nap this Tuesday afternoon and decided to relax. So instead of getting caught up on the housework like usual I decided to read continue reading my book "Motherless Daughter". Before reading this book I truly felt like I was the only one that could be feeling this way. Since I gave birth to my second little girl without my mother I have been really down. This book has been sharing stories from other girls and women that have lost their. I have begun to realize that no matter how old you are, when you lose your mother it still affects you the same way. There are so many other women out there that have dealt with the same loss as me. I don't feel as though I'm the only one going through this now.

My Sunday Evening

Although I love to read, I really find it hard to find time to read. As a mother it isn't always easy to find time for yourself to do what you want to do. Reading is my passion and it gives me the chance to get away from all the stress in my life. With a newborn that is constantly attached to me, I have been given the chance to sit down and relax more. I can spend time with her in my arms and curl up with a good book. Every night I read the same books to my two year old daughter. I will read "Are You My Mother?" and "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" by Dr. Seuss. We have read these books so much that she can start telling me the story before I even read the words on the page. You would think that she would get burnt out reading the same books every night, but she loves them. I guess it's just me. By recommendation from a friend, I have begun to read a book called "Motherless Daughters: The Legacy of Loss" by Hope Edelman. After losing my mother to cancer last November I have been having a hard time dealing with my grief. Having a baby without my mother being there really got to me. So this book is supposed to help me feel better. I was told that it will help me realize that I'm not alone. After reading only the first few pages, I was in tears if that tells you anything about what the book entails.