Time to Relax

I seem to be very confused.  I'm such a YES person but when someone offers me help, I say NO.  What is wrong with me?!  Why am I so bad at asking for help?!  I'm a new parent baby F is only one three months old, clearly I need help!  Parenting is the hardest thing I've ever done!  Nonetheless, I'm happy to do nice things for other people and I forget to take care of myself.  As discussed in previous post, I need to take care of MYSELF first.  If I don't take care of me, then I can't take care of my family!

I need to work on relaxing, here is some inspiration:

Stop Crying Class

Pre-baby I signed up for the breastfeeding class, the pre-natal class, and I even checked out the hospital to see where I was going to deliver.

What wasn't offered to me however and what I would have found very useful would have a been a "get baby to stop crying class."  Why don't they offer a course on getting your kid to stop crying?

This video really helped me:

My Reliable Friend

F and I are total busy bodies, we love to get out and enjoy the sun.  However, these days there is a serious risk that whenever we venture out F may break out into one of her screaming-red-in-the-face cryfests.  It can definitely be a show stopper!  Fortunately, I have found a solution: my reliable friend, the ergo carrier.  F loves her ergo and after a couple, or sometimes a few hundred bounces, she usually settles back down.  While my back is not a huge fan of the ergo, it does allow me to get out and enjoy my long walks with my fancy stroller free of F's "musical soundtrack".   I enjoy the crazy looks I get from people peering into my stroller only to find it empty.  That's right, I'm walking an empty stroller with a baby strapped to my chest, what of it?

My Secret Weapon

You know how you dread sitting beside a crying baby on a long airplane flight?  Listening to your own kid cry endlessly is way worse and utterly exhausting.  My daughter cries a lot.  I'm not talking little cries; I'm talking red in the face screaming cries.  Don't get me wrong, I love my baby.  There are fleeting angelic moments when she is quiet and happy.  At these times, I magically seem to forget all the crying and get lost in how darn cute she is.  Then the crying starts again and I return to my trusted secret weapon, the hair dryer.  The secret weapon needs to be set to full blast, the low settings just won't cut it.  Unless she is hungry, the secret weapon magically makes her stop.  And believe me, the magic weapon is much more relaxing to listen to than my crying child.  Sometimes I make a nice cup of tea, grab my favourite book, curl up by the fire place, and listen the hair dryer for hours.