Friday, June 27, 2008

The Mommy Battery

Today I awoke to the not-so-refreshed, not-so-get-up-and-go mommy doldrums.  I was tired.  Actually, I was pooped.  We have been overextending ourselves lately, dashing off to various summer events.  This week, our 3-year-old has been immersed in a local Bible school, which meets every morning at a church 20 minutes away.  This means the family has to get up, get dressed, get fed, and head out the door by 8:15am (and that's while lugging around my 34-week pregnant self!)  The homeschooling option has never looked so attractive! ;)

Whether I had realized it or not, the week's events had taken their toll.  I was bushed.

I think most mommies in the world push their limits pretty often.  We are often managing so much, on little sleep, and with little spiritual encouragement in our day to day.  Today's exhaustion reminded me that we, mommies (daddies too), need to be sure to take little breaks throughout the day--even a 10 minute time of prayer and meditation-- to quickly recharge and give us the boost we need to tackle all that is asked of us.

God is good in that in my time of need, He always seems to provide so appropriately.  Enjoy this beautiful prayer I discovered today while reading... and don't forget to take some moments to refresh those mommy batteries!  

O Mary, Immaculate Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, patroness of all mothers, I commend my beloved children to the Most Sacred Heart of your son, Jesus, and to your Immaculate Heart.  Please assist our family and keep us always in your care.  Please protect us from the snares of the devil and keep us on the road that leads to life.  Help me to realize my sublime mission as a mother and help me be faithful to my duties for the good of my family and the good of the entire family of God.

5 comments:

Right Said Red said...

Beautiful Prayer and so true. We need time to recharge. That's one of the things I like about flylady--she suggests a good 15 minutes break when tired! I sometimes find that sitting down for 15 minutes is all I need (when I'm not a preggo, of course!).

Gianna starts swimming lessons next week. Everyday for 2 weeks (possibly 4 if they go well), we will head to the pool for a morning lesson. To get all 3 kids and myself out the door EVERY day for 2-4 weeks straight will be exhausting.

H. Lillian said...

Off topic: I got such great advice about the Ergo baby carrier from y'all a few weeks ago, so I'm back for more. Now I'm carrying my 3-week old daughter in one. :-) It works great, and I love that I can use it now, whereas she's still not big enough for the Baby Bjorn.

I'm wondering if anyone has been successful in nursing with the Ergo carrier, particularly with a newborn using the infant insert. I admit I'm going nuts with spending about 8 hours a day nursing and being confined to a chair while doing it. I want to be able to walk aroud the house and get stuff done. I can kind of pull it off in a plain sling a friend lent me, but I have to use one hand for support -- I can't seem to get the sling adjusted right for truly hands free use, and it isn't very comfortable. Any tips?

Thanks!

Mary Alice said...

I nursed in the ergo with the infant pillow in it -- I would never do this in public, but for a while I did it everyday while cooking dinner because he was needing this long, late afternoon session, possibly becuase that is a time of day when mom's supply is lowest, especially when she is caring for other kids.

Anyway, first tip, wear a button down shirt. Second, make sure the the back straps on carrier are nice and tight so that when he is in position he will stay there. Then you are just going to have to mess around with how to get your breast and his face to line up so that he can eat, stay latched on, and not have his face too smooshed for air. Three weeks is still a very young nurser, so you might still have to use one hand, or mess around with rolling up a receiving blanket to have an extra prop?

Mary Alice said...

Wow, B, I was just planning to post about this on the weekend, once I have hopefully had more sleep!

We are all exhausted. It is leading to crankiness, and, for mom, a minor fender-bender yesterday.

The trouble for homeschoolers is that come summer there are kids around for the first time all year, and kids activities for us to do during the day, so we have had something to do everyday for the last two weeks.

We are also staying up later with activities and also delayed sundown, as well as not napping because it is hot! What a combo!

I plan tonight to put my kids into bed early after a simple dinner and a cool bath, and then to do the same for myself!

I am so glad that I followed Red's lead in not signing up for a great looking local activity that is planned for the fall, it is happening precisely at naptime. We are often just pulling ourselves out of survival mode into good routines, so to have a few days on the schedule of missed naps, when there will inevitably be a few days of unscheduled ones as well, is just dangerous.

BTW, not having to be dressed and out the door at 7:30 everyday is one of the major perks of homeschooling!

Joanne said...

My son is starting at a developmental preschool next Monday, and it's five days a week and just two hours a day. It will change to four hours a day in the fall when his school year starts. I am really nervous about getting us out the door and it's not til 10:30! My daughter is only 6 months old, though, so I am afraid I'm going to have to wake her up sometimes to get her out with me. Ugh.

This is great for me to read right now, as I was just telling my husband that something is going to have to give with my schedule. My daughter is just not sleeping that great yet, and it is starting to take it's toll. We've decided he is going to take nuk-replacing duty until midnight so I can get a few hours of sleep in a row. The prayers will help, too!