I've started freelancing again – a little – from home. This is great. It really is. But I have not yet found my rhythm and how to do this efficiently, and as a result I'm staying up very late to get my work done. This means I have little energy the following day and end up falling asleep every time I feed BB. We're all out of whack. BB is needing the boobie at night more than ever. Thankfully we're co-sleeping, but until I go to bed an lay next to her she will stir every half hour or so.
If you're a new mother, you're supposed to feel tired. Right? I was always a morning person. Disgustingly chirpy. I'm not accustomed to not being that person anymore. It's hard for me to deal with cemented bones during the process of waking up.
I've gone back to decaf too. The act of leaving the house for half an hour and getting a coffee – even without the caffeine – re-energises me. If I could, I would sit in cafe's with these two all day long.
Being a first time mumma is hard. Very hard. Second time around I feel like I know what I'm doing a bit more. I needed help from Tresillian to get my son (my first) to sleep but this time around with my baby girl I followed their advice from the beginning and now I feel a little more human with the extra sleep. You will work out your rhythm with a mixture of sage advice from family/friends/professionals and good old gut instinct.
ReplyDeleteIt will get better and you will become more confident and the sheer exhaustion of those early months will seem like a distant memory.
xxx
Ps stop posting photos of your yummy coffees. Noone can make proper coffee here in Munich and it is sending me crazy haha! I was in London last week and there was a cafe near Liverpool station advertising that their coffees were made by Aussie trained baristas. Always a huge queue out the door, all day, everday!
It freaks me out, as tonight I wrote my post for tomorrow and it is all about how tired I am. I am right there with you MB, and this is my second child, and he is 21 months, so not a baby anymore. It is the whole work, life balance that I am not doing very well right now. Plus I love to help people, so I take on extra work. We are in sync lovely friend!
ReplyDeleteI am also back on decaf... although I had to have one caffeinated coffee today as I was incredibly tired.
So I figure, nothing like a good shop at pulp won't fix!
take care, and sleep well xx
Tired? I hear you! And rhythm? What's that? Our nights are going really well, but daytime is another matter. We have a party bean who doesn't want to miss out on any action during the day. I have got two illustration jobs on hold that I will hear from any day now, and I am dreading that day because we have not found any sort of daytime rhythm yet with our little bean. I love the idea of working again, even just a teeny bit, but at the moment ce n'est pas possible, pas de tout!
ReplyDeleteYou'll find your groove in no time at all xx
ReplyDeleteDear Anna, I have been religiously reading your blog for a while now and so much of what you write strikes a chord in me. I had my little girl end of January (her second name is Rose :-)) and I often find myself nodding my (exhausted) head whilst reading your posts.
ReplyDeleteI like you am breastfeeding and I wanted to reassure your that it is normal from 4 months of age for a baby to wake up more frequently at night (but perhaps you know this already?) as they become more stimulated by their environment they take less time to drink during the day and catch up at night! So again, like you, I am so fuzzy headed during the day. The crazy and wonderful thing is that each time I have a baby (whoops; did I not mention this is my third?) I become so darned creative and have ideas surging round my head but frustratingly very little energy to bring them to fruition.
Just a little advice: have you had your iron levels checked since the birth? Breastfeeding saps your ferritine levels and I was seriously tired before my doctor asked me to do a blood test.
Thank you for writing so truthfully and beautifully. You sound like a wonderful person.
ps. I started knitting too a few months ago. Have you been on Ravelry? What inspiration!
Stephanie
sleep, dear, sleep! schedule it in and do it rigorously. it has never mattered more, for real!
ReplyDeleteyay for co-sleeping!
I can imagine how tired you must be...taking care of BB all day and now working too. I'm sure you will find your rhythm soon..hang in there! And I know what you mean about cafes...something about the energy...I love them!
ReplyDeleteAhh! I hear you! These babies are tremendous and exhausting and lovely and sure do make trying to have a regular life quite the challenge. I started working (PT) again recently and I'm trying to establish some sort of day and night routine with Millie but she likes to keep us guessing. The husband has been taking on night duty for almost two weeks now since we've moved her out of our bed and things continue to improve. She even slept all night one time! Best of luck to you and your B's.
ReplyDeleteWhat no-one seems to tell you is that you actually just keep getting more tired. breastfeeding is hard work and when I was still feeding Che at 2 I felt more tired than when he was a newborn (and yet I lacked the support/sympathy from everyone around me because I hadn't just given birth!)
ReplyDeleteRosie's needs are changing too and you'll notice a big slug of tiredness at 4 months, 7 months, nine months. Around about now all the pregnancy hormones are leaving your body (is you hair falling out yet?) and it's almost as if you loose that high from the birth. Hence the extreme yawning.
Make sure you're taking your iron and get to bed early!
We'll chat tomorrow over that hot chocolate x
oh. so much great advice!! you are right, having a baby is so tiring. i have hit the wall several times with my baby and now i have given up all hope of being efficient like i used to be. i sleep when my baby has a morning sleep and that's been the best thing for me. but it means i don't get much achieved anymore! i hope your energy levels return soon.
ReplyDeleteBB is really quite the little cafe hopper, and looking very good in those stripes I must say.
ReplyDeleteI remember that heavy feeling when mine were little, it will pass. Glad to hear you are co sleeping, I loved my kids in bed with me,my daughter still loves to come in and sleep with us, she's now 16 and still snuggles up and gives the best cuddles ... she will probably still do it when she is grown up and visiting us which is fine by me !!
I'm not a mom yet but preparing to get pregnant (how does one prepare to get pregnant?!) and so I've switched to decaf as well and I SO KNOW THE FEELING of just getting up and getting some coffee, even it's decaf. It's the ritual that we are addicted to, I guess. :)
ReplyDeleteAnna, your BB's face in the last photo is just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI think tiredness is so common among new mums, especially if you're working as well. Be gentle with yourself and I'm sure you'll get into a groove soon. I'm glad you have a little coffee ritual to keep you energised!
Dear MB,
ReplyDeleteTired is my middle name. Some days I think I'm on top of everything and somedays I sink to the floor thinking what the hell am I doing trying to post a blog post when I can't keep my eyes open! My Anja is 2 mths old. You're doing great, you're an inspiration that going back to work is possible. Look forward to more posts.
Being tired is super normal. I have an almost-7 month old and she exhausts me. Once she started weaning everything was easier. If they eat baby rice, for example, at night, they are more satisfied and sleep longer (mine sleeps from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.).
ReplyDeleteJust try to "enjoy" this stage... (even though it may be hard some times!) Suddenly they are 6 months old and your baby becomes a little girl!
(Exhaustion will not go away, though... I guess we just learn to live with it and still be productive ;)
Hi Ana, I have seen your illustrations and think they're great. Was wondering how you get involved with freelancing; how do you find clients? I would love to do the same thing but have a bit of fear about this aspect.
ReplyDelete