Attached?

While doing most things while pumping is difficult, it is quite easy for me to sit in front of my laptop and tool around on the internet; as long as I've got my mouse-hand free, I'm good. It's a little more difficult to write a blog post; pecking out words on the keyboard with one hand takes that much longer than properly typing with two (such as I'm doing right now). I recently discovered that playing with Illustrator is as easy as internet surfing, so I excitedly set about trying to make a cute little emblem for my page.

I wanted a badge of something I could be proud of as a mom. Boy, did that open up an internal can of worms. After sitting for awhile with a blank head and absolutely no ideas, I finally decided to illustrate the word "attached". I've read a bunch of books by the Sears family, and, while I don't do exactly everything they say, I'd like to be considered attached to R. Let's see how I measure up to the Sears Baby B's:

Birth Bonding: Haha, no. R went straight to NICU after she was born, I didn't see her until 3 hours later, and I spent very little time with her the first couple of days due to my own ailment. Moving on... (-)

Breastfeeding: I tried to get her to breastfeed, but she just wasn't taking to it. She still drinks breastmilk, though, which I think I should get points for. (-/+)

Babywearing: I carry her around often throughout the day, sometimes in a sling, mostly not. But I do have to put her down to pump breastmilk for 15 minutes every 3 hours. And if I'm not lucky enough to pump during her naptime, she's usually crying for most of those 15 minutes with little I can do to calm her. There go my points. (+/-)

Bed-Sharing: We slept together when she was smaller, but she'd wake up when Senpai left the bed to get ready for work in the morning. He nicknamed her "Tripwire" because she'd have one little finger or toe touching him, and then when he wasn't there anymore, EXPLODE! So she sleeps contentedly in her crib in her bedroom now, waking up because she wants to and not because of something either of us did. (-)

Belief in Baby's Cries: This I absolutely adhere to, mostly for the fact that R is so gassy. When she starts crying, the standard protocol is to pick her up, calm her down, and then wait for the delicious burp that will usually come out. And yes, she has learned how to "fake cry" when she wants attention, but the simple solution to that is to give her attention. Happy baby. (+)

Balance and Boundaries: I think we're good here. Now, at least, though it was much harder during her colicky days. Senpai and I have a routine down of who does what when, so we each care for her in our own way. We both need to get out for date nights more, though. (+)

Beware of Baby Trainers: I certainly don't let R "cry it out," but I do have her on a schedule, something the Sears disagree with. The fact is that neglecting to adhere to a schedule for a baby is only possible if the baby breastfeeds. I have to know when R will sleep, when I'll be able to pump, and when I'll need to get a bottle ready for her. Those are things I just have to know to be ready and minimize crying time. So, R is on a schedule, but it's HER schedule. I listen to her, and if something isn't timed right, I change it. I do read the Baby Whisperer books, and they have helped this new, inexperienced mother tremendously. (-)


5 minuses and 4 pluses. That's about what I figured. The pluses are right where I'd want them to be. Even if I may not measure up to the Sears' expectations, you can't ignore the fact that I spend all day with her! ^_^ I think I've earned my attached badge. I'm very proud of it, too.




Since I was in Illustrator anyway, I decided to also make a signature for the blog. "She Looks Like a Mom" was too long, and didn't make sense to put as a signature, so I gave up my anonymity for this. I figured you would find out anyway if you sent me an e-mail. Now you know who I am. Isn't it pretty?