Since Jenna was born I've kept a little spiral notebook of feeding schedules, nap time routines, starting cereal, how often, what first foods I gave them, when they started sleeping through the night, list of first words, random thoughts I've had as I was experiencing things with them. This came in so handy when I had Ava so I had something to go off of for what was "normal." Parenting articles are great, and I reference them often, but this was my own guide for my own kids. How often was Jenna sick, and what did I do about it? When did she start taking more formula, how did I introduce baby food and cereal to her? I stopped most of the tracking for her at 18 months and we moved to St. Louis. I also like to think it helped Christie in some way when she had her first, so I could give her tips on how much formula or sleep Jenna and Ava were getting at 2 months old, etc. Of course how much of this information I maintained and for how long has shrunk down since Jared, as I'm not as anal and meticulous about tracking feedings and nap time. It just is what it is. I've also been nursing him and only do formula when I'm going to be out past his feeding time. So now I try to write down turning points, like when Ava went into Jenna's room and how that has progressed. Now that Jared has slept thru the night two nights in a row I think that's noteworthy. After a very beneficial MOPS meeting last month on what to purge and keep, it was a big eye opener and reminder of how much of my own childhood things I DON'T want to hold onto that I know the kids won't care about. Would they even care about this stuff down the road, would I care about it? Probably not. So...
Like I said in my first post, I'm not much of a journaler, but I would like something for the kids to look back at as I'm journeying through their childhood. I started writing in my spiral notebook this morning and then it hit me that physically writing was easier to get my wheels turning on what I can blog about instead of sitting at a blank text box on my blog. The last couple days I've hit a blogger's block. I've been "following" friends blogs that are a mile long, and I'm thinking what the heck can I write about for a whole page? My day to day is usually the same, not much new happens around here that would translate to a whole page. So I'm still adjusting to putting my thoughts down without it being too boring, but I am constantly in this comparison mode, with mothering, how I'm instructing my kids, being a wife, taking care of my home and now blogging! Why is that such a natural instinct for women to compare ourselves, our kids, our relationships? It's something I need to be proactive and conscious about NOT doing because then there is a fine line in thinking you need to be more like other people. So whether my thoughts fill a whole page or are just a paragraph, this is my blogspot. Not anyone else's. My thoughts, my plans, my life. So translating writing my experiences with the kids into this blogosphere is still a work in progress. But something is starting here...
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