Family

H2O

The Merfett

The earth is 70% water. Our bodies are 60%. We can only live for 3 days without it.

It’s a big deal.

I’m constantly refilling my reusable bottle, it goes everywhere with me. In the car. At work. On my nightstand. I find that I’m anxious if I don’t have it with me. I’m even more thirsty now. Thanks, breastfeeding.

If you’re reading this you’re probably not too far from a source of clean drinking water.

I am so thankful for water. For access to fresh, pure, clear water.

Many of us fill our swimming pools, water our lawns or wash our laundry with cleaner water than much of the world’s population has access to. Imagine if you had to walk to a well every day, several times a day to gather water for you and your family. Or you had one source of shared dirty water that was used for everything – drinking, cooking, cleaning and bathing. That’s a fact of life for so many people.

I often forget how easy it is to just turn the knob and find freshwater almost anywhere. Don’t we all?

If you’re a fan of the purpose behind TOMS check out Freewaters.

I have a pair, and I love them.

Shoes. Water. Thankful.

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Family

The Days

The Merfett

Yesterday was a doozie. Like, “had to call Merfman on the drive home from work for a pep talk” kind of day. Yea.

Merfbaby and I had a calm evening at home (praise the Lord) and he went to bed around 8:00pm. I made (reheated) my dinner, ate and cracked open The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. Thank you, Stephie for the suggestion!!!

I felt encouraged, less overwhelmed. I’ve never felt like I couldn’t meet Merfbaby’s needs until yesterday. It seemed like a cycle of “what? I don’t know what you need.” It further confirmed that we’re an E.A.S.Y family, and everyone is happier when we’re on our routine. Between a “distracted” nurser and a daylight savings switch we were thrown for a loop. But you know what? Tomorrow is a new day. We’ll start fresh.

I started to think about the good stuff. I really try to not let the hard stuff overshadow all the wonderful moments. Somedays it’s more of a challenge than others, but the good stuff really is good.

I never want to forget those little newborn sighs.

The gummy smiles mid-feeding when he locks eyes with me, milk dribble and all.

How he rubs his face on my shoulder when he’s getting sleepy.

The way he grasps his hands, pulls his shoulders up to his ears, opens his eyes wide and starts to giggle.

That he’s finding his voice and loves to listen to his new sounds.

How he opens his mouth so wide before he starts to laugh.

When he reaches for my open hand to pull my fingers into his mouth.

The way he curls his toes right before I put his socks on.

That little side grin.

How he loves to grab the inside of his shirt when I’m trying to dress him.

His soft hair.

When he leans forward while I’m holding him to get a better look at something or someone.

I don’t want to forget those little moments. Soon enough they’ll pass and we’ll be on to a new phase. You can’t stop the clock,  and I’m trying to savor each day and the memories they bring.

So, I’m thankful for the days. All of them. The good and the bad. Because each day I get to have  with Merfbaby is a special one.

 

Family

Naps

The Merfett

So, this whole “fall back” and “get an extra hour of sleep” thing…yea, no one told my 3 month old about that. Little dude’s been a mess since Sunday. He doesn’t understand that 5:30am isn’t our ideal wake up time, or why we can’t go to sleep at 5:00pm.

He doesn’t know when to sleep, when to eat…which way is up.

Yesterday and today I got a little taste of what it’s like to have a baby that’s not on a routine. Oh man. My sympathy to any Mama that doesn’t have a system with her baby. How do you do it?!

He’s also into this new thing where he’s way more interested in smiling, laughing, looking around and making goo-goo eyes at me instead of nursing.

So here’s the sitch: napping on the wrong time intervals, not hungry, short feeding, overtired, followed by hangry. SO.MUCH.FUN.

I know we’ll get back into our groove in a few days, but woosh and I thankful for nap-time. I need it as much as he does.

He is pretty adorable when he’s grinning and giggling, but HOW do I get him to focus during a feeding?! Is this what nursing a 9month old is going to be like? Halp meee…