Accepting help...
My parents stayed with Aaron and I for approx. two weeks...they arrived on the 10th of June, and left on the 23rd (a Saturday, I think). They only got to be around Aloria for about two days after all that waiting. ...but it was still soooo amazing to have them around for all of that time. My mom and mother-in-law took over my house cleaning and the cooking...I got to take naps whenever I wanted...and boy did I need them. My hips hurt so badly, that I looked like an old woman shuffling around (she said it hurt to watch me try and walk). My mom helped me fix up the baby room, sew curtains, decorate our bedroom, and she painted the kitchen for me. My dad helped Aaron with some outside stuff...they B-BQed a lot, and made a work table for Aaron in the basement...also they guys (including Larry and Jeremy) helped put shelves in our storage closet. It was a busy week and a half, and after I had the baby, Aaron crashed! He slepted so much :-) The only annoying part of any of it was everyone waiting around for me to go into the labor...I kind of felt like it was my fault, or that I should be doing something to hurry things along, but in reality there wasn't much I could do. Despite my shuffle, they took me walking up hills, through the mall, and around Farmer's Market...no baby. Aaron and I tried to induce labor, but that only caused a false alarm...which we spent at the hospital for three hours. My mom even bought me blue and black Cohash...which my doctor told me he wouldn't recomend taking (just as well because it tasted nasty). Whenever I had a contraction...which was often because I'd been having them for the past two weeks...my mom or Marlene would say, "Oh, are you alright?," and then stare expectently at me for a little while. What them meant was, "Are you having a contraction, and how much pain are you in?" As a whole, though, I would recomend to anyone that if you get along with your parents or husbands parents, you should let them help out as much as possible. Aaron loves to eat, and I just wasn't up to doing things like making dinner, etc... it was really a blessing! It's just difficult to let yourself be tired and rest without feeling lazy...but it's very important to realize that your body honestly does need that rest, and also you need time to mentally prepare for what is coming up. When those contractions hit for real, you had better know what your game plan is, or you could really fall apart.
My best friend, Beth, arrived the day before my parents left to help me during the aftermath. She bought us groceries and cooked dinner for us...did all of my laudry, and helped me around the house...and of course, with holding Aloria! Beth was only a week back home from teaching in Hungary when she came out to stay with me. I will say, that by this time, Aaron was about peopled out, though he wasn't irritated or annoyed with anyone. But having a small house like we do, there's just not a whole lot of space to fit alone time in. A couple of times my parents took off, just to give us some time to ourselves before we had Aloria, and that really meant a lot to us. It was really perfect having Beth with us (about four days), though...mostly because she is so independent. It was only one person around...and she demanded next to no time for herself from us. The key was that she wasn't here for a social visit...she was here to help. She would help me with something I needed and then go read a book while I was with Aloria or sleeping. She would hold Aloria while I would take a shower or go to the bathroom...which after I had the baby was super painful. Once when Aaron got home, she disappeared for a while, and we found her in the guest room sleeping...she just decided she was tired and she'd leave us alone for a while without telling us...she does stuff like that:-) It was funny because neither of us knew where she'd gone because it was the early evening, and she said later that she heard us trying to figure out where was, but she was too tired to respond so she went back to sleep, figuring we'd find her eventually. She rocks! It was no stress at all for me to have her with me, and although she may have felt like I didn't need her that much...she helped in a million perfect ways!
Aaron's parents live here, so there help has been such a wonderful constant in our lives. After my parents left, and even while Beth was still here, Aaron asked his parents to stop coming by for a day or two...I felt a little bad about this because they were here everyday that my parents were (which made for seven of us altogether, including Jeremy, for meals, etc...), but then once they left, to all of a sudden say, don't come by seemed harsh (especially now that they had their first grandbaby to come by and see). Yet, they understood, and I think that this is another important thing to do...when you've had enough people time, you just have to put an end to it for a while and hopefully everyone will understand your need to bond with the baby and set up a new routine for yourselves...with the baby and with each other. After a while, we started spending time with them again, and Marlene has babysat when I needed to go the dentist, dropped off groceries for us, and spent time with me, now that I'm home by myself most of the day. It's especially great to have her babysit, because Aloria doesn't like taking a bottle, but you know grandma is going to love holding her grandbaby whether she cries her eyes out or not :) ...and you definately need that kind of person around...especially when they have all of the experience and wisdom of someone having gone through it before. In fact, she may mind it less then you, who haven't had to deal with it before. It has been such a blessing to have Aaron's parents so close by.
My parents stayed with Aaron and I for approx. two weeks...they arrived on the 10th of June, and left on the 23rd (a Saturday, I think). They only got to be around Aloria for about two days after all that waiting. ...but it was still soooo amazing to have them around for all of that time. My mom and mother-in-law took over my house cleaning and the cooking...I got to take naps whenever I wanted...and boy did I need them. My hips hurt so badly, that I looked like an old woman shuffling around (she said it hurt to watch me try and walk). My mom helped me fix up the baby room, sew curtains, decorate our bedroom, and she painted the kitchen for me. My dad helped Aaron with some outside stuff...they B-BQed a lot, and made a work table for Aaron in the basement...also they guys (including Larry and Jeremy) helped put shelves in our storage closet. It was a busy week and a half, and after I had the baby, Aaron crashed! He slepted so much :-) The only annoying part of any of it was everyone waiting around for me to go into the labor...I kind of felt like it was my fault, or that I should be doing something to hurry things along, but in reality there wasn't much I could do. Despite my shuffle, they took me walking up hills, through the mall, and around Farmer's Market...no baby. Aaron and I tried to induce labor, but that only caused a false alarm...which we spent at the hospital for three hours. My mom even bought me blue and black Cohash...which my doctor told me he wouldn't recomend taking (just as well because it tasted nasty). Whenever I had a contraction...which was often because I'd been having them for the past two weeks...my mom or Marlene would say, "Oh, are you alright?," and then stare expectently at me for a little while. What them meant was, "Are you having a contraction, and how much pain are you in?" As a whole, though, I would recomend to anyone that if you get along with your parents or husbands parents, you should let them help out as much as possible. Aaron loves to eat, and I just wasn't up to doing things like making dinner, etc... it was really a blessing! It's just difficult to let yourself be tired and rest without feeling lazy...but it's very important to realize that your body honestly does need that rest, and also you need time to mentally prepare for what is coming up. When those contractions hit for real, you had better know what your game plan is, or you could really fall apart.
My best friend, Beth, arrived the day before my parents left to help me during the aftermath. She bought us groceries and cooked dinner for us...did all of my laudry, and helped me around the house...and of course, with holding Aloria! Beth was only a week back home from teaching in Hungary when she came out to stay with me. I will say, that by this time, Aaron was about peopled out, though he wasn't irritated or annoyed with anyone. But having a small house like we do, there's just not a whole lot of space to fit alone time in. A couple of times my parents took off, just to give us some time to ourselves before we had Aloria, and that really meant a lot to us. It was really perfect having Beth with us (about four days), though...mostly because she is so independent. It was only one person around...and she demanded next to no time for herself from us. The key was that she wasn't here for a social visit...she was here to help. She would help me with something I needed and then go read a book while I was with Aloria or sleeping. She would hold Aloria while I would take a shower or go to the bathroom...which after I had the baby was super painful. Once when Aaron got home, she disappeared for a while, and we found her in the guest room sleeping...she just decided she was tired and she'd leave us alone for a while without telling us...she does stuff like that:-) It was funny because neither of us knew where she'd gone because it was the early evening, and she said later that she heard us trying to figure out where was, but she was too tired to respond so she went back to sleep, figuring we'd find her eventually. She rocks! It was no stress at all for me to have her with me, and although she may have felt like I didn't need her that much...she helped in a million perfect ways!
Aaron's parents live here, so there help has been such a wonderful constant in our lives. After my parents left, and even while Beth was still here, Aaron asked his parents to stop coming by for a day or two...I felt a little bad about this because they were here everyday that my parents were (which made for seven of us altogether, including Jeremy, for meals, etc...), but then once they left, to all of a sudden say, don't come by seemed harsh (especially now that they had their first grandbaby to come by and see). Yet, they understood, and I think that this is another important thing to do...when you've had enough people time, you just have to put an end to it for a while and hopefully everyone will understand your need to bond with the baby and set up a new routine for yourselves...with the baby and with each other. After a while, we started spending time with them again, and Marlene has babysat when I needed to go the dentist, dropped off groceries for us, and spent time with me, now that I'm home by myself most of the day. It's especially great to have her babysit, because Aloria doesn't like taking a bottle, but you know grandma is going to love holding her grandbaby whether she cries her eyes out or not :) ...and you definately need that kind of person around...especially when they have all of the experience and wisdom of someone having gone through it before. In fact, she may mind it less then you, who haven't had to deal with it before. It has been such a blessing to have Aaron's parents so close by.
1 comment:
I want to hold Aloria too! Let's have an update ;)
Love you, Miss you!
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