Friday, April 29, 2011

I've Got a Plan











Well, hello there! I know it's been awhile. But you see, things don't always go as planned and one must be flexible. Really flexible!










I am a planner. I have to be. Especially as a mom. Especially as a mama of a child with ADHD, who also needs plans. And a preschooler who needs to know what's going on (over and over again). And not a lot of everyday grandparent-ly help with the kids. So what do you do when you have a list of things to do, a time frame to do them and then the (slightly) unexpected happens?






Nothing. You go with it. (Maybe shed a tear or two)





And that's what happened almost 2 months (!) ago to our family. On February 28th, I woke up feeling "different." My water started leaking. Of course, I took my son to school first. It's a 3td time Mama thing I guess- no worries, no hurries. The next thing I knew, I was admitted to the hospital and on March 1st, Benjamin William was born into the world. But I had a To Do list!

I had just had my "surprise" shower (save that for another time). The baby clothes weren't washed, my bag wasn't packed, my instructions for my awesome brother and his wife for the care of my other two wasn't complete.

Did Benjamin care? Nope. And I started to not care either...



This pregnancy has been remarkable from the start- the never ending morning sickness, the heartburn, the abnormal ultrasounds, the anemia. You name it. Why was his birth going to be any different? Born 4 weeks early, Benjamin was still a healthy 6 lbs. 13 ozs. He had a visit to the NICU on night 1 due to low blood sugar. He had a hard time staying awake for feedings. He had a blue bruise on his face that freaked me out. We came home for a night and he was re-admitted for jaundice. (That was awful, BTW. Telling a new, BF'ing Mama she can only hold her baby for 20 minutes every 2 hours or so? Watch out for mood swings and more tears!)

Fast forward to today. Benjamin is a chunky 11 lbs. now. He went from swimming in newborn clothes to filling out 3 month outfits. He is a champion eater. Had kinda gotten the hang of night vs. day. Although the nighttime feeding did give me the opportunity to watch The Royal Wedding last night. He's pretty awesome. Oh and the cutest!

While I think I should still wake up having a plan for the day, I am starting to truly realize with 3 boys, the plan is not to have a plan. You never know when you can sneak in a load of laundry, make a bed, or eat a meal. Now if I can only sneak in some craft time...

4 comments:

Susan said...

Good luck with the "no planning" thing. lol

Laura Bray said...

Congrats (a little late). My DD was born 5 weeks early at 6lbs. 1oz. She was in the NICU for 7 days, and I totally understand the tears. But the important lesson I learned is that all my drama was for nothing. She's a perfectly healthy 5 (almost 6 year old). I'm so glad to hear your story had a happy ending too!

Tanya Napier said...

Thanks Susan, you know me well.

Tanya Napier said...

Thanks Laura! 7 days would be so hard. One night and I was a wreck! I have such respect for those NICU docs and nurses.