Thursday, November 1, 2012

Post-op, CIO, and crafts ...

Well, the new lifestyle isn't going that well, but that's ok. The weather's been rough, and I've had a lot of motivation to get stuff done around the house, so I made a conscious decision to go with that motivation while I have it. I've been cleaning out the kids' closets and our office, which has been a disaster since we moved in over two years ago. I also tackled a 2-month stack of paperwork, which still needs to be filed. It's hard every time I have an hour of free time and I have to choose between exercising, which will make me healthier and improve my mood, or knocking something big and important off my to-do list that will make my daily life a little easier and also improve my mood.

What would you choose?

Saw the orthopedic surgeon this week and had x-rays of my hand. Things look good, although my ring finger is still really stiff, as well as my pinky, which was badly sprained and stuck in the cast and then the splint along with my ring finger. Physical therapy is ridiculously painful, so painful that I break into a cold sweat and tears come to my eyes. I can see how breaking a person's fingers might have been useful during the Inquisition. Anyway, I can barely bend my fingers, and I have a whole series of exercises I have to do at least 4-6 times per day, preferably after warming my fingers with a heating pad. Do you know how easy that is to do with two really demanding toddlers around? Not easy at all. Some days I feel lucky to do the exercises only 2-3 times. Luckily, typing is also a good exercise.

Last night we let Turtle cry in his crib after he didn't fall asleep with my husband sitting in there for a half hour. He cried for well over an hour, and didn't fall asleep until close to 10:30. It is SO HARD to listen to him cry, but I am out of ideas and don't know what else to do. I think if CIO doesn't work after a couple more nights, I may try to come up with something else, but I'm willing to give it a chance at this point. It's been months now of him not falling asleep, and he did fall asleep on his own for over a year, so I know he is capable of doing it. Also, I've tried over and over to ask him what's wrong and he doesn't tell me, no matter how many different ways I think to ask him. I know he's not very good at expressing himself yet, but he's quite talkative in general and is usually good at telling me both if he wants/needs something and/or is scared of something, so I don't know why he is screaming and not falling asleep. It's frustrating for us all.

I've been working on a lot of crafts - is anyone interested in seeing pics? I've made 8 quiet book pages, I'm almost done making a cloth dollhouse, and I've made multiple fleece hats. I could get pics up sometime in the next few days if anyone is interested.

OK, I've got about 1.5 hours to try to get dinner prepped, maybe go for a run and a shower, and get as much as possible done around the house.Well, the new lifestyle isn't going that well, but that's ok. The weather's been rough, and I've had a lot of motivation to get stuff done around the house, so I made a conscious decision to go with that motivation while I have it. I've been cleaning out the kids' closets and our office, which has been a disaster since we moved in over two years ago. I also tackled a 2-month stack of paperwork, which still needs to be filed. It's hard every time I have an hour of free time and I have to choose between exercising, which will make me healthier and improve my mood, or knocking something big and important off my to-do list that will make my daily life a little easier and also improve my mood.

What would you choose?

Saw the orthopedic surgeon this week and had x-rays of my hand. Things look good, although my ring finger is still really stiff, as well as my pinky, which was badly sprained and stuck in the cast and then the splint along with my ring finger. Physical therapy is ridiculously painful, so painful that I break into a cold sweat and tears come to my eyes. I can see how breaking a person's fingers might have been useful during the Inquisition. Anyway, I can barely bend my fingers, and I have a whole series of exercises I have to do at least 4-6 times per day, preferably after warming my fingers with a heating pad. Do you know how easy that is to do with two really demanding toddlers around? Not easy at all. Some days I feel lucky to do the exercises only 2-3 times. Luckily, typing is also a good exercise.

Last night we let Turtle cry in his crib after he didn't fall asleep with my husband sitting in there for a half hour. He cried for well over an hour, and didn't fall asleep until close to 10:30. It is SO HARD to listen to him cry, but I am out of ideas and don't know what else to do. I think if CIO doesn't work after a couple more nights, I may try to come up with something else, but I'm willing to give it a chance at this point. It's been months now of him not falling asleep, and he did fall asleep on his own for over a year, so I know he is capable of doing it. Also, I've tried over and over to ask him what's wrong and he doesn't tell me, no matter how many different ways I think to ask him. I know he's not very good at expressing himself yet, but he's quite talkative in general and is usually good at telling me both if he wants/needs something and/or is scared of something, so I don't know why he is screaming and not falling asleep. It's frustrating for us all.

I've been working on a lot of crafts. I've made 8 quiet book pages, I'm almost done making a cloth dollhouse, and I've made multiple fleece hats. I will get pics up sometime in the next few days.

OK, I've got about 1.5 hours to try to get dinner prepped, maybe go for a run and a shower, and get as much as possible done around the house.

No comments: