Monday, April 02, 2012

Mitigating Factors

Thanks for all of the comments on my last post. It was really nice to read that other people with "good" careers get bored/restless. And you all gave me some interesting ideas to consider, and a bunch of books to add to my "to read" stack.

I'm not in a huge hurry to change anything at work, but I do think I need to start thinking about what I might change, because I don't want to slide into mediocrity at work, and I think long term boredom would likely lead to that.

But I also remembered that I'm only about a month past the point when I could finally say that Petunia was weaned. Dropping feedings has always caused disturbances in my mood- some of the earlier drops sent me into quite a funk for...wait for it... about a month. So maybe I'll perk up in a week or so just because my hormones have stabilized. But then again, I have no idea what complete weaning will be like, because last time around, I was pregnant by the time I'd completely weaned

We've also all been sick lately- we caught a very nasty cold in early March, and only Pumpkin shook it off quickly. I was finally starting to feel better, but suspect I am now sick with our next cold, since my throat hurts and Petunia got sent home from day care today with a fever. (She was definitely sick when I picked her up, but showed little sign of illness when it came to bedtime tonight- I dozed off and woke up several times before she finally stopped talking and fell asleep.)

All of which is to say... I am definitely needing more intellectual challenges, but perhaps my lack of motivation has other contributing factors, too. So, since I am not miserable (by a long shot!) I think I can afford to move slowly and deliberately in this area.

Also- life outside of work is busy right now. We're in the final stages of planning the combined birthday party for Pumpkin and a couple of her friends who have birthdays at almost the same time. We will also have a "family only" party on Thursday, Pumpkin's actual 5th birthday. I am having a hard time processing the fact that my first baby will be 5. I am actually having a harder time with that than with the fact that I will soon be 40! We've settled on the Texas trip for our vacation, and that is coming up fast. I'm deep in the detailed planning I like to do before traveling with the kids, which is fun in someways, but still a chore.

In short- life is good, even if work is not optimal. I've got a bunch of posts that I want to write, and in fact thought I might start on one of them tonight. But Petunia is restless, and I am already tired, so I think the smarter thing to do would be to head off to bed!

11 comments:

  1. Oh wow, congratulations on the weaning and especially for making it this long!!! Yeah, after I weaned I was in a HORRIBLE mood for a bit.

    And yay for combined birthday party. I'm curious about whether that ends up being more work or less. Are you doing it at a house?

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    1. More work, definitely. I end up project managing, whereas when it is just us, I can just do (or tell my husband to do). But it is much nicer for our day care friends, who would otherwise have their weekend entirely eaten up with birthday parties.

      We're doing it at an indoor play place. Very few people have a house big enough to hold a day care party once the kids get older and the classes get bigger. So it is either at a play place or a park, and the park is actually more work. Cheaper, but more work.

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  2. It's amazing how even-keeled my emotions became after I figured out what my metabolism needed. It is insane how much our bodies affect what's going on with our brains.

    Happy birthday Pumpkin! Five has been my absolute favorite age so far. Even if Time magazine says they're only cute until 4.5. My five year old can do so much! He's such a big help already.

    Hope everybody feels better soon.

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  3. Anonymous6:36 AM

    Austin travel tips:
    -zilker park: barton springs pool, a train to ride on, nice playground, botanical garden across the street, nature center/ dinosaur garden nearby too
    -places to eat with kids: phil's ice house, central market (westgate location...check their website, they have live music often)
    -more food: chuy's/ hula hut, rudy's bbq/ ironworks/the salt lick/ county line bbq)
    -caves: natural bridge caverns
    -mayfield park: peacocks and ponds,near laguna gloria art museum and hiking trails
    -texas memorial museum (ntl history museum--they have dino tracks!)
    -austin children's museum

    have fun!
    -native austinite

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  4. Anonymous6:53 AM

    Cloud, I read this post sometime ago and I wanted to share it:

    http://joannagoddard.blogspot.fr/2012/02/motherhood-depression-and-weaning.html

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    1. Thanks! I figured out when I was slowly weaning Pumpkin that it messes with my moods, and therefore I went really, really slowly both times. I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd abruptly weaned at 8 months like she did! And no one really talks about this possibility, so it can just blindside you.

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  5. I was going to link you to that Cup of Jo post too. I had never heard about that mood change until then.

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    1. Yeah, for all the talk of post-partum depression, it is weird that no one ever talks about weaning induced depression. I have never tipped over into full depression, but I have always weaned very slowly.

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  6. Happy Birthday Pumpkin! 5 and entering kindergarten are big milestones. It is a little hard to believe our non-sleeping babies have gotten to be such amazing big kids so fast.

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  7. Lisa F.6:26 PM

    I was just going to mention PPD & weaning, hit me hard when the boy was 2.5, totally unexpected. Loved the post on figuring out work stuff, for me getting bored is the kiss of death, I have no energy/motivation. I worked as support staff at a university so there were wild fluctuations depending on where we were in the semester, crazy busy highs, and boring endless lows.

    Happy Birthday to Pumpkin, 5 is a biggie! Hope the parties go well.

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