Comments on: Of expectations. http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/ Sugar, spice, and really rather a lot of mud. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:28:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Earthenwitch http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-155 Earthenwitch Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:18:42 +0000 http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/#comment-155 I don't mind at all, DW - more than happy to facilitate international vocabulary exchange, or something... If money was no object, I should like to conduct such a campaign by moving to Canada myself - would love to live in BC. One day, maybe. :) I don’t mind at all, DW – more than happy to facilitate international vocabulary exchange, or something… If money was no object, I should like to conduct such a campaign by moving to Canada myself – would love to live in BC. One day, maybe. :)

]]> By: DW http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-154 DW Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:28:37 +0000 http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/#comment-154 Oh yes!! We have these. We just call them horse chestnuts. How boring. I will now use every opportunity that presents itself to call then conkers and educate my fellow (underprivileged, vocabulary-wise) Canadians on how I learn such interesting things on the internet. I've just started reading your blog and I have a feeling I'll be asking you many times to translate portions of it for me. If you don't mind, that is. Oh yes!! We have these. We just call them horse chestnuts. How boring. I will now use every opportunity that presents itself to call then conkers and educate my fellow (underprivileged, vocabulary-wise) Canadians on how I learn such interesting things on the internet.

I’ve just started reading your blog and I have a feeling I’ll be asking you many times to translate portions of it for me. If you don’t mind, that is.

]]> By: Earthenwitch http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-153 Earthenwitch Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:17:03 +0000 http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/#comment-153 Thank you all for your lovely thoughts, suggestions, and general support. Much appreciated, as ever - I am very lucky to have such lovely commenter people. And <b>DW</b>, a conker is the large brown nutty effort which horse chestnut trees produce, and it looks like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_hippocastanum" rel="nofollow">this</a>. Thank you all for your lovely thoughts, suggestions, and general support. Much appreciated, as ever – I am very lucky to have such lovely commenter people.

And DW, a conker is the large brown nutty effort which horse chestnut trees produce, and it looks like this.

]]> By: DW http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-152 DW Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:34:29 +0000 http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/#comment-152 PS: What is a "conker"? PS: What is a “conker”?

]]> By: DW http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-151 DW Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:29:11 +0000 http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/#comment-151 Well. I now understand why you were ready to do a handstand when your daughter slept through the night for the first time in weeks. Indeed! I think you need to give her away. No, not forever! Just for a day or two. She'll have a ball at Grandma's house. I was raised by a single mother and we spent every second weekend at our grandparents' house. It was fantastic and as a result, we developed a wonderful relationship with them that few of my cousins share. My mom took that time to do some work, spend time with her friends, clean, shop, whatever. It takes a village... Well. I now understand why you were ready to do a handstand when your daughter slept through the night for the first time in weeks. Indeed! I think you need to give her away. No, not forever! Just for a day or two. She’ll have a ball at Grandma’s house. I was raised by a single mother and we spent every second weekend at our grandparents’ house. It was fantastic and as a result, we developed a wonderful relationship with them that few of my cousins share. My mom took that time to do some work, spend time with her friends, clean, shop, whatever.

It takes a village…

]]> By: Kitty http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-129 Kitty Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:39:12 +0000 http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/#comment-129 Exhaustion is horrible to live with. I have also had the experience of going away to relax and coming back feeling as tired, if not more so. It seems to this kitty that you havent actually had the time or space (mentally or phyiscally) to relax. Constant change is tiring. There is no way around that. You have had time off work but it was filled with all the other things, so you didnt rest. You went to visit Q's mother but I dont know about anyone else, but I cant actually fully relax at another person's home. In my own home, I can wander around naked if I really feel like it but when staying elsewhere, you live by their rules. This isnt as relaxing. My thoughts would be to go back to your G.P. and get another couple of weeks off work. Hopefully, the kitchen will be Done and you will actually get some relaxation in your own home. Ask about your iron levels as well, that can make you very tired as well. My final suggestion would be.... bananas. Eat some. They boost energy short term but when you feel it, dont then go 'bananas'. Instead enjoy the feeling. Take a breath of fresh air in your garden and just relax. Oh and, by the way, according to a friend in the know, knitting from a pattern is concentration intensive and uses a fair amount of energy too. This could be part of the reason why you came home exhausted still. Just some thoughts. :) Exhaustion is horrible to live with.

I have also had the experience of going away to relax and coming back feeling as tired, if not more so.

It seems to this kitty that you havent actually had the time or space (mentally or phyiscally) to relax. Constant change is tiring. There is no way around that. You have had time off work but it was filled with all the other things, so you didnt rest. You went to visit Q’s mother but I dont know about anyone else, but I cant actually fully relax at another person’s home. In my own home, I can wander around naked if I really feel like it but when staying elsewhere, you live by their rules. This isnt as relaxing.

My thoughts would be to go back to your G.P. and get another couple of weeks off work. Hopefully, the kitchen will be Done and you will actually get some relaxation in your own home. Ask about your iron levels as well, that can make you very tired as well.

My final suggestion would be…. bananas. Eat some. They boost energy short term but when you feel it, dont then go ‘bananas’. Instead enjoy the feeling. Take a breath of fresh air in your garden and just relax.

Oh and, by the way, according to a friend in the know, knitting from a pattern is concentration intensive and uses a fair amount of energy too. This could be part of the reason why you came home exhausted still.

Just some thoughts. :)

]]> By: Liz http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-109 Liz Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:25:15 +0000 http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/#comment-109 Just to add my voice to the many many others - it does feel never ending when you are in the thick of it. Although I didn't breast feed past about 6 months my son wanted me when he woke, and wake he did, 2-3 times a night and then staying awake from 5am onwards for the first 3 or so years of his life. It is gruelling and I so feel for you but it does stop eventually. And eventually the first thought when you have more than 5 seconds to yourself is not 'how can I get my head horizontal and close my eyes without anyone noticing?' You will get back to all the wonderful creative stuff, and you already sound like a wonderful creative mother and person. Soak up all the support and positive thoughts that are coming to you through this site and, I would guess, from many other directions too. Just to add my voice to the many many others – it does feel never ending when you are in the thick of it. Although I didn’t breast feed past about 6 months my son wanted me when he woke, and wake he did, 2-3 times a night and then staying awake from 5am onwards for the first 3 or so years of his life. It is gruelling and I so feel for you but it does stop eventually. And eventually the first thought when you have more than 5 seconds to yourself is not ‘how can I get my head horizontal and close my eyes without anyone noticing?’ You will get back to all the wonderful creative stuff, and you already sound like a wonderful creative mother and person. Soak up all the support and positive thoughts that are coming to you through this site and, I would guess, from many other directions too.

]]> By: mary beth http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-108 mary beth Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:45:00 +0000 http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/#comment-108 I can't help but read into your words the call of that which is a nice, lovely, orderly kitchen where chaos does not exist. A freshly cleaned and happy kitchen is my all purpose salve. When's the tung oil going to dry? I can’t help but read into your words the call of that which is a nice, lovely, orderly kitchen where chaos does not exist. A freshly cleaned and happy kitchen is my all purpose salve. When’s the tung oil going to dry?

]]> By: Ren http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-106 Ren Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:26:46 +0000 http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/#comment-106 Spring is coming! Light nights and long days, rooms filled with sunshine... Im a rotter and was horribly strict with all 3 of my tiddlywinks at night times. I did breastfeed all 3 while they wanted me. Up to about age 3 usually, but once they showed signs of being able to go through the nights for a few nights in a row, I weaned them off of night feeds and kept them off, despite the noise!!! Its painful but by golly it makes you a happier person/mummy in the daytime! It happens quite quickly if you are consistent. Mine were about 12 weeks ish. We are all different though and at the end of the day you must weigh it all up and follow your heart, remembering that allowing your baby to cry while she adapts to a pattern of rest and sleep is not going to scar her for life!!! But becoming a demented and unhinged Mother will!!!! Cripes, hope that comes across in the right way! Spring is coming! Light nights and long days, rooms filled with sunshine…
Im a rotter and was horribly strict with all 3 of my tiddlywinks at night times. I did breastfeed all 3 while they wanted me. Up to about age 3 usually, but once they showed signs of being able to go through the nights for a few nights in a row, I weaned them off of night feeds and kept them off, despite the noise!!! Its painful but by golly it makes you a happier person/mummy in the daytime! It happens quite quickly if you are consistent. Mine were about 12 weeks ish.
We are all different though and at the end of the day you must weigh it all up and follow your heart, remembering that allowing your baby to cry while she adapts to a pattern of rest and sleep is not going to scar her for life!!! But becoming a demented and unhinged Mother will!!!!
Cripes, hope that comes across in the right way!

]]> By: Earthenwitch http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/comment-page-1/#comment-105 Earthenwitch Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:54:45 +0000 http://www.earthenwitch.co.uk/2010/02/28/of-expectations/#comment-105 Wow. Thank you, all of you, for your presence in this little box 'ere - I am genuinely touched, whether you're a regular face or a delurker commenting for the first time, that virtual strangers (har - pun, geddit?) take the time to let me know how things worked out for them, or what helped, or just that I'm not completely bonkers for feeling the strains of our current situation from time to time. What we're doing now is the lovely routine known as Daddies At Night - Quercus is back on night-call, and I am off. Last night, quite out of the blue (last night was to have been the first D.A.N. turn), the small girl slept the entire night, from bedtime at seven until twenty past six. I do feel much better for it, though I know that to truly feel better, it takes me about three weeks; she had an extraordinary bout of sleeping entire nights around Christmas, and when we got to night twenty-one, we both realised that we were genuinely feeling like different human beings. So, it's a good start, but I think we both feel that we're in it for the long haul now, and we need to bring about a change if we (for which read: me) are to remain sane. I hope that the D.A.N. idea won't have to be a permanent fixture, but if a short-term change means she sleeps more soundly and for longer at one go, then, as L points out, that's got to be for her welfare as well as ours, to say nothing of the fact that us getting more sleep makes for far more interesting parents, I think, in that we'll be far more resourceful than we are at the moment. I'm seeing my GP again on Wednesday, as, even though today seems a much brighter, shinier place, I do want to talk to her about how to ascertain where the line between depression and exhaustion has been crossed. I think I'm just tired; I think that more sleep, brighter days, and an awareness that I'm only human and thus subject to the normal laws of physics is what's called for. So, I'll keep you posted, as it were. And thank you again, all of you. :) Wow. Thank you, all of you, for your presence in this little box ‘ere – I am genuinely touched, whether you’re a regular face or a delurker commenting for the first time, that virtual strangers (har – pun, geddit?) take the time to let me know how things worked out for them, or what helped, or just that I’m not completely bonkers for feeling the strains of our current situation from time to time.

What we’re doing now is the lovely routine known as Daddies At Night – Quercus is back on night-call, and I am off. Last night, quite out of the blue (last night was to have been the first D.A.N. turn), the small girl slept the entire night, from bedtime at seven until twenty past six. I do feel much better for it, though I know that to truly feel better, it takes me about three weeks; she had an extraordinary bout of sleeping entire nights around Christmas, and when we got to night twenty-one, we both realised that we were genuinely feeling like different human beings. So, it’s a good start, but I think we both feel that we’re in it for the long haul now, and we need to bring about a change if we (for which read: me) are to remain sane. I hope that the D.A.N. idea won’t have to be a permanent fixture, but if a short-term change means she sleeps more soundly and for longer at one go, then, as L points out, that’s got to be for her welfare as well as ours, to say nothing of the fact that us getting more sleep makes for far more interesting parents, I think, in that we’ll be far more resourceful than we are at the moment.

I’m seeing my GP again on Wednesday, as, even though today seems a much brighter, shinier place, I do want to talk to her about how to ascertain where the line between depression and exhaustion has been crossed. I think I’m just tired; I think that more sleep, brighter days, and an awareness that I’m only human and thus subject to the normal laws of physics is what’s called for.

So, I’ll keep you posted, as it were. And thank you again, all of you. :)

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