Loud babies

Sometimes, we will have a family something at a restaurant. On some of these occasions, my daughter gets fussy and wants to run around instead of sit at the table (and so gets even louder than she was already fussing), and I start to stress about the disturbance.

Oftentimes, though, on these same occasions, another family appears in the restaurant with a screaming child. Which, while annoying in its nature, gives me an immediate sense of ease as I realize that my child is nowhere near that level of disruption and things aren’t actually as bad as I was starting to feel that they were.

Yes, she’s fussing and causing me trouble, and even some annoyance at our own table. But she isn’t actually loud enough to be an overall disturbance in the restaurant. Because that kid over there isn’t even all that bad of a disturbance, yet he is clearly screaming intensely in his fit.

Haha.

So dumb, but so true. It’s always a quick reminder that things are actually totally fine and I can chill. Kids are kids, and I’m not doing a horrible job of parenting, let alone doing so in public.

God, please keep my husband and our daughter and me safe and well and whole. Grant is rejuvenating sleep each night and safe travels always. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2026

18 months

I forgot to take her 18-month photo. I have avoided thinking much about it, but I know that I am deeply upset about it. I’m not sure there really is a remedy at this point. On the day, I forgot until late in the day, at which point I was exhausted. I said that I would do it the next day, and that would be fine. And it would have been. Except that, on the next day, a kid hit my daughter in the face with the corner of a board book and cut her face. So, she then had a cut-turned-scab right next to her nose and eye for maybe a week. By the time it healed, I’d kind of forgotten about the photo. Only remember it again well after the mark had healed, and it already felt too far into the month. So, I avoided thinking about it. Thought of it again yesterday and today, several times. Still trying not to think about it, because I know I’m crushed at having missed it. Because she has been changing a lot lately.

So, I think the remedy is just to do 19 months and to be okay with that.

I’ll sit with that and see how I feel tomorrow.

Thank you, God. Please, keep us safe and make us well and whole. Especially my husband and daughter, please. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2026

Bedtime and beyond

She cries and says, “Mama? Wha yu do?”

“I’m going to bed,” I declare, both exhausted and  frustrated. I am beyond done with this night and with her constantly acting like she’ll go to sleep and then popping up and running off to do yet another something.

Just so tired…

Silver lining is that I didn’t yell at her or curse and scream tonight. So, that’s something very good, at least.

Post-a-day 2026

Naturally

My daughter wouldn’t go to bed. She wanted to sit with me on my bed. Her sitting turned immediately into nursing, and then straight into playing. She slammed her head into my face while she played. I now light have a black eye. She even stole my ice pack to chew on (since it was one of her ice teether things). My face hurts a lot still. She’s still wide awake and won’t go to sleep. All I want to do is sleep right now. I hate this.

Post-a-day 2026

Sleep

Why won’t she just go to sleep? Why?(!)

God, guide us and give us good sleep each night, please. Keep us safe, well, and whole. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-Day 2026

P.S. As I finished writing this, she just backed up, face-planted onto the bed next to me, and started acting like she was going to sleep. She doesn’t know what I’m writing, but it certainly seemed like it just now. Haha

Tired

When do I get to stop being so tired all the time? When do I get the support I need to be able to exercise four to six days a week and take a solid morning nap at least a few days a week? I am managing food a lot better now, but those two are things I can’t manage on my own. Literally. I need another person to manage the baby while I do them.

God, guide us kindly and clearly, please. Keep us safe and make us well. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2026

Yeah. Right.

So much for these plans of getting her to bed earlier. They have all failed so far. Ugh! Tonight was the worst of the nights. 1am was when she finally went to sleep. Ugh.

Good thing we have to get up kind of early in the morning… ugh.

Silver lining is that my husband already went to sleep, so he will get a solid eight plus hours of sleep, and should be in a decent mode in the morning.

Post-a-day 2026

Naps, anyone?

I went to the store today for groceries, and my daughter stayed home with my husband. The two of them, basically, spent the entire day outside. My daughter fell asleep for about five minutes, maybe seven. Otherwise, she didn’t nap all day. Then she napped for about twenty minutes when I wasn’t done with eating but it was bedtime, and then we went and got ready for bed. Grand total of about 25 minutes of napping today for her. Plus, we woke her up about two hours earlier than she would have woken up naturally (because she was up way late, and we’re tired of her doing that). So, she was way short on sleep. Then she, basically, didn’t nap all day and spent the day outside, playing. Grand total of 25 minutes nappage. Then she went to bed late still.

So, how will tonight go?

God, keep us safe, make us well, and help us to sleep well tonight and each night. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2026

Finding routine

It’s an entirely new dynamic at home now, and I know it will take a while before we find a routine, and even longer before we feel settled within that routine. That doesn’t make it less difficult not having that routine yet. This is a big adjustment for all three of us. I hope we can find a balanced routine while being respectful of one another’s needs and wishes. Really, I hope we find one that feels really good for all of us, so that we can be our best selves together consistently now.

Thank you, God, for this opportunity and this new stage in life. Help us to be our best selves and to honor you and one another. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2026