Adventures in Calgary

Molly loves pretending to talk on the phone. She talks on our cordless, our old black phone upstairs, my cell phone and Noel's cell phone. She's even started pretending to talk on our remotes (thanks to Gram Cookie I'm sure).

Molly was sick with a cold last week for a day...maybe two. I've been battling the same cold ever since. I have no energy. I'm sleeping every moment that I can and I just can't get rested. Noel is battling the cold too. I guess this is just what life will be like for us now that Molly is out in the world picking up germs. So fun.

This past Wednesday I had to miss my first day of work to stay home with Molly. She was a sick mess. Fever of 39.5, coughing, sneezing...totally gross and out of it. I think most of her problem was teething (her top middle teeth will soon be making an appearance I'm sure) with a little cold thrown in for good measure. It was strange being back home for the day. I almost missed being at work! I wish each day was twice as long so that I could work full-time and still have lots of time with Molly - that would be ideal.

This weekend is going to be a busy one. Tonight I'm going to some art gallery opening with Melinda. Tomorrow we're having a shower for Helen and then Noel and I are being taken out for a steak dinner by Rapper and her man (our reward for introducing them). Sunday we're finally getting together with Turner, Ash and Sloane for some brunch before they head off to Costa Rica (must be nice!). I'm exhausted just thinking of all that activity!

Getting back into the swing of things at work was pretty easy but I'm having trouble finding a balance between work and home. Right now I'm all about work but I guess that's to be expected since I'm dealing with being the only writer currently employed at Y&R Calgary.

Last Thursday was Noel's swearing in at the RCMP - he is now a full civilian member. It feels like we've been waiting for this to happen for so long when in reality it's only been 6 months. Molly and I went to watch the ceremony. It's so wonderful to see Noel happy with work and relaxed at home. Now that he's not stressed and overworked, he's turned into a gourmet cook (yay for me) and he's exercising regularly again.

Friday I ended up working late and Molly had a bit of a meltdown when I didn't get home. Noel was amazing (as usual) and dealt with it fine but I was a wreck. I hope that doesn't happen too often.

This weekend has been great - what a difference not having to clean makes.

The highlight of the weekend (outside of spending time with Noel and Molly of course) was going to gravity pope today to get my birthday boots. I got a pair of John Fluevog riding boots that are absolutely beautiful and so comfy. I can't wait to wear them tomorrow.

Things are going along pretty smoothly so far. Molly seems to have turned a corner with the dayhome. She is happier (no longer the 'screaming machine' at Suzanne's). She is drinking from her sippy cup (both milk and diluted juice) so she doesn't pounce on my breasts the moment I get home. She's getting used to settling herself in the night without too much crying. This is all very, very good news for us. Noel and I seem to be managing with the new schedule. I'm so lucky to have Noel as my partner. He's really, really stepped up since I've been back to work. He's doing all the shopping/meal prep so that I can spend my time with Molly. I've had lots of 'homework' since I've been back so I've been spending my time working or sleeping if Molly is asleep. I hope to be able to stay up past 8 pm one day soon. In other news, we met with a cleaning lady last night (man can she talk!). She'll be starting this Friday. My hope is that we can get all errands/cleaning accomplished during the week to leave our weekends free for family fun time...fingers crossed the plan works.

I now know what weekends were made for...recovering from a week of exhaustion while spending time with family. I feel like I haven't seen Noel or Molly this week at all. Molly is not adjusting well to the dayhome - she's still not drinking and now she's not sleeping either. She's up most of the night wanting to nurse. I can't keep that up for much longer and still function during the day. I don't know if letting her nurse at night is making it easier for her to go all day without drinking. I don't know if her night feeding is making her overtired and hard to manage during the day. All I know is that it's not working yet. I hope we're able to rest, relax and spend some quality family time this weekend before we start all over again on Monday.

2007 is here and I am back at work which means its full-time dayhome for Molly. Tuesday (day one) Molly didn't even bat an eyelash when we dropped her off at Suzanne's. She napped well. She ate. She didn't drink anything but that will come (hopefully) soon. Wednesday (day two) Molly cried a lot when I left but I managed not to cry. Again she did well with napping and eating but not so good with the drinking. Today (day three) there was lots of crying and grabbing at me when it was time to go. I just hope it starts to get easier soon. I also hope she starts to drink durning the day.

Being back at work is strange. It's like I was never gone in a lot of ways...like I never had a baby even. Except Molly is never far from my thoughts and every time I stop typing she appears on my computer screen. I'm pumping once or twice a day and sending breastmilk with Molly in the hopes that she will start taking it soon. I can't say pumping in a bathroom stall is the nicest thing I've had to do recently but it's not as bad or hard to do as I'd feared.

Our morning routine seems to be working out really well so far. We haven't been late yet. I'm finding it hard not having much downtime with Molly anymore but I guess that will make our weekends that much more precious.

Julie Murray came over last night for a visit. It's always so great to see her. I'm glad she finally got to meet Molly. I even took some pictures but I'll have to wait to post them until the weekend.