Baby's got Back

I know I have lapsed in posting everyday during Babywearing Week. Sorry about that y'all. I got mastitis last week and had some sling work to do and was severely sleep deprived (still recovering from two out of those three). So blogging got pushed down on the to-do list.

We have been busy around here with the things of fall... football (Go Gators!!), Thanksgiving crafts, running through the leaves, colds.... you know, the basics. :) Lucas and Hubby and I did our Thanksgiving Tree this weekend and it turned out super cute. I will post pictures soon. Our next Thanksgiving craft involves felt and turkeys and possibly a snowman... more to come on that. I have been enjoying some great new blogs that I am excited to share with y'all soon.

I started wearing Caden on my back this week. Hubby helped me get him in the first time but I have done it on my own ever since then. It is nice for when I need to cook or iron slings or just for a change of routine. I think Caden still prefers the sling (although he looks pretty cozy in the picture to the left) but he is still adjusting to being on my back instead of having his head on my chest. I think back-babywearing is an essential skill to learn and feel comfortable with if you want to babywear with regularity. It is just so convenient and distributes the weight over different muscles so you don't get muscle fatigue. It is important to rotate carriers and positions used no matter what you use to wear your baby so that you don't wear yourself out. Wearing baby on your back gives you much more flexibility and freedom You can use a ring-sling for back carries (I did/do with Lucas) but it isn't comfortable for as long as my Mei Tai. Plus, I don't feel comfortable shifting Caden around my hip onto my back yet. He has pretty good head control, but I think the MeiTai provides more support for his little 3month old muscles. Next on my agenda, learning how to back wrap. I have never done it with an infant as I started wrapping late with Lucas. I'll let you know how it goes.

On a more personal level, I am feeling a little overwhelmed these days. It is the old "jack of all trades, master of none" syndrome. I am back to work and trying to build my tiny business and re-order my home and just get life back under control. Lucas' behavior can be a bit challenging these days and Caden is awake more and more during the day. All this combines to mean less free time for mommy (unless you count betweem 10pm and midnight- thus the sleep deprivation) and less time to get everything done that I need to get done. I found these great blogs about simplifying your life and getting things in order and I am trying to implement some of their suggestions. But, ironically, it takes having some free time to sit and think things through to make necessary adjustments and put strategies in place. Hubby and I are doing some hard-core budgeting and financial restructuring. We have never been super-good at that but we are really trying this time. I would love to see my sling business and this blog grow a bit and provide a bit more income but I don't seem to have the time or resources to figure out how to make that happen. And in the midst of it all, I have this list of things I want to do with Lucas and with Caden and for myself or my home.... I feel like I am trying to be too many things at once and am not really succeeding at any of them. My boys, my business, my marriage, my sanity... all in need of some TLC.
All you other moms out there that have it all figured out, shine some of that wisdom my way.
And now, it is once again 11pm and I still have to pump so Caden has some nourishment (he is not a huge fan of the bottle- he holds out until I get home) while I am being "nurse Farrah" tomorrow and Grandma is watching the boys.