I just crawled into bed (yes its 8:15) after Brian made me dinner while I rambled on about how I just can’t seem to find enough time in the day. This week I shot some more Target videos and I made a conscious decision to work hard, get home in time to put Charlie to bed, then get sleep instead of writing the blog or emails so that I was fresh for the next day. But of course I didn’t mean to only put out two quality posts this week, certainly. So sorry. It’s my own fault for insisting on being the only one who writes it so the drafts just pile up (Brady preps all the posts with the pictures and links).
So check this out: I tried to find more time by waking up at 5am and working …
It worked for a week and it was kinda magical. I turned into a morning person 5 years ago and now its truly when my brain does its best work. I poured a cup of coffee, sat by the fire with my laptop, wrote really good posts with a fresh brain and watched the sun rise. I had two full hours of alone work time before Charlie woke up, then I played with him til 9:30 and went to the office. Wonderful. I was really feeling on top of things. Sure, my social life was over because I was going to bed at 9, but I felt really in control of work and parenting and my social life resumed on the weekend. I got a full 4 1/2 hours with Charlie most days and I was churning out pretty good posts, if I do say so myself.
But then my adorable little son, Charlie, caught onto it. His spidey senses could just tell that someone was up partying, enjoying some free time without him. It’s as if I was watching Sesame Street while playing with Captain America and Thor and eating bowl after bowl of strawberries and toast (no one loves berries or bread more than Charlie Henderson). I could BARELY pour a cup of coffee when I’d hear him stirring and by the time I turned on the fire, so quietly, he was up talking to his animals. I only answered an email or two before he was yelling to get out. He started waking up earlier and earlier. First 6:45, then 6:30 then 6:15 then 5:30 and then I was just basically BABYSITTING at 5am instead of working OR sleeping. I realize that you aren’t supposed to say ‘babysitting’ when its your own child, but sometimes that’s just what it feels like. Especially at 5am.
So after a week of my failed experiment I was even more exhausted, and yet I got LESS done. It all back fired and it was terribly maddening. Sure, he was taking a much longer nap, but I wasn’t around during the day to capitalize on those hours. So I abandoned my new plan he started sleeping in later – with today getting back up to 7:30 again. THANK GOD. I needed the sleep anyway, what with my job being some hard-core hosting all day long.
But the blog kinda suffered this week. I just really didn’t want to squander a really good makeover post with some half assed brain dead writing. So next week we have a VERY full week: the final master bathroom of the Rustic California Spanish home, another personal/advice column, and The Fig House Bridal Suite (plus two more undecided – either a new client sneak peek, the book sneak peek or a ready-made frame roundup).
Speaking of sneak peek into the book – I got the dummy copy in the mail this week and it’s just SOOO exciting to finally see. It’s where the text and the images are finally laid out together and you can see how its working (and where the holes are). It’s not coming out til October but yes it is already on pre-sale without even a cover image because we are still sorting through the options.
The good news (well, there’s lots of good news) – we’ve hired an office manager and an in-house photographer. My photos are about to get better (fun gifs!!) and the office is about to get crazy organized. Welcome Jessica and Sara.
Hosting and shooting these videos is so exhilarating, challenging and yet totally second nature. It’s really a good testament that life just kinda takes you places you never knew you thought you wanted to go, but then as you get there you realize it’s where you were headed the whole time.
If anyone has any secrets regarding my extremely boring sleep/morning/baby issues, feel free to leave them in the comments. Waking up at 4am just seems insane (and i’m not convinced he would even sleep through that!) and staying up late to work doesn’t seem good for me in many ways. I’m debating putting noise canceling headphones on that child before he goes to bed … (I’m kidding, obviously).
Happy Friday. May your weekend be full of brunches, cuddles, Netflix marathons and sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. xx
Kids’ senses are (ridiculous) amazing. They know everything. 🙂 My only comment about that is that it’s really so temporary in the big scheme of life. Eventually, even if he gets up early, he’ll be self sufficient and won’t require much supervision and you can keep your feet up and keep sipping your coffee even during the awake hours.
I would just like to say, that I enjoy your blog no matter what (1st time commenter). I have no expectations for what you should and shouldn’t do. I’m just happy when I see new content because regardless of how often it is, it’s always GOOD. So, no fretting allowed.
Also–I have ONE question. You don’t have to answer, I know you’re busy. But, the entire world of the internet is very lacking in décor ideas for the windowless walls above a catty-corner bed. If you have any insight on this, I’d greatly appreciate it. I don’t particularly like to he look of catty-corner beds, but it’s the only way our bed works in our room w/ our other furniture. Pinterest doesn’t even help!
Ditto!
AH, thank you. also I need a pic of your place! I can’t really picture it. Email it through!
This too shall pass. So, just think of it as the current state, and try not to stress too much! In a few months his schedule and need for attention will shift and it will all change anyway. I check your blog a couple times a day to see if there is a new post, and if not, I just wait until tomorrow. Your readers will understand that you are busy today and that we can look forward to something good tomorrow or the next day. Don’t let the guilt of a new blog post interrupt the time with your son. We are all here for you (and I assume a lot of us are moms too). We got you!
PS. Don’t be worried to let your team write a couple posts. Brady made me laugh and I am sure your other team members are as delightful as you! You attract good people, after all you brought us the joy that is Orlando.
PPS. Thanks for the honestly. Makes me love this blog more!
I’ll second this.
I third that! Orlando is hilarious and I loved those “behind the scenes” posts that Brady did awhile back.
And I also support what everyone else is saying about this phase passing. Moms just can’t be 100% “exactly how we want to be” at everything at once, unfortunately.
Preach it, Amber, Beth and Jenna! I am childless 26 year old but I can’t deal when my cat wakes me up 10 minutes before my alarm to be fed. I can’t imagine the rigors of child-rearing, being a bad ass in business, and having a husband and social life. Keep on, keepin on! I’d rather you take more breathers than burn out like YHL (literally still crying about that). Take your time, don’t worry about us too much, we’ll live. I promise.
OOOH..me too Elyse. I don’t want to hijack the comments and turn them into something about YHL, but that was SUCH a bummer (I try SO HARD to not use the outdated bummer. But for real, there’s no better word. )
I agree with all of this! Please take this time with Charlie and don’t worry about us. I also agree to not be afraid to let your team write every now and then.
Is it selfish to say I adore your posts and actually love that your team does not like it? Another design blog I frequent is generally well-done and while I am SURE their whole team is kick-ass, I really only read the posts by the main gal and skip when it’s published by her “studio” simply because I don’t find them as good. That being said, I have noticed how frequent you have been posting after the reader survey and would just like to say i would love your blog NO less even if your posts were less frequent than they have been of late. Because every post you write is so wonderfully written and quality – frequency for me is never an issue so long as you write it. Please do not take this the wrong way!
Sleep problems are real. I have a 3 yr old (just graduated to a big boy bed) and a 9 month old (who all of a sudden thinks that my bed is his bed) and we are struggling. BUT…one thing that helps a lot for me (and I have used every since newborn-hood) is a white noise machine (a low hum/or shhh sound). Do you have one in Charlie’s room? If you already do, then disregard, but that could help to dull the sound of the coffee perking or the logs crackling 😉 Happy Friday!
this was going to be my suggestion too! my husband and i lived in a studio until our girl was 13 months. she was sleeping in a closet with curtains and basically no sound barrier. we downloaded a white noise app on our ipad and it was KEY to our sanity. we’re now in a 2 bedroom but it’s still under 900 sq ft and her room is right off the kitchen. the ipad is now basically the world’s most expensive white noise machine, but it does the trick.
i’m a night owl but i force myself to work 8-4, have baby time from 4:30-8:30 (late bedtime for baby but to us spending more time together is more important, and then she sleeps in till 8), then allow myself 1 extra hour to get lingering work done and focus the rest of my time on hanging out with the hubs. it doesn’t always work out that perfectly, but it’s the goal!
Yep, this was my suggestion, too. Our 1-year-old is in a crib in our bedroom and not a great sleeper. There’s a “sleep” setting on my alarm clock that I hit when I’m putting him to bed. It only lasts an hour but it does the trick. If he stirs in the middle of the night and seems like he’s starting to wake up, I turn it on again and he usually goes back to sleep. It was a struggle for a while, but now that sound (it’s an ocean waves sound) puts him to sleep almost instantly.
As far as your posts, don’t sweat it. I read you on a blog reader, so when a post comes up I read it. It takes quite a hiatus before I’ll even notice a blog hasn’t been posting. Don’t get me wrong, I love all your posts, I just know people have lives and need time to actually DO stuff to make content. I’d be just fine with one or two posts a week as long as they were good quality posts.
We do have a sound machine. AND I put a towel under his door. Old houses just creak!!
I don’t have kids yet, although we’re talking about it, so I can’t give much insight on what helps. Hope for the best?
YOUR BOOK – can I just say how incredibly excited I am for it. This little sneak peek looks fab (can’t say I’m surprised)!
Sigh, I feel you…somehow they always know when you’re trying to have some time to yourself!!! Now that he’s back to sleeping til 730 maybe get a one cup coffee maker for your bedroom and skip the fire and work in there?! (Poor hubby though!) maybe you can trick him by never cracking your bedroom door:) good luck though, munchkins have unbelievable radar!!!!
Ha. I thought about it. I was like ‘maybe i could put the coffee maker in the bedroom and just work from my laptop in the dark?’. But that just seems INSANE. Also I forgot to mention its also the cats fault. The second I get up they start meowing for food and even if I feed them IMMEDIATELY they make enough noise. We’ve tried switching their food to dry food or even putting it on a timer – but then it broke. That’s it, I’m buying a new cat food timer and i’m going to start doing that again.
We have a loud meower and she got worse when she became hyperthyroid. That’s corrected now but she already got into the habit of begging for food to the point that I felt bad for guests in the morning who were staying over because she wouldn’t shut up, literally for a full half hour or more, even if we hadn’t gotten up yet. I also tried putting the dry food on a timed feeder but she still begs for the wet food. (And for her own health I don’t want her on dry food only.) What finally worked was switching to feeding the wet food at night. It took a few weeks, but she eventually figured out the new routine and now she might make a small meow when I get up but often there’s no meow at all. Now she does beg when I get home (working on that), but it’s much less annoying when everyone is already awake.
Yeah, you MUST get sleep– without enough of it, seems like everything suffers. I’m sad that you felt the need to write this post– that we readers have become so demanding that you felt as though you needed to. Life throws us all kinds of interesting curveballs and we manage them as best we can. I personally think it should be ok (without the need for explanations) for you to have some lighter post weeks from time to time. You do so much, you are so generous with your posts, and to your readers. There’s got to be a balance and we readers need to remember that. Thank you for all of the inspiration! I wish you could see all the cool projects I’ve done in my house, inspired by you!! Keep the faith– it gets easier as the kiddos get older. O, and I totally pre-ordered your book! Yeah!!
Thank you 🙂 And I want to see those projects!! I was thinking about starting a series where people submit photos of their house if it was inspired by a post or something. Or maybe we send a photographer … dunno, but I think it could be a great series. xx
Second this!! oh, and love your honesty and willingness to get real with your readers.
Thought I would third this, given my name is lex too, and this part of the comments really resonated, and I’m upstairs at 5am (mid-first pregnancy) escaping my dog howling for breakfast…planning the further parts of my EH inspired house decor makeover.
I’m not experienced in putting together blogposts, but perhaps this could take some of the onus off you to create them Emily? Though appreciate photography might not be to the standard you’d like. London light is also sadly nowhere near as brilliant as LA…
Personal posts keep you human. Thank you for sharing, and good luck with the snoozing. xoxox
PS THANK YOU for all of the amazing inspiration. From a silent reader first time commenter (I think)
If you don’t have one already I might suggest a white noise machine in Charlie’s room. Also that picture of him in blue made me melt! That belly is so cute I want to munch on it!! He’s getting so big so fast, I love when you share Charlie updates along with your other fabulousness.
Book: Please don’t put captions or wording on top of the actual pictures! I like photos in all of their simple glory, and my friends and I don’t buy books in which there is writing over those magical images.
Sleep: I have a five year old, and I have yet to have a full night’s sleep. Spidy-sense is right! Those little ones just KNOW.
May the force be with you.
Ha. There are VERY little captions over photos. It’s a pet peeve of mine, too. I think you’ll be happy 🙂 xx
No kids here, so can’t really help you with any insights, I can only say it is so nice that you are always so honest and open with your readers.
And that I think most of your readers more than understand if every once in a while there are less posts.
Your blog is just so good and I think we have such high expectations of you. I know almost no other blogs with the same quantity and quality of posts. I (like many other people) check your blog at least daily and am sad to see if there’s no new content up, and I can imagine that must create some kind of pressure from time to time. We’re being spoiled, and at the same time you and the team are doing all the design work and you write a book…And then you have your family! Madness!
So I just wanted to tell you that I so appreciate what you do, your blog is my happy place where I can virtually get away for a moment. Thanks for that! x
I wholeheartedly second every word of this comment! You’re fantastic Emily and if I have to wait a month for one of your wonderfully honest and informative posts then I’ll do so silently. ::whispers:: But don’t make me wait that long ;]
THANK YOU so much you guys. Thank you. xx
It sounds like you could probably get away with your 5am wake ups once or twice a week, without him catching on. Unfortunately that means your schedule is a bit in flux, but if it doesn’t bother you too much, you’ll get back 4-5 golden morning hours per week. Good luck!
What was the trick to becoming a morning person? I made it my personal mission last year, waking up at 6 to get personal work done before business work at 9, but old man winter (who isn’t nearly as cute as Charlie Henderson) threw a big wrench in my plans. it’s so cold and dark here that I’m losing the “will she, or won’t she get out of bed” battle more times than not. Any tips for the snoozers of the world??
east coast emails. That was the trick. It was after DesignStar and when I started the blog and If i slept past 9am I would have sooo many emails to wake up to that I had really bad anxiety. Plus it was before I wrote and scheduled the posts at night and often would write them fresh in the mornings with the gaol of being published by 8 or 9am. So basically its because of work. But maybe i was one the whole time. Its never been that hard for me to get out of bed, but I certainly had to train myself a bit. xx
I had a friend suggest that I set a second alarm outside the bedroom, for 5 minutes after the bedside alarm. This totally worked. It especially worked for me because I seem to be externally motivated and I didn’t want to wake my husband with the second alarm, so I HAD to get up and go turn it off. But the 5 minutes gives me a couple of minutes to wake a little more before actually getting out of bed. She also suggested investing in one of those wakeup lights, and I hesitated at the price but ultimately went for it, and it is REALLY helpful in the cold dark winter mornings! (It’s also lovely to wake to chirping bird noises instead of a beep or even the radio, which can sometimes be startling.)
I’ve got the light alarm too and love it, but feel like i need another push. The second outside alarm sounds like a great idea – thanks Vivian! And thank you, Emily! Work is definitely a strong motivator. I think my problem is that I let my personal work slip down the list of priorities. Time to make some adjustments! x
Just want to say I’d rather have fewer well thought out posts, rather than 5 or 7 crappy quick “filler” posts. I come here for content, but more than that, I keep coming back for your “voice”, so if that goes, I’d feel less inclined to keep reading. Keep up the good work, and don’t stress out if one thing goes so that you can keep doing another.
Thank you. That’s why I didn’t post any random roundups – I thought about it, I did. But I figured I’d just not spend the effort and just sleep. NExt WEEK!!
My kid was a horrible sleeper – as in he just didn’t – so I wouldn’t even presume to give advice.
I do love your blog and can’t wait for your book.
Happy sleeping.
Ursula
P.S. Charlie is so darling. Is he a Brian clone or what? Although I definitely see some of you in there. Love the pics!
i would love to see a ready-made frame round up, particularly large frames which I find hard to find good frames and matting. Love the blog
Your best post yet! I totally get it. I think everyone reading this- gets it! I lived this exact life… until I got really sick… it forced me to take care of myself. #1 sleep is a priority. I will never go back. My biggest advice- take care of yourself! Everything else will fall right into place. Wish I had known this!
Thank you. Will do. It’s friday night and I’m in bed already and can’t WAIT to watch a little TV before I pass out at 9pm. 🙂
Hey Emily!
I love your blog and your honest tone! I’m also a working mom and relate to this 100% One thing I ask is–no apologetic tone!!!! You don’t owe me posts! I’m so glad when I see them, and the quality is always good, always something interesting for me to ponder on in my own home! You don’t need to apologize (i think) at all these weeks that don’t go perfectly!!! And I relate to the morning thing! I started going to a gym class at 6am in Jan. The first two weeks were amazing, I was done, home and got to shower in a silent house while everyone slept until the usual 7.30am. Two months later? I get home from the gym at 7am this morning and am greeted by my 4 year old who has already been up long enough to tell me that she held the cat (not allowed) and he scratched her but it didn’t hurt! LOL The only one still sleeping in is the hubs 🙂 Anyways, you’re doing awesome! Love to hear about the struggle-but I hope you never feel guilty for putting your work, family or sanity first!!!!!
I totally agree with this comment from Sarah. As a working mom who is always trying to find time to get in some more work/exercise time without sacrificing the time with the kids, I completely identify with everything that you said. So many of your readers will understand where you are coming from. And, it apparently doesn’t matter when you try to work out — I recently started going to a class after they go to bed, and though we haven’t had issues with this in the past, they are still awake waiting for me when I get home. Argh! I appreciate your honesty, and think that all of talking about the juggle actually makes it easier, somehow — at least knowing that we’re not alone in having a hard time figuring out how to do the juggle in a way that works for our families!
OMG aint it the truth!! They just LOVE YOU SO MUCH. My son is 10 and he still wakes up when I do, kind of in 2 week cycles … 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. But you know, he will be pushing me away so soon … just gotta embrace it while you have it. It’s hard!
Dude, you’re a new mom with a very young child and an already established career. Cut back a bit! We’ll all survive with fewer posts and keep coming back for more. Manhatten Nest posts once or twice a week and I always get a thrill out of “finally” getting a post from him. And, he doesn’t have half the demanding lifestyle that you have. Take time with your kiddo and be in the best shape (sleep & health-wise) for him that you can. He’s going to be little for such a short time.
Agreed. I’m delurking finally to say, please don’t burn out. I love love love your blog (and Manhattan Nest too, hi Sarah!) but don’t want you to feel that you have to apologize to us for not posting. Like, I feel bad because you are putting out such high quality content All The Time and have so many other obligations, and yet still find time for keeping us happy here on the blog. It’s uncomfortable to be that audience you’re trying to appease, knowing that you’re working on no sleep or waking up at some god-awful hour to make it happen.
My advice is, don’t feel like you have to please us. We’ll survive on fewer posts. Put yourself, and your family, and your business, first! The blog and readers will still be here.
xo
Thank you. I will not burn out, I promise. and I’ll try to be less apologetic – clearly its more about disappointing myself than you guys. xx
White noise machine! Sure, he will become dependent on it and you’ll have to take it everywhere, but it is a lifesaver. Because we can take it with us, it becomes a constant for Hugo’s routine, and he sleeps ANYWHERE. We crank it up and he sleeps through everything (we have a modern, open house like yours and they are great but noisy).
Maybe I need a louder one 🙂 I think he’s like me and just gets excited to start the day. Most of the time he’s just in there smiling and kicking his legs with the ‘what are we going to do today’ look on his face. Its ADORABLE at 7:45, but at 5am that same look just seems psychopathic 🙂
As a mother of a 3 and a 10 year old who still hasn’t figured out how to fit in working full time, working out, doing errands, making dinner (my hubby and I take turns cooking!), doing laundry (even though m nanny does the kids laundry), doing just fun stuff for myself like seeing a movie with a friend, plus of course the most important thing having real fun quality time with the hubby and kids. Some weeks I’ll be great at one but the others suffer just like you experienced with the blog posts. That’s just how it is as a working mom and you can’t beat yourself up about it! You’re doing great! Love the blog and check daily- if there is not a new post I’ll still keep checking! Just pre-ordered your book- so excited for October now!
AH, thanks Stef. Honestly thanks for making time to read the blog 🙂 AND ORDERING THAT BOOK. THANK YOU. xx
I love reading your blog because of the well-thought out and meaty posts, not because of the frequency. As a working mom with a 4 year old and 1 year old I understand the frustration. You decide to get up at 5am, against everything in your nature, to have a little alone time and you can’t even get that at 5am! I used to get up at 5am to workout and crash at 9pm barely even speaking to my hubby. Now, I just sleep. Things do change, however. I am often shocked at how self-sufficient my 4 year old is. I often think about writing a child development book with the things parents really care about but don’t want to admit (i.e.at 5 they can pour their own cereal, get up and turn on the tv in the morning so you get an extra 30 minutes of sleep, at 4 they will play by themselves for 20 minutes while you make dinner…). Love the blog, your designs, but also your honesty about parenthood.
Thank you. And I would love those little tidbits about what kids can do at certain ages, for sure. xx
I must say I don’t have kids and I can sleep how late or wake up when I want (except for in the week, otherwise I could get fired…maybe that a good thing, but that’s another story). But it’s so great that you get the time to “apologize” to us for skipping a few days. Like c’mon..your blog rocks and if we need inspiration, we can go back a few posts (that’s what I do). So feel free to rest as much as you need and after all, family does come first. That’s why I’m showing you some blog love today on my blog. check it out here:http://jenpluspenequalsjenpen.blogspot.com/2015/03/fwa-bloglove.html Have a great weekend 🙂
P.S congrats on the book btw 🙂
Thank you. And I would love those little tidbits about what kids can do at certain ages, for sure. xx
I recall thinking this week, “Her posts are SO high quality, such good stuff, HOW does she do it?” I didn’t keep track of whether you posted or not each day, I just knew when there was a new one, it was good.” So, good call to focus on quality rather than quantity. Don’t stress. You rock!
You can give white noise a try without a special machine. I learned this with business travel. A hotel room near light rail drove me to it! You can download white noise tracks just like music. My downloads are by Hushaboo.
Emily, I am also a designer with now older kids. When they were little it was difficult to put a full day’s work in. Our job not only requires concrete work but mental space for creativity.
Your blog is great, I anxiously await new posts. But if that’s only a few times a week, it’s ok. Time spent with Charlie is special…..I’m willing to share you:)
Is that a photo of Brian you and Charlie are holding? There is an older time feel about it which is why I decided it wasn’t Charlie. Loved the photo and your comment on Instagram this week.
Glad you could hire some help and that you realize what a load can be taken over by an ‘office manager’ person.
So excited your book is at the pre-order stage (it’s ordered) congratulations.
This happened with me and working out (2.5 year old, 8 month old). I tried to get up an hour before them to start working out again (haven’t done it much since my daughter was born)…and within a week, they both were waking up earlier with me, and I was pausing my video every few minutes to move a baby/make breakfast for toddler/etc. These kids are onto us.
Oh boy. My little boy was an early riser and it sucked. We joke that he is part rooster. Even at 10, he’s still up early.
I tried the “get up early and get it all done” route a few weeks ago too. I am a SAHM homeschooling mom to two, so I thought it’s be great. And I am a morning person. But I would just sit there staring into space for the first hour and then ended up going to bed at 9. It was similar to what you describe here. A total bust.
So now I get up at 6:30 like a DECENT human being. 😉
And no worries about the blog. I mean, you have a life. Take care of yourself!
Emily! You don’t need to apologize for skipping a day or two of posting! Your blog is still sooo good and I really don’t think people are put off when you do. You are so genuine and super talented, we’ll still visit on a ‘blank’ day (at least I do:))
Thanks for your honesty though, and love to super-cute Charlie!
PS: I can’t wait to buy your book!
My boy is 14 months and this is the story of my life. I feel for you.
Emily! You are doing awesome. Two posts of high quality, great content is nothing to apologize for. We’re all different and capable of different things. So, all that to say…
1. I don’t know everything. I also have three kids four and younger.
2. They, without fail, wake up when I wake up early. I like to wake up at 4:30 to workout and have me time, read bible, etc.
3. I don’t have a full time job besides my kids, and I can’t find time in the day to do a fraction of what you do.
I want to know the answer to this sleep nonsense too. We resort to just putting them back in bed until they realize they aren’t allowed to get up. Takes a few days. When my husband was in grad school and working full time my oldest woke up at 4:30 to hang out with his dad. That was… special. Can a better parent than I, in their wisdom, solve this for us all??
Book ordered.
It’s been said but I’ll say it again…white noise machine! I don’t know if it’d be hard to introduce now since we’ve used ours since newborn-hood. But it’d be worth a try if you wanted to give the early bird routine another go!
Emily, I totally appreciate your honesty and sincerity. 2 awesome posts per week is much better than 5 half-assed ones. Do you know why you don’t have much time to blog? BECAUSE YOU’RE BUSY ACTUALLY DOING WHAT YOU LOVE AND MAKING A CAREER OUT OF IT. And that’s something to be proud of.
Also: THAT BELLY ON CHARLIE. Love love love.
APPARENTLY I’M REALLY INTO INTERNET SHOUTING TODAY. I think it’s time for the weekend. Hope you have a restful one! xox
I’ve been up since 4:30am (after a midnight pump sesh) with my 3 month old, and I can barely remember my name much less hold down a job. Give yourself a break (and a hand!) for even attempting to “do it all”. And as a wise woman recently told me, “just because it’s really hard, doesn’t mean you’re not doing a good job”. It’s my new motto.
I don’t have any ideas, but if it helps, I’m staring at what should be a marathon-work-weekend (after a marathon-work-week) and trying to figure out how the whole husband-&-two-toddlers-thing is going to go. Ay yay. But I don’t have to do that all the time, and finding schedules that work (mostly) for everybody is legit hard.
If it’s any consolation/hope, my #2 is a much sounder sleeper 🙂
As a mom, and now a grandma, I have had some experience with little ones. Now is the time to enjoy Charlie! Being a mom and running your business are more important that blog posts. Even though I know that the blog is a part of your business. I would rather see fewer blog posts than have you collapse and have to give up blogging all together.
You’re doing good Emily and you will get it figured out. The problem is that as soon as you get things going good – Charlie will change and you’ll have to figure them out all over again!
Did you do any sort of sleep training for bedtime? You could just do the same thing in the am. You know, go in to his room, don’t pick him up and gently remind him it’s time to be sleeping. Let him cry for 10 minutes and do again until he gets it. Of course, stressing out about your crying baby does not make for a productive pre-sunrise morning. Maybe you stop being such a fun mom and he won’t care that you’re awake? 😉
Hi Emily-
Like everyone else, I don’t mind waiting for a post. But to get a quick post out there, I wouldn’t mind seeing a good one from your archives. I don’t have time to scroll through the blog history so I’m sure I’ve missed some good ones, along with many other readers. Maybe you could tell us how your thinking has changed since the original post or give us some new insight about the project? Great post as always!
Going to chime in with others to say that we love your blog, love your content and feel like we love you, even though we don’t really know you. Some weeks are just like that, best laid plans and all.
Don’t apologize!! Your content is THE BEST out there. Don’t burn out to please the 24 hour news (blog) cycle and us clickers!! The content has been so amazing in the last couple weeks, sometimes you even need to give the readers a break and time to go back and look at the amazingness!! 🙂 🙂
Totally relate to kids having a 6th sense about when mom & dad are up! You may already use this, but this noise machine has been a life saver for us ( family of four, including twins!) http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-DOHM-DS-Natural-actual-Machine/dp/B000KUHFGM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425666479&sr=8-2&keywords=noise+machine
*should read, family with 4 children, including twins! : )
Look at that sweet little face and belly. He’s a cutie. Well done.
Babes who decide to not sleep can make a mamma crazy.. Hear you! Have you tried a noise machine in his room. It’s been a lifesaver for my 3. If they are used to a noise machine they will sleep anywhere if it’s there. We have had parties and they just snooze through. Good luck!
Hey, Superwoman, be kind to yourself!!!!
Oh man, I can so feel your pain with Charlie! My 3 1/2 year old did the same thing!! I was losing my mind…no one needs to be up at 5 am with a toddler, regardless of how cute and how much you love them, 5 am is not okay! Few things that we did that worked…noise machine or a noisy fan, we moved the kurig maker to a different countertop, and closed her door. I actually went in her room and had my husband do our normal morning routine to see what she could hear. The kurig shocked me!! Also, we’re the only ones out of a large group of friends that this didn’t work for, but all of my friends suggested the “okay to wake” clocks. Do a search for that on Amazon. They’re not cheap, but I’d pay $40 for sleep anytime! The clock turns green when it’s okay to wake up. You can leave it off or red when it’s not okay. So the idea is that the child sees the clock red or off and goes back to sleep. I know at least 10 kids that this has worked for. My daughter just stared at… Read more »
Noise canceling headphones might be a joke, but white noise isn’t! We lived with our two children in a small apartment in NYC for years and a small Vornado fan in their room saved our sanity — and our nighttime TV watching/early morning Jillian Michaels grunting. Good luck!
The thing about having babies is that whenever you think you have things figured out, they throw you for another loop.
I have a 7 month old and sometimes feel like she knows me better than my husband! She can pick up on my mood even when I can’t. Kids are amazing. As for the blog posts, I’m sure this isn’t what you want to hear but I’d actually prefer less content because I could spend more time with your posts. I find that your blog posts stack up in my feed because I just can’t get to them all. 1 or 2 posts a week would be more than enough in my opinion. I felt the same way about YHL too so maybe it’s just me.
Yes! I just recently started reading your blog and have been astounded at your output. I get behind and end up trying to read three in one day–and with comments, that’s a lot. So, another vote for “no need to post every day.”
Along the same lines–is it possible to put a “older post/newer post” links at the bottom of each post, so if I’m binge-reading, I don’t have to return to the home page to get to the next post?
Finally, as an empty nester, I echo the comments that just when you figure things out with a kid, the kid changes. Do what you have to do to enjoy the now.