Mauritalorei's Journal, 12 September 2013

I made the mistake of signing up for the "3 cups of green tea a day for a week" challenge despite not drinking caffeine for years because I am so sensitive to it (keeps me in a state of heightened alertness and unable to nap therefore exhausted and then difficulty falling asleep/ staying asleep at night), my husband is the same way and clearly, so is my 1 year old as I learned the hard way this week why pediatricians recommend NO CAFFEINE while nursing as it goes straight into the breast milk and affects babies in a similar way: he has been hyper and irritable which is unlike him but then he has not been able to nap and despite being extremely exhausted by nightfall, unable to say asleep for even over 1 hr and a half at a stretch which has been " wonderful" for me: yay! Like having a newborn again except that he is a year old, has sharp teeth and vents his frustration through biting. Bottles are not an option as he rejected them around 4 months when we started weaning him and he won't come near them nor sippy cups since. He never wanted a pacifier, well again, why would he when he could snuggle up to the real deal, right? Anyway, this week was filled with sleep deprivation for both of us and the additional stress of him being more and more mobile even if he is not quite walking but almost there combined with his insatiable curiosity, ability to take things apart and endless experiments to defy all the baby proofing in place, SIGH!!! He is very tall, very strong and almost too smart which are all admirable qualities for when he starts school and also participates in extra-curricular activities but for now have me running around after him like a chicken with my head cut off in addition to being glued to the video monitors whenever I have to step away because he invariably puts himself in compromising positions when I do, again, BIG SIGH!!! There is a reason why I bought the tallest, strongest (metal) baby gates anchored into the wall all over the house which slow his sometimes destructive maneuvers but keep him safe -for now- which is the main reason they are there and yet I spend every hour that he is awake literally in the same room with him interacting constantly; I move him around, upstairs and downstairs depending on where we both need to be. Oh well, since he seems to be asleep for now, I might as well get stuff done like having an uninterrupted breakfast, cook dinner ahead of time, do some laundry, cleaning, maybe even workout and a shower although let's not get too crazy right? It is a nice fantasy that I will begin implementing until he invariably wakes up and I have to hit the pause button on my activities... resume, pause, repeat all day until I accomplish my tasks while taking care of him which is my #1 priority. Hopefully, no caffeine today means he will nap...

---

1954 kcal

Fat: 81.40g | Prot: 86.33g | Carb: 232.72g.   Breakfast: Fiber One 80 Calorie Cereal - Chocolate, Cinnamon, Kretschmer Wheat Germ, General Mills Multigrain Cheerios, General Mills Whole Grain Cheerios, Horizon Organic 100% Lactose-free 2% Reduced Fat Milk, Vitafusion Prenatal DHA & Folic Acid Gummy Vitamins, Water. Lunch: Essential Everyday Hamburger Dill Chips, Traditional Medicinals Mother's Milk Tea, Kraft Fat Free Tartar Sauce, Brownberry 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins, Gorton's Fish Sandwich Fillets, Wish-Bone Guacamole Ranch Dressing, Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers Broccoli Florets. Dinner: Water, Eating Right Artichoke Spinach Hummus, Open Nature Veggie Chips, Roasted Broiled or Baked Chicken (Skin Not Eaten), McDonald's Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream Cone. Snacks/Other: V8 V-Fusion Light Strawberry Banana, Tazo Wild Sweet Orange, Twix Twix Minis, Brownberry 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins, Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Cheese Wedges, Traditional Medicinals Mother's Milk Tea. more...

2554 kcal

Activities & Exercise: Walking (moderate) - 3/mph - 1 hour, Housework - 4 hours, Desk Work - 6 hours, Resting - 6 hours, Sleeping - 7 hours. more...