I haven't blogged in a bit because things have been kind of nuts. We just finished driving across the country from central Texas to central California and then the girls and I turned right back around and flew back to Texas, with stops (but no plane changes) in Los Angeles and Phoenix. I'm back at the house in Texas to finish dealing with movers and house stuff and then we'll fly back to California.
There's been a lot of stress. The emotional impact of moving away from the place I've called home since I was a little girl, away from my friends and family, the stress of the drive (a 2 year old, a teething 3 month old, 4 cats, and a dog in the vehicle with us along with luggage, yikes), dealing with getting packed up, finding a new house in California, dealing with that house not having heat/hot water/stove due to the gas not being hooked up, and a myriad of other issues along with just plain exhaustion. Feeling like everything in life is outside of my control. Yeeeeeah. But, I've been able to find ways to cope with the stress other than just screaming and going all lunatic like I have wanted to.
Music: When we were in the car and had done everything we could for the girls and they were still crying (and in one case, throwing temper tantrums over not getting her way), I would put in my earphones and just turn my music up all the way. I hated not being able to do anything for them but everything had been done and we couldn't exactly stop traveling. Listening to music was better than losing my cool over the fussing.
Deep breathing: self-explanatory.
Grounding in reality: when I start to freak out over things, I stop and ask myself is this something that I can do anything about? If it is out of my control, or is something I can't handle until later due to office hours or whatever, I force myself to let it go for the time being.
Nail polish: this one might sound a little weird, but I've been doing my nails as a coping mechanism. My husband asked "why the sudden obsession with changing your nail polish?". As I explained it to him, nail polish (besides being fun) is something I have complete control over. I pick the colors and the designs and when I want to change it. Yours doesn't have to be nail polish, but the concept is, find something you can control and go with it. Within reason. Obviously I don't mean start domineering your friends or anything.
Remember, when life is crazy, make the effort to find ways to cope.
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
04 August 2011
06 July 2011
Changes ahead!
I'm almost 3 months post-partum and no signs of a need for hospitalization. Things have been going well. It's been kind of crazy. 2 weeks after I gave birth, Eric went on a 3 1/2 week TDY to Ft. Hood, leaving me home alone with the daunting task of a newborn and a 2 year old. But, we survived, sanity intact.
Now, we're getting ready to move to a different state. We found out a couple of weeks ago that he is going to a new duty station and his report date is August 1. It's been the cause of a lot of stress for me, especially when you tack on that it's my first PCS (Permanent Change of Station), the fact that Prissy Britches started teething at all of 2 months old, Her Majesty is in the Terrible Two's, and I spent this past weekend back and forth between the ER and home thanks to an infected salivary gland, TMJ, and swollen lymph nodes. And when I was home, I was doped up on pain meds and unable to eat much besides soup, jello, and pudding. Now we find out that he won't get his actual orders until 2 weeks before we need to leave to drive out there. Great! We can't arrange for the movers to come pack us up and get our things until he has orders.
Like I said, it's a lot of stress but I keep reminding myself to try to take things in stride and to breathe and remember that families do this all the time and that we'll make it. I try to remember to use the stress relief techniques they taught me after I had Elizabeth. One of the biggest things that I think has helped me avoid PPD this time around has been the use of those techniques. Stopping to take some deep breaths when I feel overwelmed. Examining a situation to sort out the reality from my perceptions. And most of all, making sure I get a little bit of time out of the house by myself each week. Not isolating myself has been a big help.
I'm not out of the "Danger Zone" yet, but I'm moving towards it and I am confident that I will get through this in one piece.
Now, we're getting ready to move to a different state. We found out a couple of weeks ago that he is going to a new duty station and his report date is August 1. It's been the cause of a lot of stress for me, especially when you tack on that it's my first PCS (Permanent Change of Station), the fact that Prissy Britches started teething at all of 2 months old, Her Majesty is in the Terrible Two's, and I spent this past weekend back and forth between the ER and home thanks to an infected salivary gland, TMJ, and swollen lymph nodes. And when I was home, I was doped up on pain meds and unable to eat much besides soup, jello, and pudding. Now we find out that he won't get his actual orders until 2 weeks before we need to leave to drive out there. Great! We can't arrange for the movers to come pack us up and get our things until he has orders.
Like I said, it's a lot of stress but I keep reminding myself to try to take things in stride and to breathe and remember that families do this all the time and that we'll make it. I try to remember to use the stress relief techniques they taught me after I had Elizabeth. One of the biggest things that I think has helped me avoid PPD this time around has been the use of those techniques. Stopping to take some deep breaths when I feel overwelmed. Examining a situation to sort out the reality from my perceptions. And most of all, making sure I get a little bit of time out of the house by myself each week. Not isolating myself has been a big help.
I'm not out of the "Danger Zone" yet, but I'm moving towards it and I am confident that I will get through this in one piece.
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