How to Stay Sane

A funny thing has happened to me since Evan broke his leg.  I've become quite obsessed with having order in every facet of my life.  

Seriously, my life is now ruled with lists.  Since Evan has broken his leg, I've been up-to-date with all my bills, signed up for Obama Care, got the flu shot, updated Evan's baby book, reorganized his toys... the list goes on and on.  And there is still a lot more to do.  I have about 2 lists sitting on my kitchen island as I type this that I keep adding to.

I remember behaving exactly like this towards the end of my pregnancy with Evan.  I had to make sure that everything else in our lives was in working order because I knew once he came along, things would come to a full stop for a while.  I'm pretty sure this time I just want to have as much order and predictability in my life as I possibly can given Evan's current circumstances.

Unlike my husband, I love routine and predictability.  Steve loves adventure and shaking things up!  :) Once things go off course, my big head has a hard time catching up.  This brings me to a very important point: Evan may be the one physically enduring the Spica cast, but I'm the one having to care for him during the majority of the day.  Right now, it's all about making life as simple and easy as possible.

As the parent of a baby going through a major medical (and thankfully temporary) situation, you need to make the time to take care of yourself.  This has always been a weak spot for me.  But, everyday I try to think of ways to keep both myself and Evan happy.  We've gone out to stores, to the mall, and we've visited family.  Steve is also a huge helping factor.  As soon as he comes home from work, he takes care of Evan, giving me a much needed break.

My lists are just my way of keeping me happy.  Order and predictability keep me calm, and I love crossing things off my lists as I accomplish them.  That's one of my simple ways of keeping me sane during this tough time.

Everyone should try to remember to take care of him/her self at some point at least once a day, whether your kid is in a spica cast or not. :)

~Nikki

P.S. Evan has been napping now for 2 hours and I've been able to cross 3 things off my list.  Gotta love it.