Fighting the Exhaustion

Any mom will know how exhausting it is running after a toddler. Answering their 1,000 questions, and the perpetual 'MOMMMMYYYYYYYY' quips on a daily basis. I love it. There are moments when I crave absolute silence or privacy. There are moments when I'm totally digging the loudness (or excitement) when reading a new book, the cuddles, and the scratch-your-head moments when your 2 year old starts crying for absolutely no reason.

With No.2 on the way, I find myself more exhausted than usual. Often due to middle of the night wake-ups due to kicks in the crotch, a postnasal drip, or just plain anxiety over the idea that I'm going to have two children to speech read...It's exhausting enough trying to figure out what my daughter says sometimes! (Though she's pretty good at looking at me when communicating)


I remember fondly thinking how freaked out I was when we first found out we were expecting. All challenges have been surpassed. We figured out how to wake up at night. We figured out how to teach our girl to face us when talking. We figured out a bunch of other nitty gritty things, potty training included. So, perhaps my anxiety is already unfounded.

Speaking of exhaustion, I thought it would be appropriate to write up a list given my recent obsession with all things baking on how to cure it whilst being pregnant AND a hard of hearing parent:

Ingredients and use:
A deep breath - instant relief. Sends much needed oxygen to the body and brain.

A good sense of humour - shit happens. Find comedy in it if feasible.

No hearing assistive/electronic devices - you'd be surprised what 5 minutes in pure, utter silence can do for the mind, body and soul. Practice when safe to do so.

A pair of walking shoes - If silence isn't your thing, then bonding with nature can help in as little as 10 minutes.

Source: Pexels.com

Your everyday household cleaning supplies - If bonding with nature doesn't excite you, then set your mind to a task that is monotonous for 15-20 minutes. (At this point I'd just 
turn on a 20 minute TV show to occupy my daughter) Be sure to combine with no hearing assistive devices.

A pair of strong hands - Get your husband/partner/RMT to get those knots out.

Write - obviously this helps me in managing with the moments of exhaustion - I just can't nap everyday...


Honey - Make sure this is pasteurized. Take a spoonful, put it under your tongue just before you go to bed. I swear it relaxes me faster than anything else.

Source: Wikimedia

Pillows, pillows, pillows! - Necessary in order to survive sleeping through the night with a belly that is starting to make me look like a beluga.

Hawkins Cheezies or anything that qualifies as instant comfort food - LAST RESORT!!! I keep a bag of chips in my pantry just in case... haven't touched it in 3 weeks, a record!
 

The HOH Mommy has exciting news!

Turns out, 2016 is bringing many blessings to my little household! So far, we have four big, wonderful announcements:

1) A number of you already know that we are expecting baby #2 in early June, and yes I'm thankful that the first trimester is over - so far, so good at 20 weeks currently!

The baby bump grows! (The middle photo is from Maui *wink*)

2) Hubby got a job promotion! I am incredibly proud of him and will do my best to support him in whatever way I can.

3) Our little girl is finally potty trained! (not quite yet at nighttime... but that will come eventually). Very glad not to be changing poopy diapers for at least 5 months. 
 

and finally *drumroll* ...

The Original Hard of Hearing Advocate

In the early years, who did we have to advocate for us? To feed, clothe and make sure that we had access to all the necessities in life? In most cases this answer would be 'our parents'.

Today, I was thinking about a conversation that I had a few months ago with a former high school classmate. We reconnected over Facebook Instant Messaging where I asked her about another classmate. In that conversation, I learned about her journey as a parent, and how it's been a challenge for her as her child has a form of autism.

I thought of my mom immediately. Dealing with a child with a hearing loss definitely brought the tiger (and the lamb) in her. If you've ever seen my Big Fat Greek Wedding, where Toula's mother says: "the woman is like a lamb in the kitchen. But in the bedroom? Oooh no! She is a tiger!" The sentiment can be said the same for my mom. Let me paint a vivid picture for you:

Imagine being the only person in your classroom - no wait - school, with a hearing loss. In the early 1990s, when technology was still making headway in the public. There are no cell phones (only pay phones!), wifi does not exist, and the computer is just gaining traction in the classroom. I'll never forget the boys in my class who started off playing SimCity in Grade 3. My mom really didn't want me to miss out on having a normal childhood, even though it meant having an itinerant teacher visit me each week for an hour; wearing a big, bulky FM system; and setting up a Closed Captioning TV box on the portable TVs (back then captioning wasn't even programmable on TVs!). Most of all, she wanted my teachers to have a positive experience with me.

How did you two meet?

Aloha! Hubby and I returned from our very first trip away from our little girl to the beautiful island of Maui (more on that in another post). It was hard on me at first, but when we saw her on Face Time each day it was as if we had never left. We've been back for a few weeks now, but with Christmas, New Years and currently in the throes of potty training I've finally decided to sit down and write about this experience.

The way back home from Maui was an interesting story that I'd like to share with you all. With a full flight, we didn't get our usual empty seat in the middle - which was fine with me as I love to snuggle up with Curtis, his personal block heater.

Last night in Maui!

At Haleakala Beach

Sitting in the middle seat, I sat next to a lovely lady from Vancouver. We struck up a conversation starting with where we live, what we do (and I naturally talked a LOT about my little girl), and even found out that I'm the same age as her sons. We even talked about pregnancy stuff as she is waiting for her sons to give her some grand babies! Then the million dollar question came up: "How did you two meet?" This question will almost always lead to a hard of hearing advocacy moment in my case.

The Christmas Rush

Christmastime is a favorite time of the year for me! Sometimes I get carried away with baking goodies, shopping, decorating and wrapping gifts. This year I actually got all my work done before December 1st so that we'd be able to enjoy the whole month of December in peace!

I'd like to mention that this year is our first Christmas at home. We've waited all year for this, planning out our visits to the mainland so that we'd be able to start our own family traditions. Aside from the numerous hors d'oeuvres that I've planned out in excitement, we've also set up our tree with full trimmings this year. Last year we didn't bother putting the tree up as we were out of town. The year before, we had a newborn and we were much too exhausted to fully decorate it. Also, our home actually has more lights on it than ever before. We were so excited to start the Christmas celebrations that we were the first house on the block to light up our lights!  I am so looking forward to cuddling in bed with our little girl on Christmas morning (and seeing her open presents!).

A bit blurry, but a beautiful sight!

More importantly, we've set up our Nativity scene on our mantle. Now that our little girl is old enough to understand the meaning of Christmas (we've just told her it's Jesus' birthday), it makes this year's Christmas even more special! I'm definitely looking forward to starting up our tradition of singing Happy Birthday Jesus (I promised her we could do that).

The Christmas rush as the media puts it is focused on consumerism, I believe. There's nothing wrong with wanting to buy things for your loved ones, but in our case for our daughter, we plan to spend time with her. She'll get a few gifts from us, mostly books, but my hope is that she remembers this Christmas as a time when mommy and daddy took real time out to focus on family, faith and love. For the last few weeks, I've tried singing as many Christmas songs to her that I know of. Fortunately my off-key voice (don't blame my voice! I blame my hearing loss for that one!) hasn't put her off... yet. The Hard of Hearing Mommy Wishes you all a Blessed Early Christmas!

What are your priorities this year for Christmas? 



 

The Value of Community

You guessed it. I took some time out to refocus, which is why this blog hasn't seen much activity for a while. We all need time to refocus and figure out what the heck it is that we're doing sometimes! I'm back now, for real.

Over the last several weeks, I've gone for 15 information interviews (that left a big dent in my wallet... all those coffee dates!) and met a vast number of people here in Victoria. A good friend of mine who is a social worker (and also has a hearing loss herself) told me that information interviews were the best way to meet new people, and tap into the hidden job market. Job hunt aside, I've really enjoyed getting out and meeting new people. We've been on the Island for three years and in the last few weeks, I've made more connections than the entire time we've been here. 

Who doesn't love coffee?? Mmmmm

It hit me like an anvil on the coyote's head: creating a community doesn't start by just going out to events, it also means creating meaningful connections with others who share the same interests, concerns and ideas as you do. It means reaching out to others beyond your comfort zone. I feel more at home now that I've found my way through the Victoria population. Believe it or not, pretty much everyone here knows someone that you know! It's like living in the twilight zone. Growing up in a Vancouver suburb, it was incredibly rare to meet someone that knew someone within your circle of friends. I guess that's what happens when you live in a smaller city!

Daddy is sexy!

Yesterday, out of the mouths of my little girl came the words:

Daddy is sexy!

Wow. This is going to be an embarrassing post for her father/my husband. (Psst: I just confirmed it with him, he doesn't even read my posts!)

Her statement couldn't be more true. Even though this blog focuses on what it's like to be a hard of hearing mommy, I couldn't be a hard of hearing mommy without the hard of hearing daddy. Truly, the family is where it all starts.  Regardless if you are hard of hearing or facing some other extraordinary circumstance. Having a hearing loss means that we actually understand each other better without having to say anything about it.

Last week the World Meeting of Families Congress took place in Philadelphia, PA, which is "held every three years and sponsored by the Holy See's Pontifical Council for the Family" (Source: World Meeting of Families). The theme for this event, one of the world's largest Catholic gathering of families was titled Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.  I am fortunate for the love that flows through our family, which began with the two of us in marriage.