Mom’s first weekend away

I pumped and pumped and pumped…and then I went away for 2 whole nights! I really needed some alone time as well as a few solid nights of sleep. I took a shuttle to Antigua with my friend Jackie. Antigua is about 2 hours away. It is a beautiful Spanish colonial town with cobblestone streets, fantastic restaurants, luxurious hotels, shopping, coffee shops…you know…civilization!

I slept in an amazing bed for 8 straight hours in a fantastic 6 room boutique hotel, had a massage, got my haircut and colored, sat in a sauna, had breakfast in an amazing garden poolside, ate great food, did a little shopping, and enjoyed my friend’s company in a cozy coffee shop. It was a weekend of self-care.  I find myself missing these luxuries more often these days. Being a mom is a very large job! (The following photos of the beautiful hotel we stayed in. There were so many amazing nooks!)

Brandon and Charlie did great. Knowing this makes it so that I am thinking about what/where my next get away will be. I still have enough milk in the freezer for another couple of days. Hmmm….

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Brandon is now working about 20 hours per week. We are starting to find a new routine that includes his work, my Spanish lessons, and the large weekly task of getting provisions in Panajachel.  Routine feels good. Charlie, however, likes to keep things interesting and so just when Brandon and I think we have found some type of nap/sleep routine for him he changes it up. For the past 2 weeks or so he has been refusing his afternoon nap. Makes for a long afternoon and a grumpy baby come dinner time.

Charlie's first play date. 

We are headed to Florida next week to spend a week with Brandon’s parents. I am excited to get away from home/no man’s land for a while. It is beautiful here and we are very lucky to be living here but I need to be back with family and friends every now and again. If we decide to live here longer we plan to visit the states a few times a year to meet our needs of spending time with those that we miss.

After Florida Charlie and I are heading to Minnesota for 2 weeks and Brandon will return home to Guatemala. Our last trip to Minnesota was so busy that it left me with my head spinning. I am going to make this visit different. There are still many people that I want to see but I am not going to put so much pressure on myself to get everywhere because being everywhere is simply not possible.

I am finally feeling like I am finding my rhythm as a mother. It has been really challenging for me up until just recently. I felt sleep deprived and very isolated.  As a new mom community is very important to the process of moving through postpartum. I do not have a community of mothers here to connect with and lean on and I believe that this was a major reason that it took me almost 9 months to feel like I have my feet on the ground.

I know that living here is our choice and that all choices bring consequences and compromises with them. I do strongly believe that even though I am lacking in a large community of mothers that we made the right choice for us. It is so amazing for both Brandon and I to be spending so much time watching Charlie grow and develop. AND our friends Chris and Erynne are moving back on Monday!! They have a two-year-old and having them around makes it feel less lonely in the parenting realm.  Oh, and my mom will be here for 5 weeks in December. All is well!

Waiting for my boat ride to Spanish lesson

XOXO,

Katie, Brandon, and Charlie