Babies are funny creatures
May 20th, 2009 § 2 Comments
Babies are funny creatures. The more they sleep, the more they sleep. Weird. I had my little bebe in a daytime nap routine and then had a busy week where I was on the go almost every day. Before I even had time to notice, the routine dissapeared. This week I have a quiet week and am trying to get her back into the napping routine, but she’s a fighter. At the moment I battle to get her into the cot for 20 minutes, then lie down with her and breastfeed in bed until she falls asleep. Then I slip out and leave her to keep sleeping.
My Maternal Child Health nurse told me that I need to organise myself so that if I go out I need to get her back into the routine for two days after that. This is something I’ve been fighting. The thought that my life has to run on her schedule and I have to organise my days around her. But that’s the way it is. She needs a firm routine in order to function. I have the night time routine down pat and she sleeps the night through. My night time routine is based on her schedule, so I have to do the daytime the same. If I get her into regular naps then I’ll have time to myself during the day to write, and that’s the priority.
The reason I resisted this is that the first two months I hardly went anywhere. I stayed home with her all day because of her frequent breastfeeding. Then when I started going out I went crazy. Started packing in my schedule every week so I was on the go. Now I’m ready for some balance. I want a few things on every week, but I need some quiet time to write. I’m incorporating a daily walk into my routine because there would be weeks when I’d be caught up in my go-go schedule that I’d be driving here and there, but wouldn’t get any exercise. And for me exercise is really important to settle my sleeping.
I’ve also started relying too much on sugar to keep my energy levels up. Chocolate and chocolate biscuits have been my aid. It’s time to break the crutch and get regular rest and not get too fatigued where I need sugar to get through the day.
Publicity for my book has been exhilirating and exhausting too. My energy levels aren’t what they used to be and I get fatigued. I had a talk to a women’s group and it was fabulous. They were mostly over 40 and I started having a panic attack because I though my novel wouldn’t be relevant. They wanted the focus to be on mothers/daughters as it was just after Mother’s Day so I focussed on that dynamic in my book and how Sabiha’s mother’s Bi Polar impacts on their relationship. The women really responded to my talk and so many of them related to the Bi Polar because of family members who are sufferers. It was amazing. The best part was that when I read an extract they were laughing at all the right places. I actually had to pause for laughter.
My publicist Cora has been amazing. I had two segments on Chanel 31. One of them for Yartz TV which airs Tuesdays 10 pm, repeat Wednesday 11.30 pm, that hasn’t aired yet. I’m on ABC Radio National Life Matters segment Wednesday 27 May, 9.40 am, 621 AM, and Aural Text on Melbourne’s RRR 102.7 FM in the afternoon. I’m also going to be reviewed in the Herald Sun and have a Question and Answer. I also have talks nearly every month until October, which are a mix of school bookings and talks to the public.
I’m working on The Good Daughter sequel I’ve titled The Other Daughter. At the moment I’m handwriting to discover my story. I’m up to my second notebook. Have been a bit hit and miss in my writing schedule, which is part of the need for a routine with Sofia. I feel like it’s coming together well and I’m enjoying the process.
Correction-I listed that my interviews were airing on the 27 October instead of 27 May 2009.
Big congrats Amra! You’ve written a great book and I am glad that so many diverse audiences are gravitating towards it. Will keep an ear to the ground to see if I can podcast your interviews
Thanks Adele. I’ll find out after the interviews and link to the blog/website.