This has not been the easiest of weeks. The baby isn’t sleeping well and he is (not coincidentally, I imagine) in a mood. So clearly it was a great week to try cutting back on coffee to see if that helped with my lingering sore throat issues. The dog seems to be regressing in the house-training process. There have been various kid issues.
All of this is frustrating of course. For instance, the past paragraph took me about 30 minutes to write with interruptions. Time seems to burn away.
But I am trying to notice the moments of calm when they do occur. I sat on the porch last night as the sun went down and read my book on hummingbirds. This morning as I drank my (small) cup of coffee there were a few moments when the toddler played happily.
And I am making progress on my latest puzzle. This one is more challenging than I banked on — lots of muted colors and similar patches in different places. But piece by piece it comes together. Like many things, I suppose, even if they’re hard to see when you’re in the middle of them.
In other news: I’m going to be doing a graduation season book giveaway — a bundle of my books to one person and individual books to a few others. I’ll post on Monday about the details. I was going to start it today but then figured the beginning of the week was better. So, sorry about the false alarm earlier this week. Please look for that here or on social media!
Ooh, what book are you reading on hummingbirds?
I’m a longtime reader of yours, currently writing a book about all the different methods scientists have used to study bird migration (weather radar, satellite telemetry, etc. etc.) – the history of how each was developed, the science behind how it works, and what we’ve learned from it. It comes out in 2023 and I’m hoping it’s the sort of thing that even non-birdwatchers might find interesting!
@Rebecca- It’s called The Glitter in the Green — part travel account of seeking out hummingbirds through the Americas, and part about the hummingbirds themselves. And I’d love to read your book on migrations when it comes out!
Laura, I was having daily low grade sore throats starting late last year. I started using a OTC nasal saline spray twice a day and after a week the sore throats pretty much went away (in peak allergy season like now, I can still have slight flare-ups at night). Not sure if this is something you already tried so apologies if not helpful!
@Rebecca – two commenting Rebeccas on this post! I’m totally willing to try that – I’m trying a little bit of everything, honestly. I just ordered a saline spray so we shall see if it helps. Claritin, cutting out dairy, limiting coffee, and staying hydrated through the day does seem to be helping some with the congestion/sore throat but nothing has been a magic bullet yet.
I’m an allergy nurse and I would suggest visiting an allergist. There are seasonal and year round environmental allergies that can cause congestion and drainage which in turn irritate your throat. Some simple allergy testing might be more effective than trial and error.
I’ve also had a week like that Laura, 5 month old teething and not sleeping, life dramas, I even managed to lose my keys for two days! So I can commiserate, no sleep makes everything else harder to deal with too. But I appreciate your post, definitely to remember I’m in the “murky middle” but piece by piece progress is made, and there are small moments of peace and enjoyment even at this time. (Baby is asleep on me right now and 3 yo is happily watching a show so this is one of these moments when I can read a favourite blog in peace). But I still hope next week is better for us both 🙂
Agree with others it could be allergies- apparently dust mites are substantially worse at the moment as everyone is spending so much extra time in their homes 😬
The cause of my lingering sore throat was reflux. I’m also lactose intolerant too. I had to cut ALL dairy and have a few months of medication to get the gut inflammation to settle down but it’s much better now
Laura –
Regarding your sore throat – sorry to hear that! You may have looked into this, but I’m pretty sure that I get weird sore throats when I wear a mask for too long, I even found an article to substantiate this theory: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-you-get-a-sore-throat-from-wearing-a-dirty-mask/. The article talks about wearing dirty masks, but for me, it sometimes happens even with clean ones.
Regarding babies not sleeping well…I feel you. My baby has been in sleep training mode for 8 months now (he’s 11 months). We basically just let him cry it out…the tactic that supposedly works after a few days if you are disciplined. Well, with my son, it has taken many months, and we’re not totally done. I appreciate your posts about baby sleep issues. Great validation that some babies are just terrible sleepers. I wish there were more resources for coping with sleep deprivation when you have no choice, rather than preaching about the importance of sleep and not looking at screens before bedtime.
@Lana – thanks for the link – the problem pre-dates Covid, though it may have become worse in the past year so maybe the masks contribute? I don’t know. I’m not in masks all that much since I work from home, so it’s honestly an hour a day or so during errands or kid activities. And oh yes on the baby sleep. We have let him cry it out plenty and certain aspects have gotten easier but there are still wake-ups that take a long time to go back to sleep. I do sometimes get frustrated with sleep training advice that works in a few days for people who have long and deep sleeping kids. I know how to sleep train a baby. I am five kids in. Kids are different.