Anouchka Talks

It doesn't take a super sleuth to notice that I post frequently (read:  too much) about my fitness and self-image woes as well as my love affair with junk food.  (I ate an embarrassing amount of cookies and peanuts today.  I don't want to talk about it.)  I am well aware of the fact that this makes me seem self-involved, but I have come to find this expression therapeutic.  Remember -I say this with love- you can always stop reading.  #xoxo * Lately, however, it has occurred to me that my self-image is far more important than I ever realized.  In the coming years, the way I see and judge myself doesn't fall only on my own (obviously shredded) shoulders, but on those of my darling Hulk as well.  As she is beginning to notice her own reflection in the mirror (one of the cutest effing things on the planet), is has given me a reason to re-evaluate the way that I see my own reflection.  I may not like every little thing I see, but I damn well better learn to respect it.   My

Hulk is a pretty good sleeper.  She typically goes anywhere from five to eight hours a night before waking up for a midnight snack, a snuggle and going back to bed in her crib.  It wasn't always this way (as any parent of a newborn can recall), but with lots of dedicated effort, patience, and love, we made it to this point. Spending every day for the past three months with my little nugget has brought me two things:  great joy and unending headaches (more metaphorical, although there is the occasional literal  headache).  Just now, I had to let her fuss herself to sleep for a nap (note that she did not cry  it out - those were not sobs, but rather barks of protest) but I will be rewarded with the most beautiful grin when it is time for her to wake up. Perhaps one of the most frustrating lessons I have learned in becoming an Ummi is the crisis of the postpartum body.  I have already whined and moaned about my deformed midsection so I won't continue to bore you with that but