I survived newborn boot camp!
It was a bit of a doozy that first month since the baby had a few health issues that required care above and beyond the usual feed/change/sleep routine. But he's doing much better now and is turning out to be a great little sleeper and overall just a really easygoing kid. I'm so pleased to have him around.
I'm not pleased with my internet use this past month though. I held the baby constantly until about a week ago when we transitioned him to the bassinet. There wasn't much more to do during that time than scroll on my phone while he snoozed or ate. I could have found something like audiobooks or podcasts to listen to, but I didn't. I was on Facebook and MMM, my go-tos. It was also a pretty stressful month and I am starting to feel the pandemic-related isolation. I'm very introverted and had plenty to keep me busy while preparing for the baby. Now that he's here, I just want to get out with him and the toddler and connect with people. I think my scrolling was ultimately a way for me to try deal with my stress and loneliness. It helped relieve stress and made me feel more connected in the short term. But I know my internet habits are not healthy ways of dealing with either and actually exacerbate those states in the long term. Better to find non-internet de-stressors and to ramp up my socially distant connections with others.
My husband is going back to work pretty soon and I did a practice run this week to see what my day with 2 kids will look like and to troubleshoot any issues that come up. I think the three of us should be fine, mostly because the newborn is a really easy baby. He's also started consistently settling for the night at a respectable hour, so it looks like I have my evenings back. I will be starting up my side hustle and Spanish studies next week. Having a normal rhythm to my day again will be helpful in regulating my internet use. I think it will also be good to uninstall the browser from my phone. That makes it way easier, especially since I use the phone's clock and flashlight while I feed the baby. I'm tempted to scroll around while I'm just sitting there.
So, to revisit my internet boundaries:
Keep the laptop and phone off while the kids are awake (including while I'm feeding the baby) -and uninstall that browser-
Use naps and toddler's independent playtime to shower, exercise, and tidy the house.
Use time when my husband has both kids to tackle my to-do list, paperwork, and Spanish
Use unexpected downtime (when I've completed my responsibilities) for non-screen media (books, magazines, newspapers, podcasts, music...) and projects
Use my evenings for hanging out with my husband, doing my side hustle and then an hour of the following:
-Projects x 2 days
-Surfing x 3 days
-Non-screen media x 2 days
Swallow the frog: do the least enjoyable thing first, so I feel like I'm coasting through my day
I'm sure I'll want to scroll a lot at first as I move away from doing it so much. I'll try to check in here to reinforce healthier internet habits.
@LWYRUP and
@Tass , I like your approaches with the replacement habit and interrupting the automatic habit. I think both of those will be helpful this week.
