by Rachel | Personal Development
It feels like just yesterday, a whole summer of maternity leave stretched in of me. Parker was born one week after the end of my spring session, so I’ve had an incredible 10 weeks to do very little else than enjoy my sweet baby boy. And now — cue the sad trombone — there are only 2 weeks left.
But before you start to feel too sorry for me, I have to say that when I do go back to work, I have it pretty good. I’ll be home with Parker from the time he wakes up until 3 pm, when I’ll make the “commute” to my home studio (just a few rooms away). While I’m with students, my mom and mother-in-law will take turns coming over to stay with the baby until my husband gets home from work, and then I’ll be finished no later than 8 pm each night.
Even though I get to spend most of the day with Parker, and I don’t have to leave the house to go to work, those 5 hours away from him will still be tough at first. I’m pretty sure all moms feel this way at the end of maternity leave; I’m just glad that I have a job I love and is worth the time apart.
Overall, I’m really excited for September 3rd…but I’m not counting down the days just yet. Tomorrow we head to Florida so that Parker can meet his great-grandma. A few days of family time in the sand and sun is the perfect way to wind down what has been a beautiful summer.
by Rachel | Motherhood
It’s taken me at least four separate sessions spread out over two days to type this blog post, so hitting “publish” is going to feel like quite an accomplishment. Just like completing a load of laundry, making the bed, putting on makeup, and writing a thank you card all feel like big accomplishments these days.
Before I had a baby, I just couldn’t understand why new moms always say they’re lucky if they are able to shower on a daily basis — and now I totally get it. Caring for a tiny human being is a LOT of work, between feeding, changing, comforting, and just holding him while he sleeps.
I have an inbox full of fantastic guest posts by several fellow music therapists and bloggers, and although it was my goal to have them queued up and ready to post starting last week, it just hasn’t happened yet. Parker and I are still establishing a routine, and when I do have the opportunity to get things done during naptime, I usually resort to either sleeping (because not much of that happens at night!) or taking care of the basics around the house.
This blog post is anything BUT a complaint; I absolutely love being a mom and everything that comes with it (including the sleepless nights). It’s more of a reassurance that I haven’t dropped off the face of this earth, and that there’s some good stuff coming your way thanks to my colleagues…just as soon as I have the time and mental capacity (that darn sleep deprivation again) to post it. Thank you for being patient and sticking around during this hopefully short-lived blogging drought!
by Rachel | Family Life
I’m thrilled to share with you that my beautiful baby boy was born on Saturday, June 8th. He arrived at 10:31 am, weighs 7 lb, 5 oz, and is 20.5 inches long. He’s perfect!
After spending two days in the hospital, we were able to come home and settle into our new life as a family of four (that includes our golden retriever, Sadie, who is adjusting to our new addition incredibly well).
Although it’s only been a week, I can hardly remember life before becoming a mom. Parker has been such an incredible blessing to our lives already, and I know that life will only continue to get sweeter with him in it.
I’ll be writing about Parker and motherhood in general here at Listen & Learn on occasion, but for lots more about our baby boy — including the story of his birth — feel free to pop over to my family blog. Thank you for all the support you’ve offered as I embark on this new journey!
by Rachel | Motherhood
After 9 long months of pregnancy, I’ve discovered the most annoying symptom — and it’s not one of the usual suspects. Morning sickness, leg cramps, heartburn, interrupted sleep, and exhaustion have been no fun at all, but my least favorite of all is my hoarse voice.
For almost 3 weeks now, my voice has sounded like I just finished screaming and singing along at a Taylor Swift concert (and yes, I would totally do both of those things at a Taylor Swift concert). It’s been raspy, a little mannish, and any hope of hitting high notes is out the window. At first I thought maybe I was getting sick, but I had no sore throat, cough, or sneezing. Then I suspected allergies, but I’m not really one to suffer from those. And I hadn’t been using my voice any more than I usually do, so it wasn’t due to overuse.
It all started to make sense after I explained my condition to one of my client’s moms before a music therapy session. She told me that she thought a hoarse voice was a symptom of pregnancy, and after some quick Googling on her iPhone, we found that she was right.
At my doctor’s appointment the following week, the OB confirmed that pregnancy can cause the vocal cords to swell just like the rest of the body, so my hoarse voice is normal at this point. The downside is that it’s probably here to stay until I have the baby, so I can look forward to a little over 3 more weeks of raspiness.
By now I’ve adapted to my new voice, though it sure makes my job interesting! Luckily, there are only 9 more working days left before I’m officially on maternity leave for the summer. I have quite a few new songs I’d like to record, but they just might have to wait until after baby’s arrival if I actually want people to listen to them.
So far, no cankles in sight…just a man voice and a few other manageable symptoms. I suppose if that’s the worst it gets at 36 weeks, I don’t have much room to complain :)
by Rachel | Family Life
If you’ve followed this blog for a while now, then you’ve probably seen the evolution of my home studio. When my husband and I first purchased our house in 2009, I set up my studio in what quickly became my favorite room in the whole house. It made for a beautiful work space, and it stayed that way for 2 years. The studio looked like this:
But when I decided to go into private practice full-time, my husband and I agreed that I needed to make some changes to my studio. Since I’d be working longer hours, it made more sense to have a studio that was separate from the rest of my house (so that Zach didn’t feel like he was intruding on my business when he came home).
We came up with the perfect solution — one that still allowed me to have a home studio, but offered a separate entrance and was closed off from the “home” part of my house. So in the summer of 2011, we renovated the two back bedrooms and turned it into my new studio.
After we moved out my studio, we talked about the fact that someday that room would make the perfect nursery. It’s right next to our bedroom, the space is bright and cheerful with lots of natural light, and like I said before, it’s my favorite room in the whole house. That time has now come, and the transformation has begun! Here is Baby Rambach’s nursery it in very beginning stages:
We’re still missing a glider, curtains, and of course, decor, but at least now we have a starting point! I’ve been collecting ideas for a nautical-themed nursery on my Pinterest board for a couple months now, and I’m so excited to bring those ideas to fruition (with the help of my female family members).
It’s pretty hard to believe that in just two short months, this will be home to a newborn baby. I’ve spent some amazing moments in this room, and I have a feeling there are many more to come.
