Elea

Northern myths, Finnish traditions, motherhood, metabolic health, hidden warmth in the cold.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

For mythology to operate as effectively as possible in the unconscious mind, it should be as close to you as possible. The unconscious should be spoken to through images that are most familiar to it.

That is why I do not feel drawn to the gods of distant lands. I love Hellenistic culture (I even studied it as a minor), but its gods are not the gods of me or my ancestors, except perhaps through some spirit shared by all Europeans. But I am much more deeply Nordic and Finnish.

At my core, I do not know the mountains and hills of Olympus, nor the deserts of Judea. I know forests, the North, and winter-sleeping bears.

These are the images that belong to me, and to something much older than my conscious mind.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

@naturemechanica I’ve had exactly the same experience!

[Elea @Hil3mi]

Made some pancakes with whipped cream and strawberry jam for my girl. Then we took a bath together with epsom salt and lavender oil, just like we always used to before the baby was born.

I asked her if she knew how much I love her, and she answered, “As much as there is water in the ocean? As much as there is grass on the ground?” So I think she knows.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

@AlexGoldenAge Just grilled some marshmallows!

[Elea @Hil3mi]

I’ve kind of fallen apart yesterday and today. This past month has been one of the hardest. Our almost 10-month-old still sleeps terribly, and on top of that we’ve been sick almost nonstop, one of the three of us has been coughing through the night the whole time. At the same time my husband was away on a two-week work trip, and both of our moms got sick too, so I’ve been alone, sick, and running on no sleep while looking after a sick kids.

Now it’s all starting to spill out. I’ve been crying and snapping at my daughter when she doesn’t listen. Even the smallest setbacks make me cry. I just don’t have the energy to deal with anything.

So I finally booked us a babysitter who comes once a week, and I’m treating myself to some proper pampering this weekend. Next I need to make some mother-daughter time. I hope I can turn this around. I’m so sad that my daughter has had to take the brunt of it.

I should have looked after myself sooner, but it’s so hard to hand the baby over to anyone else.

It’s so true that when a mother isn’t doing well, the whole family feels it.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

Goodbye for now sun. I love you. See you in six months.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

@naturemechanica Ended up booking both :b

[Elea @Hil3mi]

Which would help me relax more, a full-body lymphatic massage or jaw muscle release?

[Elea @Hil3mi]

@naturemechanica I'd like a lymphatic massage for vanity reasons, but I'm extremely stressed! Maybe I still need the jaw release more.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

@AlexGoldenAge I'm doing really well now except for the baby waking up and the stress that comes from that. I'm currently working on lighting stuff!

[Elea @Hil3mi]

I have a long history with depression, (I’d say I’ve been “haled” for the last 10 years.)
at times bordering on psychosis. At one point it was so severe that they wanted to scan my brain to make sure there wasn’t something physically wrong with it.

I have been self-destructive in almost every way imaginable. One of those ways was watching all the most extreme gore and body horror movies that are legally available. I did it to numb myself. And I can tell you: don’t do it! They leave scars that are just as lasting as physical self-harm. I’ll probably never be able to completely get those images out of my mind.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

I tweet because of extreme sleep deprivation and loneliness.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

In Finland we have a saying that if sauna, booze and tar don’t cure it, the illness will be the death of you.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

When I was little I didn’t know what rococo was but I knew it had something to do with crocodiles.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

@princessmaxxin I'm going to try that if nothing else works, but the baby will be furious if he doesn't find the nipple!

[Elea @Hil3mi]

What is the original plan for how babies are supposed to stop feeding at night? In my experience they don’t without some kind of intervention, but sleep training isn’t the answer. So what is it?

[Elea @Hil3mi]

@_Sophianical ... And the firstborn STILL always tries to grab my breast when I’m nursing the baby :D

[Elea @Hil3mi]

We really do! Our five-year-old still sleeps in the same bed with me and the 9-month-old. Both have been latched onto my breast all night long, the firstborn for almost two years, because I couldn’t get her to stop any other way than by finally just refusing to give it to her. She cried and raged in my arms for many nights, and I was completely exhausted from it all. I don’t know if some babies stop night-nursing on their own, but it feels like ours don’t.

[Elea @Hil3mi]

@AlexGoldenAge It would be wonderful to do that someday! Right now the baby keeps me so busy that I’m lucky if I even manage to brush my hair :D

[Elea @Hil3mi]

This is what my daughter decided to wear to her friend’s birthday party. It’s some kind of Austrian-style traditional dress that we found at a thrift store. She loves it. I’d love to get her a traditional dress from my own region, but they’re expensive.