It has been so nice having a second adult - either my mom or my MIL or my husband - in the house since CJV was born. I am fairly certain that I would not have survived the month of December without all that help. It's amazing how much better I feel - physically, emotionally, hormonally, and mentally - one whole month (and a few days) after giving birth ... but I was still very sad and a little anxious to have CPV return to work today.
Today was my first official full day of "flying solo" with two little ones. And throwing my good intentions, reality check, and resolution out the window, we started our day with a trip to my friend Deann's house. Probably should've been one of those lounge in our jammies kind-of-days. But instead, I managed to get all three of us fed, washed, dressed, bundled, and out the door by 10:10 am ... only 10 minutes behind schedule.
We had a fantastic - and much-needed - visit with Dee, her daughter Cee-Cee, and her new baby boy Jordan. The girls greeted each other so excitedly - neither has spent much time with their little friends since becoming big sisters - and played with only a few minor disagreements. And I got the chance to chat and commiserate and celebrate with my fellow new mommy friend. Our littlest nuggets slept away the morning side-by-side in their car seats. I packed up the girls and headed home just in time for Charlotte's next feeding.
Which takes us to nap time, a cherished time at our house. By cherished I mean by me and by Natalie. It's quite normal for her to ask for a nap after lunch. It's quite rare for her to fuss or refuse a nap. Ah, rarity ... ain't it grand? After putting NHV down in her room, I headed to my room with CJV to snuggle in and catch up on the sleep I am not getting in the middle of the night. All was blissful ... until I hear Natalie on the monitor. She was jumping on her bed. A big no-no. Went in and told her to lay back down. Same thing happened again ... and my brain suddenly flashed to Elmo because his show was all about jumping today. Darn that adorable red monster! My request for the jumping to stop was met with disobedience and more gleeful jumping ... to which I weakly responded with a swat on the leg (oh, the guilt!) and a firm reprimand.
Feeling lousy about the swat, I returned to my own bed and shed a few tears as I tried to fall asleep. Only minutes later, I hear Natalie rummaging around in her room. Not jumping but definitely not sleeping, either. I gave her some time and pulled myself together before going in ... and finding her reading books to her stuffed animals ... and smelling something decidedly stinky disgusting. Changed her poopy diaper and put her back in bed with minimal conversation.
She had already been in her room for 45 minutes, when the game started in full force. A full hour of up-and-down and opening the door (a huge no-no) and lots of tears and tantrums and my resilient say nothing approach ... we both finally fell asleep.
That left me a grand total of about 45 minutes before Charlotte woke up to be fed again. I am quickly discovering the "joys" and scheduling conflicts of dual motherhood.
I had enough time to take care of CJV's needs before having to wake up NHV at 4:30 - we don't let her sleep past that time for fear of bedtime issues. The three of us played for a while, and then I started dinner. Yes, friends, I broke my resolution again. There were plenty of leftovers in the fridge but I also had a new recipe and all the ingredients ... and I chose to cook ... with two kiddos and no other adult to help.
Thankfully Charlotte slept in the carrier almost the entire time and Natalie was totally enthralled with her new baby doll bassinet, a gift from Deann. Dinner was delicious. The kitchen was an absolute mess. And I was beyond relieved and happy to see my husband walk through the front door ... about ten minutes earlier than expected.
Tomorrow is another day. Solo Day 2 ... hoping for less excitement and more rest.
10 comments:
ahhh gotta love the first day solo with 2.. Been there done that.. it is almost like theolder one knows that new limits have to be reached today as you are alone with them lol... it will get better i promise
It won't be long and you 3 will get a routine down when it is just the 3 of you.
Oh the things Elmo teaches!
OMG! Oliver so totally has the "I'm going to poo so you have to come in and change me before I sleep" maneuver down pat! And darn that Elmo! Naughty Elmo, naughty! I feel your pain on the swat too-I was frustrated with Ollie over break and gave him a swat on the (well padded) behind and he proceeded to tell me "no hitting Mommy! Hitting is not NICE!" Sigh. So much for the "Golden Rule"...Of course I felt like the worst mother on the planet for the rest of the day! Of course, we're not, we're HUMAN!
So interesting about the swatting, because I actually contemplated spanking B today for the first time ever. I called Brandon instead and said, "I'm about to spank our son, what should I do?" He helped me see that most of my problem was all the other crap going on rather than what B actually did. However, we briefly chatted that we need to decide what our take on spanking will be. Does it teach them to hit? Does it scare the crap out of them (like the rhino)? Does it do anything effective other than making the adult feel like they have done something? Ahhh, I just don't know. I was spanked - it was VERY effective to get me to cut the crap. Uhhh, I just don't know! But I know it will make me feel guilty, that's for sure!
Sounds like a successful first day, D. I am totally impressed-an outing AND a meal on table. You'd better be careful not to set the bar too hig though--you don't want CPV to expect a hot meal every night :) Miss you!
Not bad at all, for your first solo day!
Wow! You got a whole month of extra adult help! I'm a bit jealous. I think I'll get a week, maybe 2. Glad things worked out well. Congrats on a (mostly)successfull day and here's to many more!
Glad the day didn't go that badly. It is hard but will get easier.
I never had to deal with the naptime issue- Stink hasn't taken a nap since his 2 birthday-- it was way too much effort. Instead, he sleeps from 7-7 most nights.
You did great, especially being able to keep up the say nothing approach to non-napping. It gets a lot easier with two (at least it did for me on the days when I had B and SP last year), though the rest times are few and far between for a while until the sleep routines start to overlap more consistently! Assign nights to CPV as much as possible: your day job is way more taxing than his! ;-)
Well I must say...and this may sound a bit strange coming from your little sister...I am so proud of you. I know from lots of experience that adding another child to the mix of an already hectic life is not easy to say the least. I am proud of you for not setting the bar too high because it's hard not to. There are days where I feel like I am supermom and other days that I feel like... well they all got fed and changed so I guess I did ok. Day to day sometimes is the only way you can get by. So treasure those supermom days and remember them on the not so good days. And never forget that even if you don't think the day went so hot that your girls are so very lucky to have you home with them to love them and care for them 24 hours a day. It's the most important job in the world and did I mention that im so very proud of you? Love you big sis!
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