Home Alone

I asked her to smile for the photo!

Home alone with the two kids, that is. My husband headed back to work this Monday. I was exhausted over the three weeks that my husband was home to help. But the real test, in my mind at least, would be this week. Here's how it went:

Monday.
Horrible night on Sunday. The baby decided to wake up every hour for more milk. Growth spurt perhaps?! As well, I was up earlier than usual, as my husband had to leave for work by 7h30. Over the last three weeks, he had been feeding our toddler breakfast, a task that once again became mine. The morning actually flew by despite my exhaustion. My sister, a school teacher, was off for spring break and offered to help out with the Brat. She arrived at 11, and stayed for 3 hours. I don't think I could have done it without her. She fed our toddler lunch, and entertained her better than I could have under normal circumstances. I tried to nap while she was here, but to no avail as the baby wanted to drink very often. My sister left at 14h, our toddler's usual nap time (if she was so inclined). Much to my dismay, she decided she did not need to nap. However she did play surprisingly calmly the rest of the afternoon. My husband arrived shortly after 17h and took over. And because our toddler had not napped, she fell asleep very easily a little before 20h.

Tuesday.
My first real day alone. Another tough night. Baby awoke every 1-1.5h for more milk. I felt like I was running an all-night cafe! Usually we have a housekeeper at our house on Tuesdays. She has quite a bit of experience as a nanny, so I thought I could ask her to help feed our toddler. But she had requested to work this Thursday rather than Tuesday, so I truly was alone. At some point in the morning, I found myself sipping some caffeinated tea (another rarity as I usually drink tisane), and thinking that it was not so bad, I could handle this new job of stay at home mom to two young children. Then I looked at the time. It was only 10h! Only 7.5 hours to go!!! I am not sure how I made it, but somehow 17h came around, and before I knew it, my husband was home. A little later on, with the Brat in bed, and my husband holding the baby, I was tidying up the kitchen. In my trance-like state, I knocked over a cup of tea onto my laptop. Although my husband would say it had nothing to do with exhaustion, just my usual clumsiness...As I type these words (on my desktop), my laptop remains nonfunctional...

Wednesday.
Finally, a better night! She awoke every 2.5-3 hours, and her mama finally got some sleep! The day flew by. It was 12 degrees Celsius outside, and normally I would have ventured out, but the idea of running after my toddler as I held onto the baby's stroller somehow did nor seem appealing! Surprisingly, our toddler decided to nap at 16h. She must have been exhausted. I only let her sleep for an hour so that she would not go to bed at midnight. As the baby was also sound asleep (and would be for another half hour) this allowed me 30 minutes to myself, a rarity these days!

Thursday.
I was very much looking forward to Thursday. My mom's day off work! She arrived shortly before 9h. I left the baby with my mother (along with some pumped milk) and headed off to the YMCA with my toddler. We participate in a parent-child activity every Thursday at 10h called Kindergym. We sing songs, then play for an hour. While my husband was off work, they had attended together, and I had actually missed the class. Not only was it nice to get out of the house, I enjoyed chatting with the other moms, and simply jumping around with the kids. Attending the class was invigorating, and made up for the rest of the day. Our toddler was certainly acting up after the class; she refused diaper changes, wanted to stay in her pajamas, and had difficulty staying at the kitchen table during mealtimes. I am not entirely sure how my mom's presence contributed to this, but I am certain it did. Was she allowed to get away with everything while at Grandma's?

Friday.
As has become a weekly tradition, our toddler spent Friday at her grandma's. I thought it would be a great opportunity to catch up on some sleep. I would nap each time the baby did. She slept soundly while being held, but she woke up the instant she was put down. I need to learn to sleep standing up!

Then something quite unexpected happened on Friday. Our newborn smiled! On a few occasions. And it was seemingly unrelated to sleep and gas. And just like that, it made the rough week worthwhile!