Yep, Alec is back at work. This means:
- I’m alone on night-time duty after being spoiled with catching up on 16 episodes of Heroes and several dvd’s together.
- I have to learn his super tight swaddle and shooshing technique — I think I can I think I can
- He’s back to earning money so we can maintain Holden’s parttime childcare situation
- I’m wearing this baby. A lot.
- There’s a lot more tears… counting Holden, the nanny, his nanny-share buddy, me, and Milo, there was a time this morning when four out of five of us were in tears.
- I am feeling like a total rookie.
- I miss Whitney so much. Oh, and sleep. I miss sleep. And I miss Alec.
- And I’m eating lukewarm lasagne over the baby’s head while he’s in a Bjorn and finally sitting down to the computer at noon. Is this breakfast?
So, for those of you offering tips on managing a newborn and a toddler… I’m all ears. I’m on duty for that pleasure after Holden’s nap.
I don’t have a toddler, but I do have two kids (twins) and I can tell you what it’s like to manage two newborns on your own.
Lots of tears. Too much to do all the time.
The biggest thing I had to accept that I was never going to be able to meet everyone’s needs all the time (including my own). Impossible to do. So I made these priorities and posted them in the house to remind me:
Priority 1: physical needs
Priority 2: emotional needs
When I tried to do everything or things were going to crap, I looked at the list.
And once I accepted that one of the babies would be with me in the carrier for 90% of my day, things got significantly easier on me mentally. Some days I hated it because I wanted my personal space, but it helped me to start the day with the mindset that I would be carrying a baby all day. I even napped with a baby in a carrier (reclined the rocking chair, used a Hug-a-Bub instead of a Bjorn for those times). There is a lot to be said for keeping your hands free.
When all else fails, Ask Moxie is always a great place to get answers!