This post almost didn’t happen. For one, I completely forgot about Little Miss Cub’s one-month birthday until three days later (the curse of the second child has begun), and secondly I’m a bit tired of trying to type with a baby in my arms or in a carrier.
Well, I’m happy to report I’m typing something for the first time since my Mama left without my baby stuck to me… I barely know what to do with all this personal space!
Don’t get me wrong: I love, love, love to snuggle my baby. But I doubt there’s a mother out there who doesn’t appreciate a little breathing room of her own! Cub has discovered that he can pull back the shower curtain and talk to me while I’m washing my hair [“Mom? Are you clean yet?”], so I’m not even safe there. Since my Mom left, I’ve quite literally had my hands full. Little Miss Cub doesn’t like being put down for more than a couple minutes (usually seconds) at a time, whether she’s sleeping or awake. I’ve been wearing her in our Huggaloops (a review will come, of course), and it’s been a life saver. This evening, however, I discovered that she WILL stay sleeping alone (in her Habitat) if I lie her down on (*gasp*) her tummy. She’s been independently sleeping for half an hour… it’s a small (but enormous-feeling) miracle.
This past week my husband and I finally settled on a routine that’s keeping us both sane. For the first few weeks, he was starting the night in the big bed with me and Little Miss Cub, and moving to the couch or to Cub’s bed when Little Miss’s noisy feeding or crying was too much. He was also in charge of going to see Cub when he woke in the middle of the night. This past week, Papa went completely off duty at bed time. He has been sleeping in the basement guest room and I have been sleeping with Little Miss Cub (and sometimes Cub). 
{I’ve now switched to blogging from my phone, because guess who’s in my lap again?!}
It might seem like Papa getting to sleep alone would benefit only him. Let me tell you that this has been the best week since we became parents of two. A well-rested Papa has a significantly better day at work, and comes home with energy left to give me a reprieve. There’s no point in both of us being zombies! Last week after Papa got home from work I got to have naps or run an errand! And this weekend, since he is grateful for restful sleeps during the workweek and not burnt out from working a high-pressure job on no sleep, he is eager to ensure I get naps AND some time away from Cub. As you surely know, spending every day with a preschooler wears on one’s sanity. He has been walking around everywhere with a huge Nutella mustache and goatee because if I try to wipe his face, he has a meltdown. (Since I destroyed his “Choc Face.”) Potty training is not going well, and if I’m not changing his sister, I’m changing him. I love the kid to bits, but let me tell you he drives me up the wall! (And then he snuggles me or shares his fries with me and all my frustration melts away.)
Little Miss Cub is still not sleeping longer than a four hour stretch at night, and she seems to get extremely fussy in the evening after being quite content all day. She’s in the “baby acne” phase, which isn’t particularly pretty but I know it bugs me more than it bugs her. We have our last midwife visit in a few days, so I’ll know how much she weighs. Putting her in a mixing bowl and weighing her on the kitchen scale was an unmitigated disaster. She’s outgrown her newborn-sized gear but not the 0-3 months or 3 month pieces.
The whole stay-at-home Mom of two routine is starting to fall into place. I’m able to leave the house with both of them in tow, it just takes way longer! 
Because staying at home all day every day drives me batty (and with the air quality last week that’s pretty much what we had to do) I’ve found a bunch of fun activities that we can attend every week in lieu of preschool for Cub, many of which are free. Given our francophone background, Cub and Little Miss are eligible to participate in a wide array of free activities at the Cité des Rocheuses, the French community centre in Calgary’s southwest- a mere ten minutes from our home. We’re also signed up for playgroup at our local community center, and Cub starts his first ever “unparented” class, called “Little Bookworms” at the end of September. Throw in trips to the park and the library and some play dates and we’re all set to keep our sanity! For me in particular, as long as I have some moments to blog while Cub watches a show or plays independently (which he is pretty darn good at), then I’m a happy camper. I’ve been listening to some excellent podcasts and picking up magazines at the library, so my brain doesn’t feel too mushy and I feel equipped for an adult conversation should the opportunity for one present itself!
What are your best Stay-At-Home-Mom Sanity Savers? Did your partner sleep somewhere else when your newborn shared your bed? Does your child refuse to have Nutella wiped off his face?
Leave a Reply