Last night, Emily went out to enjoy a few hours away from the kids. It was well deserved, as she has been doing the daytime thing on her own for a few weeks now. This meant I was on my own with both kids once she left. Alarm bells were going off in my head when I heard this.
A little background for you to set the mood. Our first month with Sarah has shown us that her worst time of the day is between 6 and 9 PM. She doesn't seem to calm down after her 4 PM feeding. All the rocking/jiggy walking in the world does not help either. So we had been taking turns trying to calm her every night. That way, neither of us get too upset or tired in that 3 hour stretch. It also allows us to have a somewhat normal family dinner...Oh yeah, Thomas also needs to be played with, fed, bathed and put to bed in that same time period. It is a little hectic to say the least, but manageable with two adults.
Now, back to last night. Emily was trying to get out of the house at 6:45. As we got to dinner time, it was apparent that 6:45 was going to be a miracle. Both kids were having off days. Thomas was extremely needy last night. He just wanted to be held the entire time. Sarah was doing her usual 6 PM meltdown. Emily was doing her best to get ready, but she didn't want to leave me with these two nearly out of control kids. Finally around 7:15, and after an epic Thomas meltdown (one in which I was laying across his body, pinning his arms while he was screaming, in order to put a diaper on him), Emily was out the door.
I'd like to say that I got everything in order after she left, but that would be a pretty HUGE lie. Thomas finally calmed down and was nice enough to go to sleep right at 8. Sarah really never got into her usual night time groove. I held her and jiggy walked from 8 until almost midnight. Emily got home around 10, but I tried to "finish the job" on my own. By midnight, I was cooked. Poor Sarah finally fell asleep around 12:30, thanks to Emily.
I guess what I got from the evening is that I can handle both kids at their worst, but i don't want to do it very often. It makes me appreciate what Emily (and all stay at home moms) go thru on a daily basis.
Of course I have a video (a small glimpse) of the very beginning of the night. Emily was still home, but this will give you all an idea of what the rest of the night had in store for me.
