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July 31, 2008
Want a cat?
A friend of mine one time thought by whining about the discomforts of pregnancy she wasn't being fully appreciative of the baby she was carrying. I assured her that she had the right to complain about aching hips, etc. no matter how much she loved her baby. So if I gave her the right to complain, I'm going to give it to myself as well.
This is hard. I had seen mothers with their young children before, and was amazed at the huge energy output they had to give, but I still don't think I realized it would be this hard. One friend, a single, working mother of two toddlers, really wanted to learn to crochet, but said she didn't have time. I didn't understand. Now I think I should have gone to her house & mopped her floors. If you know any single, working mothers, feel free to take that as a suggestion.
To start with, that whole sleeping thru the night thing is just a myth. I'm aggravated at so many people urging me to teach her how and giving me the false hope that it would actually happen on a regular basis. I would much rather they had just told me that toddlers are ALWAYS either teething or fighting a cold & to just learn to deal with the sleep interruptions.
Some aspects I handle quite well. I'm ok with not being able to crochet, knit or read while she's awake. If she's awake, I consider it my job to watch her anyway. I deal with having to take baths rather than showers pretty well. I've never complained about changing diapers, feedings, baths, etc., or even wanted to complain about those things.
But what I don't handle well is doing something I don't particularly enjoy anyway while she is making it harder. For example, my tub just really needed to be cleaned yesterday. The entire task was done with her trying to climb on my back, trying to climb into the tub, and pulling my pants down or my top up. When I moved to cleaning the toilet, I had to literally hold her back with one arm while I cleaned with the other. For whatever reason, she didn't want me to vacuum either, so I was carrying her in my left arm while trying to vacuum with my right - using my foot to kick chairs & other objects out of my way. Until, that is, the power went out, at which point I just gave up. I decided maybe it would be good to get out of the house so I ran some errands. I made the unfortunate decision to let her walk from the car to the store. I say unfortunate because after the freedom of walking all that way, she was utterly pissed to be then confined to a shopping cart & screamed her way thru the whole store. You'll be glad to know that after after all the screaming she did as a baby, I've completely gotten over the embarrassment of a screaming kid. I don't even know if people were looking at us or not, 'cause I just really didn't give a flip.
And I have to admit to being just a bit scared. Baby Center describes this at the "honeymoon" period of childhood. Before things get "difficult" as they turn 2 & 3. How much harder is it going to get!?
Since I'd had such a hard day, and on such little sleep, I decided to go to bed early last night. It was about 9:30 & those covers felt so good! Until, that is, my leg bumped into the cat vomit. If you are interested in owning a cat, I have 4 that have been fixed & de-clawed. Come get 'em.
| By Wifeepoo | 6:03 AM
Comments
i am in no way telling you what to do, but i will tell you what has worked for me....now, my son is only 6 months old and i have NO idea what it is like to have a 12 month old. anyway, i put ian in my ergo (sling) on my back when i do the floors, esp. if i'm at someone elses house cleaning. if i have to do something else, he goes in the pack and play.....again, i have NO idea what this system will change to in another 6 months. being a parent is really hard, and i've had days when i just don't feel like doing it. you are a wonderful mother and i'll be honest, it's refreshing to hear that i'm not the only one who has those same feelings. i also think that every child is different and what your 2 or 3 year old will go through may be different than another 2 or 3 year old. okay...i'm done!! haha!
Posted by: erin at July 31, 2008 10:19 AM
