All was well enough. Slept in until almost 8 am, played, had a nap, then I had my yoga, a 2-hour nap, lots of good playing after…
Towards the third nap I decided to walk with the double stroller to pick Timothy up. It was warm but not sunny, so not too hot. On the way there Zachary fell asleep. Life seemed well.
And then while I waited for Timothy to pee before leaving, Zachary woke up. I thought he’d fall asleep on the way back. No. He screamed, sometimes sounding more like a firetruck or an ambulance for 15 minutes. All the way Timothy was asking to walk, but a screaming baby AND Timothy’s antics was too much to bear.
Then Zachary quieted down so I let Timothy walk. Then he bolted and I abandoned the stroller, caught him, brought him back. Now I had screaming Timothy.
Then as we neared home, Timothy wanted to sit on a bench. Which we did, peacefully. For maybe 2 minutes. Then Zachary started fussing again and it started to rain.
Then we had the big take-your-shoes-off standup, during which Timothy tried to break the gates on the staircase,
At home there was more crying from Zachary, while Timothy pooped in his pants. Then after shower he peed on the floor in the living room. Then he threw toys on the floor. Then he poured water on the floor from a cooler. Then he tore some paper with his drawings into pieces.
All the while Zachary was crying and spitting up and pooping and nursing.
Then finally he fell asleep while Timothy was pacified with Thomas cartoon.
Peace and quiet? For 5 minutes. Then Zachary woke up cause his foot got caught up in the railings. Not to fall back to sleep again.
Queue more crying. And more. And more.
On days like this I lose my temper. On days like this I feel like a failure of a mother. On days like this I wonder how on Earth others manage sitting at home with two kids 24/7. Well, some have kids with a bigger age difference – that helps. At least their older kids don’t try to get hit by a car and can grab a yogurt when hungry. But how do those with two smallish kids survive? And why I am such a mess after only a couple of hours?
I need a break. I am exhausted. And the fact that Zachary decided to wake up 5 times per night isn’t helping, either.
Sigh.
New Toronto Mom 
Hang in there! Not every day is like that
I know, I know… George came home a bit earlier and took the kids on him while I sat like a zombie, decompressing…
and today is a new day 🙂 Zachary almost didn’t fight his first nap (I am training him to nap in his crib now)
Ugh. I hate days when things go from bliss to disaster in a matter of heartbeats. We’ve had several of those days lately. Sometimes it’s just good to know you’re not alone.
that is true. Cause on the surface all those moms of multiple smallish kids seem to have it all figured out…
PS I don’t recall if I posted it here but I started a new anonymous blog a few months ago. http://snowflakefamilyblog.wordpress.com
you didn’t (or I might have missed it) – thank you for sharing it. I was wondering how are you doing 🙂
I know how you feel! Phoebe has started having tantrums over all kinds of things and there are days when it feels like every decision i make is the wrong one. Lack of sleep normally makes me feel like that though, woke at four today when Simeon started chatting! Time will fly and in a few years we will remember it fondly, or so I like to tell myself.
I am not even thinking of how I will feel about it years later. I am trying to survive the now…
I have never experienced a child in a mood to chat in the middle of the night. Scream for hours – yes, Zachary did a lot of that in his first month. But chat or play? That must be even more frustrating for you. You can soothe a crying baby, but what do you do with a perfectly happy baby that doesn’t wanna sleep?..
It’s the only time he has ever done it, just happy and talkative but at least you can doze a bit through that. Phoebe was up 3.45 – 4.30 talking last night, think her molars are bugging her along with her cough. Being at home all day with them both is much better than I thought it would be, even with the sleep deprivation:) one day at a time is definitely best.
Oh yes. My guy did that this week. He woke at 3:30 on Wednesday morning ready for the day. There was no convincing him it was still sleeping time. That did not set a good tone for the day, we both napped at 7:30 and it definitely wasn’t enough for mama but we survived. 😉
Ah, but do we have a choice? Whatever they throw at us, we have to survive, somehow… for the first month of his life, Zachary was screaming pretty much all night long. He’d wake up, feed for half an hour, then scream for 1.5-2 hours, then sleep for an hour, then repeat. I was lucky to get a total of 4 hours per night, on a typical night. I was a mess. I looked like… well, I don’t want to swear. But – I survived… that’s what moms do, right? 🙂
I hope you get a good night’s sleep today!
Oh dear! I was exhausted just reading this! Hugs