(no subject)

[rivka]

Tomorrow is my first day of no help. This sounds awful, but I've been kind of looking forward to it - a peaceful day of nursing, vegging out in front of the TV, and napping when Colin naps. Alex has been incredibly high-maintenance lately - lots of attention-needing, lots of emotional drama, lots of whining and requests (for snacks, desserts, screen time) repeated a dozen-plus times - and she was home extra time last week because her grandmother was here. It's impossible to nap with Alex in the house.

Enter the weather forecast: seven to nine inches of snow tonight and tomorrow.

Sometimes on snow days Alex's school opens at 10am, for daycare kids only. But if there are seven to nine inches of snow on the ground, I don't think it's practical for me to try to pack up both kids and get her there. If they even open. The roads around the school are pretty low down on the to-be-plowed list. And Colin tends to scream when he's in the car anyway.

So my first day of no help is going to be both kids, both of whom pretty much want my full-time attention, neither of whom are particularly inclined to let me eat or rest in peace. Also, there is only so much TV-vegging I feel okay about doing with Alex around.

Tell me it's going to be okay? Please?

Comments

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

It sounds like a day where emergency TV is warranted. And whatever, you will all get through it.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

This!

You will get through it.

N.

[eeyorerin]

It will be okay.

...in ten or fifteen years, it may even be one of those funny family stories.

[janetl.livejournal.com]

In the Good Old Days, you'd administer laudanum. A spot of TV seems a pretty harmless in contrast. This is your second child -- aren't your standards supposed to slide a bit? ;^)

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

Big sister Alex is three.

[curiousangel.livejournal.com]

She has been known to issue a correction when we've said this, usually along the lines of "Papa, I'm three and a half!!!". Our usual compromise is, "She'll be four in April", which communicates the information in a format that seems to soothe her little preschooler nerves. :)

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

Grey claims that he is older now. 16. And therefore old enough to drive PLEASE MOMMY!?!?

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

PS: The day after tomorrow you'll get to nap when Colin naps, and just veg out :) YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

N.

[chargirlgenius.livejournal.com]

It'll be ok. What somebody said about your standards lowering? Necessity.

If you don't mind a BTDT war story, read on...

Jeff had to go to work when Edward was two weeks old. I'd had a c-section, and Henry was 13 months old. I wasn't allowed to lift him up yet. Henry had just started daycare the week before, and had contracted a very bad virus, we think it was coxsackie, and couldn't go to school. His fever kept spiking, so I had to keep putting him in a tepid tub to cool him off. Had to lift him - nothing I could do about it. There was a point where I hadn't brought up a bouncy yet, so I had to set Eddie on the floor, screaming, while Henry was in the tub, screaming. Yeah. I don't remember why the hell Jeff wasn't able to come home, thinking back on that.

Sometimes they'll both just scream at you and there's not much you can do about it. And it's awful. But you figure out how to live with it and not go insane.

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

*hugs* You'll make it!

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

It's going to be okay. It may well be a long day, but it will be okay.

If Alex is willing, I would love a picture from her showing what the storm looks like outside your window. Preferably one she draws/colors, but a photo could work, too. In return, I'll take and send a photo of the storm as it looks out my window here in Wales (the one in Massachusetts).

Direct email in case she's up for it: gfs (at) toad-hall (dot) com -- it's also in my LJ profile.

The most current kid-drawn picture on my fridge is now a couple of years old.

If an "out the window" drawing doesn't catch her interest, a "March comes in like a lion" drawing would also be delightful.

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's TOTALLY going to be okay. What I liked about that age was that Munchkin The Elder liked being "In Charge", so I would ask him in the morning, "Well, let's see. We're staying home today, so what shall we do with the baby? Should we read to her, or what?" and we'd make a list. (wtfpotatoes was an extremely quiet and non-fussy baby, I should add -- she was on heart meds until she was eighteen months old -- so this may not work as well if Colin is a fusspot. :-)

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

I may know less than nothing about parenting, but I do know that you're one of the smartest, best, kindest, most good hearted people I know. So that sways me to the side of It's Totally Going to Be Okay.

*hugs*

Also? Your entries always remind me to feel grateful for my own mother (and to call her and say that), because I'm sort of getting an inside view of what it must have been like for her, with two kids and all (except I was only 13 months when my sister was born).

[namedphoenix.livejournal.com]

I also agree with the infrequent tv vegging, especially when this is your first day on the job as Mom Times Two.

[acceberskoorb.livejournal.com]

Hey, I was practically raised by a tv set and I'm awesome.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

It'll be OK.

[pameladean]

Surely TV-vegging is permissible when one is snowed in. It's a special occasion, after all!

P.

[roozle.livejournal.com]

1. It's going to be OK.
2. WRT TV, whatever gets you through the day.
3. I think the suggestion of getting Alex involved in planning the day is brilliant.
4. Let us know how it turns out :)

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

I know British parents who claim the BBC licence fee is worth it just to have Cbeebies on the TV.

All I got was Noggin the Nog and Blue Peter, and we all know how that turned out.

[ailbhe]

Hooboy. Yes. You'll be fine, and you might even enjoy it. Good luck. And I personally think that bright children get a lot from age-appropriate TV, and active children can't be turned into couch potatoes by access to TV.

I wish someone had told me to get Linnea involved in planning the day when Emer was new. Also, even aged 2y4m, Linnea understood that my c-section wound made things hard for me, and she was frequently able to deal with that.

Alex might be able to get you a drink of water so you can make more milk faster, to speed up feeds, for example. And she can have a sling made of a scarf for her doll (or, if she's like Emer, for her tractor).

I sang a lot of songs about the new structure of our family and everyone's place in it. Rhyming optional.

Whatever you come up with, you'll all get through it, and it will be good. Be as gentle with yourself as you can.

[bosssio.livejournal.com]

I can sense your disappointment. You'd been looking forward to this for awhile... Well, one more day, right? you'll survive. you may not be the bestest all day, but even in the worst case scenario, no one will die and I doubt there will be any long lasting psychological damage... ; )

See you next week - does Sat work for you? I just realized I have a birthday party on Sunday...

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

I don't know how you feel about Laura Ingalls Wilder, but reading The Long Winter might help. Of course I'm the guy who went to Alive and gorged on popcorn while watching people starve to death and eat each other...

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

Not that you'll have time to read this comment, but you WILL make it. It's amazing the strength reserves one finds!

[tea-dragon.livejournal.com]

You will be ok. The lack of personal space/time to tend to your own basic needs sucks, but you will find ways to get at least a little.

Vegging on the couch can be a family activity, right? I've been known to nap while doing it, if I'm tired enough.

I ALWAYS used the tv for when I needed a shower- it kept Sarah from making huge, unsupervised messes. I brought Sammy into the bathroom in a bouncy seat) where I could see her so Sarah wouldn't decide to write on her with markers or something. Clear shower curtains help! (Now that they're older, Sarah decorates Sammy regularly, but at least Sammy's old enough to consent!)

[(Anonymous)]

It seems like what you most need is to be alone with the new baby and focus 110% of your love and attention on him, enjoy cuddling him, think he's just the most perfect baby ever, daydream, etc. I've always felt that I was very lucky I had my second child when his older brother was going thru a stage where he much preferred to be with his father so I could indulge my (naturally short-lived) preference for being alone with the new one without feeling guilty.

[castiron.livejournal.com]

When I was on leave I had a couple days alone with both infant and autistic nine-year-old, and we're all still alive :-).