The images this title brings to many is a relatively leisurely lifestyle. Of course, you have to feed the kids and get them dressed, but what do you do with the rest of the day? They're pictured laying around in front of the television and doing a whole lot of nothing. People dream of this job. I dream of having the luxury to have this job, but it is not what most people imagine.
A stay at home wife, might have time to do more things with her day, but honestly, you'd be surprised how fast a day fills up with cleaning house and running errands, paying bills, clipping coupons, laundry, etc. and how much stuff we just don't do when we work. Now once that wife has turned into a mom, all bets are off.
My day starts without an alarm clock, but with a random squeal. The squeal varies in mood, but generally she just uses volume to get my attention and is grinning from her crib when I walk in. I get her up, changed, and head to the kitchen for her breakfast. If I'm lucky, her squeal was not too angry and I took the time to brush my teeth and make the bed and pee before running in to her room. Then I spend twenty-thirty minutes trying to teach her to eat with a spoon. After she is wearing most of her oatmeal, I fry an egg for her to get her some protein. I still haven't eaten. Then I see if I can get her to drink some milk. An hour or so passes before she is changed again and in some clothes (or not, as her recent penchant for nudity dictates).
I could then put her into baby jail for a few minutes and work on dishes, but I have to chose between eating or dishes. Forget about getting showered. Showering while she is awake means I have to keep her occupied for about an hour if I have to get dressed and ready to leave the house. Generally, I wait until she naps if I can help it or I move her from jumperoo to jenny jump up or exersaucer and baby jail (the living room blocked in) to be able to take care of any task that demands my attention. I have tried to have her in the bathroom or bedroom with me, but in a flash, she tends to find the most dangerous things that I haven't put up yet or digs through trash cans, both hazardous and gross.
Basically, that kind of business is my whole day. I don't get much time to myself. I feel like I spend all day preparing food, feeding food, cleaning up after food and then making small inroads on another task only to get five minutes in and the baby is letting me know she is dirty and wants her diaper changed. Then I have to cook and eat for myself too. By the time I do that, it is time to get her a snack and then lunch and then nap time, which was like an hour yesterday and only two today. If I shower during naptime, that is really all I have time for. Then I have to feed her another snack.
By this point in the day, it is about 1-2 and I've changed her diaper at least 4 times since she got up at 8. We've had two meals and two big snacks and one handful of Cheerios that Lil Bit gleefully chomped on until she was full and then smashed the rest and swept them into the carpet. I've had to feed the dog and let her out twice (the new puppy is going to be awesome!). And I still haven't eaten lunch.
If I take a second to get myself some lunch, the baby stands at my elbow and begs for my food. She spent the last three days just walking around crying and whining. I think it is her teeth, but in general, she just is in a mood. She was a little warm earlier and tylenol seemed to help a little, but as soon as it wore off, she was whining and crying again.
I had an hour to myself today (shopping online for dishes, which we need desperately) because she refused to wear a diaper after her nap, so I put her on her potty in front of her potty video. She sat there dancing along to her video and actually pottied! But my search has been frustrating. Nothing I like comes in our colors and I ended up spending most of my free moments searching every site I can think of.
The toddler stage requires constant vigilance. She needs my attention more than she has in the past. She wants me to play with her, attend to her almost constantly. If I dare walk out of the room, she screams. Today she had three screaming jags due to a toy that alternated between amusing and terrifying her. I try to leave her for only a few minutes at a time. By the time I put her to bed, I feel like I've run a marathon, even if I spent most of the day in my pajamas in two rooms of my house. It is amazing how many miles you can run in one room, most of it on my knees.
My idea of a successful day is very different. Now, both of us are fed at least three meals and get to bed within an hour of bedtime and I get to watch her do something new. Today, she signed that she needed to potty. I put her on her potty. She went pee pee! I was so excited. She smiled from ear to ear and didn't fight her diaper. I don't think she's ready to potty train for real, but she is certainly on her way. And that is about all I got done. In fact, as a peruse the house, I'm pretty sure it looks worse than it did when I got up. = ( !
On a work day, I would be getting to bed about thirty minutes ago, and probably have accomplished more. Being a stay at home mom may not be a "job," but don't let anyone fool you, it is work! Watching a one year old is the hardest, most patience trying jobs I've ever had. Now, I'm trying to summon up five minutes of energy to do a quick clean so I can go to bed feeling less like a failure.
A stay at home wife, might have time to do more things with her day, but honestly, you'd be surprised how fast a day fills up with cleaning house and running errands, paying bills, clipping coupons, laundry, etc. and how much stuff we just don't do when we work. Now once that wife has turned into a mom, all bets are off.
My day starts without an alarm clock, but with a random squeal. The squeal varies in mood, but generally she just uses volume to get my attention and is grinning from her crib when I walk in. I get her up, changed, and head to the kitchen for her breakfast. If I'm lucky, her squeal was not too angry and I took the time to brush my teeth and make the bed and pee before running in to her room. Then I spend twenty-thirty minutes trying to teach her to eat with a spoon. After she is wearing most of her oatmeal, I fry an egg for her to get her some protein. I still haven't eaten. Then I see if I can get her to drink some milk. An hour or so passes before she is changed again and in some clothes (or not, as her recent penchant for nudity dictates).
I could then put her into baby jail for a few minutes and work on dishes, but I have to chose between eating or dishes. Forget about getting showered. Showering while she is awake means I have to keep her occupied for about an hour if I have to get dressed and ready to leave the house. Generally, I wait until she naps if I can help it or I move her from jumperoo to jenny jump up or exersaucer and baby jail (the living room blocked in) to be able to take care of any task that demands my attention. I have tried to have her in the bathroom or bedroom with me, but in a flash, she tends to find the most dangerous things that I haven't put up yet or digs through trash cans, both hazardous and gross.
Basically, that kind of business is my whole day. I don't get much time to myself. I feel like I spend all day preparing food, feeding food, cleaning up after food and then making small inroads on another task only to get five minutes in and the baby is letting me know she is dirty and wants her diaper changed. Then I have to cook and eat for myself too. By the time I do that, it is time to get her a snack and then lunch and then nap time, which was like an hour yesterday and only two today. If I shower during naptime, that is really all I have time for. Then I have to feed her another snack.
By this point in the day, it is about 1-2 and I've changed her diaper at least 4 times since she got up at 8. We've had two meals and two big snacks and one handful of Cheerios that Lil Bit gleefully chomped on until she was full and then smashed the rest and swept them into the carpet. I've had to feed the dog and let her out twice (the new puppy is going to be awesome!). And I still haven't eaten lunch.
If I take a second to get myself some lunch, the baby stands at my elbow and begs for my food. She spent the last three days just walking around crying and whining. I think it is her teeth, but in general, she just is in a mood. She was a little warm earlier and tylenol seemed to help a little, but as soon as it wore off, she was whining and crying again.
I had an hour to myself today (shopping online for dishes, which we need desperately) because she refused to wear a diaper after her nap, so I put her on her potty in front of her potty video. She sat there dancing along to her video and actually pottied! But my search has been frustrating. Nothing I like comes in our colors and I ended up spending most of my free moments searching every site I can think of.
The toddler stage requires constant vigilance. She needs my attention more than she has in the past. She wants me to play with her, attend to her almost constantly. If I dare walk out of the room, she screams. Today she had three screaming jags due to a toy that alternated between amusing and terrifying her. I try to leave her for only a few minutes at a time. By the time I put her to bed, I feel like I've run a marathon, even if I spent most of the day in my pajamas in two rooms of my house. It is amazing how many miles you can run in one room, most of it on my knees.
My idea of a successful day is very different. Now, both of us are fed at least three meals and get to bed within an hour of bedtime and I get to watch her do something new. Today, she signed that she needed to potty. I put her on her potty. She went pee pee! I was so excited. She smiled from ear to ear and didn't fight her diaper. I don't think she's ready to potty train for real, but she is certainly on her way. And that is about all I got done. In fact, as a peruse the house, I'm pretty sure it looks worse than it did when I got up. = ( !
On a work day, I would be getting to bed about thirty minutes ago, and probably have accomplished more. Being a stay at home mom may not be a "job," but don't let anyone fool you, it is work! Watching a one year old is the hardest, most patience trying jobs I've ever had. Now, I'm trying to summon up five minutes of energy to do a quick clean so I can go to bed feeling less like a failure.
No comments:
Post a Comment