Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Life in the Trenches

I thought I would record a little bit of the not-so-fun happenings in our home these days.  As I struggle to make it through each day, I am often reminded of the brave and difficult statements other mothers like me publish on facebook or on their blogs -- life is hard, and I never want this blog (or my facebook profile) to come across as if we had it all together.

Let me walk you through today --

1:00 am -- Little Byron is sick, so instead of waking up once during the night, he is now waking up twice.  First feeding.

4:00 am -- He wakes again to feed.

7:30 am - 2 pm -- Emma wakes up asking for mommy:  "moooommy, moooommy... pee-pee, pee-pee" (even though she has a diaper on).  Byron gets up to get her since LB is still asleep.  Emma is not satisfied with daddy, and gets a little upset that mommy did not come get her.  He finally convinces her that he can do the job of getting her to the bathroom.

LB wakes up shortly -- ooops! I have slept in a bad position and my neck is killing me (it is 3:30 pm now and still killing me).  But Emma is starting up a storm in the kitchen while B is trying to have his breakfast and have his quiet time.  So I take him to the kitchen and plop him on the swing.  I then proceed to prepare her breakfast.  I get her plate ready with fruit and bread -- the bread does not have jelly ("sorry honey, I'll put some jelly.  Oh, peanut butter also?  My bad!"), so put on the jelly and peanut butter.

Anyway, I then proceed to sit and nurse LB.  I then change him and put him in this cute halloween outfit.  Of course, he throws up on it as soon as he is ready... ugh!  Compared to the four times he threw up last Monday, this little bit was nothing.  Emma climbs into his crib, then needs help to get out.

Hustle, hustle, hustle... I finally get them dressed and ready to get out the door to get some honey and grains I ordered from Atlanta.  On my way, I get stopped by a policeman -- I was speeding :(  I may have looked like death, because he let me go with a warning.  Sigh!  I wanted to cry.

We then go to Costco to do some groceries.  We come home and Byron is asleep, so we put him in his room.  Emma discovered greek yogurt and honey at Costco, so she wants me to give her some.  Then some more again!  She soon realizes that the yogurt is much more fun to play with than eat, and thus proceeds to put all over her face, arms and shirt.  Then throws some more on the floor (which I had just mopped that morning, btw).  Then says, "oh oh... pee-pee".  I pick her up and she did potty all over her pants.  Take her to the toilet, finishes her pee-pee and then some more po-po.  I take her clothes off, but now she does not want to put clothes on again... she wants to be naked!  I finally convince her to at least put on her underwear, which she agrees to do.

We then spend some time in the kitchen.  She pulls a chair and stands facing the counter.  She wants chicken, then more chicken.  Then she wants to play with the salad spinner -- she put some grapes in it and begins to spin it. 

Finally!  It is 1:30 pm, and time for her nap.  But wait a minute, nap time is no longer the breeze it used to be -- it's a fight!  I carry her against her will to her room.  She refuses a diaper or any clothes, and is screaming all at the same time.  I shut the door and wait for her to calm down (LB is still sleeping through all of this).  Thirty minutes later, after a few unsuccessful tries, she finally agrees to put on her diaper and clothes.  It is after 2 pm and she drops dead asleep in her crib (the other day she was so angry, she climbed out and proceeded to nap on the floor for 3 hours).

2:00 pm -- where is my medal?  So I make myself some decaf coffee with lots of cream and sugar.  Twenty minutes of down time and LB wakes up (story of my life!)

So that's my first half of the day.  Thankfully LB is very chill and is now asleep in his swing after watching me type this entry.  I know that a hectic life is relative, and that one's craziness is another's walk in the park.

If you are not my mom and have read through this entire entry, congratulations! 

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, Lauren! I am sorry. It sounds like you've got your hands full. You guys are in our thoughts. I wish we were closer during this time of lots of changes. I would totally take Em off your hands for the afternoon if I could! Hang in there.

MOM said...

I must be the only one laughing at this entry, so sorry Lo. It WAS one of your best! I love your sense of humor, but to tell you the truth, I was shocked to read that you had only gotten to half the day. I agree with Sarah, that one cannot help but feel your stress, and I'd be right over if I were there. I have been thinking a lot of baby Byron again, and hoping to see his pic. Now I know why I don't see much on the blog lately. Just hang in there. . it has got to be better. Why is BB spitting up so much? WHat did the Dr. say at his apt about his size?
I must say, the funniest paragraph in this blog was when you wrote about the cute Halloween outfit. Ah Lauren. And that Emma is what my Gram would have called a "pill". Gram might have used the term, "stinker". I just have to see how Gram can read this. THANKS so much for letting me hear what is going on these days. I loved the part of Emma calling you, "moooomy" "moooomy". Just cherish that, since "I wish I were your age again." Love MOM

byandanne said...

Memma read all your words and am so glad you recorded "a day in the life of Emma and Baby Byron". One day Emma will ask what it was like when she was young and you'll be able to let her read it! The Lord is with you and is your Helper through it all. You are a wonderful mother; I admire the way you take care of your two. Oh, too soon your son Byron will be 35-- just like our son is now! Life is truly short! But it truly wears you out!!

Lauren said...

Ay de mi, mi amiga. Yes, I know. I, too, was laughing a little bit (because you know, if you don't laugh you'll cry!) but also feel the desperation of those awfully hard days. I'm praying for you, beside you in the sweet trenches. :)