I am sitting here with a very fussy baby in my lap, typing to keep myself from going insane. It's been a trying day, largely because of the fact that said baby is being fussy and clingy and I have papers that have to be graded by this afternoon but I can't tend to the latter at the same time as the former. I can, however, type, it seems, and so I am doing just that.
Because just a few minutes ago I found myself yelling. Not at the baby, just yelling, as in "AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!" with hands over eyes like a two year old. Why? Partially to shut out the sound of the ever increasing fussiness, partially to generate a new sound to listen to, partially to shock said baby into momentary silence, but mainly because there is nothing else I can do at the moment. Baby won't sleep (one half hour nap since 9am), baby continues an unabated but fluctuating cry/whine symphony, baby is refusing to eat regularly, and mommy is at her wit's end. This whole cycle started last night with a brief respite when exhausted baby and mommy fell asleep for four hours in the middle of the night, but here we are again, and in the light of day it's worse.
So I found this list by a new stay-at-home dad hil-freaking-larious, in an "are you kidding me?" kind of way. More me time? Less stress? Seriously?? At least there's the internet to provide me with hours of (unintentional) entertainment!
3 comments:
Most hilarious part:
"Doc works her butt off, literally, to provide the means that allow me to spend as much time (and money) as I do on Xav and Mar."
Emphasis mine.
"More me time? Less stress? Seriously??"
Well, you know, speaking as someone who has been both a stay-at-home dad and a breadwinning dad, I think one's feelings about this depends a great deal on the job one had before becoming the primary caregiver. If you had a high-stress, 70-hour-a-week job, then, yes, staying home with a child can indeed result in more me-time as well as less stress.
Also, people go through ups and downs as caregivers. When my son was just an infant and wouldn't sleep in my presence (i.e., in the absence of the breast), I would go slightly insane every afternoon and so would he. Then we got used to each other and things mellowed and by the time he hit toddlerhood, I was having a pretty good time and so was he. Sounds like this guy is in the middle of an "up" period and you are struggling right now. It'll change. His life will probably soon suck and yours may improve dramatically.
JAS, thanks for the visit and the consolation. I'm looking forward to the next "up" period. And love your blog, by the way. Keeps my brain working while staying at home.
TG, I know, LITERALLY an abuse of language! Love it!
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