Yikes. So I’ve said before that this is the hardest, most time-consuming job I’ve ever had, but that was before I even attempted to give it a shot.
I hadn’t even entered the kitchen at that point. Up until now, I’ve had 11 weeks of meals prepared by our dear friends and family. My husband would bring home take-out. We’d just eat a bowl of cereal.
This week I decided that I was going to start “earning my keep.” Not because anyone expects anything from me, but because I feel like if I’m home all day I should have a clean house and a meal on the table every night.
Sorry, Charlie. That’s not how this is going to work out. At least not right now.
On Monday, Hudson and I went to visit Todd at work and then were heading to the grocery store. En route to Publix, Hudson decided that he hated his car seat and had to be out immediately. So I just kept on driving. Past the grocery store and around the neighborhood. I wanted him to just get tired of crying and fall asleep. There’s nothing worse to me than a screaming baby in a grocery store and I was NOT going to be that mom. He finally fell asleep about twenty minutes later and we went in to Publix. I picked up all the ingredients for one of Todd’s favorite casseroles and all of the ingredients for pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.
Hudson and I went home and I fed him a bottle and tried to put him down for a nap. Two weeks ago he was an excellent napper. Now that I’m trying to get him to sleep so I can prepare a delicious family meal he is not at all interested in napping. (Is “nap” a verb? I like it as a verb. Oh well if it’s not.)
I started chopping the vegetables and he started crying. I went to comfort him and change his diaper so I could get him back down. He fell back to sleep and I started cooking the meat. He started crying again. By the time I got him soothed, the meat was stuck to the pan and I was afraid I had ruined the entire thing. Now, I’m not a very patient person, so you have to understand that I’m about to lose my head at this point.
For about ten minutes I considered calling my former employer and begging to have my job back!
I am normally a decent multi-tasker. I’m an event planner, for crying out loud! But it’s not physically possible for me to hold a 15 pound baby (who is still struggling to control his head) in one arm and cook with the other. I’m afraid I’ll burn him or drop him!
The time rolled around for Hudson to be fed again, so I managed to get the meal simmering and fed Hudson a bottle. I finally got him down for about twenty minutes and squeaked by just enough time to get all of the ingredients into the casserole dish and into the oven. Mission: Accomplished. Finally.
The meal turned out fine, but I was exhausted and had a hard time finding the joy in the whole event.
Next time I’ll be attempting a simpler recipe that has fewer chopping and fewer steps. I’m also considering the Baby Bjorn for the first time. And I swore I’d never wear a Baby Bjorn. I’m not sure how good that will feel with a 15 pound baby in it, but it’s worth a shot.
Tonight, I’ve attempted mashed potatoes and pork tenderloin. The meat is currently in the oven and the potatoes are ready. This morning, while Hudson was napping, I pealed the potatoes and put them in the refrigerator to save a step. I’ve tasted them and they’re delicious.
So this stay-at-home-mom thing is quite the challenge, but I’m up for it. Tomorrow I’m meeting one of the other wives of the two attorneys that Todd is working with. We’re planning an open house at their new office. These other two wives are the ultimate stay-at-home-moms with four kids a piece, so I feel like if they can do it I can definitely give it my best shot.
In the meantime, I’m going to let this precious boy sleep (he loves sleeping on his side) and leave you with the most beautiful image in the world.* At least to me! How could I have been frustrated just because he wanted to be awake to play with his mommy?
*He is snuggled up in his new Woombie in the picture and we love the Woombie. I swear I’m going to do a baby product review post one of these days, but I’ll go on the record and say that the Woombie is wonderful. It hasn’t changed our life or his sleeping patterns drastically, but it is such a great alternative to swaddling. When I have to unswaddle him to change him it takes a long time and he gets all woken up. With the Woombie, it unzips from the bottom, so I can leave him in the Woombie and change his diaper. He can move his arms and legs around because the fabric has a little bit of stretch, but he can’t move his arms so much that he wakes himself up. I really love it.
