A Break for Amy, A Break for Me

Since Aaron arrived two weeks ago, Amy's been working the night shift,
in terms of being the first responder to Aaron's stomach. That job
entails being woken up every two to three hours by a piercing scream.
Needless to say, Amy hasn't slept well in two weeks.

Thus, when I'm home from work, I try to take the kids as much as
possible on my own, to give Amy some time to catch up on sleep and any
other things she can only do when she's not watching the kids. It's
helped that I've been able to take Fridays off from work for the past
few weeks.

And taking both Aaron and Jada on hasn't been too bad, although I
shouldn't give myself too much credit, since my sister's in town and
she's been a huge help. My strategy so far has been twofold: wear
them out, and then get one of them to sleep so I can focus on the
other.

So for example, yesterday I took them to the park for the morning.
While Aaron basked in the sun, Jada ran and climbed herself ragged.
Thus, shortly after lunch, Jada took a nice long nap. I was hoping
Aaron would be mellow so I could put him on the floor and watch TV or
read the paper, but apparently our morning outing left him wanting
more, so out we went again. As I looped endlessly through the Penn
campus, he slowly drifted off to sleep, leaving me time to catch some
rays myself as well as catch up with some friends by phone.

Today, it was my turn to get a little bit of a break. I went to New
York and caught A's-Mets with a friend. The ballgame, sandwiched
between a long train ride that was perfect for solitary reading, made
for a nice respite for me. And while I was away, Amy's parents
offered reinforcements.

So while juggling two kids has been a stretch, I appreciate that Amy
and I are ever looking out for each other in terms of doing what we
can to give each other the space we need. As introverts, it can be
hard to have two little ones who are utterly dependent on you.
Thankfully, each of us has gotten a few spots here and there to get a
break and get ourselves recharged.

Although we still feel a little closer to empty than we'd like. We
take comfort from other parents who tell us that soon enough our kids
will be entertaining themselves. What a wonderful thought.