There's also a reality that we sometimes would prefer to forget about. There's the obvious--- you are likely walking around in a sleep-deprived stupor most of the day and making very little sense when trying to converse with anyone above the age of 3. Since laundry doesn't do itself (bummer) it can easily sit in the baskets for days before making it to the bedrooms, if you're even successful enough to get the clothes into the washer and dryer in the first place. Okay, so that was how I rolled even before the baby came, but still. Also, your child could easily fail a spelling test because you haven't taken the time to study with her (sorry, Savvy!) and you consider getting the mail from the mailbox "getting out". There's also the more personal battles like math that doesn't add up (or subtract down, rather) when you KNOW you delivered a 6 lb 14 oz baby, but you stand on the scale and it says you've only lost 6 lbs since delivery. And to reaffirm this conundrum, your 3 year old points at your belly the day you come home from the hospital and asks if another baby is going to pop out soon. Getting meals brought by neighbors and friends is totally awesome, except when you break one of their dishes before you've returned it (sorry Kay!) and then you just feel dumb. You could wake from an unintentional nap in a panic and realize all your kids are missing and you have no idea where they are.
This is all just part of the gig. The pounds will come off and I'll graduate from maternity pants... eventually. One day I'll get my housekeeping mojo back and be all up in the laundry's face like nobody's business. Lucky for me, I've got a 3 year old at home so we completely understand each other, even if I can't string 2 complete sentences together. One day I'll get a full 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and be all kinds of awesome, but until then I'll kind of be in good company because didn't Einstein and several other geniuses have trouble sleeping?
I should recognize we've already had some successes. Alexandra is nearly 3 weeks old and we are finally settling into a more predictable routine (ie I've finally cracked open my sleep bibles and refreshed my memory on how to get newborns to get their nights and days straight). Twice this week she has given me a 5-hour stretch at night. I am starting to feel human again and not quite so much on the verge of tears anymore. Savvy got 100% on her most recent spelling test (a huuuuge feat of
For now I'll just enjoy snuggling this angel of mine because it goes by way too fast. Laundry will be everywhere but where it's supposed to be, I will have dark circles under my eyes and my kids may or may not be accounted for. This is the new normal.
Totally, completely and undeniably worth it.
