We had the pleasure of babysitting my almost 3 year old nephew Logan for a day and whilst he was mostly the best behaved boy possible (bar a slight shove to his cousin Harrison for getting too close to his beloved Bin Truck or Truck book, and then there was the accidental clocking in the head with H’s wooden buzzy bee toy as Logan took flight with it) I still wonder how Mum’s of 2 do it! I mean there is even a reasonable age gap between the two boys – 25 months in fact! Yet I still found myself crawling into bed at the end of the day and falling into a profoundly sound sleep, such was the weariness of every cell in my body.
Exhaustion, whilst surprisingly manageable, reached another level I did not know existed beyond that of being mum to a newborn bub. And I even had my lovely husband to halve the load so God forbid what it would be like if I had to do it day in and day out…. And yes I do know many of you our there do indeed live this life – and live it well! For me though I reel at the thought of introducing another little person into the mix… Perhaps its because we only live in a 2 bedroom unit and DOCS may just knock on our door for exposing our kiddies to living in such un-child-friendly circumstances (perfect tho when you are just DINKS!).
I swear it should be a prerequisite to falling pregnant with number 2 – “You have a backyard do you? One where there is real grass and real space for energy burning activities to be performed? Tick! Then yes, you have permission to go forth and procreate”.
We made do yesterday, we did, and had a lovely day filled with activities designed specifically to expend pent up energy, coupled with the adults desire to get a good old dose of fresh air and Vitamin D. Turns out it was quite easy to run the clock down til it was time for kiddies bedtime! And all that exercise did work wonders for the three boys under my tutelage yesterday (yes three…) Even husband Tone found himself asleep after “volunteering” to lie down with Logan to help him feel more comfortable about going to sleep in a foreign environment. Once I got Mr Cat-Napper to sleep (that’d be Harrison, naturally) I even found myself with 10 blissful minutes to lay down and tune out. Of course it didn’t last long as my son must have spies out in our lounge room, which report back to him the moment I get comfy, and on the drifting point to sleep. Because you can guarantee its then he decides to wake and demand his afternoon of fun begin!
So hats off to you Mum’s of 2 (or 3, or God forbid 4 or more!) you inhabit a world far crazier than mine – and I think mine can be pretty darn manic some days! And while I concede my son has never been happier than when he is playing in the shadow of his beloved big cousin and slept for 12 unbroken hours straight that night, I don’t think there is still any need to contemplate “number 2” being brought into our world. After all, we live in a unit, don’t we?! Well, that’s my (latest) excuse and I am sticking to it…
