Last week, I mentioned that I’d be solo parenting while my husband traveled to Houston for a work trip. I had some plans in place to get myself help and thought I stood a good chance of getting some decent naps in. Ha!
He was NOT tired and he was NOT going to nap with me while his brother slept.
The first day actually went right as I expected it to. We went on an outing in the morning, my older son let me get a nap in while my toddler napped, and our afternoon play date was rough and tumble–as any play date might be at 4pm on a Friday. But then we ate pizza and
read books and all fell asleep together.
Overnight was rough, with me ending up in the futon between one kid (perpendicular to the bed, feet in my head) and another kid (snoring his brains out right near my face). But then the morning playdate I set up worked out perfectly–Miles even caught a ride home from the playdate, so I just had to drive one way. I napped for an HOUR while Felix napped, and I didn’t even need to nurse him down because he transferred from the car.
But just as I began to suspect I had this solo-parenting stint in the bag, Felix began throwing up all over the place. Oof!
All of a sudden, I was doing laundry and giving emergency baths instead of toasting fish sticks. Then bedtime got delayed and everyone cried. Plus I had to cancel our Sunday playdates and activities so we wouldn’t spread this plague. Thankfully, my older son enjoys games like “use this disinfectant wipe on the door knobs and light switches,” or “let’s see how fast you can move all the towels from the washer to the dryer.” Also? My laptop died, so I didn’t even have access to the Internet to moan or complain about it all.
By the time my husband walked in the door late Sunday, I’d done ten loads of laundry and my hands were cracked and bleeding from washing them so often. I have never, ever been happier to see him.
I still haven’t even had a chance to hear about his trip; we’ve been so insane catching up on our lives since he got back. I really appreciated how much easier it is to do things like wash the dishes when he’s on hand to feed the kids breakfast. Even tag-teaming when we put pajamas on our kids is far easier than one grownup trying to do it alone.
I realized in retrospect that Miles had 3 days off school directly after his dad’s work trip. Next time, I’ll plan a lot better and either travel to my family or else send Miles off to Camp Grandma for a few days. Heck, by the time this happens again, Felix will be old enough to go, too.
Did you learn any important lessons while solo parenting? Leave us a comment to share your best ideas!
