I’ve been trying to write this post all day.
What’s stopped me?
One little 13 month old.
You see, all the kids were gone today except for the baby. My stepdaughter gets home from school at 5, and the other kids are spending the night at my mom’s.
Having one baby at home is hard. I could hardly get a darn thing done!
I know that sounds odd coming from a seasoned mom like myself, but it’s true.
Whenever the other kids are away, as they periodically are, it’s a nice little treat for me. I get to be alone with the baby. But I’m also quickly reminded of how challenging it can be to have just ONE child. I remember how it was with my oldest, who was an only child for 2 years and 9 months.
There was noone else to play with him. It was all me.
Noone else to hold him. Just me.
Noone else to help him buckle into his carseat.
Noone else to fetch snacks, water, and out of reach toys. Mememe.
Today, I haven’t been able to accomplish a fraction of what I intended to. Because I was doing things that normally would have been done by my children!
I went grocery shopping at ALDI, and had to bag all the groceries… BY MYSELF. I must have looked helpless, because a fellow shopper actually helped me bag and load my groceries into the car!
Here are some of the other things I had to do today that I normally don’t do:
- Unload the grocery bags
- Put away the groceries
- Wash clothes
- Hang clothes on drying rack
- Entertain and hold the baby all day
- Fetch diapers myself
- Refill my own water glass
- Get the mail
- Take out the trash
- Cook dinner while holding baby
I’m tired! My biceps are killing me!
When new moms say things like “How do you do it? I’m overwhelmed with just one!”, I often tell them that one is just as hard as 6 – and it’s true in many ways!
It’s true that when you have more than one child, you have more work. But having just one baby is exhausting. There is noone to help you entertain, feed and help with the baby.
Have you experienced this when you had just one child at home?
Yes! The more you have, and the older they get, the easier it is. My oldest is 8 and he and his 6 year old brother really keep many things running around here. Their most recent learned tasks are putting away groceries and unloading the dishwasher. Both are such a big help that it’s almost hard to remember when I did those things on my own.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The top priority in parenting has to be teaching them how to take care of themselves and help others.