Running On Empty

I. Am. Exhausted.

That pretty much sums up life for my wife and me. Having two kids under two is truly more difficult than either of of us could imagine. It is even more difficult now that I am back to work.

For Sam, that means that she not only has both kids during the day while I am sleeping, but also all night while I am at work. Last night, she was up all night with them. Both were up crying and she got no sleep. When I got home, I went right to bed. I set an alarm, knowing she’d be tired, so I could get up and let her sleep. After about 3 hours sleep, I came out in the living room and told Sam to go grab a nap.

Sam had put Ella down for a nap, so my hope was to feed AJ and try to snooze if he fell asleep. He never did. I think she slept a little, but as most moms do, every time AJ started crying, it woke her up. She eventually came out to the living room and I went back to try to grab another hour’s sleep. Par for the course, I crawled back into bed, put my CPAP mask on and was not really able to fall back asleep. So I’m working tonight on 3 hours sleep and I know my hour drive home is going to be difficult.

Sam is at her wit’s end, I am sure. It is hard enough with one little one needing your attention, let alone two. Ella continues to adjust, but still wants mommy (and daddy’s) attention. She doesn’t understand that you can’t throw a book at mom while she is feeding the baby. As with most kids/toddlers, they really have no concept of patience either.

I am looking forward to being home with them this weekend so I can give her a hand. Two people working together makes things a little easier, but there are still challenges. This past week I posted on Facebook about the new Olympic Event we participated in – Synchronized Diaper Changing! I was changing an Ella poop diaper on the living room floor and Sam went to change AJ’s diaper. She didn’t realize that AJ had pooped, too. So here we are on opposite ends of the living room and there is only one container of baby wipes in the room. Give us a few more of those and we’ll get a gold medal!!

It won’t be long until Sam goes back to work, and I will have my share of days where it is “all me.” It is going to be a challenge, and I pray that I’ll have the strength and stamina to do it as well as my wife is!