It’s tough being a mum during the current lockdown. I have a toddler who has endless energy to burn and a newborn I wanted to take out for daily walks. I am not going to complain too much though – we have a spacious home and a garden, much more than others less fortunate. Our days are not structured into rigid routines though I aim to do some home schooling for the toddler each day. It makes it a bit easier that Baby M still needs to sleep a lot during the day, that gives me time to focus on little L and teaching him new things. But a small baby also needs attention and balancing the two 24/7 is tough. I am on maternity leave so at least I don’t have to work from home. Hubs is not working at the moment but he hurt his shoulder last week doing the garden so can’t help much with the kiddies. And so each day is a mission. I try to set myself small tasks to accomplish each day – not too much – and get a real satisfaction when I managed to do them. Give Baby M a bath, write a blog post, teach the toddler something new, bake a cake – each day one of them gets done and I feel like I have accomplished something major.
I see posts of those who spend their lockdown time catching up on movies, reading books, having video calls with friends, I envy them. A power nap of 5 minutes is a luxury in this house. Of course luck has it that when the toddler naps after lunch, the baby needs a feed and nappy change and my one-hour slot of getting some daytime kip quickly fades away. But today was a good day. The baby fed as soon as the toddler fell asleep and I got a precious 30 minute-nap. Bliss.
Spending so much time together can of course mean that tempers may flare. There have been a few squabbles and some bickering but I am cherishing the time we have together. Especially in such a dark uncertain time. How long will we be stuck in our homes? How long until we can go out to the park again and have play dates? Who knows. So in the meantime, if the toddler wants to come into my bed during the night, then so be it. Sleep (re)training can wait for another day or perhaps month. At the moment it feels just like taking each day as it comes and cherishing one another.
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