Non-Parents Can Be Tired, Just One Kid is Hard, & BTW, We’re Covid-Free!

THE CHILDREN ARE BACK IN SCHOOL! Praise Jesus. Three weeks without any reprieve is a lot. I’m a big fan of preschool for many reasons–my sanity is proudly included. I’m not ashamed. Even Josephine attends two mornings a week, giving me 8 hours a week with only *one* child which basically feels like I’m completely free.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that one child felt like a LOT when Anders was a baby. And it is! But just like muscles get stronger, I’m of the opinion that parenting bandwidth is the same. This is why parents of multiple children like me should never look at a parent of one child and say ridiculous things like, “Oh you think going to the grocery store with one child is hard? Try three!” Because taking one child to the grocery store IS hard for that parent. Period. Now, does taking one child to the grocery store sound like a vacation to me? Yes. But that’s not because I’m some parenting wizard with magical fortitude. It’s because my world is different than that person’s world. No one is better or worse or stronger or weaker or whatever.

It’s the same thing as saying non-parents have no idea what being tired really means. YES THEY DO. Maybe bandwidths are different because certain exhaustion muscles haven’t been stretched in ways specific to parenthood, but the effect? The exhaustion? It’s every bit as real. And, again, makes nobody weaker or stronger. Just different lives, different paths, different bandwidths.

Before having kids, if I didn’t get nine hours of sleep at night–minimum–I was a complete zombie. I never pulled an all-nighter in college. I rarely stayed out until last call at a bar in my early 20s. My walls were pure steel. When I hit one, I was DONE. Since having children alongside pregnancy and postpartum insomnia, if I have six hours of sleep, I’m golden. Four to five is doable. I still aim for eight hours a night, but I’ve been able to rally after 36 hours of being awake, like this past fall when I flew to Virginia for a reunion with my college friends.

There’s absolutely no way I would’ve been able to function on that trip back when I was in my 20s. But having children has completely altered my sleep muscles.

Alllll of this to say that spending four hours this morning with just one child in my care felt like a day at the spa.

Wow, what a rant to start today! I love finding out via my fingers what my brain has been thinking about without me knowing.

It’s been a pretty boring 10 days in quarantine at the Leyko household. Temps here in Ketchikan are sub-freezing, so I couldn’t even get the kids outside. We’ve played a lot of Hot Wheels, read a lot of books, and built many-a-fort. I’ve also upped TV time from one hour a day to two. SUE ME. 😉

On the adult side of things, we took down my hefty amount of Christmas decor, cleaned out clothes from all our closets to donate, and generally got the house in tip-top shape. No clutter behind doors or in drawers. All old toys have been put in the rotation bin or donated. New toys from Christmas and birthdays have a rightful home. It feels GOOD. We actually needed the full 10 days to get everything done. The house truly feels light and like a fresh start to the new year!

The kids tested negative yesterday, though, which marked their ability to go back to school! They’d never tested positive, but with my positive result, I highly doubt their first tests were accurate. Symptom-wise, we’re all 100% better! Warren was the worst of us, but he’s back to his old self. I’ve been working a lot with him in the last few days on non-pureed solids, which has been fun. Introducing solids is always a bit scary for me, but it’s always SO much easier once they can eat whatever we’re having for dinner. So we’re starting small with beans, eggs, pancakes, super soft cooked veggies, bread for gnawing, cottage cheese, strips of cheese, avocado, banana– that kind of thing. He’s doing fantastic!

Well before I completely bore you to death with my baby’s menu, let me sign off. I’m loving getting back to my roots on this blog by writing about my day-to-day, plus whatever else comes to mind (cough*rants*cough). Hope everyone’s new year is off to an amazing start!