So You Had A Bad Day...

Today has been very difficult. Chloe has been crying non-stop since 6:30am unless I am holding her, I have probably cried for about an hour myself. Jerry needed cookies for work and I wanted to make a fresh strawberry dessert. I had to let her cry while I tried to bake them since I couldn't hold her, I had no free hands. She doesn't stop, even after ten minutes.

Once I go over and pick her up, she immediately stops crying and would sometimes even smile. I would rock her and when she fell asleep, I'd put her down. Once she realized I wasn't holding her, she'd start screaming again. I was at my wit's end. It took over three hours to get the desserts made due to holding and rocking breaks.

I remember when I was sent home with her from the hospital, the nurse said, "Babies sleep 18 hours a day."

Hell ya! I thought, that gives me eight hours of sleep and ten hours of cleaning and free time.

I remember hearing motherhood is the hardest job. I wondered why it was so hard to take care of a baby that sleeps 18 hours. You just feed, change and burp them, right?

I'm nursing now and she's quiet. It's going on her 13th hour awake. She'd take catnaps during the day. Eight minutes was the longest, I timed it when I was baking cookies. It took eight minutes before she figured out I wasn't holding her anymore.

I thought about going back to work today, then I felt guilty. It's been that bad of a day. Work would seem like a piece of cake now. I don't think you can really grasp what's it's like to be a stay at home Mom until you have been there. I'm sometimes jealous of Jerry when he leaves for work. You have to have patience like a saint, stamina of Michael Jordon and be humble and selfless like Mother Theresa. I'm not getting paid, there are no thank you's. When I left work, I left all worries and stress, this is 24/7. It's tough but when she smiles at me, it's all worth it.

You know what the highlight of today was? Getting a shower and doing my workout video between her wailing. A thirty minute shoulder workout took over one hour due to pausing it to calm her.

So, bravo to all Mom's. I know I love my mom more after today, I probably put her through hell too.