We turned left onto our street after a 4-hour drive home from Dallas. It was 4 pm and Little Husband slept most of the trip, so Husband and I knew we were in for a challenge this evening. As we rounded the corner, I noticed an SUV parked in our driveway and I immediately bristled at the thought of having to entertain someone after returning home from a 15-day trip. Then I realized that the car belonged to my mother-in-law and my irritation faded.
We walked into our house as she was putting fresh-cut flowers on the table. A nice bottle of wine accompanied by our best crystal sat waiting for us. A freshly cooked dinner was in the refrigerator as well as fruit, vegetables, cheese and roasted peanuts. She had thought of everything.
There, attached to a dining room chair, was a helium balloon. It was a basketball. Little Husband will never be able to play football or rugby, but basketball should be just fine.
Husband and I thanked her profusely as we looked forward to a wonderful meal. Then the meltdown started.
The nurses warned us that Little Husband might have a hard time transitioning home, and I saw that they were right. We swaddled him and cradled him and changed his diaper multiple times but he was never calm for longer than 15 minutes. I nursed him hourly but he'd only eat for 10 minutes or so (he usually eats for 30). After a few hours of this I decided to try to feed him one more time, so I asked Husband to prepare a bottle for him.
"Do you want to feed him breast milk or formula?" Husband asked me. His eyes were slightly wild and reflected the stress of driving almost 200 miles and then having to deal with a fussy baby.
"Just fix the formula. All the breast milk is frozen so formula will be faster. I just need a bottle quick," I instructed him. "The formula can be found in the---"
"I've got it," Husband interrupted, "I've got it right here."
I looked up wondering how Husband would know that I'd stuck the formula in the pantry. Husband was looking down at a bottle he was assembling as he proudly waved the "formula" in the air.
It was the can of peanuts.
We're tired. We're so tired.
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7 comments:
Oh goodness!
I'm glad that your MIL is there to help out. I hope LH is settled now and you guys are getting some sleep in your own bed, finally.
Be really careful, Femme--don't forget that sleep deprivation can creep up on you (besides mistaking peanuts for formula and hospital rooms for kitchens). Not to mention all the stress you've been under. When you need a break, take it and take twice as much as you think you need.
That sounds like a sketch in a sitcom.
Kelly is definitely right- take care to get some sleep. If you have anyone out there that can watch LH for a couple of hours one afternoon a week for the next few weeks so you just lie down and take a nap, I think that would be advisable. You've got to be at the top of your game, and lack of sleep won't help get you stay there!
That is hilarious! PLEASE don't forget that I work just down the street from you and can come over on my lunch breaks so that you can shower/sleep/watch TV, etc... Just say the word and I'm there, please do not hesitate to just call or email me!
Ha.. peanuts.
Can I just say that you might maybe have the best MIL in the whole world? Who does that??? (Nobody in my world).
I'm so happy that you're home now and not feeding the baby peanuts.
Welcome to motherhood. I'm sure things will settle down and like everyone else is saying get as much rest as you can. Too funny about the peanuts.
i am so glad you are home. not as glad as you are i'm sure.
just be patient with yourselves.
love you!
That's pretty funny! I'm sure it wasn't super funny at the time, but it's hilarious now =)
Good luck to both of you. I'm sure it'll get a little easier as time goes by.
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