The first day of school for me was last Thursday. Sam and Anna made sure to start the school year off with a bang, by partying it up in the wee hours of the night. Anna had a mid-night dirty diaper (just when will she stop those anyway???) at 12:15 am... 45 minutes after I had finally fallen asleep. I had had a hard time settling down with the excitement of the day waiting for me in the morning. The problem with getting Anna up to change her diaper hours into her night sleep is that it typically takes her hours to finally get back to sleep. My husband took the reins to attempt to get her back to sleep, to help me get more sleep- which was nice, but I couldn't sleep with a fussing/crying child so I was awake anyway. Around 3 am, Anna finally got successfully put back down when I put a stuffed animal in her crib with her as a last ditch effort. However, our presence in their room woke Sam up. He was then awake from around 3 am until after 5 am. My alarm went off at 5 am and I dragged myself out of bed. I maybe dozed a little in between his fussing, but definitely less than 45 minutes worth of total broken sleep.
So Sam was still awake when I started my day... on less than 1 1/2 hour of sleep. On the first day of school. With the largest size of kindergarten class I've ever taught. I made it through the day on pure adrenaline and blessed by the fact that things were so busy I hardly had time to think about being tired, much less have time to go to the bathroom or eat lunch! Thankfully, both Sam and Anna have slept better since then.
Now 4 days in to the school year, I'm discovering that being back at work after the summer off is like adjusting back from maternity leave all over again. It's hard in so many ways, and although not as hard as last year (because I know I'll eventually adjust and we don't have to put down our dog like we did at the beginning of last September), it's a struggle to adjust. I have to relearn to accept the limitations of time and how to best maximize what I've got available. Pre-kids, I would come home so exhausted on Friday nights after a week of teaching kindergarten that I would crash on the couch and take a nap because I couldn't make it to bedtime. Post kids, I'm still running around until I crawl into bed (way past what should be my bedtime) every night of the week because I'm enjoying my kids until their bedtime, and after that because all the household stuff still has to get done sometime, even if I'm not home during the day to do it.
Oh well- I'll rest when Sam and Anna are grown up and I can sleep when I'm dead, right?
Hopefully I'll hit my groove soon and I'll be able to get to the less essential stuff on my never ending list (like blog posts and commenting) instead of just the must-dos like laundry!
6 comments:
Isn't that always the way? Man, that stinks you had to start school after less than an hour and a half of sleep!
I know what you mean about staying up late to get everything done. I haven't been going to bed until at least midnight! But you are right...rather enjoy the time with them and sleep while they are in college! :)
Ahhhh, the first day/week of school. My first year (at the ripe age of 22) I feel asleep at 7:30 on the first Friday, and didn't wake up until the next morning. Hows that for a 22 year old!
And this year, on the second afternoon I came home and fell asleep on the couch while my little one was UNSUPERVISED! I didn't mean to fall asleep, and it was only for about 5 minutes, but I realized that I was very, very tired. The good news was that everyone I've told that story to (with kids) has said, oh yes, I remember that...it'll happen again. Ha. I think the first week of school is hard even when you only have to take care of yoruself, and I think it's impossible with little ones! Here's to hoping the year goes fast and there's lots of energy for all of us mommy/teachers!
I can't even IMAGINE having to teach Kindergartners while having toddler twins. Seriously. You AMAZE me!!!
Wow! The beginning of a new school year is always a ton of work and maximizing time with your kids when you get home has to be a lot to handle. You sound positive and confident in the transition this year, even with it being difficult to return to work and being away from your kids. I hope that even if you have a big class, I hope they are good one! Good luck!
Yep. Mine did that whole whimper thing in the middle of the night, and with me having 8,000 things to think about with school starting, I have a hard time going back to sleep also.
We've been back since Monday, and on Friday I went to sleep at 8:00! I don't know how you do kindergarten, because even beginning 2nd graders need CONSTANT monitoring at the beginning. I'll be glad when I've gotten my class all settled and into the routine. And WHOA, do I have a class this year! SO. Many. Projects. :)
Post a Comment