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Parenting: Doing It Alone With a Husband

A Day in the Life

By Alexandra PowersPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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As a mom we take on a lot in one day. We feel like we're doing it all and sometimes we feel like we're doing it alone even with a partner. I live 300 miles away from my husband while taking care of our toddler. He doesn't see what I do on a day to day basis but let me tell you, it's a lot, while my husband works a 7-4 and gets to relax once his work day is done. He gets to shut it off at the end of the day, only worrying about himself. I on the other hand can't recall the last time I ate. I'm not knocking what my husband does, the physical labor he does every day I'm sure is exhausting but nothing compares to the 24 hour a day job of being a mother.

Let me break down a single day in life a parenting alone. If I got sleep the night before, I wake up to the delightful screams of my toddler at around 7 am. At least 3 times a week, I walk in to her room where my daughter has taken off her diaper and decided to play finger paints with her own poop (lovely)! After a 30 second meltdown, I run a bath and pray that she didn't eat any, also cursing myself for not putting her in sleep pants (again) because she was hot. Once the little poop monster is clean, I set her up in her playpen while I clean her crib, wash her sheets, and air out the room. Now that my early morning routine is done being hijacked, I start breakfast. While normally this would be a mundane task for someone with no child, for a mom it's a whole event. Choosing a breakfast and cooking that breakfast while the now hangry toddler throws a tantrum that food hasn't been produced for her yet is only a task you can complete with copious amounts of caffeine. A normal 15 minute morning routine has turned into another hour gone. After she's eaten, it's all about entertainment. (Notice, no food has been eaten by me yet.) Now when I became a mom, I was not prepared for also becoming a clown, comedian, dancer, singer, jungle gym and punching bag. But I am all those things for her. The hours between breakfast and lunch are filled with a lot of play time, music, singing, dancing and snacks! So many snacks!

Lunch is a similar affair to breakfast, only now we are dealing with a tired hangry toddler. Tears are cried, fists are thrown, sometimes blood is spilled. Mine, from the right hook she threw at my mouth. Once lunchtime is over, and she hasn't caught a second wind, it's time for the holy grail that is NAP TIME! Usually its 90 minutes of uninterrupted silence in our home. But it's not quiet time for me. No. I have work that needs to be done in the house, dishes to be clean, laundry to be done, dogs who need attention, schoolwork that need to be attended to, but I am able to get some done without another tiny human attached to me. Food hasn't crossed my mind yet, only coffee because really that's the true MVP of the household.

It's around 2 PM and my mini me has woken up. These hours before dinner are the most crucial to make sure she sleeps at night. It's filled with either playdates, park time, car time, family visits, and again lots of snacks! Dinner time is a different affair depending on the night. A night where we are home for dinner, is fairly simple. Same routine around the other meals of the day. It's after dinner that seems all hell breaks loose. Now I do this all by myself, no one is here but me. So what normally could take an hour or so with two people takes double that with one person. Because exhaustion has set in, night time bath routine is done together. We bathe together, and get ready for bed together, even though sleep is a long way off. Now, I've created a mommy's girl monster and most of the time she wants to be with me close to bedtime. We read books, we cuddle up to her favorite movies, we play on the bed, we do anything and everything to wear her out before bed. Now once she's fallen asleep either in my bed or in my arms, I transfer her to her crib.

Now here is where most people would take the opportunity to sleep, but doing it all by yourself, things still need to get done in the house. More dishes from dinner, more laundry for the week, bathroom clean up, homework that can't be put off any longer, and probably a thousand other things that need to be done including remembering I've eaten nothing for the day and need to shovel something into my mouth before my stomach rebels. Now once I've felt that I can comfortably be done for the night, it's time for one last diaper change before I'm down for the night. Now as any parent knows, a full night's sleep from a toddler is sometimes asking for a miracle. So now that I'm finally down for the night with approximately six hours before I need to be up to do it all over again, deep sleep never comes, because I need to be prepared for her waking up at any hour. So that is a day in the life of single mom with a husband.

I wouldn't change any of it for the world. But you know, I would love a huge glass of wine. Cheers, parents!

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About the Creator

Alexandra Powers

Woman. Mom. Mermaid. Writer.

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