I start with the positive, saying that Raphaela remains a happy social child despite not having slept properly since Sunday morning, Jerusalem time. We braved the New England rain to go to shul today, just to get out of the house, and she loved all the attention she received when we walked into the room. ("Is this the baby? Good for you..." etc) Not having any responsibility tonight regarding a second seder, I bathed Raphaela at the regular time, read her book and put her to bed earlier than her usual (5 pm). Then I crawled into bed myself, and for the first time in three days got more than two hours of sleep at a time.
And for the first time in three days my milk came in, so I can finally feed my child in the manner to which she has become accustomed.
That's the good news. Unfortunately, I arrived with a series of expectations of free on the spot babysitting, and at this point, the stewardesses on the plane have spent more quality time with my daughter than her grandparents. I know that we arrived right before Pessach, and I know that everyone is tired for their own reasons, but the several times I have asked for help when I was literally collapsing I have been told that they too need to nap or have some other job that seems to take precedence. (My brother watched her for about an hour this morning, so I could attempt a nap, at least that.)
I can only be disappointed if I have expectations, and so I must rid myself of the idea very quickly. This morning I put Raphaela into her car seat and took her with me into the bathroom while I showered and dressed. I can be a single parent without assistance in Jerusalem too.
1 comment:
Now that the stressful part of pesach is over, your parents can relax and play with RR and watch her. One perk of being at your parents is that you can put her to bed and then go out to see friends or go to a movie or a restaurant. It is unsrealistic to expect that you will have "on the spot babysitting" erev Pesach. Don't put them down b/c they are not doing for you what you expect them to when you expect them to. Perhaps your parents have been up until 1AM every night for the last week prepping for pesach and the sedarim and really are tired. [your parents are not youngsters and all that prepping is exhausting and perhaps they are having health issues you do not know about-my mom is suffering from high bp and cannot do things with my kids like she used to]. Maybe they do need to do something else since they observe more of yom tov than you (at 6:00PM erev pesach and suddenly ran to the supermarket b/c I forgot to buy parsely) It will ruin your trip and make you feel negative instead of positive that you are building your daughter's relationship with her grandparents.
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