Karen left for a girls weekend in Vegas on Friday, which left me flying solo for the first time with the baby. Okay, first extended time as a solo parent. I’ve spent quite a few nights with girl on my own while Karen is out at “book club” or girls night or hairdo night, etc.
Since I’m pretty involved in things when I’m at home I wasn’t really that concerned about my ability to care for her. But I was concerned that she would “sense” that her mommy was not around. There have been several nights when Karen it out doing things that she seems to know that Karen isn’t in the house. Extra cranky, won’t sleep, etc. Fortunately, she didn’t exhibit any of those traits for the most part. There were a few awkward moments like walking into the bedroom and she’d twist all around trying to get a look at Mommy. In general though, there didn’t seem to be a lot of drama regarding the absence.
I made a bit of a mistake by having friends over on Friday night. They came over since I was stuck at home with the baby. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the company, but I’ve been under the weather for about a week and was pretty wiped out physically. I could have done with a 9:00 bed time, but my head didn’t hit the pillow until about 12:30 instead. And if all goes well girl wakes up between 7 and 7:30. At least she was generous and made it to the 7:30 mark.
My sister had to go to the mall and she asked if I wanted to tag along. It coincided with my 3-hour window between morning and afternoon naps, so she stopped by and we headed out. I had forgotten about the carousel at the mall (not a mall I go to frequently). After my purchased a new washing machine from Sears, we headed over to have a look at the carousel. She seemed pretty entertained by it as it spun around and around, so I bought a ticket and we hopped in line for the next ride.
I think she liked it better from the outside looking in. It’s a good thing we were the first ones on and had to wait for everybody to get situated. It gave her some time to settle in a bit and get used to the idea. And watching all the kids climbing up on the horses was a good distraction. Once we started moving she had that uncertain look. She seemed a bit overwhelmed by it, but started to enjoy it more toward the end. The bottom lip didn’t present itself, so she didn’t not like it.
Mall entertainment
She was a good eater for me all weekend. But then again, I think she’d be a good eater for anybody. She’s pretty much a little piggy most of the time. She seemed to like the pasta more than most of the stuff I put in front of her. I was quite happy she didn’t run her hands through her hair!
Nothing like red sauce and baby.
All and all I would classify the weekend as fairly successful. Extra thanks to my sister for helping out 
. That’s not to say that I would enjoy it on a regular basis though. Being a single parent is not something that seems all that appealing. It was nice knowing that Karen was coming back in just a couple of days. It’d be hard to know that there is only “on” time with very little reprieve from the constant care necessary. I’d like to believe that even my little contribution of daily (M-F) “bath, books and bed” is a welcome reprieve for Karen.
Karen was missed and we’re both very happy she has returned to make our lives more fulfilled.