How a piece of cloth has saved my sanity (or most of it, anyways)

Being a trucker's wife (or girlfriend) and having kids together is something akin to being a single parent. Day in and day out, you are the only one available to kiss booboos, change diapers, shop for groceries, clean house, pay the bills and all of the other tasks that come with maintaining a household. When you're sick with the flu, the kids don't get put on hold. There's no one else to tag out with and take a break from everything and it can be incredibly overwhelming. B left for orientation not long before Devlin was born, so for the past couple weeks I have been dealing with the overwhelming hurricane of postpartum hormones AND a rambunctious two-year-old on my own. Boogie has been even more difficult to manage because he has been acting out because he doesn't understand why or where his daddy has gone. Grocery shopping is a nightmare. I often dread leaving the house because even the smallest trip becomes a chore. Devlin is the most mellow baby except if I try to put him down in his swing or pack n play. He will cry until I pick him up. He will cry forever. Or it feels that way at least.

It seems impossible to get things done with a newborn who doesn't want to be put down. But one thing has saved my sanity: my ring sling. At this point I could just about profess my undying love to that piece of cloth. It started its life as a paprika BBslen woven wrap and its previous owner had it converted to a ring sling. I later bought it and used it some with Boogie, who was an older baby at that time. I have used it every single day with Devlin since we came home. Wearing Devlin frees up my hands to wash dishes, do laundry, pick up the house, walk the dog... anything. It saves me from having to lug the carseat into the grocery store and take up most of the basket. But most of all, it keeps my baby close where he is warm and content to sleep. As the days grow cooler I will break out the Sleepy Wrap and when Devlin gets bigger we will try the Ergo. Boogie still enjoys being worn in the Ergo from time to time.

Without some kind of productivity in my day, I start getting anxious. Whether it's planning my trucker's time schedule for the day, finding him a truck stop, doing the dishes or vacuuming, I need some kind of progress in my day. This kind of forward motion keeps me from dwelling on the fact that B isn't here and feeling like I'm "stuck". Instead, I keep my eyes on the horizon and know that each passing day is one day closer to him coming home. With as needy as my newborn is right now, wearing him grants me more freedom. When Boogie was born, I started wearing him because I enjoyed it. Now with two kids, babywearing is simply the most practical solution. And it's a solution I love!

 Grocery shopping today with a toddler in the basket, a newborn in the sling and my trucker in my ear. That's about as easy as it gets while B is OTR.