My transition has been fairly smooth. I've been busy enough at work that the days go by quickly and enjoyably, but not so busy that I have to constantly work late or bring work home. The hardest thing for me about balancing work and family has been fatigue. I've always operated on much less sleep than D, but lately that hasn't been the case. And now when I'm tired, I feel sick. Like headaches, nausea, weary sick. Fortunately, that isn't a constant, but just something I've experienced maybe a handful of times since returning to work. I'm certain we're doing it to ourselves to a certain extent because we're not willing to completely give up our social lives. That means that we don't have many opportunities to catch up on lost sleep. So, if like last night, one of the twinfants wakes up crying at 3, 3:30, 5, and 5:30, I wake up and don't get my full night of carefully calibrated sleep. Since I don't have as many opportunities to make up that deficit, I eventually end up hitting the wall.
Each time I go to the endocrinologist (who is trying to find the right dosage of thyroid for my hypothyroidism), I always get asked if I'm tired. HA! I always tell them, Yes, I have infants twins. It sounds like it could be that the fatigue is partially hormonal, too. They keep increasing my dosage and my numbers continue to be lower than the normal range.
The one thing we have given up that has helped with the balance is exercise. Perhaps another culprit in the fatigue... We keep talking about how to work exercise into our schedule, but there just aren't enough hours in the day.
I have to say that my sanity in this balancing act is LARGELY due to D, the nanny, my co-workers, and our amazing support network. My family, friends, and the nanny have stepped up when I needed help to focus on work, and my co-workers have been very flexible and helpful when family responsibilities call. D gets a special shout out for supporting me in a way that many, if not most, women only dream about.
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