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It’s @science_a_thon week.
My day started with sleep deprivation, because the years after graduation often feature marriage and children. My second child is just starting to sleep large stretches, and I’m stoked I got 6.5 hours of sleep because it’s longer than the typical 5hrs.
My day started with sleep deprivation, because the years after graduation often feature marriage and children. My second child is just starting to sleep large stretches, and I’m stoked I got 6.5 hours of sleep because it’s longer than the typical 5hrs.
Next, my day featured risk assessment: taking the oldest to daycare. There have been two COVID cases there. Fortunately, they stayed open all summer, and they closed for cleaning after each report. But as working parents, it’s convenience vs risk of illness. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Next, risk assessment #2. It’s a work day. I can’t work at home with a needy newborn nearby. But our house is getting roach treatment at 1pm and my wife wants me home. Campus commute is too far. I go to Panera for wifi, but sit outside to reduce COVID threat. I did get a cookie.
As a lecturer with a newborn, working right now looks like a lot of grading. The current assignment involves reading and giving feedback (aka, SLOW). I go from 125 things to grade to 118 before lunch. I’m sad, but need to go. The cookie was for my wife, BTW.
At home, I make my lunch (PBJ and Dr Pepper). I set up my laptop and grade another paper. Roach guy comes and goes. I hold our newborn during the process. Asleep at last! Asleep at last!
As soon as roach guy leaves, newborn is back with his mama, I’m back on my computer to prepare for my 3pm class. Slides are done, but need more current examples. Takes too long to make them and post them to go anywhere away from the house before class.
So I move my stuff from my desk to my wife’s, since hers is in a bedroom and mine is in the living room. Writing this thread is my break. Also, it’s 4 minutes before class and nobody has arrived yet. I’m worried I’ve done something administratively wrong. TBD.
My screen is tilted so you can see my face. That also happens to be at a great angle to hide all the clothes on our bed. Guest bed = dresser for the entire house right now. It’s a "2 kids, featuring a newborn" problem. Oh, good, people are arriving.
After class, it’ll be a panic session of posting things for the students to be able to do more homework (meaning I’ll get more stuff to grade) before picking up the oldest. Then, it’s parental zone defense through bedtime, and hoping the youngest goes to sleep before 11:30pm.
Picking this back up, if you made it this far, congrats. You started this thread for some SCIENCE! and you wound up with a bunch of administration and family life. Turns out this is the real life of a scientist. Just you wait until the wonders I have for you tomorrow!!
PS: In class, we covered how to plot temperature and dewpoint upper air obs on a skew-T plot by hand. Gotta learn the hard way.
So there. Science.
So there. Science.
“Just you wait until the wonders I have for you tomorrow!!”
Well, it’s tomorrow. It’s 6:20am and I’m feeding the newborn (K2). I’m on 4.3hrs of sleep. Kids are not fair.
Well, it’s tomorrow. It’s 6:20am and I’m feeding the newborn (K2). I’m on 4.3hrs of sleep. Kids are not fair.
It all started so well. K2 was sleeping nicely, and I put him down at 10pm. I started grading the “slow-grade assignments” with this wonderful free time. I’m 6 away from being done. Maybe I’ll just power through it?!
Lol, no. I got three done in an hour and had trouble focusing my vision. In bed at 11.
K2 woke up at 11:50pm. Previous two nights? Slept until ~5am. But not tonight.
Does K2 want to be fed directly from mom? No. Asleep. But pick him up? Crying. Kids are not fair.
K2 woke up at 11:50pm. Previous two nights? Slept until ~5am. But not tonight.
Does K2 want to be fed directly from mom? No. Asleep. But pick him up? Crying. Kids are not fair.
Parents are a team. Moms do SO much work feeding and pumping all day. She’s gotta sleep sometime. Our arrangement is many jobs are mine overnight. Pick em up? Put em down? Bottle feed? Change diaper? If we’re on the graveyard shift these are my jobs. Hers is to feed and sleep.
So I feed K2 until the food coma arrives at 12:30am. Back to bed.
K2 wakes up at 1:15am. Gotta be kidding me. Gonna be one of THESE nights, huh? She feeds, then I do. Bed again at 2:20am.
Staying awake to hold a bottle past 2 am on ~1hr sleep is brutal.
K2 wakes up at 1:15am. Gotta be kidding me. Gonna be one of THESE nights, huh? She feeds, then I do. Bed again at 2:20am.
Staying awake to hold a bottle past 2 am on ~1hr sleep is brutal.
But, we’re asleep again. Victory! Sweet victory! I do a Rocky pose and go to bed.
K2 is up again at 6am.
Now, at 6:40, K2 is asleep again. Should I just stay up? Alarm goes off at 7am. Gotta get the oldest (K1) up, breakfast, changed, driven to daycare. K1 lunch is prepped by whoever is free. Mom likes to, but often all those jobs are mine. Do I grade now?
Now, at 6:40, K2 is asleep again. Should I just stay up? Alarm goes off at 7am. Gotta get the oldest (K1) up, breakfast, changed, driven to daycare. K1 lunch is prepped by whoever is free. Mom likes to, but often all those jobs are mine. Do I grade now?
Circling back, by my calculations, my wife is working on closer to 7 hours of sleep, and this is what victory looks like.
I couldn’t be happier. Honestly, she’ll still be tired because she could use 9hrs of sleep. Mothering is so hard.
I couldn’t be happier. Honestly, she’ll still be tired because she could use 9hrs of sleep. Mothering is so hard.
The kicker: Today is her work day. I’m taking care of K2 all day today.
That’s all for now. Just remember, it may be oversharing, but home life is real life for a scientist, too.
@science_a_thon #ScienceAThon
That’s all for now. Just remember, it may be oversharing, but home life is real life for a scientist, too.
@science_a_thon #ScienceAThon
