Like many new moms, Elizabeth Vargas didn't get much rest during her maternity leave. She was much to busy taking care of newborn Samuel Wyatt and 3 year old Zachary. "That mantra 'sleep when the baby sleeps', doesn't work when you have a three year old," says Vargas, 44. "I'm still struggling to find enough time to give Zachary all the TLC he deserves when I'm up around the clock nursing the baby."
Zachary has had some difficulty adjusting to his little brother but "he talks all the time about the things he's going to teach him – how to ride a bike and build blocks," she says. "My husband (Grammy-winning singer Marc Cohn, 47) and I have to continually remind Zachary that it takes a long time for a baby to be able to do anything fun. They're kind of blob like for awhile."
Samuel has needed a little more attention than expected she says, "Samuel has a very sensitive tummy and a little bit of colic," says Vargas. "I know they outgrow it, but there's nothing more heartbreaking than watching your newborn cry and scream in pain."
Zargas herself is suffering from new mom sleep deprevation, "I haven't slept more than 90 minutes at a time in a month – I'm practically hallucinating," says Vargas.
She's also eager to get back into her pre-baby clothes, "Even though (my) body still isn't back to normal – and shouldn't be if you're nursing to be honest – I feel much more like myself. I'm looking forward to being able to squeeze back into all my old clothes at some point."
She's still on maternity leave although that hasn't stopped her from working during her leave and her very first story is something she knows alot about. "We have decided to address the issue of whether or not working mothers can have it all," she says. "Obviously, I'm exhibit A for: you can't. At least, not if "all" is defined as anchoring World News Tonight."
"Anchoring World News Tonight is a tremendously demanding job and there is a very little flexibility," says Vargas. "In order to do that job, you're talking 13-15 hours days, five days a week, sometimes seven days."
She worked with the demanding schedule for over a year, but realized that she did not want to try it with a newborn. "Zachary paid a price for that. He struggled with my absence," she says of her toddler. "When your child cries because you have to leave or you're not home, it's hard to ask him to understand that mommy's career is more important."
She claims that she hasn't given up the dream of an anchor job, it's just been put on hold for a while. "Samuel and Zachary will get older and I fully intend to work as hard as I can to get another opportunity to anchor a daily broadcast," she says. "I hope I get that chance. I think I proved myself – I just couldn't do it now."
Source: PEOPLE
No comments:
Post a Comment