fussy bino

Cute as D. is, and as much love as I have for him, I'm starting to feel pretty anxious about being left alone with him-- for an entire week(!) starting this Saturday. He's been fussy-- a lot-- and it can be pretty overwhelming, particularly when I'm running on not too much sleep as it is. He seems to calm down a bit with bouncing. P. is very good at it, but it's quite hard on the arms, and I can't keep it up for very long. There have been moments that my trying to calm him has brought me to tears, and I'm so grateful that P. has been here to provide some relief. Not sure how things are going to go once he's gone... it's not like I've met anyone else in this area I can rely on.

I did find a "mom's meetup group" online the other day, and I'm hoping to go to my first event next week when P. is away. But even taking D. in the car by myself is a bit stressful. Thus far, there have always been three of us when D. is riding along, and one of us always sits in the back seat with D. in order to give a pacifier or bottle in case D. starts screaming. I'm very shy around people I don't know (heck, I'm shy around people I do know, too), but I think that hanging out with some other moms could do wonders for my spirits.

How can anyone do this parenting thing alone?