Well, since we're journaling on here, I'm just going to be honest: Nathan, you are a hard baby. You're adorable and I want to nibble you up, but you are making your mama tired.
Note, I didn't say depressed. You have no idea how grateful I am that I'm only tired.
He's what my mother-in-law would say is "my Becky" (we love you Becky Bailey!). His sleep is pretty awful. While Jack and Micah were sleeping in at least 5 hour chunks by now, Nathan is a 2-3 hour eater. Sometimes just one hour. Sometimes he just wants to party. One would think this means he sleeps during the day. Nope. About every other day he will not nap, period. Yesterday he was awake from 9am to 8pm--only content if I was holding him. I'm his pacifier. Gerber Nuks just don't live up to his standards (I'm rather flattered in a strange way...please don't analyze that). The days that he does nap, it's usually like this:
If that picture doesn't paint a thousand words, I'll spell it out: He only sleeps when we're on the go.
The silver lining is that the fact he's preventing me from doing all the things I really, really want to do right now--like clean my house, re-learn how to thread my sewing machine, bake some seasonal goodies, play with Micah, plan my 60th birthday trip to Paris (long story...), put my maternity clothes in storage, buy a house, re-frame some pictures, go visit my mia maids, oh and take a nap since I've only had one in three weeks--means that I feel well enough to do those things!
Trials teach us that we can do hard things. I feel really dumb calling it a trial. I mean, he's healthy, beautiful, and nurses like a champ. But I'm one who tends to panic if I don't get 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Heavenly Father is teaching me that there's no need to panic, because he really can make up the difference.
And he's actually sleeping right now. Instead of cleaning my house I'm writing down my feelings. Priorities, priorities...
And here's the neglected one:
3 comments:
I say go with brutal honesty. It's not like people expect you to not be exhausted with a newborn and that way no one else will be gritting their teeth with envy when you say you're fine and they're thinking, "I was never fine this soon after birth!"
Does he like sleeping in a swing? I was just thinking maybe the motion would make him pass out or something. Best of luck to you. I'm a little terrified to join you on the newborn journey in a few months.
I've been there...I'm still there. Lincoln is almost 8 months and is finally starting to make some progress in the night sleep department. He has been hands down my hardest baby. The only thing that helped with sleeping (as in going to sleep - not sleeping in large chunks), was swaddling. I swaddled him until he was 6 months old. The I put him in a sleep sack. He still sleeps in a sack. Be honest with those you can be honest with (the ones who care!) and just smile a glazed eyed smile to the rest. :) Women vent or explode.
Micah isn't "neglected".
There is a time for everything. It won't be too much longer and you will get sleep. We are coming in December and I will love to cuddle all your boys so you can get naps (but you will have had them before then).
Love ya!
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