To all Mothers and Fathers before me... I salute you!!!
Our son Caden is one month old today!
I'm here to tell ya, that I've spent a whole month trying to squeeze in a nap or two! Our little guy has no concept of what day or night is. All he knows is that lunch comes 12 times a day and that someone's head must roll if he has a gassy tummy!
I've always heard that it wasn't easy having a newborn in the house, but now I know just how hard it is and just how unprepared I was to take on such a challenge. I/we now have beautiful purple bags under our eyes, we have lost control of simple responsibilities. I am existing on less sleep then I had when I became drinking age and discovered partying most of the night and still crawling into work the next moring (I'm sure you know what I mean)!
Poor Lisa (Kibbie), is ...... or was, one of the sharpest people I have ever known. (Little humor for ya) Her brother has been staying with us and has been doing a great job at being a Uncle, and helping us out. Lisa had asked him to hold Caden, after she nursed him, while she took a moment of "aloneness" and took a shower. Lisa nurses Caden, took him to her brother, and only after handing him the baby discovers that her.... well ummm.... "Cadens lunch pail" was pulled out over her shirt and staring her brother in the eye.
A little example of how sleep deprived that poor girl is! I admit, since Caden survives on breast milk things are harder for Lisa. She does pump so I can feed him too, but regardless of who is the one feeding him, she still has to pump though out the night all the same. Fortunately, IF SHE CAN, there is a SLIGHT chance she MIGHT be able to catch a nap during the day while he is sleeping. That's if of course, my obsessive compulsive, house cleaning machine of a wife of mine will allow herself to take one!
I of course can't take naps, I need to be at my labor intensive job during the day. Thank God I don't have a desk job, because there would be no way I could manage to keep myself awake. When I get home I WANT to see my son, and in turn I try to drag my sorry butt around the house helping with whatever I can to make our lives more civilized. This is pretty difficult considering I would come home from work wiped out BEFORE we had a baby. I've never been a person to nap anyway. Theres too much to do and not enough hours in the day to waste a hour or two. If I'm tired enough to take a nap, I may as well go to bed for the night. Because naps don't recharge me, in fact I feel groggier, and I am a bear when I wake up from them.
Hmmmm.... Now what the heck did I start posting about anyway????
Oh yeah, I just wanted to say that I now have the utmost respect for parents. Especially single mothers! Or parents with multiples!
And Eric?????? You mentioned a while ago that you and your DW are ttc? LOL Don't get me wrong it's awesome. I'm looking down at my son right now, he's the definition of what a angel should look like (a sleeping one that is). I've discovered he likes the car seat, and I can rock it with my toe while I'm making this post.
Anyhow Eric Aimee, I just wanted to say..... TRAIN!!! You must train now!!! Learn how to spontanious nap!!! Throw out your alarm clock, you will no longer need it. Learn how to hold a bottle with your chin tying your shoes. Buy a Diaper Geni! Then learn the art of packing just one more diaper into it so the bottom becomes distorted and rocks. Practice driving, and reaching waaaaaay behind you and inserting a pacifier into the mouth of a angry moving target. Remember, while changing a diaper, NEVER (if you have a son), I mean NEVER look down the barrel of a newborn penis while reaching for something on the floor. It will always be aimed directly between your eyes, and IS dangerous! And that cool MAME machine your building in your basement? Finish it. Because when your baby is born, you will no longer be interested in it, or anything else for that matter!
I hope I didn't make parenthood unappealing to you. I plan on doing it again as soon as it is heathy for us. It is awesome!!! Those calms between the storms are far better than could be explained! I've spent this post sniveling, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Well that about wraps up one of my few posts for the month, hope I have the chance to rub elbows with ya'all a few more times before Caden turns 18!
lol
Love ya guys!
Lee
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Hope you don't mind this old gal posting in this section! I applaud you for really "telling it like it is" about parenthood and sleep deprivation! I wish that someone had warned me about that (not that it would have stopped me from having my one and only little blessing!) My son is now 17 years old and to this day whenever I see a little baby it makes me feel exhausted! I had a nickname for my little boy..."The boy who never slept!"It was quite a test for DH and I. But, we are still together years later!
Of course, I feel delight, too when I see the little ones...they are so darn cute!
Do hang in there...the sleep thing will get easier, but it may take a year or two.
Keep a super positive attitude. We all struggle with newborns. I am sure you and Kibbie are wonderful parents.
Kathryn
__________________ I LOVE BICYCLING!
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Yep, it is VERY tough in those first few weeks. Hang in there...IT DOES GET EASIER !!! It is no lie to say that having/raising children is the hardest job in the world. I was luckier than others and didn't suffer so much from sleep deprivation, only had a few days where I really needed to pull out the match sticks and pop them in the eyelids .
Sounds like you are both doing a great job. Team work is the key and you now have a new mantra, repeat after me: "This will not last forever, this will not last forever".
Take Care
Wishing you some ZZZZZZZZ's
Yeah...it's funny how much little sleep you can actually survive on, when you have to, huh ??!?! But don't worry, it does get a little easier day by day, week by week....he'll be sleeping through the night before you know it.
Of course Hannah will be a year old in 12 days, and I can't remember the last time that I wasn't tired !!! I think it was the week before she was born (ha-ha) !! But it's worth every minute of it, as I'm sure you've already found out. It's funny how they can change our lives so much, without us even realizing that it's happening. I can't even remember what life was like before Hannah...it just seems like she's always been with us & that's the way that it should be.
So, just hang in there...either it gets better or maybe we just get used to it more, I'm not sure which...LOL !!!
__________________ TxLady's DH & Hannah's Daddy
"That which does not kill us, only makes us stronger."
-Nietzsche
"It's not what lies behind us or before us that matters, but what lies within us."
-Mark Twain
aaaah that reminded me of one desperate night when our first born was tiny .... she was in her rocking chair next to the bed, DH was "sleeping" with one leg sticking out of the covers resting on the edge of the chair, and every time she skworcked he would jerk awake, which would jerk his leg, which would bounce the chair, which would make her go quiet! Try it! lol.
That is such a lovely post, Lee. Yes, I remembering suffering from shock too when I had my first newborn! The books said they would breastfeed every 2 hours and sleep through the night after 3 months. Mine fed every hour/half hour and is still waking up in the middle of the night at 3 1/2 yo! ( not to feed but to tell me to change his messy wet diaper, phooey!)
i bet all of us go thru stages where we wonder if sleep will ever return lee, but its ok, i assure you it DOES return.
teja was sleeping happily thru the night not long after her 1 month, so hopefully caden will start doing the 11-6 or at least 12-6 thing so that you and lisa can reexplore that wonderful thing called hyper-rem sleep
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Me::Mike/24/New Zealander
Wife::Candice/21/Canadian
Bubs::Teja/born 9/Feb/03/ Halfbreed (teehee)
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You are too funny. I PROMISE it gets easier. Not easy, but easier.
My DH woke up the morning after bringing our 1st born home, and said "I thought babies were suppose to be up all night, he sleep through!" I had been up with the baby 4 times! We laugh about it now.
We laugh about a lot of things now, and being a team, working through those first months really brought us together as a couple.
My babies are 10 & 12 years old now. I am STILL tired all the time. Perhaps when they leave for college I can snag that nap......
Things ARE getting a whole lot better these days. Caden was so colicky. He would have huge gas ALL the time. We would feel so bad because we could hear so much of it moving around inside him, and occasionally he would let some out in a Beeeeeeg way. I'm amazed how such a little guy could break wind like he would. He could put a horse to shame!
I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but I think we found the cure. We stopped using Playtex nursers. The newer ones with the clear nipples. We discovered that air was slipping in through the corners of his mouth. We switched to the Playtex Vent air style because the smaller nipple seemed to be a better fit for him.
He seems a lot happier more often now. Beats the heck out of him writhing in complete agony and screaming himself hoarse.
Last night he slept for 5 hours straight for the first time. I feel like a million bucks right now!!! Haven't had that much sleep in one whack for awhile.
One more thing I wasn't prepared for when we had him. I had no idea how much I could possibly love that little guy.
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Yeah, it's funny...you always know that you're going to love your child, no matter what...but until they actually get here & you hold them in your arms & stare into their tiny little innocent faces, you never realize just how much love your heart can hold.
I never thought I could love someone as much as I love my DW.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling that much emotion for one person. I didn't think my heart could hold any more love than it already did, but even before Hannah was born, I knew that there was enough space in my heart for her, too. Now that she's a little over a year old, and I'm watching her grow up & develop her own little personality, and discover all these new things every day...it's just amazing how much love I have for her, as well. It's like the amount of love my heart could hold has doubled !!
Love is a truly amazing thing. I'm lucky enough to be married to the woman of my dreams, the love of my life, & my best friend - all in one....then when you add to that having an absolutely beautiful, sweet baby girl whom you just adore, well...it makes me feel truly blessed. Parenthood isn't easy...but I've found that the good times far outweigh the tough times. It just takes one sweet look or one big hug or kiss, and you realize that everything that you've gone through to get to this point in your life, has been worth it.
Glad to hear that he's doing better with the cholic thing, and that you're all getting a little more sleep now !!!
__________________ TxLady's DH & Hannah's Daddy
"That which does not kill us, only makes us stronger."
-Nietzsche
"It's not what lies behind us or before us that matters, but what lies within us."
-Mark Twain
Gawd my whole life has changed. Your post nearly made me all teary and sniffy and stuff. Nother example is.... I was totally thrilled when I found my wife a $270 breastpump on E-bay for $81. I couldn't wait for it to arrive!
Yeesh, and to think a bit more than a decade ago I was a "Gung-Ho" Airborne heartless (and reckless) paratrooper.
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I was sitting here reading all of the posts and it brought tears to my eyes.... you are all absolutely wonderful and I love to read posts like this where you complain about the no sleep thing and while you don't love it, at the same time you do because its something that has to do with that tiny little miracle you helped to create. Good Luck Lucky and congrats once again!
To all Mothers and Fathers before me... I salute you!!! 
!!! It is no lie to say that having/raising children is the hardest job in the world. I was luckier than others and didn't suffer so much from sleep deprivation, only had a few days where I really needed to pull out the match sticks and pop them in the eyelids 
.
