It has been two weeks now since I last posted. Where has the time gone? Not too much has happened, as we do a lot of nothing around here. But as always, I've had some bad days and good days.
I've found that Riley does much better when he visits with family and friends. He must get bored of Jamaal and I. We might not be giving him as much attention as he desires, I suppose. Though I feel that I'm constantly talking with/holding/bouncing/flirting with little Mr. Riley. Perhaps he thinks that I have to love him, since I'm his mother, and wants to get attention from somewhere else too. Whatever the reason, on days that we get out of the house, he tends to fuss less.
The other day, when Riley was crying for some unknown reason, I began crying too. Why won't my baby just be happy? Why does he cry so much? I know that babies cry, but some days he is inconsolable. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to his crying. Which just makes me feel helpless, and makes me wonder what I am doing wrong. During one of the sleepless nights, I desperately searched the Internet for some magic fix to help him get to sleep. Of course I found none, but I did read something along the lines of: if what you are doing is making you feel desperate, or causing lots of stress, you need to make a change to find something that does work for you. There isn't one right way to skin a cat, as they say. So, I find myself picking and choosing bits and pieces from different parenting styles.
About a week ago, during our moments of desperation, we put him in the swing and he cried it out until he fell asleep. Each night, it didn't take nearly as long for him to fall asleep, but we realized we needed to be able to get him to sleep without motion, since he will eventually not be able to go into the swing anymore. So I tried just laying him down in his own bed. We had a couple (two) nights in a row where he slept decently. By that I mean he slept in his own bed for 2.5-3 hour sessions. I felt like I got a lot more sleep, because I was able to sleep in positions that are comfortable to me. When he is next to me, I find myself in awkward positions, and never fully relax while I sleep. Amazingly enough, each time I layed him down, (after he nursed to sleep) he stayed asleep. I thought it was a miracle. I bragged about it to my parents, and the next night after I set him down, he woke up after a few minutes. I checked for a burp, checked his pants, nothing.
So, we've begun along the cry-it-out pathway, which has turned into a huge power struggle between two adults and their little offspring. Let me tell you, he is a stubborn one. (Unfortunately I cannot deny that he got this from me.) I haven't really read any books on the cry-it-out method, so we are kind of winging it. He is still right next to our bed, so we don't sleep at all while he cries. The night before last, after he cried for 45 minutes with no signs of stopping (we talked to him and comforted him a bit off and on), I said screw it, and brought him into bed with us. He then nursed and slept next to me for 5.5 hours.
Last night, same story. After crying and not acting like he would ever stop, I picked him up and put him in the swing, (which we still have in our room) and turned the music on its loudest setting. He stopped crying immediately. He didn't go to sleep immediately, but he was quiet and eventually fell asleep. I don't know when he fell asleep, because I woke up 6 hours later. I still get disoriented after long periods of sleep. I wake in sort of a panic. This morning was no different, I sat up, looked in his crib to find it empty, then remembered I had put him in the swing.
We are, as I said before, winging it right now. I'm not sure what I will do tonight. I end up doing what works that night. Unfortunately, we are quickly approaching the day when I return to work, so I have to find something that works for us. As it is he doesn't like to go to bed until 2300 or later, and I will have to get up around 0430 to feed him one last time and get ready for work. 4-5 hours will not cut it for me, especially when he often wakes every 2-3 hours to feed. I'm extremely nervous to go back.
I'm considering cutting back my hours even more, because I'm not sure I will like being away from him too much. The first schedule I'll go back to is a partial schedule, and if after a week I realize it is too much time away, I will cut down my hours. We have been making it on decreased pay, but I'll have to make sure that we could continue to make it on decreased pay. Oh how I wish I didn't have to work...
The little booger has woken up, so I have to go.
Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Sleepless in Seattle
Another week has flown by already! I have wanted to post several times this week, but I'm usually nursing someone when I think about posting. The way we sit, I have one arm free, and part of my other one, which makes reaching for the keyboard on my laptop difficult. I refuse to hunt and peck with one hand to write a post. That would just take way too long. Anyway, enough of the excuses. If I don't hurry up, someone will wake up and I will be right back at that place, with one arm free. ;)
This week has been exhausting. Riley has been having some rough nights. Last night he screamed/cried/fussed pretty much nonstop from 2200 to 0300. I tried everything. Nursing him worked for a while, but then he would begin to fight that, which usually means he needs a burp. So I would burp him, and he would then start crying again. So I would try nursing him, which he sometimes would be amenable to, and sometimes not. I tried rocking, and walking, and bouncing and swinging, and all of these things worked some of the time, but only for a short time. I changed his diaper and outfit, and he was extremely calm lying on the changing table on his pack and play. But of course he couldn't stay on there forever. It was really upsetting to have to pick him up, because that only upset him further.
I was really frustrated, until finally he could no longer fight anymore, and nursed himself to sleep.
I think the trigger last night was me attempting to put him down in his pack and play. Because up until that moment he was calm. I nursed him to sleep, and tried to set him down, but he quickly woke up. I didn't let him get too crazy, because he is way easier to put back to sleep if you get to him right as he wakes, but this time he was having none of it, and we started the downward spiral. I really hope this was not the case, and he just had an upset tummy or something, because I do not want him making a habit of it.
I'm beginning to notice, however, that Riley is a bit demanding. I call him bipolar, because he will smile at me, and in that same breath could start crying. But when he does smile at me, it about melts my heart.
And guess who is awake again...
This week has been exhausting. Riley has been having some rough nights. Last night he screamed/cried/fussed pretty much nonstop from 2200 to 0300. I tried everything. Nursing him worked for a while, but then he would begin to fight that, which usually means he needs a burp. So I would burp him, and he would then start crying again. So I would try nursing him, which he sometimes would be amenable to, and sometimes not. I tried rocking, and walking, and bouncing and swinging, and all of these things worked some of the time, but only for a short time. I changed his diaper and outfit, and he was extremely calm lying on the changing table on his pack and play. But of course he couldn't stay on there forever. It was really upsetting to have to pick him up, because that only upset him further.
I was really frustrated, until finally he could no longer fight anymore, and nursed himself to sleep.
I think the trigger last night was me attempting to put him down in his pack and play. Because up until that moment he was calm. I nursed him to sleep, and tried to set him down, but he quickly woke up. I didn't let him get too crazy, because he is way easier to put back to sleep if you get to him right as he wakes, but this time he was having none of it, and we started the downward spiral. I really hope this was not the case, and he just had an upset tummy or something, because I do not want him making a habit of it.
I'm beginning to notice, however, that Riley is a bit demanding. I call him bipolar, because he will smile at me, and in that same breath could start crying. But when he does smile at me, it about melts my heart.
And guess who is awake again...
Monday, January 24, 2011
Who's in charge here anyway?
We all know the answer to that question. Mr. Riley is in charge. I still have control over the husband, house and dogs, but still sometimes lose control of those three as well. Mr. Riley keeps up appearances and makes me think I'm in charge: I'm bigger, I speak English fluently, I am mobile, and I contain and provide his precious food source. But don't let that little cute face fool you. He is really the one calling all the shots.
Remember a few nights back when we tried co-sleeping? The little booger slept really well, just couldn't nurse lying down very well, and kept trying to sleep on his stomach which scared me half to death. So we went back to using the bassinet. Riley objects. Every time I set him down there to sleep, he wakes up after 20-30 minutes and starts crying uncontrollably. He will settle once picked up and nurses for a short period before falling asleep again. If I set him back down, the cycle continues. BUT if I set him next to me in bed, he'll sleep for 2-3-4 hours in one stretch. I don't blame him, I am pretty awesome to sleep next to, but goodness!
He won the fight last night. I warned Jamaal: If he doesn't sleep in his bassinet for longer than an hour, I'll bring him into bed with us. That way, he wouldn't be too shocked if he glanced over to find his son snoring soundly between us. I'm not sure how to get him to sleep in his bassinet. The next plan is to try taking out the "newborn napper" and put him in the main part of his Pack n' Play, maybe he is just too cramped in the "newborn napper." (The "newborn napper" is the cream colored bassinet shown in the picture; it comes out, and there is a "bassinet" below it which is just a raised up bottom, so that you don't have to reach all the way to the bottom of the play pen to lay your newborn down. It is only suitable for babies that don't stand yet.)
I have put him down to sleep today in the "newborn napper" and he has lasted as long as 1.5 hours. So it could be that his days and nights are switched, so he sleeps a bit better during the day. Therefore at night he has to be really comfortable in order to sleep for longer periods of time. Mommy and daddy's bed is just about as comfy as you can possibly get.
Jamaal offered to move his swing into the bedroom, since the little guy sleeps well in there. I might end up accepting that offer. Though eventually he will have to be able to sleep in his "bed," now I just have to convince the boss that this is the case. ;)
(The photo of Mr. Riley was taken with my phone, that is why the quality isn't the greatest. But I caught him making a pretty funny face, huh?)
Friday, January 21, 2011
A family bed
I knew this would happen: I break my streak then slack off on posting. It's not that I haven't thought about posting though. It seems when I finally think about it, and finally sit and relax, Riley wakes up and wants to eat, or it is simply time for me to go to bed. Right now Riley is waking up, and I am pretty tired so I think I should go to bed. I've been bad lately and have been going to bed after 2300. I put Riley down to sleep usually around 2100 or whenever his feeding is around that time, and by the time I lay down myself, it is usually time for him to feed again. The past two nights have been good as far as sleep goes. Tuesday night he went 2-3 hours between each night feeding, and I think even one time went 4 hours. I ended up with 6.5 hours of sleep myself. And when that is compared with some of the other nights where I got 3-4 hours, it was pretty good. I woke up soooo refreshed. Jamaal had Wednesday off, so I felt less guilty for getting nothing done. Riley spent most of the morning making up for lost time and nursed most of the morning. In the afternoon, I felt sleepy, so I went to lay down and nursed him in bed. It was one of the best naps ever, cuddling with my little bug. I think I slept for an hour.
Okay, I'm doing it again: writing a boring, long post. Even all of the nothing I've been up to lately seems important enough to share with the world. Let me get to the point.
During Riley's morning feeds I read the chapter in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding on sleep. They are huge supporters of "the family bed" and have pretty convincing arguments in support of co-sleeping. Co-sleeping promotes breastfeeding, and studies have shown that mothers that co-sleep get more sleep than those that don't. After reading about it, I thought it was worth at least trying it out. I'm still torn. I don't know how it will work when I go back to work. I might work one night shift a week, so that I don't have to be gone during the day as much. What would that do to him? Would he have a hard time getting to sleep without mama to cuddle with? Also, Jamaal would probably be uncomfortable with having him in the bed with him only, so the poor little guy would be put in his crib alone. How confusing for a little man! I'm hoping that he will be able to transition okay.
Anyway, he slept next to me last night. It was nice to be able to just nurse and sleep and nurse and sleep. The only problem I have is I don't want to turn my back to him, but I don't necessarily like to sleep on my left side all night either.
I started this post last night...
Last night, again, he slept next to me. It was nice for me, but rough on Riley. He has a hard time nursing while laying down. He can't seem to latch correctly when laying down. He also is more uncomfortable after, and gets fussy afterwards. Usually it is because he needs to burp some more. Jamaal doesn't like him sleeping with us. He feels like he doesn't sleep as well. Even though Riley sleeps better and doesn't wake up fully, (and therefore nurses for shorter periods and goes back to sleep easier) I understand what he means. I'm sleeping lighter to make sure he is safe in the bed with us.
I'm concluding that at this time the family bed will not work for us. Not because of things I've mentioned above, but because of this: I find him rolling onto his stomach nearly every time I wake to nurse or check on him. Even if I push him onto his back after nursing, he will still end up on his side or stomach. This is too scary for me he could fall prone to SIDS or could suffocate. Either way, I couldn't live with myself if that happened in bed with us. I'm expecting a rough night tonight, as he probably will miss being so close to me, but I'll deal with it as it happens. This morning we slept from 0745 until 1130! It was amazing!
I think we will sleep together for naps or as needed when he is a little older, but for now, the bassinet next to my bed will have to do.
Okay, I'm doing it again: writing a boring, long post. Even all of the nothing I've been up to lately seems important enough to share with the world. Let me get to the point.
During Riley's morning feeds I read the chapter in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding on sleep. They are huge supporters of "the family bed" and have pretty convincing arguments in support of co-sleeping. Co-sleeping promotes breastfeeding, and studies have shown that mothers that co-sleep get more sleep than those that don't. After reading about it, I thought it was worth at least trying it out. I'm still torn. I don't know how it will work when I go back to work. I might work one night shift a week, so that I don't have to be gone during the day as much. What would that do to him? Would he have a hard time getting to sleep without mama to cuddle with? Also, Jamaal would probably be uncomfortable with having him in the bed with him only, so the poor little guy would be put in his crib alone. How confusing for a little man! I'm hoping that he will be able to transition okay.
Anyway, he slept next to me last night. It was nice to be able to just nurse and sleep and nurse and sleep. The only problem I have is I don't want to turn my back to him, but I don't necessarily like to sleep on my left side all night either.
I started this post last night...
Last night, again, he slept next to me. It was nice for me, but rough on Riley. He has a hard time nursing while laying down. He can't seem to latch correctly when laying down. He also is more uncomfortable after, and gets fussy afterwards. Usually it is because he needs to burp some more. Jamaal doesn't like him sleeping with us. He feels like he doesn't sleep as well. Even though Riley sleeps better and doesn't wake up fully, (and therefore nurses for shorter periods and goes back to sleep easier) I understand what he means. I'm sleeping lighter to make sure he is safe in the bed with us.
I'm concluding that at this time the family bed will not work for us. Not because of things I've mentioned above, but because of this: I find him rolling onto his stomach nearly every time I wake to nurse or check on him. Even if I push him onto his back after nursing, he will still end up on his side or stomach. This is too scary for me he could fall prone to SIDS or could suffocate. Either way, I couldn't live with myself if that happened in bed with us. I'm expecting a rough night tonight, as he probably will miss being so close to me, but I'll deal with it as it happens. This morning we slept from 0745 until 1130! It was amazing!
I think we will sleep together for naps or as needed when he is a little older, but for now, the bassinet next to my bed will have to do.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Again with the sleep
I broke my streak of posting every day. Darn. I pulled up my blog, but set my computer aside to go to sleep. I had intended on blogging once I woke up, but forgot all about it. Oh well, it had to end sometime.
The night before last was one of the hardest I've had since Riley was born. He would not sleep at all. I was exhausted and frustrated and bawling by 0700.
I've been thinking about solutions to this problem, and have decided I might try pumping sometimes and supplementing with that. If he takes bottles okay, this would help me to pass off a feeding or two. I also want to get my hair cut and colored which would be easier to do if I have some pumped milk on hand for someone else to feed him. I read part of the chapter on pumping from The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding last night, and will read the rest today. I want to know what I'm doing before I plan on actually doing it. I don't want my milk to go to waste.
From what I've read so far, if I pump correctly my supply should stay the same or possibly increase, depending on how well he is emptying me on his own already.
Even if he doesn't do well with the bottle now, it will be good for him to be introduced to it since he will eventually have to learn to like it.
Last night I got a little bit more sleep, only because I passed out with him nursing or burping a lot. I kept waking up in really uncomfortable positions, so it wasn't very relaxing sleep. Then I woke up to Jamaal putting Riley back into the swing at just after 0700. It was a very weird feeling, because I hadn't even heard Riley fuss, let alone cry. Apparently he was crying a lot, and loudly because we were in the living room, and Jamaal was in the bedroom, with the door closed. Riley was right next to me and I didn't flinch. Proof that I am extremely sleep deprived. Kind of scary, as well.
Maybe I should start sleeping in the bedroom again, so if he cries and I don't hear him, Jamaal can wake me up. Or better yet, Jamaal can change him and hand him to me. It was a nice break to be able to just feed Riley and not have to get up to clean his butt. Gotta look at the bright side.
I must admit that the night before last, when I was crying right along with Riley, I was resenting my husband sleeping comfortably in the other room. He was probably awake, though, I realize now. Even still, I find myself a bit resentful, but little things like having Jamaal change Riley this morning, make my day just that much easier.
The night before last was one of the hardest I've had since Riley was born. He would not sleep at all. I was exhausted and frustrated and bawling by 0700.
I've been thinking about solutions to this problem, and have decided I might try pumping sometimes and supplementing with that. If he takes bottles okay, this would help me to pass off a feeding or two. I also want to get my hair cut and colored which would be easier to do if I have some pumped milk on hand for someone else to feed him. I read part of the chapter on pumping from The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding last night, and will read the rest today. I want to know what I'm doing before I plan on actually doing it. I don't want my milk to go to waste.
From what I've read so far, if I pump correctly my supply should stay the same or possibly increase, depending on how well he is emptying me on his own already.
Even if he doesn't do well with the bottle now, it will be good for him to be introduced to it since he will eventually have to learn to like it.
Last night I got a little bit more sleep, only because I passed out with him nursing or burping a lot. I kept waking up in really uncomfortable positions, so it wasn't very relaxing sleep. Then I woke up to Jamaal putting Riley back into the swing at just after 0700. It was a very weird feeling, because I hadn't even heard Riley fuss, let alone cry. Apparently he was crying a lot, and loudly because we were in the living room, and Jamaal was in the bedroom, with the door closed. Riley was right next to me and I didn't flinch. Proof that I am extremely sleep deprived. Kind of scary, as well.
Maybe I should start sleeping in the bedroom again, so if he cries and I don't hear him, Jamaal can wake me up. Or better yet, Jamaal can change him and hand him to me. It was a nice break to be able to just feed Riley and not have to get up to clean his butt. Gotta look at the bright side.
I must admit that the night before last, when I was crying right along with Riley, I was resenting my husband sleeping comfortably in the other room. He was probably awake, though, I realize now. Even still, I find myself a bit resentful, but little things like having Jamaal change Riley this morning, make my day just that much easier.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Sweets and treats
I didn't get very much sleep last night, and only kind of napped this morning. Riley, however sleeps just fine during the day. Last night he would fall asleep while nursing, I would burp him and he would still be sleeping. After I would lay him down, however, he would wake up. I let him fuss for a bit, but each time he would start to cry and scream so I would pick him up and he would show signs of wanting to nurse. It was definitely a rough night. I ended up falling asleep while burping him this morning at 0600.
I'm guessing there will be a lot of blog posts about sleep, because already I've talked about it nearly every day I've posted this year. I apologize in advance.
In other news I've been doing a lot of baking/making of sweets of late. One thing I made before Christmas was Cream Cheese Banana bread. I found the recipe here. (and I don't think she wants me to re-post the recipe, so you will just have to go there to see it.)
The only thing I have to warn you about is that the recipe calls for self rising flour. I personally do not have this, and unfortunately I forgot that it was different than all purpose flour. If you also do not carry self rising flour, you can make your own by using the following conversion:
1 cup of self rising flour= 1 cup of all purpose/plain flour minus 2 tsp., and add 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt to make the full cup.
For this recipe instead of 3 c. self rising flour you would use:
2-7/8 c. all purpose flour (which is the same as 3 c. minus 2 Tbsp.) (Or just use 3c. and not care about the extra 2 Tbsp and risk having it be just a touch dry)
4-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. salt
I forgot about this conversion and had already put in the 3 c. all purpose flour, so I added the salt and baking powder after I was done mixing. I over mixed my dough, so it ended up being a bit crumbly and dry. I will remake this and see if it is less dry with less flour and less mixing. It did have a good flavor though. I made one loaf with nuts and one with mini chocolate chips. Both were lovely. :D
I have more recently made a pumpkin pie, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate chip cookies. I'm married to someone with as big of a sweet tooth as I have. It will be hard to lose the extra 7-10 pounds of baby weight with treats readily available, but I'll begin working on that soon.
I got Zumba Fitness for our x-box Kinect for Christmas. I haven't tried it yet, because I wasn't supposed to do too much heavy exercising. My midwife said to let my lochia get my guide when it comes to activity. If it increases, I'm doing too much. I do notice an increase when I am more active, especially when Riley and I leave the house. My lochia is nearly gone now though so I will probably try it soon. I never realized how long lochia (bleeding after delivery) sticks around after having a baby. Thankfully it was only heavy for like 4 days after delivery and has been light ever since.
I don't see myself restraining from cookies and ice cream in the near future. They taste too darn good to me right now. :D
I'm guessing there will be a lot of blog posts about sleep, because already I've talked about it nearly every day I've posted this year. I apologize in advance.
In other news I've been doing a lot of baking/making of sweets of late. One thing I made before Christmas was Cream Cheese Banana bread. I found the recipe here. (and I don't think she wants me to re-post the recipe, so you will just have to go there to see it.)
The only thing I have to warn you about is that the recipe calls for self rising flour. I personally do not have this, and unfortunately I forgot that it was different than all purpose flour. If you also do not carry self rising flour, you can make your own by using the following conversion:
1 cup of self rising flour= 1 cup of all purpose/plain flour minus 2 tsp., and add 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt to make the full cup.
For this recipe instead of 3 c. self rising flour you would use:
2-7/8 c. all purpose flour (which is the same as 3 c. minus 2 Tbsp.) (Or just use 3c. and not care about the extra 2 Tbsp and risk having it be just a touch dry)
4-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. salt
I forgot about this conversion and had already put in the 3 c. all purpose flour, so I added the salt and baking powder after I was done mixing. I over mixed my dough, so it ended up being a bit crumbly and dry. I will remake this and see if it is less dry with less flour and less mixing. It did have a good flavor though. I made one loaf with nuts and one with mini chocolate chips. Both were lovely. :D
I have more recently made a pumpkin pie, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate chip cookies. I'm married to someone with as big of a sweet tooth as I have. It will be hard to lose the extra 7-10 pounds of baby weight with treats readily available, but I'll begin working on that soon.
I got Zumba Fitness for our x-box Kinect for Christmas. I haven't tried it yet, because I wasn't supposed to do too much heavy exercising. My midwife said to let my lochia get my guide when it comes to activity. If it increases, I'm doing too much. I do notice an increase when I am more active, especially when Riley and I leave the house. My lochia is nearly gone now though so I will probably try it soon. I never realized how long lochia (bleeding after delivery) sticks around after having a baby. Thankfully it was only heavy for like 4 days after delivery and has been light ever since.
I don't see myself restraining from cookies and ice cream in the near future. They taste too darn good to me right now. :D
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Sleepy mama
Last night Riley woke up at 0200, and didn't get to sleep again until 0800. Well, that isn't exactly true. He napped for about 30 minutes at one point, and I'm sure he probably rested well while nursing pretty much the entire time. Growth spurt perhaps? On the plus side, he didn't wake up again until 1140, so I got a good 3+ hours of sleep in. Then I napped for about 2 hours from 1200 to 1430. I am hoping that tonight he sleeps a bit more than that. I am very thankful that my husband was home today to help me with his diaper changes. It is silly, but I really don't enjoy changing his diapers. Nursing him isn't that bad to me, even though I have to get positioned comfortably and usually have to get out of bed to do so. Changing his diaper is not that difficult really...but when you do it about 10 times a day (sometimes more if he decides to pee or poo mid change.) it gets old fast. Jamaal hasn't had to change that many diapers because 1.) he works during the day; 2.) I do all the feedings at night, and it doesn't make sense to make him get up just to change his diaper especially because of #1.
I make a point to ask him to do a couple diaper changes when he has a day off, or when he is home after working during the day. (Though I wait to ask him to change Riley only after he has had a chance to relax some after working.)
Jamaal did all of the diaper changes today except for the one I did before and after his bath. After very little sleep, this was such a blessing.
Jamaal has been such a help around the house. He has been doing laundry and has cleaned both bathrooms. He also does the dishes sometimes as well. I have not done very much housework yet. I have done the dishes a couple times. And I have cooked dinner nearly every night (which sometimes is a huge chore). But I often don't have tons of spare time to myself to get things done. I'm getting better, though not getting enough sleep at night doesn't help me to get chores done.
Well, Jamaal would like some cookies, but before that can happen, dishes need to be done, so I better get on that. ;)
I make a point to ask him to do a couple diaper changes when he has a day off, or when he is home after working during the day. (Though I wait to ask him to change Riley only after he has had a chance to relax some after working.)
Jamaal did all of the diaper changes today except for the one I did before and after his bath. After very little sleep, this was such a blessing.
Jamaal has been such a help around the house. He has been doing laundry and has cleaned both bathrooms. He also does the dishes sometimes as well. I have not done very much housework yet. I have done the dishes a couple times. And I have cooked dinner nearly every night (which sometimes is a huge chore). But I often don't have tons of spare time to myself to get things done. I'm getting better, though not getting enough sleep at night doesn't help me to get chores done.
Well, Jamaal would like some cookies, but before that can happen, dishes need to be done, so I better get on that. ;)
Friday, January 7, 2011
Much ado about Nothing
I have about 50 topics that I want to write about and I think about them when I'm not in front of my computer, but once I turn it on and sit down, they all leave my brain. I'm going to need to get a notebook to write my ideas down when I'm thinking about them.
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So many things have happened since Riley was born. And yet, nothing much has happened. We do a lot of nothing these days. I'm working on figuring out how to have time to do other things except feed and change my little man.
Sleep. Last night was the first night where Riley went 3 hours in between most of his feeds. That translates to mama getting 8.5 hours of broken up sleep. It was amazing. Every time he woke me up I smiled when I saw how long it had been since we had last fed. I have very little faith that it will happen again tonight, but it was nice to have a break from 1.5 hours in between feeds. (Remember that that means from start of one feeding to the start of the next. Most of the time he takes 30 minutes to eat and burp, but sometimes takes a bit longer or shorter depending on how he is feeling at that moment [or whether his mama fell asleep while nursing or burping him ;)] That leaves only an hour in between where mom is allowed to sleep, and while most of the time she can fall asleep right away, sometimes it could take her as long as 15 minutes to lose consciousness. Therefore, that leaves her with 45 minutes of sleep at a time. Sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more. But ultimately not enough to feel rested.) If there is one thing I know about myself, it is that I do not do well with very little sleep. I'm not the nicest person when sleep deprived, let's just leave it at that.
Nursing. The boy surely loves to eat. And with all that eating comes a lot of pooping and peeing. And sleeping. He is currently trying to wake up from one of his many milk comas. It has been 2 hours, and therefore might be time again to feed. I've been lucky, we haven't had any problem with nursing. He is proof of that fact, at 5 days old (the earliest we could get in to the MD to be seen) he had gained an ounce, and was 6lbs 9 ounces. At 12 days old he weighed 6lbs 14 oz, and today at 22 days old he is 7lbs 12oz. I am so proud of the fact that I am the reason he is growing. Even still, I selfishly want him to stay little-tiny forever. Pretty soon I won't be able to dress him in his newborn clothes, and will have to move into size 1 diapers. Sigh. Back to nursing...While nursing is sometimes stressful, I am thankful that I am capable to provide for my son. It is so much more difficult to go on errands now. Remember he sometimes only goes 1.5 hours in between feedings, which we figured out above leaves mommy 45 minutes of free time, that means pack him up and run for the car. Speed to the desired location and cross your fingers that he might go longer than 1.5 hours. Otherwise, scope out a place to sit down and feed him. I have only nursed him in the doctor's waiting room and the movie theater, thus far. Mostly because I haven't travelled much with him yet. Today we went grocery shopping and he thankfully slept through the entire ordeal. (Which took 2 hours! What was I doing for 2 hours!? I guess Walmart isn't the best place for me to go grocery shopping, because I get lost in the aisles. But I was able to get some more nursing bras and camis at the same time as getting groceries which saved me a stop.)
As I said before, he is now mostly awake at 2.5 hours, so it is time to start the cycle all over again. Maybe I'll come back for more later. ;)
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So many things have happened since Riley was born. And yet, nothing much has happened. We do a lot of nothing these days. I'm working on figuring out how to have time to do other things except feed and change my little man.
Sleep. Last night was the first night where Riley went 3 hours in between most of his feeds. That translates to mama getting 8.5 hours of broken up sleep. It was amazing. Every time he woke me up I smiled when I saw how long it had been since we had last fed. I have very little faith that it will happen again tonight, but it was nice to have a break from 1.5 hours in between feeds. (Remember that that means from start of one feeding to the start of the next. Most of the time he takes 30 minutes to eat and burp, but sometimes takes a bit longer or shorter depending on how he is feeling at that moment [or whether his mama fell asleep while nursing or burping him ;)] That leaves only an hour in between where mom is allowed to sleep, and while most of the time she can fall asleep right away, sometimes it could take her as long as 15 minutes to lose consciousness. Therefore, that leaves her with 45 minutes of sleep at a time. Sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more. But ultimately not enough to feel rested.) If there is one thing I know about myself, it is that I do not do well with very little sleep. I'm not the nicest person when sleep deprived, let's just leave it at that.
Nursing. The boy surely loves to eat. And with all that eating comes a lot of pooping and peeing. And sleeping. He is currently trying to wake up from one of his many milk comas. It has been 2 hours, and therefore might be time again to feed. I've been lucky, we haven't had any problem with nursing. He is proof of that fact, at 5 days old (the earliest we could get in to the MD to be seen) he had gained an ounce, and was 6lbs 9 ounces. At 12 days old he weighed 6lbs 14 oz, and today at 22 days old he is 7lbs 12oz. I am so proud of the fact that I am the reason he is growing. Even still, I selfishly want him to stay little-tiny forever. Pretty soon I won't be able to dress him in his newborn clothes, and will have to move into size 1 diapers. Sigh. Back to nursing...While nursing is sometimes stressful, I am thankful that I am capable to provide for my son. It is so much more difficult to go on errands now. Remember he sometimes only goes 1.5 hours in between feedings, which we figured out above leaves mommy 45 minutes of free time, that means pack him up and run for the car. Speed to the desired location and cross your fingers that he might go longer than 1.5 hours. Otherwise, scope out a place to sit down and feed him. I have only nursed him in the doctor's waiting room and the movie theater, thus far. Mostly because I haven't travelled much with him yet. Today we went grocery shopping and he thankfully slept through the entire ordeal. (Which took 2 hours! What was I doing for 2 hours!? I guess Walmart isn't the best place for me to go grocery shopping, because I get lost in the aisles. But I was able to get some more nursing bras and camis at the same time as getting groceries which saved me a stop.)
As I said before, he is now mostly awake at 2.5 hours, so it is time to start the cycle all over again. Maybe I'll come back for more later. ;)
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