Last night sucked.
Daddy P was my saving grace and managed the baby until around 3am. He'd bring him in to eat, and then bounce him, rock him, shush him until the next feeding. At 3am, I took over and gave up. Nothing I was doing was working and I was exhausted so I grabbed a blanket for me, and took up residence in the rocking chair. Thank goodness we bought a recliner! Lying on me finally got him to relax and fall asleep, and allowed me to nap. He was still uncomfortable and would startle, wake, cry and resettle, but it was much easier than getting out of bed to pick him up everytime this happened. I don't sleep particularly well this way because a) it's a rocking chair, even if it does recline, and b) I am so worried about smothering him or dropping him that I sleep very lightly.
But, since it is midnight and he is only now asleep (since starting this adventure at 8pm) it may be another rocking chair night. I'm going to give it to good tries to get him lying in his cradle on his back, and if that doesn't work I am returning to my chair of residence.
My doula came for my post-partum visit today and it felt good to report things were going well. Other than Kate's jealousy, I feel as though we are doing pretty good. Somehow the not-sleeping feels much more manageable than it did with Kate. I'm not sure what the magical difference is, but my mood is much better this time around and I am managing everything much better. I think a big part of it is the learning curve: knowing not only how to do things already (nurse, burp, soothe), but also having more realistic expectations (not trying to keep a clean house, not trying to do much of anything really), and of course there's the fact that I am already very mobile and can drive and all that good stuff (yayyyyy VBAC!).
Alright, off to try to lay this guy down without waking him up. Whoever decided babies have to sleep on their backs is just evil.
No comments:
Post a Comment