Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Life with Baby
As some of you may (or may not) have noticed, my blog entries have been sporadic and limited on words. First let me say that never in my wildest dreams did I fathom life with baby could be so consuming on so many levels. My days typically consist of coming up with creative ways to get Ava to sleep longer, eat less often, and find interest in her toys and books. Quite a change from my days as a classroom teacher.
But let me go back to the first weeks with baby. Sleep deprivation can bring one to a state of lunacy. The breastfeeding/newborn fog made it difficult to carry out simple tasks, not to mention carry on an intelligent conversation. I remember a morning in particular in which I could not for the life of me remember what I had eaten, worn or who I had talked to the day before. One of the lowest point that comes to mind was when Justin became sick and "quarantined" himself in the spare bedroom for a few days...unable to spend time or be of any help with Ava. I was running on 4 hours of sleep (tops) in 5 days. I wasn't producing enough milk to meet Ava's high demands. And colicky Ava was going on 2 hours of high-piercing inconsolable sobbing. After a bout of hysterical crying, I dried my tears, put Ava down, took a deep breath and proceeded to bring the vacuum cleaner into the bedroom. I blasted that puppy next to Ava's ear for 3 hours. It worked like a charm (I won't share the cost of our energy bill for that month). I have since resorted to the hair dryer as it's a lot less cumbersome and more energy efficient.
I am happy to say that Ava is no longer colicky and sleeping more, so our challenges are a little different today. She is sleeping in 5-7 hour stretches at night (thank you Jesus)...naps, however, are a different story. The routine goes as follows...rock her to sleep, put her down, she wakes up 10 minutes later. Pick her back up, rock her to sleep, put her down, she wakes up 12 minutes later. Repeat 2 more times. And at last, success. She has now been napping for 30 minutes. Woo hoo! Now if mother nature would just step it up so that I can satisfy this ravenous child after her nap...we'll be in business.
But let me go back to the first weeks with baby. Sleep deprivation can bring one to a state of lunacy. The breastfeeding/newborn fog made it difficult to carry out simple tasks, not to mention carry on an intelligent conversation. I remember a morning in particular in which I could not for the life of me remember what I had eaten, worn or who I had talked to the day before. One of the lowest point that comes to mind was when Justin became sick and "quarantined" himself in the spare bedroom for a few days...unable to spend time or be of any help with Ava. I was running on 4 hours of sleep (tops) in 5 days. I wasn't producing enough milk to meet Ava's high demands. And colicky Ava was going on 2 hours of high-piercing inconsolable sobbing. After a bout of hysterical crying, I dried my tears, put Ava down, took a deep breath and proceeded to bring the vacuum cleaner into the bedroom. I blasted that puppy next to Ava's ear for 3 hours. It worked like a charm (I won't share the cost of our energy bill for that month). I have since resorted to the hair dryer as it's a lot less cumbersome and more energy efficient.
I am happy to say that Ava is no longer colicky and sleeping more, so our challenges are a little different today. She is sleeping in 5-7 hour stretches at night (thank you Jesus)...naps, however, are a different story. The routine goes as follows...rock her to sleep, put her down, she wakes up 10 minutes later. Pick her back up, rock her to sleep, put her down, she wakes up 12 minutes later. Repeat 2 more times. And at last, success. She has now been napping for 30 minutes. Woo hoo! Now if mother nature would just step it up so that I can satisfy this ravenous child after her nap...we'll be in business.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
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