Yawn...being a new parent to a young newborn has left me constantly tired; emotional; and irritable. I know it's not going to last forever, but then again, some parents like to scare singles by saying, "Once you have kids, you never get to sleep well ever again!! Enjoy it while you have it!!"
Okay, well...I'm someone who LOVES sleep. I always have. If I don't get enough sleep, I become cranky, grouchy, and will argue about anything I get annoyed with at that moment. Poor Josh has learned this over the years being with me, and he's now an expert at knowing when I need to just stop talking/arguing and sleep.
Now, with this child, neither of us can say, "Jan, go to sleep!" Even when I'm exhasted and extremely tired from being up all day and all night for two nights straight with only a 1 hour nap per day/night, I still have to stay awake to breastfeed my son who LOVES to be nursed for both eating and comfort purposes.
We've tried bottles, and yes, he does take them from time to time (mostly in the day with Mommy), but he rarely likes to drink from a bottle at night. He already knows the difference, so when he doesn't want it, then he just doesn't want it, leaving me to struggle to stay awake and focus on not dropping him while he nurses.
Once he's sleeping it's another struggle to put him down without waking him up. It's been getting more and more easy as he gets older and can comfort himself (sometimes). But, there still are nights when we just have to leave him on our chest (see photos below) and sleep together with him. It works farely well and we both can sleep good like this. Course, I don't want to make it a habit, so I'm working on putting him down at nights.
Okay, well...I'm someone who LOVES sleep. I always have. If I don't get enough sleep, I become cranky, grouchy, and will argue about anything I get annoyed with at that moment. Poor Josh has learned this over the years being with me, and he's now an expert at knowing when I need to just stop talking/arguing and sleep.
Now, with this child, neither of us can say, "Jan, go to sleep!" Even when I'm exhasted and extremely tired from being up all day and all night for two nights straight with only a 1 hour nap per day/night, I still have to stay awake to breastfeed my son who LOVES to be nursed for both eating and comfort purposes.
We've tried bottles, and yes, he does take them from time to time (mostly in the day with Mommy), but he rarely likes to drink from a bottle at night. He already knows the difference, so when he doesn't want it, then he just doesn't want it, leaving me to struggle to stay awake and focus on not dropping him while he nurses.
Once he's sleeping it's another struggle to put him down without waking him up. It's been getting more and more easy as he gets older and can comfort himself (sometimes). But, there still are nights when we just have to leave him on our chest (see photos below) and sleep together with him. It works farely well and we both can sleep good like this. Course, I don't want to make it a habit, so I'm working on putting him down at nights.
I took this photo at 5AM after I nursed. I think it's so sweet to see my big man and little man sleeping side by side. Aww....
Another interesting thing: Brian doesn't like sleeping in his own crib. If I place him down in his crib he'll wake up right away and I'll have to start the nursing, "putting-him-to-sleep" process all over again. At first I would try several times till I finally lie him down beside me and he'll sleep instantly. So, now, because I'm desperate, I'll nurse him and place him next to me in our bed, forgetting that we even have a crib. He really knows when he's next to me and when he's not. He also knows when he's between us and when he's on my side of the bed. Some nights he won't want to be anywhere else except in between us. Strange.
Josh tries to reasure me that he'll sleep in his crib with no problems once he's a bit older. I sure hope so because I'm often squished inbetween both of them. Sometimes with baby nursing on one side and Josh's legs and arms hanging over me from behind. Grrr...it's not only SUMMER!!! but...I NEED SLEEP!!!
(Note: Thankfully, as each day goes by, it seems to be getting better...)
hehe yeah it's not easy, hope he can settle himself, or you just give up and co-sleep...either one is bound to happen :D. I just gave up the whole getting up and puitting baby back down trip. The crib is still used during the day, and they get used to it during the day so night's get easier, Have you tried lightly wrapping him/swaddling? They can feel more ...secure? \now at 11mo we share the same bed and she nurses even more than when she was a newborn, but you get good sleep since she's just an inch away, it depends on how you want to train, but I don 't see the harm in co sleeping if it means better sleep for all.
ReplyDeleteAlso I've read that the production of milk/act of bfeeding produces hormones in the mom so that the little sleep she does get is more 'restful' compared to mothers who bottle/forumla feed..so that's an extra incentive to stick wi ththe breast! :)
It will get better! Or your expectations will drop..either way it'll feel better lol. Cute cute pics! Love the one of him sleeping on josh, soo tiny!
Its true! Although its only been 1 and a half years for me, and i have two .. it does feel like you never sleep again. But at the same time it does get easier.
ReplyDeleteSam slept with us a lot in the beginning, we didn't mind though. Riley was more difficult at 1st, she hated sleeping alone or on her back, but after a few months they both would sleep through the night AND in their own cribs....some mornings they wake up and squeeze their way into our bed ... but as long as they sleep its not that bad ...
And i am such a lover of sleep too! I get soooo cranky when i am sleep deprived, which has been a while now. But with time you get use to it. You learn to work with your sleep deprived body. And even if your baby doesn't get a perfect schedule, you learn to coordinate your sleep with the babies. As long as you aren't also a working mother, its much easier. When i was pg with Riley, and hit morning sickness, sam was only around 5 months, she would sleep in with me, although she'd go to sleep around midnight, but considering i didn't sleep before then anyways it didn't matter.
The 1st month for both was the hardest .. soon .. it should get easier
Awww so cute! I remember when we used to sleep like that with Papoosie too! Although he only needed it for the first week or so after birth and only Papa could do it cause I was in too much pain and couldn't move for the life of me!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry Jan ... we co-slept with the baby for the first little while (not because the baby refused the crib ... but because we were scared of leaving him alone ... he was too small) ... but now he sleeps in the crib at night ... and only wakes one or two times just to feed!
The first month or two (or three) they really need mommy and daddy cause they haven't learned how to cope with the world yet.
You COULD try feeding him lying down. It worked for me ... you gotta elevate his torso a tiny bit but that way I could just fall asleep literally AS he nursed and he would fall asleep too.
It really DOES get easier as time goes by ... just pray he doesn't get colic yes?
He was a little colicky for a long while. Only recently he's been calming down and not screaming from 9PM to 11PM. He hasn't the last few days and I'm hoping it's over! :)
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