My husband and I were joking the other day that if we made a rap album about this time in our lives, it would be titled Swaddles and Bottles.
I’m not one to complain – (who am I kidding? yes I am) – but as I said in my last post, this is NOT my favorite stage of parenting. Let’s hit on a few more of the challenges of newborn life to supplement Diapers and da Vinci:
- The sleep deprivation is brutal. I mean, what can I even say about this? It’s seriously harsh. You ladies know what I’m talking about. There are times when I’m so tired I feel like a stumbling drunkard. “Sleep when the baby sleeps” is good advice, but sometimes the baby just doesn’t sleep, and sometimes you need to shower, and sometimes you probably should sleep but you just don’t want to— you want to do something else! It’s really hard to balance the competing needs for sleep, food, a clean body, a cleanish (at least livable) house, grocery shopping, laundry, and everything else that comes with managing a family and a home. I purchased the Little Ones newborn sleep program and have been trying to get baby girl on a schedule. Most days, it works well enough, but the truth of the matter is you can’t actually make anyone sleep or stay awake. You can take the baby into a dark room, swaddle her, turn on the white noise, and do everything just right and sometimes she still won’t sleep. It’s also damn hard (and feels like torture) to try to keep a sleepy baby awake until nap time. I know the schedule isn’t meant to be super strict, and thank God, because it’s definitely more realistic to treat it like a routine rather than watching the clock like a hawk and trying to stick to specific times….
- It’s boring. I know I said this before, but a 7 week old baby can’t really do anything. Like she doesn’t even really smile or babble yet. There’s just not much to it other than sleeping and crying, and neither of those things is super interesting or fun. I can’t wait for a few more weeks/ months to pass and we get to where she is smiling on purpose (not just as a reflex), talking more, rolling over, sitting up, etc.
- The noises are annoying. Several years ago I read The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron and it just confirmed for me that I am, in fact, super sensitive. (I definitely recommend this book if you know you are -or suspect that you might be – highly sensitive! It really helped me to understand my nature and my place in the world.) Not only am I sensitive in the emotional sense, but I am very sensitive to stimuli as well. One of the points made in the book is that annoying noises are even more annoying to sensitive people. So between the baby crying and having to listen to freaking white noise all night (and during daytime naps), I sometimes feel like I am going to come right out of my daggum skin. You wanna know the soundtrack to my life right now? How about 10 hours of a blow dryer noise on Youtube? Doesn’t that just sound peachy keen?
- It’s lonely. Again, everyone I know is at work all day. If you want to come over and visit, I’d love some company!!! See you soon! 😉
- It’s tiring. Just re-iterating. See bullet point #1.
So, now that I’ve gotten some complaining out of my system, let’s end this thing on a positive note…. This baby is the result of several years worth of tears and prayers. I desperately wanted another child and for my oldest daughter to have a sibling. I am reminding myself of these facts multiple times a day, every day. Praise God that He is a life-giving God and granted my request! The truth is, I love being a mom, I’m just not a “baby person.” This little girl can’t do much now, but I can’t wait to discover who she will become – her likes and dislikes, her passions and interests, her intellect and personality. She, like her older sister, is a gift I will be unwrapping for the rest of my life. And that, my friends, is priceless – worth more than all the swaddles and bottles in the whole wide world. ❤️
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