Sunday, October 05, 2008

Summary

All day: Andrew sleeps
8:53 p.m. I declare that I'm going up to bed. I'm really tired.
9:00 p.m. Andrew awakens. Looks around. Wants to eat.
9:01-11:00 p.m. Andrew eats on and off. Does not sleep. I do not sleep either. I get pissed.
11:01 p.m. I start to lose it because I didn't nap and need to go to BED, dammit and why are you still awake?
11:02 p.m. The crying starts.
The crying continues.
11:10 p.m. I go downstairs and try to feed a bottle of formula. Boobs are empty. Diaper is clean why the HELL is he still crying? Perhaps he didn't like the curry and broccoli in my dinner.
11:12 p.m. Andrew drinks part of bottle. Cries.
Cries.
Cries.
12:00 a.m. He finally falls asleep. I fall asleep.
1:00 a.m. Becca is awake and screaming. I ignore it. Andrew wakes up. Nurses again. I thought having formula before bed made for longer sleeping times!? NOT!
2:17 a.m. Becca is awake and screaming. I disengage from the bed and the baby and stumble, dizzily into her room. There is nothing wrong. She is just crying.
2:19 to 4:02 a.m. I sleep. Finally.
4:03 a.m. Andrew wakes up to nurse. Again. He refuses to nurse laying down. So I have to sit up. I fall asleep all slumped over.
4:43 a.m. Becca cries. I wake John up and make him go in there. Andrew wakes up.
5:45 a.m. John's alarm goes off. Andrew and I finally, finally get settled and fall back to sleep.
6:45 a.m. Becca is awake for the day and sitting in a giant dirty diaper. Andrew continues sleeping throughout the morning (NOT FAIR!)

Good morning! How much coffee is too much? How much toddler TV watching is too much? Because I think I'm about to find out.

16 comments:

Unknown said...

I drank a couple cups of coffee every day and my nursing infants never seemed to mind.

Many of my friends have tried the formala thing. They told me it works for one to two nights and that's it - mostly it caused gas and more crying b/c the breastmilk is easier to digest and your body is constantly modifying your milk specifically for his needs.

You can talk to a lactation consultant about this, but, I'd put money down that he's not really that hungry to be feeding that much at night and he's simply cranky and/or comfort sucking. And, if he is hungry and you just let him nurse, your body will catch up and produce more (it may take a day or two) Again, a lacatation consultant can help confirm this: but you could try nursing him a lot more during the day and then at night, you'll know that he's not really that hungry, just fussy (both my girls ate like champs all the time but went through really bad fussy times at night for the first 3-4 week - it was horrible). By the amount you say he's pooping (and as long as it's a nice yellow - refer to the charts the hospital probably gave you) and peeing, I'm willing to bet he's eating plenty, the formula isn't needed and he's just being a cranker butt at night.

Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call a lactation consultant (IBCLC) and chat about this. I think you'll get some peace of mind. I was on the phone with an IBCLC all the time - maybe someday I'll become one.

Good luck. Wishing you better sleep!

Anonymous said...

Oh, honey. I wish I were there. I'd come over and grab that toddler off your hands. Hang in there. Love you.

Tracy said...

Oh my.

The Quinn Report said...

Oh what a night!

I hope the day gets better for you!

Swistle said...

During this time with a newborn, I put no limits on TV. NONE. Child may watch TV ALL DAY LONG if child is willing, and I will dose upright while nursing.

Jen said...

Bring on the Noggin! Kate watched far too much TV in those days, sadly. But, I think she survived it. Luckily, I don't think they remember much from this age.

I hope you can get some rest. Soon.

Marie Green said...

Oh, that must be so frustrating! I agree with Natalie that you should bulk him up on nursing during the day- wake him every couple of hours (strip him naked and tickle his feet if you have to).

Also, there are NO limits to how much TV Becca can watch. Well, unless she starts refusing. Really, think of this time as "survival mode" and do WHATEVER it takes to survie, and have no guilt about it! =)

Kisses for that sweet sweet newborn!

Unknown said...

I totally agree w/Swistle!

Angie said...

For the most part, we are pretty strict on limiting television. When I've had a bad day/night and need to sort of nap while Ashlyn watches tv, that all goes out the window.

Have you tried a pacifier yet? With Ashlyn I wanted to make sure that she was used to nursing and my milk supply was good and all that. Christopher wanted ON me all day long. I put a pacifier in his mouth at one week old.

Anonymous said...

Ugh....that sucks. Yes, no tv is too much for survival times. Amen to that. And yes, I'm a big fan of Noggin also! It seems to have somewhat educational shows on 24 hours a day (WHOO HOO). You have to tolerate an astounding amount of brightly colored creatures (ie Backyardigans) so Becca will probably love it, or it'll induce a seizure. Either way, she won't be bugging you. Oh I forgot...the seizure comments aren't quite as funny for you. : ) Hang in there...it does get better!

Andrea and Ben said...

I can totally sympathize with you. We went through a couple nights like that and many a curse word flew in this house in regards to the lack of sleep. Fortunately, he figured it out sooner than later. I cannot imagine doing it with a toddler as well, you are one tough cookie!

Erin said...

YIKES. I forget so easily about those days. Or, I should say, those NIGHTS. They are awful. I'm sorry. GOD. It gets better, but that isn't much consolation when you're in the middle of one of those endless nights.

Kayris said...

Hang in there Hon! Both mine did the same thing. It was much easier with the first kid, because I could sleep during the day. Not so much the second time around.

Both kids worked out which was day and which was night around 8 weeks. I would suggest learning the art of sleeping while sitting up while breastfeeding. MANY time my H came down in the morning to find me fast asleep in my rocker, baby asleep and still latched on.

What worked best for us was sleeping in shifts. My H went to bed with Johnny around 8PM. I took the first shift and sometimes Maureen would sleep for a little bit in there. After her 2PM feeding, he would get up for a couple of hours while I slept, then I got up again when she needed to eat and he went back to bed for a couple of hours. Not sure if your H is around enouhh with his job to be able to do this...but it saved my sanity.

The Capozzoli Clan said...

Capozzoli Clan here..again.....I totally feel for you. That was my house when our little one, Paul, arrived. William did watch too much Noggin....but I agree with the others....bring it on! You need it to stay sane. The first few months are so crazy that bending the rules here and there is vital. Kids adapt....Becca will be fine. You need to sleep. It is what happens in a household when Daddy goes to work leaving Mommy home with two young ones.....tv, coffee, and housework that might get done. You are right on track with other new mommies of more than one baby. Welcome to the club!

Oh, and I totally agree with Angie....get a binkie....several in fact.

Joel and Angela said...

You are allowed to drink one cup of coffee per kid...or is it a pot per kid.
It gets better. But the first few weeks are awful.

Lysandra said...

Thank God for Noggin. Helps me out soooooo much!