The Middle Chapters

Oh the hormones - or sleep deprivation - take your pick. But, now that I think of it, it's probably a combination of the two. Yesterday was a bad day. I woke up in a deficit and it went downhill from there. I can't really explain why except baby A was on a 1 1/2 hour eating schedule starting at 3:30 am to 9:30 pm and would only sleep after 6:30 am if I had him bundled in a sling and was moving. I couldn't speak in sentence fragments much less full sentences by the time that D came home from work.

Today was much much better. Why? A slept - 3 hours in the morning, then ate and looked around -- then slept some more!! I had no baby on me for hours! Ahhhhh. . .

When Bacon was small, I held her forever. I loved it. Right now, with a newborn and a toddler and broken sleep, the break is beyond words.

Oh, and I got a present today. D came home early from work. We walked to our local pizza place and I got a present - a pair of earrings that are simply beautiful. He had me at home from work early.

This week has been a combo of decent and not-so-good sleep. By Friday, everything was irritating and I was oh so achy. Most nights are reasonable - feedings at 12:30, 3:30, and 6:30. (We don't get up until we get Bacon out of bed at 8:00.) 3:30 is the toughest; when baby A typically takes 1/2 -1 hour to get back to sleep every night. The not-so-good nights, I'm up with a good portion of every hour starting in the early morning hours. (Two nights of this this week.) I'm not running a huge deficit in sleep, but I can't seem to get out of the deficit I'm in. When we only had one, I could use Bacon's naps to attempt to catch up on sleep. And when she was really little, like A, she and I stayed in bed and took a nap after D had left for work. With 2, the opportunities to sleep extra are limited. Luckily, A is a pretty good sleeper so far. (I consider the above good.)

I keep waiting for things to get worse based on the new mother's tale that the height of crankiness is 6-8 weeks after their due date. We're still two weeks away from this, so there's still time. (I'm trying not to remind myself that Bacon's sleep got significantly worse after she was 3 months old.)

I had a bad dropping A experience this week. Luckily it was a short distance while trying to coordinate the two kids, a carrier and a stroller. He's physically fine and I'm becoming emotionally fine, but I think I'm going to limit our stroller-type excursions until we get a double stroller.

I think I'm there - the point where having 2 kids actually feels like the norm. Last week I wasn't there. The idea of going anywhere by myself with the 2 seemed just too intimidating. But I did it twice in one day last Thursday. Then again today. It's not bad as long as I have a cart to put them in. When I don't, well, I imagine there must be a sling and stoller involved or a double stroller if we ever get one of those.

Anyway, back to the main point - we seem to get in a groove when it's just me and the kids. A groove that involves a general plan with random 1 month old naps and feedings thrown in. So far I'm not desparate for when D gets home to get some relief; which happened during bedrest and when Bacon was little. I think it's just easier with the second and now that Bacon is older. (When she's not a total crankenpus, she's funny and good company.) I'm guessing that a lot of what made things so hard when Bacon was new was the fact that I hadn't done it before and was seriously scared I was going to do something wrong with terrible results, the lack of sleep, and the months of plugged ducts.

I keep losing my point. I must be more tired than I thought. Bottom line is that things are good.