Man, those people weren't kidding when they say that all babies do when they are born is eat, sleep, and poop, eat, sleep, and poop!
Chris and I find ourselves making plans and talking about our day as it revolves around the feeding schedule! We rarely look at the clock anymore since Bella is on a 3 hour rotating schedule of eating, pooping (well, that is WAY more than 3 hours!), and sleeping!
Daddy goes off to work around 7:15-7:30 in the morning and that is either right in between a feeding or right before/after one. Mommy and Bella then spend the next 2 feedings catching up on sleep after nursing. Around 11:00-12:00, mommy usually has enough energy to get moving for the day and usually stays up after that feeding until the early night one. Bella is struggling with sleeping a bit right now at night time and daddy usually gets up to console her...he really, REALLY does not like the sound of her crying! He says, "How can you ignore or resist that little whimper?" Being around it all day...I guess I've learned in order to survive!! :0)
I have to be honest, I haven't had a ton of energy to want to do much more than lay around and do an occassional load of laundry here and there, but I have managed to do a little bit of straightening up things around the house at times! Overall, I am feeling well and Bella is doing great. We can not complain!
Each day is a new day! God definitely put Isabella into my life to teach me patience, how i need to slow down and not rush through things, and also that my perfectionistic nature will have to take a back seat to Baby's plans for our day! Some of my friends have said, "Gosh, Kelly, I can't believe you have her on a 3 hour schedule for the most part already." And here am I saying, "Gosh, shouldn't she be sleeping through the night and stick to the same schedule each day already...I mean, she is 16 days old now?!?" :0) THen I remind myself..."Yes, Kelly, she is ONLY 16 days old...put your perfectionism aside and let your baby do her thing!"
I'm learning! It's a process! And tomorrow, I get to start all over!
Can't say its been easy every morning, but then when you walk in and see a face like this laying in her bed....rushing the day or forgetting to cherish the moments before she grows too fast before our very own eyes....I smile and thank God for the precious gift, the most beautiful little life He has blessed us with!
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2 comments:
Kelly,
Hands-down the hardest thing for me about becoming a mom was, as you said, letting my perfectionistic nature take a backseat! I read all the books, followed (almost) all the directions (except for the one book that suggested allowing a 2 or 3 week old baby to cry herself to sleep! That my mama's heart just could not allow so young... though eventually we of course had to).
I worked soooo hard on our sleep/wake/eat cycle that I drove myself crazy when she fell asleep after eating instead of staying awake like she was "supposed" to. Carolyn was definitely one of the 15% of "Babywise" babies who did NOT sleep through the night at 6 weeks, and also, apparently, one of the 2% of such babies who still don't sleep through at 12 weeks!! I got so discouraged and frustrated that I just couldn't seem to hit my stride and after a few months of sleepless nights, the sleep debt really started to kick in and I thought I was a huge failure.
In the midst of all this, my wonderful next door neighbor gave me the best baby advice I have ever heard. She said that when it comes to sleep and feeding "schedules" and so many other issues in child rearing, except of course for a few really BIG things (like just never disciplining your toddler because you love them too much), you really CAN'T make a mistake when what you are doing is motivated from a heart of love.
God gave you THIS baby at THIS time because He knows that YOU are the mama that she needs- that YOU can do a better job than anyone else ever could. So trust your instincts and love that little girl with all your heart and everything will turn out all right in the end.
The circumstances have changed for us- I don't worry about sleeping through the night now, or how much milk she got nursing... now it's potty training, and exactly HOW to discipline, and whether we should let her watch TV, and the list goes on and on and on... but I still remember the advice and try to steep every decision I make for Carolyn in love and prayer and try to remember when I feel discouraged that God chose me for her mother for a reason- sometimes He is the only one who knows it- but He did- and so I must be the right one for the job. :)
Hang in there, Kelly! Don't worry about the little stuff- just love her, love her, love her, and soake her in- because she will only be this small for about 30 seconds! You're doing a great job! :)
EB
PS: I love that you're updating your blog! It's so much fun to watch her (and you guys!) grow. :)
Thanks, E.B! Enjoyed reading about your journey too!
Today is a new day! All is well for now! :0)
And yes, Baby Bella is already just HUGE and growing so fast to me...its amazing!
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