Friday, October 11, 2013

Almost Forgot

I'n not sure if I just blocked it out or what, but I almost forgot about the mind numbing exhaustion that comes with a newborn.

We had been doing pretty well up until last night.  At night I get Elliot down to bed and then pump a bottle so that J can take the second wakeup of the night and feed Elliot while I get a little sleep.  Well, that all got shot to hell last night.

I got him down at 8:45 after his bath and a little nursing. I came back downstairs to start pumping and after only being down 20 mins he was up and crying, so I went back up to nurse him some more.  I pumped a 4 oz bottle and headed to bed at 10:00.  Just a few minutes after climbing into bed he started crying again. J went in to feed him the bottle and get him settled.    At 11:55 he was back up. I nursed him and rocked him and got him back down.  I hadn't even been able to fall back to sleep when he was up and crying again at 1:43.  I tried giving him a bottle (figuring I might be empty) and he just cried and gagged and choked like had never had a bottle before. I ended up nursing him again for 20 minutes and got him back down at 2:02.  At 3:42 he was crying again and still refusing a bottle so I couldn't even kick J out of bed to go feed him.

At that point I was getting very frustrated.  He needs to take a bottle, especially when he starts daycare in December. And because I need some help at night and if I have to do all of the feedings all the time I am going to lose it.

I contemplated just lounging in the recliner with him until it was time to get up, but I put him back in the bassinet at 4:30 and crawled back in bed.  At 5:30 he was crying. Again.  This time J did get up and went in to try to give him a bottle.  I finally fell back to sleep at 6:00 and slept until he was crying again at 6:55.

Aaaaahhhhhhh!  What happened to my baby that slept 5.5 hours and then 4 hours the night before? And why is he all of a sudden refusing bottles?

I know there is a 6 week growth spurt but I thought we were past that since he'll be 7 weeks tomorrow. Maybe he's just a little behind.  I'm praying that tonight is a better night because if nights like last night are the norm I am going to be a zombie. Or more of one than I am today.

And I guess the not sleeping has caught up with my little guy because he is currently snoozing away in his car seat sawing logs:


He's in the car seat because I had to drop Andrew off at daycare and since he was passed out when we got back I didn't want to wake him.  I should probably be taking advantage of him sleeping and try to take a nap myself, but I'm supposed to be working.  I think I'll just turn the volume up on my computer so I'll hear if anyone emails me or hits me up on chat.  This mommy needs a nap...


9 comments:

  1. I once in a blue read your blog (old April 11 board...I have a 6 and a 2.5 yr old boys). Both of my boys were like this and my 2 yr old still is. I bed share with my younger (bed shared with my older son until he was 4 when my 2nd was born). It's what works for us or I'd never get sleep. Especially with breastfeeding. I would just lay there and nurse him and we would both drift off together. I know Elliot is still tiny but soon maybe this is an option to consider?

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  2. Oh, I am so hoping for a better night for you tonight! Very, very much hoping... :)

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  3. You forgot, I have forgotten what it Leland was like as a newborn but I am sure I will be reminded when #2 makes his arrival.

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  4. I know it's preference but this is exactly why we cosleep. I could never get up that many times! My guy sleeps through with me waking him once to feed so I don't explode. I know know I'm lucky because my first son had me a zombie. It's awful I know! I bet he just missed you.

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  5. Elisabeth would never take a bottle from me or if I was in the room. If she saw me she wanted her milk straight from the boob. Perhaps Elliot is the same.

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    1. He's taken them from me before, but he's stopped wanting a bottle the last few days. Hoping it's just because of the congestion.

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  6. It sounds like a growth spurt. Try having J give him a bottle instead of you.

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    1. Unfortunately he doesn't want one from either of us. I did get him to drink 2.5 oz last night, though. He's congested and having trouble breathing out of his nose, so I think that's part of it. I bought the saline drops for his nose today and we're working on clearing out his nose so he can breathe. Fingers crossed that it helps (I've been up since 4:45 this morning).

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