I’m aware that evilest is not a real word, but you must also be aware that cabbage is PURE EVIL! We have been trying to get Sacha to sleep in his cradle and have employed many tricks. We finally found a winning combination: giving him a bath before bed, then nursing him, then warming up his cradle with a heating pad, then placing him in his cradle, which is next to my side of the bed. Yippee for us!
But wait: along comes Memère with her excellent coleslaw (with yummy apples and everything) and I am inclined to have some at supper time. SOME here refers to two helpings. That night, all terror breaks loose. Not so much for Sacha, as he was still able to sleep, but for Tony and I. Sweet merciful crap he made a lot of noise that night! Grunt grunt grunt, fart, poop, squirm, spit up, grunt, grr, grr, argh, grunt, poop, fart, AAHH, change me! Such were the sounds coming out of his little cradle while Tony and I lay wide awake, unable to fall asleep due to the incredible decibals coming from our sweet little munchkin.
I believe we got about 2, maybe 3 hours of discontinuous sleep. We tried everything: nursing, rocking him, having him sleep with us in bed, with Tony and I on the couch, but to no avail. Grunt Grunt Grunt.
It seems the cabbage releases a venomous toxin into babies that forces them to keep their mommies and daddies awake all night while they sleep soundly, thereby not giving the parents any reprieve during the day as they are rested and ready to entertain guests, while their parents wander around like zombies trying to nap while little Sacha is awake and being all cute and stuff.
Be warned, all you future parents: beware the perils of the leafy green monster we all charmingly refer to as cabbage. It’s NOT worth it!
Thursday, 28 September 2006
Sunday, 24 September 2006
Any advice for the sleep-deprived mama?
Sacha slept well in his cradle for the first two weeks of his life. He woke up for feedings twice a night, and returned promptly to sleep afterward and made cute baby sleep noises from his cradle. He then, however, discovered the delicate art of grunting and squirming, and has not been able to sleep in his cradle ever since.
I say “not sleep” in this sense: the minute his back touches the mattress of the cradle, even if he was in a deep sleep in Mommy or Daddy’s arms, he immediately starts grunting, squirming, spitting up, etc. He sleeps through all this, but his maximum sleep length is about 1 hour. Sleeping in Mommy or Daddy’s arms he gets a good 2 or 3 hours (if not more), just as he used to in the beginning when he used to love the cradle.
So what happened? The only thing I can think of is that we stopped swaddling him for sleeping at about the same time he stopped liking the cradle. However, I do not know if the swaddling stopped before or after the sleep changes. The swaddling changed because Sacha got so squirmy that he unwrapped himself in his sleep. The grunting is a whole other story.
Now, in order for us and Sacha to get some decent sleep, we take shifts sleeping with him. I (or Tony) will prop myself on the couch surrounded by cushions and have Sacha sleep in my arms or on my chest. This way, he sleeps the way he did before, without the grunting and squirming. He will then wake himself up and request a change of diaper and a feeding, then go back to sleep. Then Tony and I switch, so that we both get some stretch-out-on-the-bed sleeping time.
Does anyone have any sleeping advice or similar situations? I don’t mind sleeping with Sacha, but I fear that he will not be able to put himself to sleep, nor be able to sleep in his crib on his own. Or will he just outgrow this grunting/squirming thing?
I say “not sleep” in this sense: the minute his back touches the mattress of the cradle, even if he was in a deep sleep in Mommy or Daddy’s arms, he immediately starts grunting, squirming, spitting up, etc. He sleeps through all this, but his maximum sleep length is about 1 hour. Sleeping in Mommy or Daddy’s arms he gets a good 2 or 3 hours (if not more), just as he used to in the beginning when he used to love the cradle.
So what happened? The only thing I can think of is that we stopped swaddling him for sleeping at about the same time he stopped liking the cradle. However, I do not know if the swaddling stopped before or after the sleep changes. The swaddling changed because Sacha got so squirmy that he unwrapped himself in his sleep. The grunting is a whole other story.
Now, in order for us and Sacha to get some decent sleep, we take shifts sleeping with him. I (or Tony) will prop myself on the couch surrounded by cushions and have Sacha sleep in my arms or on my chest. This way, he sleeps the way he did before, without the grunting and squirming. He will then wake himself up and request a change of diaper and a feeding, then go back to sleep. Then Tony and I switch, so that we both get some stretch-out-on-the-bed sleeping time.
Does anyone have any sleeping advice or similar situations? I don’t mind sleeping with Sacha, but I fear that he will not be able to put himself to sleep, nor be able to sleep in his crib on his own. Or will he just outgrow this grunting/squirming thing?
Saturday, 16 September 2006
The human pacifier
When I signed myself up for breastfeeding the little sir, I failed to read the small print at the bottom of his little bum that says “I may also require the use of your breasts for pacifier purposes. Any attempt to withdraw your boobies simply because I am not actively eating may result in mayhem and chaos. You have been warned.”
Take for instance, yesterday: the little man decided that he wanted to use me as a soother for 4 hours in the afternoon. When it seemed like he was asleep (after conducting the limp arm test), I would take him off the mommy soother. He woke up seconds later with full-on crying and anger at what I had done, and promptly latched himself right back on. Not to eat, simply to suck and pacify himself.
I wouldn’t mind so much if I could let him do this pacifying on the run, while I type or cook. However, I don’t have one of those marvels we call a mother-sling, meaning that I am pretty much confined to a chair while he soothes himself. And on top of that, he exercises his revenge on my attempts to unlatch him by ardently munching on me. Not so much that he gives me a hicky (as he did the first time he ate in the hospital) but enough that I wince and immediately regret my attempts to try and get some housework done.
Lesson to be learned: you can’t fight the desires of a 3 week old. Take Advil if the munching continues long past the appropriate vengeful period.
Take for instance, yesterday: the little man decided that he wanted to use me as a soother for 4 hours in the afternoon. When it seemed like he was asleep (after conducting the limp arm test), I would take him off the mommy soother. He woke up seconds later with full-on crying and anger at what I had done, and promptly latched himself right back on. Not to eat, simply to suck and pacify himself.
I wouldn’t mind so much if I could let him do this pacifying on the run, while I type or cook. However, I don’t have one of those marvels we call a mother-sling, meaning that I am pretty much confined to a chair while he soothes himself. And on top of that, he exercises his revenge on my attempts to unlatch him by ardently munching on me. Not so much that he gives me a hicky (as he did the first time he ate in the hospital) but enough that I wince and immediately regret my attempts to try and get some housework done.
Lesson to be learned: you can’t fight the desires of a 3 week old. Take Advil if the munching continues long past the appropriate vengeful period.
Thursday, 7 September 2006
It tastes so bad!
Sacha depends on me for everything. I never fully realized it until now: if it weren’t for me, he would not be here. I provide his food (literally...it comes from my breasts), his clothing, his shelter, EVERYTHING. Even if that means giving him medicine that I strongly suspect is making him fussy and gassy and forcing me to stay up all night and day rocking him and rubbing his tummy so that he feels better.
Too bad he loves the medicine so much. It has that tutti-fruity flavoring in it, so he just laps it up like candy. If he hated it, less of it would get in his mouth and he may not get as gassy as he is right now. But, what can I say...his trusty pharmacist made it yummy tasting with ALL the best intentions.
THEN Sacha’s mommy has to shove vitamin D drops down his throat every day, even though the stuff is AWFUL tasting! I tried it myself, and I thought that since it smells like Nibs, it should taste like Nibs. HA! Only if Nibs taste like fermented potatoes and cough syrop.
So it’s a countdown until the pink tutti-fruity devil drink is gone (4 more days!) and hopefully he will resume the bestowment of benevolent sleep hours to his worthy parents.
Too bad he loves the medicine so much. It has that tutti-fruity flavoring in it, so he just laps it up like candy. If he hated it, less of it would get in his mouth and he may not get as gassy as he is right now. But, what can I say...his trusty pharmacist made it yummy tasting with ALL the best intentions.
THEN Sacha’s mommy has to shove vitamin D drops down his throat every day, even though the stuff is AWFUL tasting! I tried it myself, and I thought that since it smells like Nibs, it should taste like Nibs. HA! Only if Nibs taste like fermented potatoes and cough syrop.
So it’s a countdown until the pink tutti-fruity devil drink is gone (4 more days!) and hopefully he will resume the bestowment of benevolent sleep hours to his worthy parents.
Monday, 4 September 2006
Eat, Poop, Sleep, Repeat
Sacha is a great baby. Let me start with that. But I am very nervous about tomorrow, which will be my first FULL day alone with him. This means that no one is there to help me when I want to go to the bathroom, have a shower, eat, get pretty, or basically care for myself. And I will be the first to admit, I LOVE my daily shower.
What is the trick? How can I have a shower and fix my hair when I am alone with Sacha? Poor kid will spend so much time in his vibrating chair in the bathroom with me he’ll learn to never want to shower (like his daddy...lol). I will also be honest about this: I love nursing, but when he goes through his little marathon all-you-can-drink spurts, I feel as though my breasts are going to fall off. Yup...fall off. They say it gets worse when he hits a growth spurt. I cannot imagine.
Another point of truth: I really rely on Tony to help me when Sacha is fussy. Tony seems to be the master calmer-downer and Sacha LOVES sucking on Tony’s pinky finger. It’s very soothing to him. He is not as keen on my pinky because, granted, I have the milk machines. Tony said he actually had a dream where he cut off his pinky and put it on a stick so that I could use it when he is at work. Sadly, I don’t think this would work, for numerous reasons, although it did strike me as a fantastic idea in my morning state of sleepiness.
So for now, I am enjoying this little moment where I can write and chat on msn while Tony holds the little man. Tomorrow, I’ll be elbow deep in poop and spit up and I may not answer the phone when you call to console me...
What is the trick? How can I have a shower and fix my hair when I am alone with Sacha? Poor kid will spend so much time in his vibrating chair in the bathroom with me he’ll learn to never want to shower (like his daddy...lol). I will also be honest about this: I love nursing, but when he goes through his little marathon all-you-can-drink spurts, I feel as though my breasts are going to fall off. Yup...fall off. They say it gets worse when he hits a growth spurt. I cannot imagine.
Another point of truth: I really rely on Tony to help me when Sacha is fussy. Tony seems to be the master calmer-downer and Sacha LOVES sucking on Tony’s pinky finger. It’s very soothing to him. He is not as keen on my pinky because, granted, I have the milk machines. Tony said he actually had a dream where he cut off his pinky and put it on a stick so that I could use it when he is at work. Sadly, I don’t think this would work, for numerous reasons, although it did strike me as a fantastic idea in my morning state of sleepiness.
So for now, I am enjoying this little moment where I can write and chat on msn while Tony holds the little man. Tomorrow, I’ll be elbow deep in poop and spit up and I may not answer the phone when you call to console me...
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