Okay, so two nights in, and I am loving the bed. He seems really comfortable in it and I love the fact that he seems to be sleeping a tiny bit better. Another four hour stretch last night. . . this was from 9 PM - 1 AM, followed by every two hour wake ups, so I am pretty beat, but a long stretch of sleep always encourages me and negates some of the exhaustion.
Last night was probably the first calm evening in over a week. I made dinner while Drew took a later nap. The kids played without any major fights or drama. M got home and we ate dinner. Together. At the table. Well, until Drew got hungry, but I got to sit there for a good ten minutes before that happened.
We then somehow navigated tubbies and bedtime for everyone without any major meltdowns. By 8:30, I was nursing Drew and putting him down by 9. Unfortunately, I then had to help M administer IV fluids to our cat (Have I mentioned our cat is in renal failure and needs the fluids to keep hydrated and not get toxemia? Have I mentioned she was diagnosed with this three weeks before Drew's birthday?), which takes a little bit of time to organize and execute. So I didn't get into bed myself until amost 10, but then I slept straight until Drew woke me. Three hours is still a decent chunk of sleep.
With Emma so sick and Drew so little and it being so rainy, our 2012 Halloween plans are being curtailed quite a bit. We are all going to go to two or three houses right in our little cul de sac and then I will take Drew and Emma home to hand out candy while M takes Will a little farther afield. We live in a small neighborhood, so it will take maybe ten minutes to do all of the houses, and that is if everyone is home. After that, he will have to be driven somewhere, but our little downtown area does a business trick-or-treat and a small fun center at the Boys and Girls Club, so I think they will do that. I am hoping for another good day.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Coincidence?
Last evening was rough. Drew did not want to go to bed. He finally did go down at 11:00 and woke up again at 12:45. So much for the "magic bed," I harrumphed as I fell back into my own bed at 1:15 AM.
And then I didn't hear from him until 5:25 AM. That is FOUR HOURS AND TEN MINUTES of solid sleep!!!!! (But who is counting?)
So now the question. . . is it coincidence or truly the magic of the bed?
Only time will tell, but I am grateful for any stretch of sleep that long, no matter the cause.
And then I didn't hear from him until 5:25 AM. That is FOUR HOURS AND TEN MINUTES of solid sleep!!!!! (But who is counting?)
So now the question. . . is it coincidence or truly the magic of the bed?
Only time will tell, but I am grateful for any stretch of sleep that long, no matter the cause.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Too Tired For A Clever Title
So it was inevitable that Emma would get sick next. And boy, is she sick. This sickness is awful. It is three days of absolutely MISERABLE kiddo. I am talking will not eat ice cream misery. Will missed an entire week of preschool and still sounds sick. He is congested and has a nasty cough. I had to drop him off this morning and make sure his teacher knew he has been fever free since Thursday and on antibiotics since Friday, so he is no longer contagious. He is definitely on the mend, but it is has been a long week. Emma, who always sleeps the entire night in her bed, has been in our bed the past two nights.
Andrew has stopped sleeping in his bed, too. If I am lucky, he will maybe do a two hour stretch in his bassinet in a night, but that is it. Other than that, I have to hold him or set him down and know that within 20 minutes, he will be awake. Same goes for naps during the day, except there isn't even the blessing of a two hour stretch. Between a sick two year old and a newborn in my bed last night, you can imagine what kind of sleep was had around here. I managed a couple of catnaps today, but I still have to hold Drew, so they are light sleeps. At least I am sleeping a little, but I could use a nice, solid chunk of baby-free sleeping, and I think that is weeks in coming.
I was talking to a coworker this morning, lamenting on new baby sleep, and she recalled a friend of hers had a baby with colic and had a "magic bed" that she thought I could either buy or borrow. The friend called me an hour later and kindly offered to meet me to lend me the bed, I had to drive about a half hour, but it is worth it. . . if the darn thing works. Remember, I am the woman who drove an hour to pay $40 for a "miracle blanket" that didn't do anything to help newborn Will sleep. I was so disappointed. I kind of think these blankets, beds, whatevers are probably things that work with "easier" babies, like Emma, who would sleep anywhere, but parents think it's the magic whatever that did the trick and the legend grows. In this case, however, I had nothing to lose and only precious sleep to gain.
I brought the bed home and set it up, and so far. . . it has failed to be a miracle. He likes it for a few minutes, but then he gets restless. Or he likes it until I stop swinging/bouncing it. If I am going to have to stay awake and swing the darn thing, it will really negate the whole purpose. The bed is beautiful and in excellent condition and it was really nice of this person who barely knows me to lend it to me, but I'm afraid it's another case of Snake Oil round these parts.
I will have to report back tomorrow after we've given it a whirl at nighttime. It can't make sleep worse, that's for sure!
Andrew has stopped sleeping in his bed, too. If I am lucky, he will maybe do a two hour stretch in his bassinet in a night, but that is it. Other than that, I have to hold him or set him down and know that within 20 minutes, he will be awake. Same goes for naps during the day, except there isn't even the blessing of a two hour stretch. Between a sick two year old and a newborn in my bed last night, you can imagine what kind of sleep was had around here. I managed a couple of catnaps today, but I still have to hold Drew, so they are light sleeps. At least I am sleeping a little, but I could use a nice, solid chunk of baby-free sleeping, and I think that is weeks in coming.
I was talking to a coworker this morning, lamenting on new baby sleep, and she recalled a friend of hers had a baby with colic and had a "magic bed" that she thought I could either buy or borrow. The friend called me an hour later and kindly offered to meet me to lend me the bed, I had to drive about a half hour, but it is worth it. . . if the darn thing works. Remember, I am the woman who drove an hour to pay $40 for a "miracle blanket" that didn't do anything to help newborn Will sleep. I was so disappointed. I kind of think these blankets, beds, whatevers are probably things that work with "easier" babies, like Emma, who would sleep anywhere, but parents think it's the magic whatever that did the trick and the legend grows. In this case, however, I had nothing to lose and only precious sleep to gain.
I brought the bed home and set it up, and so far. . . it has failed to be a miracle. He likes it for a few minutes, but then he gets restless. Or he likes it until I stop swinging/bouncing it. If I am going to have to stay awake and swing the darn thing, it will really negate the whole purpose. The bed is beautiful and in excellent condition and it was really nice of this person who barely knows me to lend it to me, but I'm afraid it's another case of Snake Oil round these parts.
I will have to report back tomorrow after we've given it a whirl at nighttime. It can't make sleep worse, that's for sure!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Razor Day
Today isn't such a great day. Drew took another long stretch of sleep, but he did it from 7:30 PM - 12:30 AM and then was up pretty much every hour to two hours after that. Now we are in the weird cycle where my milk isn't used to this much nursing and we are playing catch up, so he has pretty much been nursing all morning.
Emma has swung the other direction, too, and is back to bursting into tears when I nurse him. She threw a tantrum over lip balm (she wanted to eat it, I said no).
Will is feeling better. . .ish? He still has a terrible cough and lots of nasal yuck. His fever is gone, but has been replaced my bloody noses and I can't find the humidifier.
The nurse I talked to on the phone for himt today has three kiddos with our same spacing. She had to call me three times before I was able to answer because of different distractions. She said it is either champagne or razor blades with three kids and I laughed becaue that is such an apt description. I either feel really, really okay and AWESOME because, hey, this parenting three thing, it ain't so bad! OR, I feel really, really panicked and NOT CUTTING IT because, hey, this parenting three, it is impossible! There doesn't seem to be a lot of in between moments.
I have only managed to pick off two steri strips. As a kind commentor reminded me yesterday, they come off more easily in the shower. I recall that from last time, but these bad boys are on there GOOD. I tried to take the shower advice this morning, and both Will and Drew had meltdowns while I was in there, so my plan to let them soak a bit didn't work out. I might try again during nap for Will.
I am overwhelmed today.
Emma has swung the other direction, too, and is back to bursting into tears when I nurse him. She threw a tantrum over lip balm (she wanted to eat it, I said no).
Will is feeling better. . .ish? He still has a terrible cough and lots of nasal yuck. His fever is gone, but has been replaced my bloody noses and I can't find the humidifier.
The nurse I talked to on the phone for himt today has three kiddos with our same spacing. She had to call me three times before I was able to answer because of different distractions. She said it is either champagne or razor blades with three kids and I laughed becaue that is such an apt description. I either feel really, really okay and AWESOME because, hey, this parenting three thing, it ain't so bad! OR, I feel really, really panicked and NOT CUTTING IT because, hey, this parenting three, it is impossible! There doesn't seem to be a lot of in between moments.
I have only managed to pick off two steri strips. As a kind commentor reminded me yesterday, they come off more easily in the shower. I recall that from last time, but these bad boys are on there GOOD. I tried to take the shower advice this morning, and both Will and Drew had meltdowns while I was in there, so my plan to let them soak a bit didn't work out. I might try again during nap for Will.
I am overwhelmed today.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Naps All Around
Will is doing better today. He still is very hoarse and has a low grade fever, but he spent the morning out of bed and ate a little bit and is not nearly as ill. Thank goodness. He had me pretty worried yesterday.
Drew gave me another five hour stretch of sleep last night. This is the third night of such miraculous happenings. I actually feel semi-rested today after such a bounty of sleep. After such a lot of sleep, he spent that majority of the morning wide awake, which is perfect for getting him on a good day/night clock. My little meatball loves to be WARM. He likes to wear a onesie, socks, jammies, and be swaddled (I do keep an eye on his body temperature as I know overdressing for bed has been linked to SIDS). And this is with the heat in our house set to 72. So today, I got him down to a long-sleeved onesie, diaper, and socks, put him on a soft blanket, and turned on the gas fireplace. He hung out on the floor near the fire for over an hour, just looking around, kicking his legs, and luxuriating in the heat. I sat next to him and loved the heat as well, since one of my post-c-section recovery "issues" this time has been the constant chills. I am like Drew, wearing several layers and still being cold!
Emma has gone from not wanting anything to do with the baby to wanting to hold him all of the time. This was not such an issue with Will when Emma was born. He liked Emma, he would hold her if we offered, but honestly, he went about his life almost as if she wasn't here. Emma calls the baby, "My baby Drew" and is always asking to hold him. And if you take him away, she says, "You give me back my baby!" This is kind of cute and honestly kind of frustrating all at once. I love that she loves him, but when he is hungry or needs a diaper change, and then she is upset because she can't hold him, it really is more exasperating. I know, I know. Such a "problem" this is. I know the novelty of holding him will wear off soon enough and I'll be wishing for the days when she wanted to hug "her baby" instead of steal toys from and fight with him.
I have my two week incision check tomorrow, which means that I have to start peeling off my steri strips tonight. Usually, at least a few are off by now, or at the least hanging by threads, but they are all on there pretty good. I hate peeling them off. It's like ripping off a bandaid. . . times twelve, since there are twelve strips on there. It isn't that painful, really, but I try to avoid that area of my body right now and peeling things off of the incision gives me the heebie jeebies.
I did some laundry today, cleaned the kitchen a bit, made lunch for Will and Emma, and basically, feel as if I am getting back to normal. It is a tremendous help having our nanny here. This is a luxury that I have not had when bringing previous babies home. I definitely feel very spoiled and it is hard for me to take advantage of the extra pair of hands at times, but right now, with both older kiddos napping, she has the baby so I can shower and nap.
So, that is what I am off to to.
Drew gave me another five hour stretch of sleep last night. This is the third night of such miraculous happenings. I actually feel semi-rested today after such a bounty of sleep. After such a lot of sleep, he spent that majority of the morning wide awake, which is perfect for getting him on a good day/night clock. My little meatball loves to be WARM. He likes to wear a onesie, socks, jammies, and be swaddled (I do keep an eye on his body temperature as I know overdressing for bed has been linked to SIDS). And this is with the heat in our house set to 72. So today, I got him down to a long-sleeved onesie, diaper, and socks, put him on a soft blanket, and turned on the gas fireplace. He hung out on the floor near the fire for over an hour, just looking around, kicking his legs, and luxuriating in the heat. I sat next to him and loved the heat as well, since one of my post-c-section recovery "issues" this time has been the constant chills. I am like Drew, wearing several layers and still being cold!
Emma has gone from not wanting anything to do with the baby to wanting to hold him all of the time. This was not such an issue with Will when Emma was born. He liked Emma, he would hold her if we offered, but honestly, he went about his life almost as if she wasn't here. Emma calls the baby, "My baby Drew" and is always asking to hold him. And if you take him away, she says, "You give me back my baby!" This is kind of cute and honestly kind of frustrating all at once. I love that she loves him, but when he is hungry or needs a diaper change, and then she is upset because she can't hold him, it really is more exasperating. I know, I know. Such a "problem" this is. I know the novelty of holding him will wear off soon enough and I'll be wishing for the days when she wanted to hug "her baby" instead of steal toys from and fight with him.
I have my two week incision check tomorrow, which means that I have to start peeling off my steri strips tonight. Usually, at least a few are off by now, or at the least hanging by threads, but they are all on there pretty good. I hate peeling them off. It's like ripping off a bandaid. . . times twelve, since there are twelve strips on there. It isn't that painful, really, but I try to avoid that area of my body right now and peeling things off of the incision gives me the heebie jeebies.
I did some laundry today, cleaned the kitchen a bit, made lunch for Will and Emma, and basically, feel as if I am getting back to normal. It is a tremendous help having our nanny here. This is a luxury that I have not had when bringing previous babies home. I definitely feel very spoiled and it is hard for me to take advantage of the extra pair of hands at times, but right now, with both older kiddos napping, she has the baby so I can shower and nap.
So, that is what I am off to to.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Frequent Flyers
Now I feel all sorts of guilty for considering Will's illness any sort of blessing. Not long after hitting Publish on yesterday's post, Will went from sort-of-kind-of sick to holy heck, this kid is sick.
He spent the night in our bed with M while I spent the night downstairs on the couch with Drew. So much for the family bed, which I am now seriously regretting, since while a sick 4-year-old sucks, a sick newborn will suck a lot more. And if Drew gets a fever, that is an instant hospital admit and a whole bunch of scary tests, so right now, we are just hoping and praying that he doesn't get sick. Or that if he does get sick, he doesn't develop a fever.
I could hear Will's hacking coughs from all the way downstairs. At 3 AM, his fever had climbed to 103.8 with ibuprofen on board. Will is a fever spiker, so in and of itself, a high fever isn't necessarily worrisome to me. But the fact that he looks like death, is falling asleep sitting up, is crying that his throat hurts, AND he won't eat ice cream or popsicles is what prompted us to go back to the pediatrician's for the third time in five days. The pediatrician was also concerned by how sick he look and acted. His lungs are clear and he didn't sound too terribly nasal, so she thinks it is truly just a nasty virus, but she is also concerned it could possibly be something called a peritonisillar abscess. He has what she called the "hot potato" voice and some of his other symptoms are leading her towards that line of thinking. However, the best way to diagnose it is with a ct scan or biopsy, which she didn't want to put him through unless she is more certain. So we took him home to see if he gets better by Wednesday (or if he gets much worse tomorrow). If he doesn't get better or gets much worse, then she thinks more tests are necessary. I am just keeping fingers crossed that it is a nasty virus and that he'll be on the mend quickly.
I am glad that yesterday was such a calm day, because today has been anything but. The good news is that since we were at the doctor's already, we had another bili check on Andrew and it is still at the same level as Friday. While it should start going down soon, the good news is that it isn't going up and isn't in any sort of danger zone right now. So that is one issue resolving very nicely.
I just wish we could get a punch card at the pediatrician's office. You know? Nine visits get one free? That would be awesome.
He spent the night in our bed with M while I spent the night downstairs on the couch with Drew. So much for the family bed, which I am now seriously regretting, since while a sick 4-year-old sucks, a sick newborn will suck a lot more. And if Drew gets a fever, that is an instant hospital admit and a whole bunch of scary tests, so right now, we are just hoping and praying that he doesn't get sick. Or that if he does get sick, he doesn't develop a fever.
I could hear Will's hacking coughs from all the way downstairs. At 3 AM, his fever had climbed to 103.8 with ibuprofen on board. Will is a fever spiker, so in and of itself, a high fever isn't necessarily worrisome to me. But the fact that he looks like death, is falling asleep sitting up, is crying that his throat hurts, AND he won't eat ice cream or popsicles is what prompted us to go back to the pediatrician's for the third time in five days. The pediatrician was also concerned by how sick he look and acted. His lungs are clear and he didn't sound too terribly nasal, so she thinks it is truly just a nasty virus, but she is also concerned it could possibly be something called a peritonisillar abscess. He has what she called the "hot potato" voice and some of his other symptoms are leading her towards that line of thinking. However, the best way to diagnose it is with a ct scan or biopsy, which she didn't want to put him through unless she is more certain. So we took him home to see if he gets better by Wednesday (or if he gets much worse tomorrow). If he doesn't get better or gets much worse, then she thinks more tests are necessary. I am just keeping fingers crossed that it is a nasty virus and that he'll be on the mend quickly.
I am glad that yesterday was such a calm day, because today has been anything but. The good news is that since we were at the doctor's already, we had another bili check on Andrew and it is still at the same level as Friday. While it should start going down soon, the good news is that it isn't going up and isn't in any sort of danger zone right now. So that is one issue resolving very nicely.
I just wish we could get a punch card at the pediatrician's office. You know? Nine visits get one free? That would be awesome.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Family Bed
Today was a pretty decent day, hormone-wise. I think it was due in large part to the fact that it was our first day without any sort of appointment to get to, test to have, hospital to stay in. It was lovely.
We had planned to get up and get to church, but Will woke up sick. He has been fighting off a cold for nearly a week, but today it morphed into full-on "yuck" (which I am hoping and praying that Drew doesn't catch), complete with fever and a cough.
I think it was a small gift from God, to be honest (though there might be something not-so-nice looking at my son's cold as a blessing). It would have been our first official outing as a family of five, and while I know it would be doable, it would have made for a hectic, rushed morning. Instead, we spent all morning just hanging out in our bed.
We snuggled with each other, cuddled Drew, and I got to take some seriously precious pictures of our three little monkeys together. We watched a movie, read books, sang songs, and had a pretty silly, fun time together. Then it was lunch and a quiet nap. One of my very best friends and her husband and two boys stopped by after that. With last week being so hectic and filled with doctor visits and hospital stays, we haven't had any visitors beyond family. Honestly, I prefer not to overload with visitors, simply because it puts pressure on me to be presentable and have the house also presentable. It is nice, though, to have people hold your baby and oooh and aaaah over him.
My mom had made several dinners before she left, so I warmed up one of my childhood favorites for dinner. Then, in an attempt to get back on a schedule, we did tubbies for everyone (well, sponge bath for Drew, who is still sporting his stump) and then three freshly washed kiddos had stories in our bed.
Ten days into having three children, can I just tell you that my number one "must have" has been our king sized bed. Even though all three are sleeping in their own beds at night (okay, so we are still working on that with Drew, but he spends a least one stretch of night sleep in there), we are spending a lot of time there during the day. It is good for me to rest a bit and it is good because we can pull everyone in together. It is very cozy and warm and feels. . . really nice.
It was a nice, relaxed day and I am grateful for it as M returns to work tomorrow. I have our nanny to help, but it will still be a busy day with a different rhythm. So, here's to a good day and to tomorrow being one, too.
We had planned to get up and get to church, but Will woke up sick. He has been fighting off a cold for nearly a week, but today it morphed into full-on "yuck" (which I am hoping and praying that Drew doesn't catch), complete with fever and a cough.
I think it was a small gift from God, to be honest (though there might be something not-so-nice looking at my son's cold as a blessing). It would have been our first official outing as a family of five, and while I know it would be doable, it would have made for a hectic, rushed morning. Instead, we spent all morning just hanging out in our bed.
We snuggled with each other, cuddled Drew, and I got to take some seriously precious pictures of our three little monkeys together. We watched a movie, read books, sang songs, and had a pretty silly, fun time together. Then it was lunch and a quiet nap. One of my very best friends and her husband and two boys stopped by after that. With last week being so hectic and filled with doctor visits and hospital stays, we haven't had any visitors beyond family. Honestly, I prefer not to overload with visitors, simply because it puts pressure on me to be presentable and have the house also presentable. It is nice, though, to have people hold your baby and oooh and aaaah over him.
My mom had made several dinners before she left, so I warmed up one of my childhood favorites for dinner. Then, in an attempt to get back on a schedule, we did tubbies for everyone (well, sponge bath for Drew, who is still sporting his stump) and then three freshly washed kiddos had stories in our bed.
Ten days into having three children, can I just tell you that my number one "must have" has been our king sized bed. Even though all three are sleeping in their own beds at night (okay, so we are still working on that with Drew, but he spends a least one stretch of night sleep in there), we are spending a lot of time there during the day. It is good for me to rest a bit and it is good because we can pull everyone in together. It is very cozy and warm and feels. . . really nice.
It was a nice, relaxed day and I am grateful for it as M returns to work tomorrow. I have our nanny to help, but it will still be a busy day with a different rhythm. So, here's to a good day and to tomorrow being one, too.
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