Highlight Reel - Did You Hear That?
Little Koala is one chill, happy baby.
Smiles come very easy to this guy - unlike his older sister who, even as an infant, was a stoic, deadpan observer waiting for you to impress her. Which you rarely did. Koala, though, is very generous with happy grins and cuddles which is wonderful because his sister was opposite, and I felt I was deserving of a cuddler this time!
This, however, describes awake baby.
Sleepy baby is a wholly different animal. Less koala, more...hyena? Pterodactyl? Gremlin perhaps?
Until only recently, this boy's naptime existed solely in our arms. And even now, closing in on month eight(!), he's only just beginning to take parts of naps in his crib. Nighttime sleep at least takes place in his crib, but he wakes to eat, cuddle or cry two to four times a night. He has yet to sleep through the night. Not only that, he's awake for the day by 5:30 on average, and certainly by 6:00. By comparison, his older sister was waking for one maybe two feeds by this time, and sleeping about 10 hours a night. Who knew she was my good sleeper?!
My last trimester with Koala was an uncomfortable one, and so my sleep was poor for those three months. Add that to these last eight, and it's been nearly a year of garbage sleep for this rookie mama. I think a single four-hour stretch was the longest I've had since this beautiful boy was born. Caffeine and I have thus become very good friends.
When I hear little M's cry through the monitor at night, and it's the second, third, maybe fourth time, I become frustrated. Combined with fatigue, this frustration sometimes manifests as tears, anger or despondence. All manner of negative feelings, really.
But then one night...
It wasn't crying or fussing through the monitor that woke me. It was a quiet, undistressed calling out:
"Mama...mama...mama"
My better half woke as well, and I whispered excitedly, "did you hear that?! He's calling me!" Apparently, he had heard the little guy say this once already but for me, it was the first time. Certainly, I had heard the sounds before, but never with such clear purpose.
That night, there were none of the negative feelings. I would go in that room half a dozen times if he called me that way.
But any more than that, and he'd need to start reciting Shakespeare.
Smiles come very easy to this guy - unlike his older sister who, even as an infant, was a stoic, deadpan observer waiting for you to impress her. Which you rarely did. Koala, though, is very generous with happy grins and cuddles which is wonderful because his sister was opposite, and I felt I was deserving of a cuddler this time!
This, however, describes awake baby.
Sleepy baby is a wholly different animal. Less koala, more...hyena? Pterodactyl? Gremlin perhaps?
Until only recently, this boy's naptime existed solely in our arms. And even now, closing in on month eight(!), he's only just beginning to take parts of naps in his crib. Nighttime sleep at least takes place in his crib, but he wakes to eat, cuddle or cry two to four times a night. He has yet to sleep through the night. Not only that, he's awake for the day by 5:30 on average, and certainly by 6:00. By comparison, his older sister was waking for one maybe two feeds by this time, and sleeping about 10 hours a night. Who knew she was my good sleeper?!
My last trimester with Koala was an uncomfortable one, and so my sleep was poor for those three months. Add that to these last eight, and it's been nearly a year of garbage sleep for this rookie mama. I think a single four-hour stretch was the longest I've had since this beautiful boy was born. Caffeine and I have thus become very good friends.
When I hear little M's cry through the monitor at night, and it's the second, third, maybe fourth time, I become frustrated. Combined with fatigue, this frustration sometimes manifests as tears, anger or despondence. All manner of negative feelings, really.
But then one night...
It wasn't crying or fussing through the monitor that woke me. It was a quiet, undistressed calling out:
"Mama...mama...mama"
My better half woke as well, and I whispered excitedly, "did you hear that?! He's calling me!" Apparently, he had heard the little guy say this once already but for me, it was the first time. Certainly, I had heard the sounds before, but never with such clear purpose.
That night, there were none of the negative feelings. I would go in that room half a dozen times if he called me that way.
But any more than that, and he'd need to start reciting Shakespeare.
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