Round Here
Things are changing again. Patterns are emerging. Baby preferences - personal preferences - are being made known. Older siblings grow weary of having to make allowances for younger siblings. Tempers are raised. Fuses are short. Sleep is precious.
J is more like G in temperament than she is like D. She can not sleep in a noisy, lit room. It's too much for her. She gets cranky. She can not settle. It's making bedtime harder on me than in D's infancy. With D we just sat in front of the tv with him on my chest and I patted his back. And maybe with him as well that ended about this time (she is a month old). As I've mentioned, my memory is faulty.
I have started having to put her to bed separately, at or around 8pm. I really don't know how or why people keep their kids up later. She is NO FUN to be around at that time. She's cranky and fussy. I have heard some people say they had to bounce their kids through till 10pm and maybe they tried laying them down for bed or maybe they wanted to keep them up because that meant they slept through till 6.
Dunno. But I just put mine to bed.
So I've tried that. It's good because it means I have a good shot of going to bed early too and that means the next day will be better.
Last night she slept in the cradle from 930 - 1215. Not a long stretch but okay. I'm pretty sure she heard me walking around because D woke up crying at midnight. So that may not entirely be her fault. And then she slept from 1230 to 430 in the cradle again. After that she slept with me till about 7. Not too bad. I'm pretty tired.
But what else is new?
G is tired of being at home. He's entering that kid stage where he demands entertainment. I do not oblige. He wanted to know what we were doing today. "well you're playing outside or you're playing with your toys and I'm doing laundry." He wasn't pleased. But he's been outside most of the morning and now him and D are upstairs with the trains. J, as I mentioned, is sleeping in the dark and quiet closet.
My biggest hurdle at present seems to be she hates the carseat and the car. She's going to have to get over that. I don't think she likes the movement? I don't know. She hates the swing too. Something she also has to get over. I'm a big baby wearer but even I want a few minutes of autonomy without a child on me. So I'm trying to put her in the swing more (like 20min).
The car ... well ... that's just going to equal lots of CIO. Road trips are coming.
A few of my friends that are contemplating three ask me how I'm doing and if 3 is really so much harder than 2. It's not. The first is a shock. The second is ... well the second is a ton of work. You lose all alone time. Because if the first doesn't need you the second does. If no child needs you, your spouse does. Or laundry does. Or cooking does. Or cleaning does.
But with three ... well you didn't have any alone time before anyway. You weren't sleeping great anyway (folks out there with two know that someone always - always - has a bad dream or goes potty or is sick or just is upset). Plus ... you can sleep when you're dead. And the lack of sleep is so expected you just kind of ... accept it.
Not to say it's easy. It isn't. Newborns just aren't easy. And postpartum recovery isn't easy and with three kids there's no time to just breathe. I put my kids in the car and take a few minutes before I get in the car as a break. Seriously. Some days that's all I get.
Somedays I go out front and check the mail alone. Leaving a crying baby or fussy toddler or ornery preschooler.
I need a bigger break and I will get one after the quarter is over.
But 3, a month in, isn't such a huge adjustment. 2 was harder on us.
J is more like G in temperament than she is like D. She can not sleep in a noisy, lit room. It's too much for her. She gets cranky. She can not settle. It's making bedtime harder on me than in D's infancy. With D we just sat in front of the tv with him on my chest and I patted his back. And maybe with him as well that ended about this time (she is a month old). As I've mentioned, my memory is faulty.
I have started having to put her to bed separately, at or around 8pm. I really don't know how or why people keep their kids up later. She is NO FUN to be around at that time. She's cranky and fussy. I have heard some people say they had to bounce their kids through till 10pm and maybe they tried laying them down for bed or maybe they wanted to keep them up because that meant they slept through till 6.
Dunno. But I just put mine to bed.
So I've tried that. It's good because it means I have a good shot of going to bed early too and that means the next day will be better.
Last night she slept in the cradle from 930 - 1215. Not a long stretch but okay. I'm pretty sure she heard me walking around because D woke up crying at midnight. So that may not entirely be her fault. And then she slept from 1230 to 430 in the cradle again. After that she slept with me till about 7. Not too bad. I'm pretty tired.
But what else is new?
G is tired of being at home. He's entering that kid stage where he demands entertainment. I do not oblige. He wanted to know what we were doing today. "well you're playing outside or you're playing with your toys and I'm doing laundry." He wasn't pleased. But he's been outside most of the morning and now him and D are upstairs with the trains. J, as I mentioned, is sleeping in the dark and quiet closet.
My biggest hurdle at present seems to be she hates the carseat and the car. She's going to have to get over that. I don't think she likes the movement? I don't know. She hates the swing too. Something she also has to get over. I'm a big baby wearer but even I want a few minutes of autonomy without a child on me. So I'm trying to put her in the swing more (like 20min).
The car ... well ... that's just going to equal lots of CIO. Road trips are coming.
A few of my friends that are contemplating three ask me how I'm doing and if 3 is really so much harder than 2. It's not. The first is a shock. The second is ... well the second is a ton of work. You lose all alone time. Because if the first doesn't need you the second does. If no child needs you, your spouse does. Or laundry does. Or cooking does. Or cleaning does.
But with three ... well you didn't have any alone time before anyway. You weren't sleeping great anyway (folks out there with two know that someone always - always - has a bad dream or goes potty or is sick or just is upset). Plus ... you can sleep when you're dead. And the lack of sleep is so expected you just kind of ... accept it.
Not to say it's easy. It isn't. Newborns just aren't easy. And postpartum recovery isn't easy and with three kids there's no time to just breathe. I put my kids in the car and take a few minutes before I get in the car as a break. Seriously. Some days that's all I get.
Somedays I go out front and check the mail alone. Leaving a crying baby or fussy toddler or ornery preschooler.
I need a bigger break and I will get one after the quarter is over.
But 3, a month in, isn't such a huge adjustment. 2 was harder on us.
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