I am chock full of unrelated thoughts these days.
PATIENCE, GRASSHOPPER
Some nights Sophie sleeps seven hours straight. Yes, you heard me. SEVEN HOURS. But lately? Not so much. We’re pretty used to having to get up once, usually around 4AM for a feeding. And you know, that’s not too bad. I can live with once a night. Then there are the nights when she’s up every two hours. It doesn’t happen too often anymore, but it does happen. And then there are the days when nothing, and I mean NOTHING, will console her. And don’t even think about setting her down in a crib or out of your arms or she will LOSE. HER. SHIT.
It’s on days like these when I take a deep breath and think, duuuude, she’s only thirteen weeks old. She’s not going to be an expert at life yet. And saying that to myself calms me in a way I never thought possible. I used to wonder how parents could have any patience with a screaming child. I mean, THE SCREAMING. How did they do it? And now I know how. Either that or they’ve got great drugs.
DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
Like haircuts that don’t turn out quite like you envisioned them. And did she really only cut off two inches, because it feels like five.
It’s hair. It will grow back. That is, unless it all falls out first. Yup, I’m in that post partum “hair falling out” phase. Fun.
CHANGING THE RULES IS OKAY
I came home to a house that was just as messy as the day I left for Detroit. It’s not that I didn’t expect this, but I sure was hoping for some cleaning elves to come work some magic, or maybe those fairy godmothers from Cinderella. Hell, I would have settled for that Travelocity gnome.
Instead of working myself senseless trying to do it all in a day, I made a new rule: I will consider one room clean a day a success. If I get more done? Gravy. But if I don’t? I’m going to still revel in the fact that something got done.
But there will also be days when I don’t get anything done, like today. Because some days your only job as a mother is to be a human mattress.
Sleeping on Mama's lap
And that’s okay, too.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Boy, I wish I could realize that! You’re awesome! That is the cutest picture! Treasure those moments! You’ll blink and wonder where they’ve gone!
I totally totally feel you. *grin*
Oh my God, I wish that picture were scratch and sniff.
And you need to write a book on patience for new moms. That was the most Zen post I’ve ever read.
The every two hours and screaming thing reminds me of when I babysat my niece for a week when she was about 4 or 5 months old. As a preemie, she took a long time to sleep through the night, because she’d get hungry. And I’d have to go warm up a bag of the old breastmilk from the freezer 3 or 4 times, but one night, I swear my sister must have eaten chili with onions and beans and broccoli before she pumped. It was like Miss Screams A Lot All Night With The Screaming every 30 minutes. When my sister called, I was lying on the floor by the crib while Beanie played happily with my nose, and she said, “Oh yeah, I’ve had a lot of mornings like that.” Stupid gas. Stupid sleeplessness. But sweet, sweet babies.