As though we really expected a smooth transition...which we didn't. But this is much harder than we expected. Maybe we're just wimps. It's not like we're the only couple to have two kids in the history of mankind, let alone having them 16 months apart. What makes it harder is Abigail not cooperating with us (yes, that was said tongue firmly planted in cheek).
We loosely followed a concept called Babywise with Joshua and it worked brilliantly in terms of his sleep habits. It has been a HUGE blessing that Joshua sleeps as good as he does. He takes a relatively solid 2 hour nap most days and about 11-12 hours at night.
So far, this isn't working so well with Abigail. The general idea is to have a mealtime followed by waketime and then sleeptime and then back to mealtime. She currently sleeps during most of mealtime and most of waketime, then is awake during sleeptime. She seems to crave being held or at least having some sort of human contact and cries bitterly when she's not. There've been times she cries so hard that it's as though she loses her voice. It'd be really sad if it didn't sound so funny when she did it. Probably the only silver lining right now is that she has slept 5-6 hours the past couple nights.
I was realizing today, however, that even if she does sleep 6 or even up to 8 hours at night, I'm so behind in my sleep that it's not going to make much of a difference for awhile. But such is life with a newborn and a toddler. Don't get me wrong, I love my children and I can't imagine life without them. But the reality is...this is pretty hard.
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2 comments:
Danielle & Brent:
During my time at home with my children (even though they are 13 years apart in age) it was difficult none-the-less. You would assume having a much older child at home would be helpful, but it wasn't. She was jealous of the baby and didn't want much to do with her and resented us every time we asked for her to help. This angered my husband and frustrated me. I didn’t know what to do and still face the aftermath of this everyday with my oldest now living with her Father on the other side of the U.S..
I am telling you this because in my perception, it doesn't matter if you both had decided to wait and have Abigail later on or now, you would still have the same trials and tribulations related to parenthood. Just remember to rest when they rest, and enjoy learning and overcoming all the quirks. Even if that means letting Joshua run around a few minutes diaper less or letting go of a "set-schedule". By the way, Bistol makes a great Spot-Bot. :o). However, I can tell you this. If I were able to have another child, I would in a heart beat. Enjoy what you have (the sleepless nights, the wailing kids, the laughter). You never know when that opportunity will be gone forever
Hey guys,
Call me, call me, call me. I know I've talked to you a little about Abigail, but reading this showed me even more that she is EXACTLY like Judah was when he was tiny. I know how hard it is to let go of the Babywise plan, too, but believe me on this one: the sooner you give it up, the happier you'll all be. It just doesn't work for all babies. The only thing we finally kept in place from it was scheduled feedings. Other than that, Judah was awake when he wanted to be, and slept when he wanted. There was no way around it.
Hang in there, guys. It does work out in the end, I promise. Judah now has about the same schedule as Joshua: 11-12 hour nights and a 1.5 hour nap, and he's usually totally happy and fun to be with. Abigail will get there and you'll make it. We are praying for you. Please call us if you need anything or just want people to talk to that have been there. We promise not to give you those looks that say, "Come on, it can't be THAT bad." Yeah. We got a lot of those. We know it CAN be that bad. But it will get better. Promise.
Love to you!
Kristy
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