10 Weeks

Some of the best advice I received for rearing a newborn came from my sister, Amy. It was at my baby shower for Noah over seven years ago and my Mom had passed around a notebook for all the guests to write their best parenting advice in. She wrote some beautiful words of advice and then finished with "Remember to always keep yourself from getting overtired and overhungry." She explained about those words and I took that advice with Noah. It made a WORLD of difference. Since I am like a two-year old and fall apart if I get too hungry or tired. If Noah cried and was hungry, and I was starving too, I would quickly eat someting before settling down to feed baby Noah. I also had the luxury of sleeping in til ten every morning and never felt the pains of sleep deprivation.

But then with Number 2, I wasn't sure how to manage the overtired part- with two children, suddenly I couldn't nap when the baby napped and I certainly couldn't sleep in til' ten, not when toddler Noah was waking up at 6 am. Somehow we got through that, however. And now, with Number 3, it has only gotten harder- especially since I had been counting on getting naps during Amalie's nap time, but of course as Murphy's law would have it, Amalie gave up naps about a week after Gabriel was born! And with a new baby, instituting quiet time and enforcing it was not going to happen.

I was bound and determined that I would get sleep, but Gabriel had other ideas . . . he would sleep beautifully throughout the day . . .but come night time, he would just cry and cry, sometimes off and on for three hours. For awhile there, I was getting to sleep at one or two am every night, and then waking up with Noah at seven, having already gotten up once or twice more with the baby. I literally felt like I was going to fall over or fall apart most days. But I continued to sleep train, basing my strategy off of Marc Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" and also scheduling according to BabyWise. Honestly, it has been crazy hard.

And now, I am happy to report that Gabriel has been "sleeping through the night", being defined as sleeping seven hours straight. Hurrah! (Knock on wood) Now, he is just a bit of a pain during the day, but I'll take it! I feel like a new person! I almost feel normal again- I still think it will take another month or two of catching up on sleep to feel completely great again.
I love that I am able to fully enjoy him now. He really is the sweetest baby!! He loves to smile at us and coo- he really seems to want to communicate. More so than the other children did at this age . . . although I can't really remember much with Amalie since I was so sleep deprived, so I'm not sure.

He is so good natured that sometimes when he is upset, I will come up and give him a big smile and he returns my smile and then goes back to crying! It's adorable! I am so grateful that he loves motion and can be lulled to sleep in the car. It's nice when we have to go run errands and he is crying and fussy, and as soon as we have driven for about a minute, he is out. It's such a nice change from Amalie who refused to fall asleep in the car and would scream her lungs out the ENTIRE time.

I love, love, love this stage! I finally feel like I am getting payback for all my sacrifices. It is very gratifying. I love my baby Gabriel.