Ten Weeks

Broken Record Time: Sleep? What sleep?

Again it is hard to believe that it has been almost three months since Julia entered our lives. We are still pretty exhausted because she refuses to sleep more than 2-3 hours at a stretch during the night, with the exception of one or two 4-hour stints here and there. Each time she slept 4 hours we almost wept with joy because the difference that 4 consecutive hours of sleep makes is astounding--you actually feel like a human being the next day, and not some zombified version of yourself. We hold our breath when putting her to sleep the next night, hoping desperately for a repeat performance, only to have her wake like clockwork 3 hours after she first went down. Last night, down at 10, up at 1, down at 1:40, up at 4, down at 4:30, up at 6:30. I'm actually amazed that there isn't a whole line of small appliances, such as coffee makers, mixers, etc. that are specifically designed for new, sleep-deprived parents. They would tell you things like whether you added the water already, or would stop you from starting the machine before you put the coffee grinds in, etc. Not that it matters so much since I'm still drinking decaf. Thank goodness for Intelligentsia coffee because they have the best decaf (Librarian's Blend) that actually tastes like real coffee!

Some babies sleep at night for up to 6 hours, but not this one. I have heard from some mothers that their babies never slept more than three hours at a time until they were 9 months old. So this could be a long haul, but we're trying and hoping that some switch will flip and that she'll magically start to sleep at night and only wake once to feed, rather than the 2-3 times she is adhering to now.

But it's hard to be upset when she's so darn cute. We recently had a visit from Aunt Sarah, who came from Michigan to spend some quality time with her niece. She offered to babysit so we could have a night out, but we both immediately said thanks, but that we'd rather sleep than do anything else!

First Mother's Day

We celebrated our first Mother's Day with Tom's family, and Tom gave me a new kitchen faucet!! This may sound like a dumb gift, but the blessing of water pressure in a kitchen cannot be underrated. He also got me a new lens for my camera, which was used to take some of the pictures in this post, as well as a massage. So all in all, a pretty great Mother's Day! Julia celebrated by producing one of the most astounding diaper-fillers since she was born, and it required three people and a roll of paper towels to get things under control. I had to call out for reinforcements when I saw the extent of the damage. Needless to say, that resulted in a wardrobe change out at our Mother's Day fiesta. The next outfit also didn't last long. Turns out the first round of vaccines at the 2-month mark can result in some diarrhea a few days after the shots. New parents, bear this in mind and pack an EXTRA extra outfit in the diaper bag. I also upped the number of diapers and wipes I carry around with me after this incident. The shots themselves weren't too bad, but I had to hold down her little arms while the nurse gave her the shots in the legs. She screamed bloody murder during the shots, but stopped crying right away afterward. I thought it would be much worse, so I was glad it was over so quickly.

The Garden Is In

Even though it's not baby-related, it's a part of our lives that we love, so it goes in the blog. We got our garden in last weekend and are now at the water, wait and wonder stage. Last year we had tomatoes over six feet tall, so we're waiting to see if there will be a repeat performance. We also included fewer green beans and more lettuce, as well as more green, red and yellow peppers and not as many Roma tomatoes. We also added a few different heirloom tomato varieties, as well as one watermelon plant and some Brussels sprouts. Most people probably wouldn't choose to eat B. sprouts, much less grow them in their gardens, but we love them. Tom especially loves them when they are cooked in a very particular way: sauteed in BACON grease and then roasted in the oven. I prefer them steamed, but the bacon grease way was pretty darn tasty, too. For most people who have only seen them as little green globes in the store, they might be surprised to know that they grow on a tall stalk.

Back to Work

The unfortunate time has come when I must return to my job. Julia will start in daycare next week and I will work part of the week. Then the following week, which is Memorial Day, I will be back full-time. Luckily it's a 4-day week because of the holiday, so my first real week will be the first week in June. We're not sure how this is all going to go, but at some point, you just have to jump in with both feet. Maybe being on a new schedule will help her sleep more at night (I know I'm dreaming right now). So things are moving along and most of all, I'm just amazed at what I can accomplish on so little sleep. Here's to hoping that the transition to our new schedule won't be too traumatic!