sleep, interrupted
The moment friends and family heard that we were having a baby, they consistently ranked sleep as the invaluable commodity they lacked. All recommended that we get as much as possible before Rohan enters the world and suffice it to say, everyone of them was right.
But it is not so much that a new baby prevents a person from sleeping. In fact, newborns can sleep nearly 20 hours a day -- but everyone neglected to mention that newborns tend to sleep in small 1 - 2 hour blocks between feedings. Having been able to sleep and eat whenever they wanted, they don't adapt to our sun cycle very quickly. In addition, their stomachs are so small, they can't hold lots of food at a time.
Since Rohan has been born, neither I nor L have enjoyed a straight 4 hour run of sleep. The longest was around 3.5 hours before we woke Rohan up to make sure he had some food.
The latest rumor, is that by the third month - or earlier, Rohan should be able to sleep through the night. But in a cruel twist of evolution, Rohan should be cutting his first tooth around then, once again throwing us all into the familiar sleep deprivation cycle.
posted by Neal @ Tuesday, May 24, 2005
1 comments
1 Comments:
My mother who is a pediatrician told me last night - every day is a new day with changes and to learn to accept that alone will bring us peace and happiness. Not to plumb the depths of psychobabble here but she is right. Yesterday's techniques to soothe the baby are thrown out with the bath water (to use a mixed metaphor). Having a baby inspires creativity in us; each day we have a different way of doing things. He is learning about us and we sure are learning about him. I know when he is sleepy (cranky as hell but he loves his car seat and nods of to sleep when rocked and that CD we bought is at full blast), or when he is about to poop (he stretches like a cat, turns deep red in the face, crinkles his brow and voila!)
Sleep is at a premium, no doubt, but as you said introducing the bottle (once a day in our house) has helped bring back some sanity. That expression - "sleeps like a baby" - I wonder, which baby?
On a completely strange and different tangent - check out this link if you want to buy the Rolls Royce of strollers: http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/household/orbit-infant-system-106200.php
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